Laboratory > Do-It-Yourself or DIY
12“ Mesh Head Conversion / only with foam / step by step / incl. videos
Gerdy:
Hello e-drum colleagues,
I am Gerdy and writing from Germany.
Please excuse my English and used terms I could not get translated.
Today I would like to show you a mesh head conversion to the 12” pad coming with the X-kit.
Bottom 12" pad from Alesis DM10 X kit:
12" pads from "Pro kits" are like the regular 8" and 10" pads and can be converted via Hellfire's mesh head conversion.
This conversion
a.) is easily done, not expensive and uses the given pad space inside
b.) does not need any soldering
c.) provides a perfect and realistic playability including rolls, ghost notes etc. over the full distance of the drum sound
d.) allowes a trigger setup you are dreaming off
e.) reduces the noise (like the Hellfire conversion with the 8” and 10” pads)
The trigger settings I’m using after the conversion:
Head:
Sensitivity: 27
ReTrigger: 05
Threshold: 08
Curve: Linear
Rim:
Sensitivity: 15
ZoneXtalk: 05
Curve: Log2
Structure
I.) Past history
II.) Materials: What do I need and how long does it take
III.) Step by step instruction
IV.) Answered questions you might ask
V.) 2 videos with noise comparison and the result plus performance of the pad you get
I.) Past history
This conversion took me one month since I received the X-kit.
I tried several methods of the conversion using different materials and any kinds of foam I orderd from the internet and foam pieces bought from a clothing store. The most problem was the triggering of the rim piezo while playing on the drum head. Finally I found a very easy method which was better than I even expected.
II.) Materials
1.) What foam do I need ?
Adam Hall Hardware 019505 - Speaker Front Foam black
Link: http://www.adamhall.com/en/ah_Hardware_019505_-_Speaker_Front_Foam_black_5_mm.html
The foam comes as a roll of 2m x 1m / 78.7 Inch x 39.3 Inch.
Thickness is 5mm / 0.2 Inch.
Price: about 26 Euro / 37 USD
The foam is very thin and fluffy, but it provides exactly the stability we need, believe me.
2.) What else do I need ?
A scissors, a white sharpie / marker, a CD and of course the mesh heads.
3.) How long does it take ?
20 minutes per pad.
During the instruction you can see how you can speed up the process by preparing all pads you want to convert.
III.) Step by step instruction
1.) Opening the 12” pad:
Open the 12” pad and remove the rim with the mylar head.
Afterwards remove the 12” plastic shell.
We are using the 12” plastic shell in the next step.
That way we can speed up the process by opening all pads and afterwards putting them beside.
2.) Preparing the foam:
Lay out the foam roll, take the 12” plastic shell and the white sharpie / marker and draft 3 circles of 12” on the foam. Afterwards take the CD and draft 2 smaller circles in 2 of the 12” circles.
Every pad needs 3 foam slices: 1 closed foam slice and 2 foam slices with a CD hole.
We can speed up the process by rolling out the foam and drafting all circles on it for all pads we want to convert.
Afterwards we are cutting out the foam circles. This can be done with the scissors because the foam is very thin. Cut a slit in the foam slice with the CD hole and cut it out.
That way you should have these 3 prepared foam slices for every pad.
3.) Removing the original foam from the pad:
Now take the pad, lift the sensor/trigger plate very carefully and take a look inside.
Be careful with the small trigger wires you see.
Sometimes during the manufacturing they used too much of the yellow glue to fix the trigger sensors at the sensor plate and at the bottom. If there is a yellow glue strip between sensor plate and bottom you can cut it away with the scissors. Now cut a slit into the black foam and afterwards remove the foam very carefully.
Again, take care of the trigger wires.
The original foam is not need anymore. Keep it anyhow.
You can speed up the process by prepairing all pads that way.
4.) Adding the prepared foam:
Lay down the sensor plate to the bottom of the pad. Take the 12” plastic shell and place it on the pad.
The notches of the plastic shell must fit with the knobs on the pad bottom.
Now lift up the sensor plate inside the plastic shell very carefully and place the first prepared foam with CD hole. It is better to do this inside of the plastic shell because the plastic shell works like a shape.
Afterwards take the second prepared foam with CD hole and place it as a second layer.
That way you have a foam sandwich of 2 layers with a height of 10mm / 0.4 Inch.
5.) Adding the foam on top:
Move the sensor plate with the rubber to the center of the pad. Afterwards place the prepared foam on top.
