Okay, as posted in another section of this site, I have two faulty/dying 12" tom/snare units. It started on the one I used for a snare, then when I moved the second floor tom to snare position, it gave up soon thereafter. I've contacted Alesis to see what my options are (only a month old). However, I removed the mesh head to see if anything was apparently damaged. On first inspection it was normal except for the foam cones all stuck to one side of the shell. Great build quality (not). I reattached those in their appropriate location. This seems to be an achilles heel for these kits. Crappy glue.
Anyway, the trigger in the center was not firing at all. The rimshot trigger worked fine. I lifted up the tape securing the wires to the center trigger, and found that the black wire as not in contact with the trigger. It became "unsoldered" so to speak. I can't tell if they just glue these down or use a solder under the glued yellow stuff. I held the wire to the top of the trigger and it works again. So, depending on how forthcoming Alesis is about fixing my new equipment, I at least have a fix in mind. My question is this: will actual solder damage the top of the trigger? Has anyone re-soldered the wires on a trigger? I certainly won't do it before I find out what Alesis will do for me, but I want to know what my contingencies are if they are slow to respond. I have included pictures of the drum for your info/amusement. One shows the loose wire, the other shows the cones that rolled off to the side and got stuck.
This bears repeating: I don't hammer on these drums like a madman. I figured that an item that is meant to be hit with sticks should hold up to being hit with a stick. Perhaps my logic is flawed.