I actually love the mesh heads that came with my DM10X Mesh kit, so I ordered mine from Alesis. Only had to change my bass head since I didn't have anything but felt for my kick beater. Big mistake. I should have waited. That felt ate right through the head!
Changing the head was simple though. I was really careful, but confident as I got going on it.
WTF.
Just buy a bass drum patch, I have Remo Silentstroke / Evans Patch in my bass drum and using plastic beater for like 3 months and is still strong, plus with foam below that thing will last a lot.
Yep. It was a big mistake using felt beaters on my mesh bass head. I was a total noob.
The replacement head (with a patch) is still going strong after two solid years of gigging live.
What kind of mesh head/patch are you using?
I don't recall what the patch is. Evans, I think. I like the original DM10X Mesh heads so well, when I needed to replace that one bass head for being ignorant, I read all manner of reviews for different heads, and finally ended up contacting Alesis for a replacement.
I started noticing that wood sticks were making blemishes on cymbals and heads, so I switched to AHEAD sticks and love them.
That said, I'm still playing the original DM10X Mesh heads, only replacing that 8" bass, and I'm very happy with how well this inexpensive kit has held up. Our gigs are four hours long, and we often only take one break in the middle if we have a decent crowd - which is most gigs. Summer months we play around 3 gigs per month, but we normally play year round. Not sure about this winter. We'll see.
Our last gig this month was Oct 17, where I noticed that I finally have to rebuild the two 10" drums (replace the transducers). I've worked on my cymbals a bit, and ordered two new ones to make sure I always have them working, but this is the first time a drum trigger went down. Again, for the cymbals I just contacted Alesis support and got original equipment. I'm happy enough, why change things.
After taking such a beating for two and a half years, I'm planning to build up the funds for a Strike Pro, but still keep this one rockin' as well.
Cheers All!