Author Topic: Preventing mesh heads from eating foam  (Read 1817 times)

Offline mpanzer

Preventing mesh heads from eating foam
« on: December 28, 2017, 10:43:54 PM »
I’ve been extremely happy using the hellfire/Gerdy/Panzer method to convert my DM10X kit to mesh heads. The only issue now is that the mesh heads like to eat away at the foam layer beneath them. This is especially true for the snare and bass drum. I think I have a good solution for the bass drum by placing a piece of smooth “duct tape” (from the craft store) to the foam under the head where the beaters hit. The acoustic sound of the beaters hitting it is a little louder but not too bad. However, I cannot come up with a good solution for the snare drum. Placing a thin layer of plastic (or other smooth material) ruins the bounce and makes them much louder acoustically.

Anybody else have this issue? If so, any solutions?

I was wondering if there was something that could be sprayed onto the top of the foam to make it a little less fragile...

Best,
Matt

Offline rhysT

Re: Preventing mesh heads from eating foam
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2017, 04:43:35 AM »

Offline korakios

Re: Preventing mesh heads from eating foam
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2017, 09:58:17 AM »
You can simply cut a piece of soft cloth and replace it when it’s worn out .
I tried the method in @rhysT link ,but I didn’t like the acoustic noise .
If you didn’t have any problem with the noise of the Mylar heads then you definitely won’t have any issue .

Offline mpanzer

Re: Preventing mesh heads from eating foam
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2017, 09:59:44 AM »
Hi rhysT,
Thanks for the link. I’m afraid this will ruin the current feel and noise level of the pad. Currently, my 12” pads have (from bottom up) a layer of craft foam, a layer of 1/2” regular charcoal grey foam, reflection plate with piezo down, another layer of 1/2” regular charcoal grey foam, and a remo silentstroke mesh head. I managed to fit all the layers in by adding risers under the shell.
If you’re curious about the details, here’s a link to the design:
http://www.alesisdrummer.com/index.php?topic=5865.msg41591#msg41591

I’ve been extremely happy with the feel of these pads. The only issue is that I need to replace the top layer of foam every 6 months. I guess that’s a small price to pay for getting the performance I get out of them but I thought I’d check to see if anyone else has come up with a way to prevent this from happening. I tried placing a layer of craft foam just under the mesh head and the noise level and feel of the pad became far worse. Maybe I just need to stock up on foam. ;-)

Offline mpanzer

Re: Preventing mesh heads from eating foam
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2017, 10:05:34 AM »
Hi korakios,

Of course! Excellent idea! Seems so obvious now.  That should prevent the foam from pushing through the mesh and have little effect on the noise level. I’ll give it a shot.

Thank you!
-Matt