Author Topic: Mesh Head Conversion  (Read 4256 times)

Mesh Head Conversion
« on: September 05, 2013, 06:56:23 PM »
Hi
First time responder on a forum
but felt i had to write as i spent ages trying to find reassurance
that if i converted my kit it would be worth it..........

i had purchased a DM10 Studio Kit and set it up in my basement
i was very unhappy with the noise the kit made
that clicking sound that penetrates in to the house
was awful

i spent hours and hours reading comments about the DM10
conversions and watch loads of YouTube clips
but nobody was really saying ye go for it

but let me just say this

i got the conversion kit it took me halve a hour to do all the drums
4 toms 1 snare 1 bass

OH MY GOD it is the best purchase i have ever made
the feel and bounce response is superb and the noise (silent like tapping a really really soft pillow)
well i am still playing now at 11:45 pm UK in a terraced house
nobody can hear a thing

after completing it i played for twenty mins then went upstairs to see if anyone could hear me
they did`NT believe i been playing until i showed them
Buzzing buzzing buzzing 

highly recommended

had to change the setting a little but i was not expecting such a radical change
the kit is alive now and i can really enjoy playing knowing nobody can hear that
horrible clicking noise from the original drum heads

not going to advertise as i not sure its allowed but i got the cone kit

Online Hellfire

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2013, 10:24:12 PM »
Welcome to the forum dewhirst990.

I'm glad you like your conversion. I am quite surprised that you didn't find any reassurances about converting your pads. This topic has been available for 3 years now:

Alesis DM10 Mesh head Pad Upgrade Video!

It's not a conversion kit (since kits were not available back when the topic/video was made), but I thought it was a "ye go for it" type of thing.  :)

Anyway, welcome to the forum.

« Last Edit: September 05, 2013, 10:26:30 PM by Hellfire »

Offline Trondster

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2013, 03:43:08 AM »
Sounds good that you got everything going - and yes, a mesh conversion is so worth it. :)
DM10 Pro kit with dampened rack, extra crashes, mesh heads, Gibraltar stands, P2002C and a dream cherry snare by Diamond Drums.

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2013, 05:43:03 AM »
Sorry to hijack this thread and I'm sure it's been asked before, but when changing to mesh heads can you do this without having to do any soldering and just replace the foam?
Alesis DM10 Studio 2011 with 16" Surge ride cymbal, Roc n Soc throne, Vater 5A eternal black.

Offline Sharkuel

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2013, 11:46:17 AM »
Answering your question Daniel: Yes.

But you will have to get the sensibilitty to higher marks, and it may not play very well (missing notes, crosstalk with rim, etc).
Megadrum 32 inputs with positional sensing add-on.

Cone centered DIY triggers in snare and toms.

8" racktom
10" racktom
12" racktom
14" floortom

Roland VH13
Lemon Cymbals

"Life is short, death is near, but one's word lives forever

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2013, 05:59:55 PM »
hi
response to Daniel
i used a mesh head kit that did not require soldering and it was
quick and easy to do
remove one of the foams and turn the piezo plate over then stuck a little cone on and away you go
and the dm10 module responded well
in fact i played for sometime before i started to fine tune the module
its great go for it

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2013, 07:29:34 PM »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t25rqi1YuGg

has anyone used the drum-tec method?  It seems like they simply remove the mylar head, add a layer of something (rubber? or foam?) and put a mesh head on.  seemed very easy compared to all other i have seen so far.  has anyone in usa tried this way yet?
« Last Edit: December 05, 2013, 07:49:54 PM by mike146 »

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2013, 09:27:02 PM »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t25rqi1YuGg

has anyone used the drum-tec method?  It seems like they simply remove the mylar head, add a layer of something (rubber? or foam?) and put a mesh head on.  seemed very easy compared to all other i have seen so far.  has anyone in usa tried this way yet?

