Author Topic: What's the Control Module model on a Surge Mesh kit?  (Read 1065 times)

What's the Control Module model on a Surge Mesh kit?
« on: May 13, 2019, 05:18:51 PM »
Hi Folks,
I bought my first e-kit in April 2019; an Alesis Surge Mesh. I've looked the the manual and the parts list paper-work and on line, and I can't find anything on the module's model. I see people asking about a "DM6" or "DM10" but does anyone know what the model of the Surge Mesh module is?

I'm new to this website but it looks like a great place to get the best info:
(Brief FYI)
I played the acoustic drums for over 45 years and it was a great way to stay in shape and burn some significant calories. The e-kit is a no-brainer for practicing in the house at any hour, (with a great set of headphones I picked up for this kit), and I pipe it through a Behringer amp and a Polk Audio sub-woofer in the 'day-time' hours.

E-kits have come a long way since the last time I tried them out back in the 1980's. The Surge Mesh kit sounds great and feels a lot like the acoustic heads. Still, I personally don't think they'll ever be the number one choice of drummers in most live settings.

The look and sound of an acoustic kit with Z Amir cymbals is hard to beat (pardon the pun), and I've triggered my acoustic kit on occasion for a sound I needed back when I had my Tama set. I had an 11 piece kit plus 5 Zildian cymbals. The e-drums took some getting used to.

I had to get used to the 'tight-in' spacing of the drum pads and cymbals on the Surge Mesh kit. In addition, I was never big on a drum-cage configurations. I always preferred the single-piece hardware and the nice, spread-out configuration I liked.

That said, I have all but acclimated myself to the Surge Mesh and I've already added another cymbal (a larger 18" cymbal pad for the ride), and I'll likely switch the kick out with a more advanced kick pad/system soon. The Alesis support I received is absolutely EXCELLENT, which I'm very impressed with.

In fact, I've dealt with them primarily by email for questions I've had but today, I had to call them about getting my kick-pad replaced. I noticed that the pad's screen was worn away and the silicone head surface (I guess it's silicone), was heavily dented at the strike point.

I barely had to say much more than the description of the damage and the support rep, ("Curry", a keyboardist), was already setting up to send me a replacement!

I bought a tool called a "Drumdial" that measure tension on the heads and allows me to set the tension to feel like I want it and to keep it nice and perfectly even all the way around the rim. I should have tensioned the kick head too but forgot. The heads were all tensioned pretty evenly when I got the e-kit but they were all far too loose.

I tightened each to the recommended settings for the acoustic sets and that was perfect. Anyway, look into the Drumdial if you want to get the mesh heads of your kit to respond the way you prefer. It costs about $50 on Amazon.
Thanks,
Rich
Acoustic drummer for 45+ years. I got my first E-kit (Alesis Surge Mesh) in April 2019 and I must admit, they've come a long way since my last e-drum trial, (1982/83). For my purposes, (stay in shape, burn calories and stress relief), the e-kit is perfect but still won't replace an acoustic kit IMO.

Offline rhysT

Re: What's the Control Module model on a Surge Mesh kit?
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2019, 10:32:39 AM »
Hi Folks,
I bought my first e-kit in April 2019; an Alesis Surge Mesh. I've looked the the manual and the parts list paper-work and on line, and I can't find anything on the module's model. I see people asking about a "DM6" or "DM10" but does anyone know what the model of the Surge Mesh module is?

Hi Rich, apparently your Surge module is based on the DM7X model

There's also more info in the Medeli DD516 Owners manual: http://www.mecldata.com/download/manual/DD516_Manual_G06_101108.pdf
« Last Edit: May 16, 2019, 10:45:16 AM by rhysT »

Offline Dartanbeck

Re: What's the Control Module model on a Surge Mesh kit?
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2019, 07:37:58 AM »
Hi Rich,
Please just keep in mind that Mesh heads on these e-drums don't actually require the same tension as acoustic drums. By all means, make them feel comfortable for yourself, but if you start to get too many repeated note when you don't really want them, try backing off a bit on the tension.

The bass drum head, being such a small diameter, can be a big example of this. Too tight and it might be triggering a bit more often than you'd like - and not necessarily in a favorable way. Alesis actually recommends less tension on the kick to go for more of a 'sinking' feel, like we'd expect from a big bass drum.
Alesis DM10X Mesh - Laurin Drums & Cymbals - Strike Module
Dartanbeck.com Digital Artist