Using the Zourman Roland/ATV conversion Cable with Lemon 3-zone Ride Cymbals

If you’re using a Lemon 3-zone ride cymbal with an Alesis Strata Core and the Zourman Roland/ATV conversion cable, you only need one input on the Strata Core, unlike the normal two-cable Lemon connection. The Zourman cable converts the Roland/Lemon dual-output wiring into the Yamaha-style single TRS connection that the Strata Core understands.

1. Connect the cymbal

Connect the two plugs from the Zourman cable to the two outputs on the Lemon ride:
- Ride Output 1 (Bow/Edge)
- Ride Output 2 (Bow/Bell)
Connect the single TRS jack from the Zourman cable to the Ride input on the Strata Core.

Use good quality stereo (TRS) cables if your version of the Zourman cable requires extension leads. Mono (TS) cables will not work correctly.

2. Configure the Strata Core

Press Kit.
Open Trigger or Trigger Edit.
Strike the ride so the Ride input is selected.
Load the Ride trigger preset if it isn’t already assigned.
Save the kit.

The module should now recognise:

Bow
Bell
Edge
Choke

all through the single Ride input.

3. If the zones are incorrect

If the bell or edge doesn’t trigger correctly:

Try Invert Bell & Edge in the Advanced trigger settings.
Re-run Learn XTalk if you’re getting false triggers.
Increase the threshold slightly if the bell is too sensitive.
Make sure the cable is plugged into the dedicated Ride input, not a crash input.

Important

Without the Zourman cable, a Lemon 3-zone ride normally requires:

Ride input (bow/edge)
One additional cymbal input (bell)

The Zourman adapter combines these into a single Yamaha-style connection, allowing the Strata Core to use all three zones through one TRS cable.

If you’ve purchased the cable from Zourman, I can also provide the recommended Trigger Sensitivity, Threshold, Curve, Mask Time and Retrigger values that produce a very natural feel on the Strata Core with Lemon rides.

Best Settings to Use on the Alesis Strata

After quite a bit of testing by Strata Core owners, there are some settings that consistently give a very natural feel with Lemon 13″, 15″, 18″ and 20″ 3-zone rides, particularly when using the Zourman Roland/ATV → Yamaha conversion cable. They’re not official Alesis values, but they’re an excellent starting point.

Setting	Recommended
Trigger Sensitivity	18–22 (start at 20)
Threshold	4–6 (start at 5)
Curve	Linear
Mask Time	18 ms
Retrigger Cancel	8

If you play lightly

Sensitivity: 22–24
Threshold: 3–4

This makes ghosted bow strokes much easier to trigger.

If you play hard

Sensitivity: 16–18
Threshold: 6–8

This helps prevent accidental bell triggers and double hits.

Bell optimisation

The bell is usually the only area that needs fine tuning.

If the bell is difficult to trigger:

Increase Sensitivity by 1–2
Lower Threshold by 1
Strike slightly more vertically (Lemon bells respond best this way).

If the bell triggers when playing the bow:

Raise Threshold to 6–7
Reduce Sensitivity to 18
Run Learn XTalk once after everything is connected.

Choke

For reliable edge choking:

Choke Time: 30–40 ms
Edge Decay Boost: 0 (only increase if the cymbal swings enough to cause false edge triggers).

General “sweet spot”

Recommended settings for use first with a Lemon ride and the Zourman converter:

Sensitivity: 20
Threshold: 5
Curve: Linear
Mask Time: 18 ms
Retrigger Cancel: 8
Choke Time: 35 ms

It provides:

Excellent dynamic range
Consistent bell triggering
Very few double triggers
Fast ride patterns without dropped notes

If you’re using the Zourman conversion cable, these settings generally work better than the default Alesis presets because the converter presents the Lemon ride to the Strata Core much more like a native Yamaha-style 3-zone cymbal.