Author Topic: new to mesh heads  (Read 1866 times)

new to mesh heads
« on: March 13, 2018, 04:33:58 PM »
Hey.  I'm new to mesh heads and all drums that aren't rubber really.  I just got a DM10 MKII Pro and am watching a tutorial online that suggests tightening the kick drum's head.  I imagine this is done by using the drum key and tightening the piece I have circled in my attachment or is that wrong?  If so, please let me know what tightening and loosening the objects I have circled affects!  Thanks.  I've looked in the manual and done some 'how to tighten mesh drum pads' searching and all I can manage to find are ways to tweak the feel through the module settings.

Offline Dartanbeck

Re: new to mesh heads
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2018, 09:23:18 PM »
Yes, that thing you have circled.
Something to note is that a tighter head will become more bouncy and easier to get multiple taps per hit - including accidental hits. So on bass drums, a lot of drummers prefer this to be not too tight, but it will be a preference thing.

We also don't want it too lose, or we'll start pounding the actual electronics of the pad - we don't want to do that.

It is highly recommended that folks work the tension of these 'lugs' evenly, in small increments at a time. Uneven tension can result in bad things, like a warped hoop or pulling the head out of the bead (the metal ring around the head that connects to the rim).

In these small increments, we like to recommend doing so across the rim on opposing lugs as shown in this image. The number representing the order in which the lugs are tightened/loosened. Note that one doesn't need to start on the same lug as represented as "1" on the image, so long as we follow this cross-lug pattern.

Alesis DM10X Mesh - Laurin Drums & Cymbals - Strike Module
Dartanbeck.com Digital Artist

Offline Dartanbeck

Re: new to mesh heads
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2018, 09:27:59 PM »
I'm new to mesh heads as well, and am still getting a feel for what tension I want to go for.

I like a lot of responsiveness on my snare drum especially, and a little less on my smaller toms and less to much less for my larger toms. I want my kick drum right in the middle. I need to have responsiveness, but double-hits can really sound odd. That made my kick one of the easier drums for me to dial in, because the effect of head tension was so apparent when playing live.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more if I was unclear on any of the points. Sometimes reading what I write sounds right simply because I know what I meant! LOL
Alesis DM10X Mesh - Laurin Drums & Cymbals - Strike Module
Dartanbeck.com Digital Artist