Equipment > General Discussion

DM10 MKII Pro...part two: The Failure

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VandalX:
Well, two days in to my replacement kit (after returning the first one after a month and a half due to failing triggers on all 12" pads) and the snare pad trigger is failing. Well, failed. Rim shot still triggers, but the center trigger is almost totally unresponsive. The clear plastic ring that connects all the foam pads shows signs of breakage- the thin "bridge" tab that connects to the center. I will once again state that I don't play all that hard. These drums are completely unreliable and not to be trusted for anything other than light playing. Maybe not even that...a hard stare might break something.

This is my last go-round with this kit. Perhaps with Alesis as a whole. Even though I bought it via Amazon Prime, repacking and returning this beast is a pain in the ass. I just want to play a new product for something longer than a month or two (let alone just a couple of days). I know how to fix it (an with more robust components), but I shouldn't have to do this so quickly and with so few hours of usage. This is an Alesis fail of the highest magnitude. And their customer service is totally unresponsive. Luckily, Amazon just sends me what I want and has me ship it back for free. This one will be going back as well.

I do NOT recommend this kit to anyone. It's fun at first, and the feel is right, for me anyway. But the build quality sucks and it turns out that these drums aren't made to be hit by anything harder than a box of tissues.

I don't know if the Strike drums are any more robust, as that's the only direction I would move to before signing off the Alesis brandwagon and going with something more robust.

What a disappointment.

VandalX:
Addendum>>>

Okay, after some down time to think things over, I have decided on three options.

1- Return this unit and upgrade my kit to a Strike. I will be losing one tom and two cymbals. Well, one cymbal if I do a one-to-one comparison to the MKII Pro. So it's a net loss, but perhaps the build quality is better and will hold up to someone hitting their product with sticks. You know, like a drumset. I will also be paying $400 more to do this. Can anyone out there vouch for the Strike quality, playability and features? I did do a pre-purchase comparison, but that was before I owned an Alesis product. Now I'm reticent to "upgrade" if all I'm getting is some sparkly red flake shells and fewer pads. Perhaps the module is quite a bit better? That's less important to me considering I was moving to a VST in the near future.

2- Now that I know how these trigger fail, I know how to fix them. I have attached a picture of the weak point in these units, and since this is now the fourth 12" pad that has failed in this manner, I am going to assume that they all will at some point. But, I'm good at small electronics work, and can easily replace the flimsy thin wire and "solder" glue that attaches the wires to the trigger. The black wire is mounted to the center of the trigger, and the red goes on the outer edge. I have stripped the tip of the red wire, and it works when I touch it to the trigger. I just have to secure it in position, and use a larger gauged wire.

So I can repair and replace these items as they fail, as they most certainly will. This Achilles' heel (Alesis' Heel?) seems to be the first point of failure, and I don't see other physical mechanisms that will have a similarly premature breakdown. That won't help me if the module or circuit boards that the triggers are wired into begin to freak out, but at least the trigger fix is relatively easy.

Question is: I have owned this new kit for less than a week. Despite the graciousness of Amazon to send me new ones every time this happens, it's a tremendous waste of my time, resources and really, should I give Alesis my continued loyalty for a substandard product? The rational side of me says, "return it and move on." However, I really have enjoyed this kit, and the features and pads/cymbals aren't found on models in the same price range. I admit I love having larger toms and mesh heads. Without ramping up to the Strike or even further to the 2Box Drumit or Yamaha DTX700 series, I am relegated to smaller drums and probably silicone or rubber pads. Not sure how the Yamaha pads feel, but I have heard good things. It's the drum size that gets me.

And that takes me to number 3- Return them for a refund, and look to other manufacturers for my e-drums. KAT KT4, Yamaha DTX562, Roland TD11 KV,  or maybe the Nfuzd Nspire (hybrid pads with apparently a pretty cool module, and I have an acoustic kit to mount them on). These hover around the $1200-1500 range. Or if I decided to give Alesis another shot, going with the base level Strike, as I can't afford the larger Pro version. In fact, I am guessing that "Pro" doesn't actually mean "Professional" in the Alesis dictionary. Prolapse, prostate, and provolone come to mind first.

I know I'm just ranting, but anyone with some advice would be appreciated. I want to love these things, and the short time I've played them has been enjoyable and did everything I expected them to...except last for more than a few days/weeks.

rhysT:
FYI, the trigger wiring on my original DM10 Mesh pads has been reliable (so far) prob'ly due to the head piezo being mounted under the plastic resonator and with the wires retained by the support foam (refer to attached pics).

Maybe "Pro" on your DM10 MkII module/kit implies it's 'problematic' and likely to encourage more interest in the Strike kits!  8)

VandalX:
That's a key difference: the piezo mounted BENEATH the plastic resonator. On mine, it's out in the open. I've already found new transducers online just in case I decide to keep this kit and go Mad Max on the thing. If I go the repair route, I will be redesigning some things.

Thanks for the input! "Problematic" wins the day.

Freightshaker:
Just started to have a tom go out on me this morning.  I haven't opened it up yet, but it sounds like the same problem: tom only registers a hit with the velocity turned way up and then not consistently.  I'm moderately able to do electronic repairs so I'll give it a shot.

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