Author Topic: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum  (Read 2045 times)

DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« on: December 08, 2016, 04:56:32 AM »
Hi guys,

New to the forum, i hope someone can help with the problem i'm facing with my DM10 X Mesh Kit.

Indeed, i have a problem with my kick drum.
When i play my kick drum, each 4 or 5 hits a little noise appears, a sort of little "click saturation" sound.

I've tried this with no effect:
- Change the cable of my kick drum to the module,
- Reset the factory settings for the triggers on the module.

Do you have a solution to this problem ?

Thanks for your help.

Offline Iggford

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2016, 04:24:58 PM »
Hi guys,

New to the forum, i hope someone can help with the problem i'm facing with my DM10 X Mesh Kit.

Indeed, i have a problem with my kick drum.
When i play my kick drum, each 4 or 5 hits a little noise appears, a sort of little "click saturation" sound.

I've tried this with no effect:
- Change the cable of my kick drum to the module,
- Reset the factory settings for the triggers on the module.

Do you have a solution to this problem ?

Thanks for your help.


It's strange, because I thought my kit was defective when I noticed something similar.  I'm not sure if it is the same issue, but my experience may help you solve your problem.

I noticed that when I would hit the kick, or even the snare, simultaneously with my right crash (I'm not sure which PERC input it's on, I'm at work at the moment), I would get some distortion in the kick or snare, and sometimes the sound would cut short altogether.  I then noticed (unfortunately during a gig) that the crash itself would cut short occasionally, depending on what was being played either at the same time or immediately after striking the crash. 

At first, I was able to curb some of the problem with changes to my crosstalk settings, but it wasn't getting rid of it completely.  The crash cymbals that I received with my kit were both different.  My left crash and hi-hat look and feel identical, but the right crash seemed to be a much thinner pad, and seemed like a cheaper pad.  On a whim, I decided to switch this crash pad with my hi-hat, and it eliminated the problem completely.

The cheaper pad didn't work well as a hi-hat, either, so I ended up switching it out with the hi-hat from my old Roland kit that I use to practice at home.  The Alesis pad gives me no trouble on the Roland kit, and the hi-hat seems to work fine also.

It was just strange that both crashes weren't alike, and that the second one seemed so inferior to the first.

I don't know if any of this will help, but maybe something will at least be useful!

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2016, 10:53:57 AM »
Thanks for your answer Iggford.

Unfortunately, i think my kick drum problem is different from yours.
The "little distortion noise" appears also when i play ONLY the kick drum.

Someone else can help ?

Thanks to all.

Offline rhysT

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2016, 03:23:48 PM »
FWIW, I had an erratic low level noise problem with my DM10 Mesh kit initially and got rid of it by increasing  the Kick trigger threshold setting. It's worth getting familiar with all the trigger parameter adjustments, including the velocity curve options (O/M p24-7).

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2016, 10:35:08 AM »
Thanks rhysT.

I'll try to increase the Kick Trigger treshold setting and let you know if the little "saturation sound" disappears.

I've already tried to change the velocity curve (which is a nice feature) with no effect.

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2016, 04:00:27 AM »
An update for the ones who are interested in this problem:
I've changed my kick beater (a felt beater) for a hard plastic beater and, as strange as it can be, it seems that the little distortion noise has disappeared in the headphones when i play.

I know ALESIS recommends using a kick beater made of a hard material such as plastic and that felt beaters should be avoided for use with mesh drum heads.
But i wouldn't have thought it would help me with the "distortion noise". Maybe the felt beater interacts with the mesh head in a wrong way...

Offline Iggford

Re: DM 10 X MESH Kit problem with kick drum
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2016, 12:22:55 PM »
An update for the ones who are interested in this problem:
I've changed my kick beater (a felt beater) for a hard plastic beater and, as strange as it can be, it seems that the little distortion noise has disappeared in the headphones when i play.

I know ALESIS recommends using a kick beater made of a hard material such as plastic and that felt beaters should be avoided for use with mesh drum heads.
But i wouldn't have thought it would help me with the "distortion noise". Maybe the felt beater interacts with the mesh head in a wrong way...


It's funny, now that you mention this, I do remember having trouble with a felt beater when I first got my kit.  I bought a new Pearl kick pedal at the same time as my kit, and it has a double-sided beater, one side felt and the other plastic.  I was using the felt side at first (not knowing about the recommendations against doing so), and although I didn't hear so much of a distortion noise, I did seem to get what sounded to me like a lot of double-hits, even after changing some of my trigger settings.  I switched sides after seeing the advice against the felt beaters (pays to read ahead of time!), and I haven't had a bit of trouble out of it since.