I did a Drum Tec style conversion. Drum Tec won't ship to the states, and they wouldn't tell me what material they used as the "silencer".  However, you'll find most practice pads are made of neoprene or gum rubber.  So, I bought 1/8" thick 30A seoprene sheets and cut them to size then stuck them right on top of the guts of the drums and added a mesh head. Not quite as quiet as the Hellfire method, but still pretty good results. You can see a pic of my kit here: http://www.dmdrummer.com/index.php?topic=4660.0

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2013, 04:32:03 PM »
David Meshow from Canada did the drum-tec conversion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L2lSUuQ8xA

From the video, looks like it is 5mm foam. It does look denser than speaker from, but can't tell.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2013, 04:39:59 PM by fretnoise »

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2013, 06:12:07 PM »
thanks for the responses.  As a total newbie, and that fact that these are for my 9 year old son, I want to change to mesh, but also want to do as little as possible to change the innards  so as not to void warranty just yet.  Will be living with standard set up for a while, then thinking I am going to buy some mesh heads and the neoprene and leave like that for at least the first year.

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2013, 05:06:30 AM »
Ive been trying to google the answer to this question but i have found no answer. Why cant i just swap out the Mylar head for mesh without doing any mods?

Offline Trondster

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2013, 12:02:00 PM »
DM10 Pro kit with dampened rack, extra crashes, mesh heads, Gibraltar stands, P2002C and a dream cherry snare by Diamond Drums.

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2013, 07:01:49 PM »
Thanks. That link saved me from learning the hard way. Do you know what foam drum tec uses in their mesh conversion. I would like to go that route because I want to avoid voiding the warranty.

Offline AHayden82

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2013, 03:14:15 PM »
antod- Unfortunately, any modifications that you do to your kit before your warranty expires will technically void the warranty. That is to say any part that you install that isn't a direct OEM replacement part. Since Allesis does'nt make mesh heads, installing mesh heads will void your warranty. That being said, I have heard of people that save everything that came off of the drum and switched it back to OEM configuration when they had a problem. There isn't too much that can go wrong with these pads, but if you are concerned about voiding your warranty, I would PERSONALLY suggest that you wait to do your conversion, until after which time your warranty expires. This is just my two cents.

I didnt own my kit for 2 weeks when i did my conversion. In my case, the benifit of having the Mesh Heads far outweighed the consequence of voiding my warranty. Also, I feel comfortable that I can repair my pads myself if something were to happen to them. Again, Just my opinion and reccomendation. Rock On!! :D
DM10X With Dampened Rack. Simple 682 Black Mesh Head With Cone Conversion on 8" and 10" Pads. Custom Wooden Hoops and 682 Black Mesh Head With Cone Conversion on 12" Pads. Hi-Hat on separate rack. Roc-N-Soc Throne with Back Rest.

Offline AlanK

Re: Mesh Head Conversion
« Reply #14 on: February 04, 2014, 11:14:01 AM »
Yahoo!!! I ordered my mesh conversion kit a few days ago, very excited! I went for the 682drums one from the Netherlands, got the white set because I liked the look (I do like the black mylar skins on the DM10X but decided to go back to standard white skin look). Will be a cone conversion and not that I'm worried about the remainder of the warranty (my set is about 3 months old now) I've decided to avoid the soldering as well and just do the removal of a layer of foam, flip the sensor disc arrangment and stick on the cone and see how much toying needs to be done to the module settings.

I didn't really mind the mylar but the wife does hear me even two floors up (but our place is open concept so I can't block out the basement noise too well.. will work on that). I'm also finding a bit of pain in my joints from beating the stock skins.. have loosened them a bit lately but can only go so far. Anxious to do the mod.. my first crappy Typhoon set mod was like night and day! I'd put Roland meshes on it and it was so awesome after that, especially considering I picked the kit up used for about 150 bucks and when I jammed with some buddies they were shocked at the sound coming out of it.. and they haven't even heard the DM10X yet!
DM10X with Addictive Drums 2, Pro X hi-hat, 4 crashes, foam cone conversion w Roland mesh heads, Laurin Drums snare and kick, Mapex P710W double kick pedal, Mapex 2 legged hi-hat, Behringer 8 channel USB mixer, Tascam 144MK AI, Samson Expedition Escape powered speakers