Author Topic: Anyone have a guide of 'dos' & 'donts' for adding a foam cone to a mesh head?  (Read 1214 times)

Converted my DM8 Pro snare trigger (the 'B' version with the recessed bottom) to a mesh head and it works pretty well, but right now I'm wondering if I should remove all the foam rings and instead stack the piezos on top of each other with just a foam cone contacting the mesh head, like on Roland pads....? Wondering if that would give better accuracy/sensitivity....

To that end, I wondered if anyone point me in the direction of some basics of how these foam cones work best, specifically:

  • What kind of foam works best? Dense VS light? Squishy VS springy? Spongey VS rubbery?
  • Should the pointy end actually be TOUCHING the mesh head? And if so, should it be pressing hard into it or just kind of barely touching?

I'm sure this kind of thing has been discussed before so if anyone could link me to a good DIY tutorial I'd be most grateful.

Offline Chaser

Converted my DM8 Pro snare trigger (the 'B' version with the recessed bottom) to a mesh head and it works pretty well, but right now I'm wondering if I should remove all the foam rings and instead stack the piezos on top of each other with just a foam cone contacting the mesh head, like on Roland pads....? Wondering if that would give better accuracy/sensitivity....

To that end, I wondered if anyone point me in the direction of some basics of how these foam cones work best, specifically:

  • What kind of foam works best? Dense VS light? Squishy VS springy? Spongey VS rubbery?
  • Should the pointy end actually be TOUCHING the mesh head? And if so, should it be pressing hard into it or just kind of barely touching?
I'm sure this kind of thing has been discussed before so if anyone could link me to a good DIY tutorial I'd be most grateful.

The cone...like the foam layer..is usually 1.5-3mm above the shell.There are many variables for cone triggers..foam type..mesh head ply..piezo size and different mounting from crossbars to drop in ( cake pan ).
There are many many threads over at Vdrums where there is a large amount of A2E and experiments including making your own foam cones and comparisons with those on the market etc

Here are a couple detailed links for drop ins..which are basically cake pan setups which are very close in relation to the Realheads.....2010 and 2017..

I solved the shallow triggering problems when I made up 3"shells for all the sizes 8/10/12,I did quite a few to sell as at the time everyone wanted a more acoustic look and doing the mesh conversion...then the Roland patent expired..the STRIKE Kits came out... so there wasn't much interest in order for me to keep pursuing as almost immediately manufacturers started offering E-Kits with mesh heads and a more Acoustic appearance..

EDIT:
Added Links
 Gerdy's newer style 12" Conversion in case you missed it.
He listed in detail the measurements/spacing for the foam including between the top and bottom piezo's,just remember everything here is for the DM10 module and it's settings

682Drums Cone/Mesh Conversion Instructions.. Video Manual for Type "B" shallow

« Last Edit: November 09, 2021, 11:40:02 PM by Chaser »

Thanks again Chaser, those guides will be very useful! I'll definitely give this a go and see if it's any better than my current setup.