DM10 Gig Tips and Tricks

[Greg]

Thanks for the info. I imagine it is strange gigging with e-drums and mistakes will be made. I worry if the rack itself would hold up long-term. If I was to gig live with my dm8 pro, I think I would upgrade to a Gibraltar rack first. Or at least carry a couple rolls of duct tape with me, LOL... I just don't trust plastic fittings.

[Rocket2112]

For my personal stage sound, I use the Simmons DA-50. It is not bad and I actually I have found if I have a wall close to my back, I point the speaker at the wall for a fuller sound. They also go through the monitors.

I do pump the mains from the module out to the mixer. While I can't hear the drums out front for obvious reasons, people have told me they sound great.

[Whitman_86]

An interesting trick I discovered by accident; pressing the stop button on the module after striking any trigger kills the sound immediately. Choke anything at anytime. Nice especially on that last crash of a song that tends to linger a second too long.

[Dobly]

I have two of these Tactix cases from Bunnings..



https://www.bunnings.com.au/tactix-60l-heavy-duty-storage-box_p2583691

In one I put the DM10 module, and all the leads and power supplies for my mixer, DM10 and Sample Rack and fold back and extension leads and stick bag and snare drum stand and you name it.

In the other i have 2 of our 4 light lighting racks.

They are a good size, stack nicely and just big enough so as not to get too heavy.

[nickap]

I've been playing gigs with my DM10 Studio Pro kit for a while, and there is one thing that bugs me about it ... I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this. I have my own custom made snake (see http://www.alesisdrummer.com/index.php?topic=6071.msg42479#msg42479) that is more-or-less permanently attached to the frame, and that works out great - I remove all the pads and cymbals, put them in a large, wheeled duffel bag - all the pads are marked with colored paint dots so they can be matched up again later with the correct spot on the frame. Then I take the frame, with the module and the Gen16 controller still wired and attached, and put the whole thing in my van, along with the bag of pads etc. and the various additional pieces (bag with Gen16 cymbals, kick drum assembly etc.). Here's where the problem comes in; I've tried folding the frame as much as I can, or putting it in the van basically exactly as it is set up in my studio - but no matter what I do, at least one joint ends up coming disconnected, or one of the arms becomes twisted, or whatever. So my setup at the gig, which should be very quick and easy with the wiring and module in place and everything color-coded, involves a considerable amount of work with a drum key, unfastening and re-fastening joints, wrestling with various pieces of the frame that have twisted out of alignment and so on. Does anyone know of a way to simplify this process, or avoid it altogether? One option might be to upgrade to a better frame - possible a Gibraltar rack or something like that - but that's a pretty big investment. Might be worth it though. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[Dobly]

I've been playing gigs with my DM10 Studio Pro kit for a while, and there is one thing that bugs me about it ... I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this. I have my own custom made snake (see http://www.alesisdrummer.com/index.php?topic=6071.msg42479#msg42479) that is more-or-less permanently attached to the frame, and that works out great - I remove all the pads and cymbals, put them in a large, wheeled duffel bag - all the pads are marked with colored paint dots so they can be matched up again later with the correct spot on the frame. Then I take the frame, with the module and the Gen16 controller still wired and attached, and put the whole thing in my van, along with the bag of pads etc. and the various additional pieces (bag with Gen16 cymbals, kick drum assembly etc.). Here's where the problem comes in; I've tried folding the frame as much as I can, or putting it in the van basically exactly as it is set up in my studio - but no matter what I do, at least one joint ends up coming disconnected, or one of the arms becomes twisted, or whatever. So my setup at the gig, which should be very quick and easy with the wiring and module in place and everything color-coded, involves a considerable amount of work with a drum key, unfastening and re-fastening joints, wrestling with various pieces of the frame that have twisted out of alignment and so on. Does anyone know of a way to simplify this process, or avoid it altogether? One option might be to upgrade to a better frame - possible a Gibraltar rack or something like that - but that's a pretty big investment. Might be worth it though. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Your modified cable snake (which I think is a great idea btw, and on my to do list) looks much easier to handle than the original snake. I mean why go to all the trouble to make a better snake, if you are just going to leave it on the rack?

I still use the original snake and move my kit to gigs and rehearsal. The snake stay connected only to the module. 