As you can see, the foam is a bit higher than the edge of the plastic shell.
That’s necessary, because after placing the mesh head on top, the foam becomes a bit compressed and in turn it is providing the permanent contact from the mesh head to the sensor plate.
6.) Tension of the mesh head:
At first place the mesh head on top of the pad and press it a bit down. Afterwards place the rim and do the tension very smooth. Than do it criss-cross untill the mesh head has an entire contact with the foam underneath.
Do the final tension reflecting your liking and playstyle with the drum pad mounted on the rack and connected to the module.
If you receive misstriggers on the mesh head playing close to the rim and you are not able to eleminate them via the settings, you can fine tune the tension by using a stronger tension.
For myself I’m prefering a hard tension.
The bolt is nearly plain with the plastic bottom that keeps the nut.
That gives me a very good rebound to play rolls, ghost notes etc.
IV.) Answered questions you might ask
Q: 10mm / 0.4 Inch as space between both triggers seems too less for me. Do they hit eachother ?
A: No, no way. I did the blacksmith-method to the pad and did not receive any rim triggering as I hammered on the drum head. Furthermore I did 2 gigs with the converted pads. Everything was absolutely fine.
Q: Why do you use 2 thin layers of 5mm / 0.2 Inch foam instead of one piece of 10mm / 0.4 Inch ?
A: Saving money. The Adam Hall foam roll was big enough to allow it.
On the other hand I did not find any other foam that comes with that size and condition of being fluffy and stable the same time.
Q: A foam slice of 5mm / 0.2 Inch underneath the mesh head seems too less for me. Do I hit the sensor plate with the rubber on it ? In addition why is there no hole in it ?
A: With a “normal playstyle” you would not hit the sensor plate, only if you play very very hard and weird. But this is not necessary because you get the maximum loudness much earlier. And if you hit the sensor plate with the rubber because you are very ambitious at that moment, it doesn’t matter. For that moment it feels like playing on an original and unconverted pad and you receive a harder rebound. The same time the produced noise is still dampened.
I decided to use this foam without a hole. With a normal playstile I did not recognize any difference.
Using a foam slice with hole and playing very very hard and thereby hiting the sensor plate with rubber, the produced noise was not dampened and sounded like an original and unconverted pad.
Furthermore I’m using a hard tension. I never hit the sensor plate.
Q: Can I use any other foam and do the conversion the same way ?
(I cannot order the Adam Hall foam and/or it will cost me too much)
A: You can give it a try. But please understand that I cannot promise you the same result and I cannot do a remote diagnosis.
The best would be to go to a music store selling foam to cover the front of loud speakers. Check the condition of this foam and compare it with foam you can buy.
Q: Can I take the foam that comes with the pad, cutting it in two slices and afterwards adding some funky foam / EVA foam to it to lift up the whole foam sandwich ?
A: You would not get a plain surface by cutting foam in slices not even using a sharp box cutter.
Keep the original foam and if you decide to sell your drums you can replace the original condition.
Q: Just a funny question. What can I do with the mylar heads after the convertion ?
A: Turn them around and place them onto the converted pads. With that you got the best looking dust cover you’ve ever seen.
V.) Videos
The first video compares the produced noise playing on the converted pad with mesh head.
Some hits are very hard to show you the maximum loudness.
The second video shows you the performance of the converted pad as a snare drum. I used the settings mentioned at the beginning. The selected drum kit is “072 Funky Drmr”.
The sound cable is connected from the DM10 to the 10 year old video camera.
Some hits are very hard to show you what maximum and oversteering you get even using the linear curve.
That’s it.
Thanks and with kindly regards,
Gerdy
vtdrummer:
Nice description of your mesh conversion Gerdy. I'm sure many will find it very helpful!
Hellfire:
One word...
Awesome!
I think I will sticky this topic. Thanks for sharing Gerdy.
drumday:
--- Quote from: Hellfire on January 15, 2012, 12:43:53 PM ---One word...
Awesome!
I think I will sticky this topic. Thanks for sharing Gerdy.
--- End quote ---
Bravo! We got the HF method & now the Gerdy method for the new 12" pad.
Gerdy, your visits aren't as frequent as others, but your contributions are enormous. Thank you.
Topcat7123:
Fantastic stuff Gerdy - A very good and well thought out post, many thanks for sharing this information.
Right time for me to start thinking about buying the new 12" pad!!
TC.
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