Author Topic: External/hybrid triggers on mesh heads/Trigger failures Diaries Part 5  (Read 1560 times)

Offline VandalX

Okay, I've given up trying to be serious about coming up with a "fix" for my NEW DM10 MKII Pro mesh trigger issues. While I resigned myself to participating in a ~$1200 educational experience as I learned about this new world of drumming, it's becoming clear that the failures of design and materials is more than I want to deal with on an ongoing basis. Daily, really.

I say $1200, but I don't really know the true cost of what I paid, what I've received in free replacement gear, and the hours spent troubleshooting the problems. In my business life, I have a flat rate of $75 an hour. That's not directly applicable, since this is not a client, but a source of enjoyment and relaxation. Those last two conditions have been replaced on more than one occasion with anger and frustration. I'm old enough to not let the anger reach a threshold, but it's annoying nonetheless. I now find humor and a sense of incredulity that these issues have not been addressed by the engineering staff at Alesis.

I'm documenting my travails through the Island of Misfiring Triggers, but that's still in process. My question now is:
Has anyone used an external trigger - ddrum, Pintech, Roland, etc., to replace their internal trigger system on mesh head Alesis pads? I think drilling down to the core of the problem is vibration, applied force, and solder/adhesive failure. At least in my case. Actually, now SIX cases. Well, six total failures, but the last one has become a guinea pig of testing new ideas to get the triggers to not fall apart under the conditions of getting whacked with a drumstick. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Alesis (and perhaps other manufacturers) have not yet figured out how to create a robust trigger in a drum pad that is subjected to the force of a drumstick hitting the mesh pad; transferring that force through a matrix of foam cylinders, plastic resonant material and foam rings. The solder joint is a weak point. I don't know what came first, the cigar box/acoustic guitar piezo idea, or using them on percussion instruments. But in the "ceramic/brass-disc piezo-mounted-directly-below-the-main- point-of-impact" category, they are prone to failure.

At least on the DM10 MKII Pro kit. Maybe my pads are just some weird prototype (there's that Pro word again) that Alesis is trying out on a middle-of-the-road model; knowing that it won't have to deal with a ton of angry customers. Maybe the high end (Strike) and lower end models (Command, Crimson) have different triggering mechanisms that respond better to getting HIT WITH STICKS.

I'm going to restate this as well: I am NOT a basher. I play with some amount of finesse, some might say a soft touch at times. Though when called for, I hit the drums as I would an acoustic. Perhaps even that's too hard. I tend to like to play the snare a lot. Call me crazy. But that's the pad that always fails, and it fails in the same way. The solder and/or wires breaks from constant force applied to the solder joints, or the wire just behind the tinned and soldered joint breaks from constant up and down movement. As drummers, I think we should have a reasonable expectation of being able to play these kits like we would an acoustic. Some of us move between the two. The two experiences can't be so far apart that we are essentially relearning how to play a new instrument. Maybe they are totally different, and I have unrealistic expectations. If so, there's a Tequila Sunset Ludwig Vistalite for sale (granted, a $3500 sale) that I'd consider when I sell my last kidney.

Black market organ sales aside, I'm at a point where I feel I should move on from this system of triggering my mesh pads, and I am thinking about utilizing external triggers to see if they work any better. At a minimum, I'd be saving myself from having to remove the head, solder things in place on a drum pad that is a little space-constrained. In theory, I could just pop on a new external if/when they failed, and fix the bad unit off the kit at my convenience.

That said, I don't know if this is a viable option. All my MK II Pro pads are dual zone. It appears I'll have to do some Frankenstein surgery to get the more popular triggers to react to an open hit/rimshot, but I'm willing to try.

Any suggestions are most appreciated! I'll be posting an overall journal (with pictures!) of my experience with all of this so far, hopefully to help those just starting with these kits, or for those who have just encountered a similar issue. I assume the veterans here on the blog are well-versed in all these problems, but I thought I'd chime in as a new Alesis user and new e-drummer. I'm by no means an expert; just relaying my personal story. If I can't be an inspiration to others, perhaps I can be a warning  ;).

Yours in resonance,
Kelly
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.

I used to trigger Alesis D4 and Dm5 modules, a Roland Octopad, then and Octopad II, driving an Ensoniq sampler, which was an absolute BEAST.

I spent many an unpleasant break between sets re-soldering triggers, that I had glued and taped to the drumheads. I later moved to shell mounting, which was super durable, but less than average for triggering sensitivity. I broke a snare drum head at a big concert once, and had to play the entire show on the rim of the snare, so that was good for that.

Finally abandoned it all, went minimalist, 5 piece kit with four mics, and a small mixer, and it sounded better than all the triggering that I'd done.

Retired.

Unretired three years ago, bought all new gear, and now a Strike Pro kit. I've been playing around triggering up my Pearl Traveller kit, and although I put the same trigger in each tom, the sensitivity is wildly INCONSISTENT. I haven't put mesh heads on them yet, so there they sit.

The snare is a story. I built the triggering in it to emulate a Roland kit, with dual triggers to facilitate the positional sensitivity Roland offers in some modules, as that was my original intent for purchasing. It works, I can plug it into the Strike and it's okay. Not ideal, no rim triggering, well, barely. It's not what I would want to use live by any means.

But the Pearl kick has made it's way into my Strike kit. I put a bar across inside, triggers on it, foam on the trigger touching the head, found it lacking. So currently, I'm using a Roland clamp-on external trigger. The $90 version. It's really good, better than any home-rigged system I've ever done. WIDE range of sensitivity, and failure free. Plug and play.

I'm going to end up putting external triggers on the toms as well, in the end.

Offline VandalX

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. Great input and every little bit helps me with ideas. I've got my long-range vision on the Roland triggers, but I thought I'd play a bit with various other possibilities before I throw down $90-a-trigger. Then I suppose I'll just need to get some updated V-drum pads, a TD30 module and some new cymbals, and my Alesis kit will be 100%!

But in all seriousness, I am having (kinda) a good time troubleshooting this issue. I'd say my play time vs. repair time is about evenly split. Luckily, I don't have a band yet (no one would have me anyway), so my travails aren't impacting any world tours yet. But yeah, if I end up playing this thing live, many back up pads will be present (two is one, and one is none), and contingencies will be implemented just in case.

I wish Keith Moon was still alive. It would be great to see him destroy an e-drum kit.
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.