Alesis DM10 meshhead mod comparison

Reggae_Mangle

Silver Member
Hey-a,
Thought this might be of some interest to e-drummers. It's a comparison of different mesh head mods you can do with the Alesis e-drumkit pads to make them quieter and at the same time, trigger more dynamically.

http://youtu.be/ycOgYZHo2lI

1) Hellfire mesh head mod, without removing resistors
2) Hellfire mesh head conversion, removing resistors
3) 682Drums cone conversion

The pads I'm using are the 8" DMpads with the snare input of the DM10 Module. I used 682Drums meshheads, as they were cheaper than other options, but have a good reputation.

Audio is recorded simultaneously from two sources.
1) Direct outs from DM10 module
2) SM58 microphone close micing pad

The idea was to capture both the playing dynamics of the pad after conversion (as represented by the DM10 direct outputs), as well as the noise level.(captured by the microphone)

1) Mesh head mod without removing resistor
Trigger Level 80-85
Time Taken for mod: 10 minutes

2) Hellfire mesh head mod, resistor removed
Trigger Level 35, then 20, then 40
Time taken for mod: 20 minutes

3) 682Drums cone conversion mod
Trigger level 40, 20
Time taken for mod: 2 minutes

Hope you like it!

- Reggae Mangle
 
What do you guys think is the best conversion? My vote goes to the cone conversion, purely on account of how quiet it is. Not that the other mods are extremely loud. I used foam normally used in bedding with the result that the Hellfire mod sounds like hitting a pillow, lol!

But the cone conversion mod is dead quiet. You can see it in the video, my sticks ciicking together is louder than the pad, though you can hear it at parts.

I also thought I was getting better dynamics from the pad, though this is subject to debate as perhaps I could have fine-tuned the trigger settings more.

The bounce is another moot point. The Hellfire mod has better bounce than the stock mylar head, but less than an acoustic kit. Perhaps experimentation with different types of foam is called for. The bounce on the 682Drums cone converted pad, on the other hand, is unreal and I sort of liked it, having been playing against the pad for so long. I'm a metal head, what can I say? :D

- Reggae Mangle
 
Back
Top