So, pack up for me is unplug all the drums etc and take them off. Now lift the cable snake off and the module and gently wrap the entire snake around the module. Then put the bundle on a towel and wrap the lot up. Then put the bundle in a case.

Setting up I attach the module and put the snake where it needs to be. That takes something like 30 seconds to do. Then I just need to put the the pads on and plug them in.

[rhysT]

I've tried folding the frame as much as I can, or putting it in the van basically exactly as it is set up in my studio - but no matter what I do, at least one joint ends up coming disconnected, or one of the arms becomes twisted, or whatever. So my setup at the gig, which should be very quick and easy with the wiring and module in place and everything color-coded, involves a considerable amount of work with a drum key, unfastening and re-fastening joints, wrestling with various pieces of the frame that have twisted out of alignment and so on. Does anyone know of a way to simplify this process, or avoid it altogether?

Maybe try another Dobly mod to make the rack joints more secure and stop them twisting: http://www.alesisdrummer.com/index.php?topic=7446.msg50109#msg50109

[Dartanbeck]

I pack up my module for transport and use one of the velcro straps that came with the kit to hold the end of the snake.

The rack folds up really nice and flat - then I use two of those straps velcroed together (to make one long strap) on each end to tie the legs in, so it stays flat like that as a carry it around, without having to tighten all of the clamps back up all the way.

[Dartanbeck]

I'm still going to perform Dobly's Mod, as rhysT points out above, to keep them from twisting, along with the future mod I want to do, which is to buy another mesh kit (DM10 MKII or Command Mesh, I'm thinking) and using the included rack to add the second brace to the sides of the rack the same as what I have on the front of the DM10X. I notice that they don't double up on the front anymore.

[Dartanbeck]

I also wanted to add:

I really like your CAT7 Snake mod!

I find that, since I'm always hooking up the snake to the module, that I really have it down now, where each color goes. I almost don't even have to look at it anymore!

Leaving the module on the rack during transport would kill my nerves. Too many things could go wrong for me - broken cables or their ends, broken module and/or the mounting bracket and/or the clamp that holds it onto the rack... it's just too easy for me to mount/dismount the module to not do it for my precious DM10! But that's me.

[doggyd69b]

I guess for me main things to have spares... bass drum (pad, or trigger) depends on what you use, one extra pad for the snare and one extra cymbal, and those extra pads don't need to be "extra" expensive, a rubber pad will do as a snare in a hurry and the cymbal can be a pintech single zone that is also very inexpensive. for the Bass drum the Aquarian bass piezo should work very well and it's one of the cheapest out there...
The last things are obviously the spare module if you can have more than one, and one or two cables to replace faulty ones in the even of failure.
I have never had module or cable issues playing live, I have had pads fail...

I was going to do my DIY conversion with internal piezos and a bridge, but I was having problems controlling double triggering, I decided to just buy the $15 DDRUM Red Shot triggers for all 5 toms, and it was plug and play, with the added bonus that If I just wanted to stay acoustic, I can swap heads and back to acoustic. I currently have the Remo Silenstroke and they feel just as good as the Roland, but way cheaper. 
Also SOME people don't know that if you use mesh heads on your bass drum, you should not use felt beaters[/u], mine can change to rubber or felt so i just use the rubber side which doesn't chew the mesh head... I've seen that mistake at every music store I have been lately... same goes for sticks, wood tipped are way harder on mesh than plastic... I personally recommend Ahead sticks and not 5B or bigger but something smaller which will help in two areas: it won't damage the set as much, and it will be way easier on you to prevent fatigue..(still do the bananas trick it works). Make a mental (or real) list of your gear so that when you pack to leave you don't forget anything.. I haven't lost gear yet....
Pack a small tool bag (drum key, and other items that you may need.

Like someone was saying here, if you organize your cable bundle, I don't recommend to use electrical tape for the simple reason that it leaves sticky residue and gunks up your cables. I recommend those velcro straps, you can get a pack of 50 or 100 for about 10 dlls... those can be positioned and removed without making a mess. if you want to make it more permanent (but still removable) use zip ties, but cut the tails so that you can be proud of your rack's looks. Also like someone mentioned here, you can buy instrument cables, (long ones for the pads that are further from your module, and custom cut them to fit your rack with just a little bit of slack but not to where they hang too much and take the time to properly solder and insulate your connections, including using heat shrink, remember the better you do it, the longer it will last you).

