Eight pressure-sensitive Velostat/Linqstat pads for a velocity-sensitive MIDI controller

Here I've made eight more Velostat pads similar to the single one shown in the previous video ( • Using pressure-sensiti... ) and test out their properties as well as show the inside of the previous prototype pad. These new pads have a smaller range of resistances (typically 6K-9K instead of the 4K-15K measured from the previous pads) but do seem to react much more reliably.
Unfortunately, I don't think my microcontroller is up to the task of handling all eight pads with its single ADC. The controller feels somewhat laggy and imprecise (not a good feeling for a musical instrument!) and can miss brief taps. Dropping the number of pads being handled greatly improves the performance, so I think proper performance is reliant on a high sampling rate. When only a single pad is being tested the pad feels very responsive and doesn't miss brief taps.
I still think the Velostat could be used as a cheap way to make velocity-sensitive pads for DIY musical instruments/MIDI controllers, but you'd need to keep your ADC performance in mind.