Finally it may be my OCD speaking but when you pack your Gig bag, Always pack it the same way... if you do that, you will know without looking too much where everything is, it becomes pretty hard to find things inside a black lined bag behind the drums in a really dimly lit stage... and don't forget to carry water maybe 2 bottles, I used to do a 2 hr set and by the time i was done I was dehidrated (beer doesn't help).

[Dobly]

Another thing I did was colour code every cable. Not so much the cable snake as that had colours on it already.. But I had a mixer and fold back and a laptop running backing tracks and a USB interface.. 20 to 25 or so cables.

It did not take long to learn the colours. For example all the cables that had the yellow electrical tape belonged to my foldback system. The mixer had the matching colour tape in little square next to the inputs. So, the red cable plugged into the red input. Green into green and so on.

It was all a snap to set up. I could pull a cable out of box and know where it goes without even thinking about it. 

Also, I never unplugged the cable snake from the module., I just wrapped the cable snake around the module, then wrapped the lot in a big towel and packed it into the case I posted above.

[doggyd69b]

I would say the most important thing is spares (a cymbal spare, a pad spare and a bass drum spare) I once didn't have a bass drum pad (not my kit but the venue)  and  had to use a pad sitting on the floor as a bass drum, luckily it was one of those Roland rubber pads, just placed it upside down and tap lightly with my foot, i didn't miss the bass drum pad... but yes, if now one of them breaks in the middle of the gig, a snare can be replaced with a single zone pad in a pinch, a cymbal pad is pretty much the same unless it's a 3 zone ride. also don't forget cables at least 2 just in case you have more than one casualty, a couple (that means two) drum keys, we all know that when we drop one, for some reason it travels to Narnia, to never be found again even after looking all around the bottom of the drums...a small flash light, when setting up in a dark stage, (sometimes too dark), it will save your ass.  A small (SMALL) tool kit, plyers, a couple of screw drivers, maybe also pack cymbal felts and cymbal screws/springs/whatever you use to hold your cymbals, zip ties (or velcro ties) they will become your bestest friend.... if you can afford it, a spare module (that you have already setup a kit (or a couple of kits), the last thing you want is to unplug all your pads, plug into the spare, and have to set everything up while at the gig!! don't be that guy...oh two sets of headphones and adaptors to connect them to your module or mixer ( one will fail so you always need to have a second pair). finally a few audio cables to connect your phone/ipad/ipod tech to your module or mixer, you can set a play list to keep you company while setting up, (when you don't have an annoying sound guy) or in between breaks, or even to play tracks of your own music  to enhance the performance. Challenge:
place all that in a box small enough to fit in the trunk of a Honda Civic... ( I don't drive one I just know they are fkn small).

[doggyd69b]

I guess one more thing I forgot to mention is to take a picture of your fully assembled kit, I for example have 7 cymbals (the original kit only comes with 3) so I made custom cables to split the output of the toms plus I used the extra input on the module. for that reason, I took a picture of the assembled kit so I can have a reference for what cymbals go where, also another thing i did, was to label each cable with BIG letters so that I don't have to strain to find what goes where while in a dark stage. those REMO cymbal screw toppers (the ones that you press in to remove the cymbal) also save a lot of setup time, and if you can use memory locks that helps a lot too. Finally, get a BIG backpack in which you should have small spare parts, a couple of drum keys, extra cables, your module , headphones, snax etc.
 I use two JBL EON 12 inch self powered speakers but I do put them BEHIND me.
 I had a bad experience of playing blind (on an acoustic set!) at a gig we had outdoors, where I could not hear the guitars or voice and literally had to play on my own count the whole set. That was my first gig and since then, I at least have the guitar amp facing me in some way, or my own monitors. My dream setup is a self powered 18 inch subwoofer, with a self powered 15 inch speaker on top (on each side), add a mixer and some mics and I can have the whole band and an acoustic set for most gigs that allow proper volume. (Venues are getting too wimpy with volume levels nowadays) F**King Milenials!