Thanks for trying this out for us. I just converted a type B pad. One additional tip: there's no need to cut the foam; when you've pried off the plastic trigger plate, it will easily pass through the hole in the foam.
It's been a long time since I used my Alesis DM10 Studio simply because they were absolutely too loud for my apartment. I'm just ordering these now cause you've sold me. I was hesitant to butcher my kit but this looks more than easy enough. Thanks for the share!
Just made this conversion using 682 mesh heads...is excellent! The drums play so much better...and the dynamic range is amazing, even just dragging the stick over the head sounds good!!! At the same time as the head conversion I took the opportunity to make use of the space created by foam removal to add some LEDs around the inside of the drum shell under the mesh head (gives nice 'glow' from under the mesh head)...DMX control of the LEDS allows different colours for each drum!!! Looks v cool in the dark studio!!! :-)
Thank you, this is definitely the best tutorial on the subject. I used the 682 method, but I bought pretty much everything besides the mesh head at the dollar store. For the cone, I used a makeup sponge, which are shaped perfectly and pretty much the same density as the piezo cones. For the foam spacers, I used some stick on felt pads, and I have no idea what that cardboard thingy is even for, other than appearance, but I just put the foam ring back in, and it serves basically the same purpose. A grand total of about $3 at Dollar Tree, and a $15 mesh head, and my kit is transformed. Thanks again for posting this.
The piezo contact is meant to receive pressure from reverse side of solder points. Introducing impact to that region will eventually cause the solder joints to fail and/or destruction of the piezo-electric (white disc) material.
I was thinking the same thing you would have to know you were going to damage the ceramic white disk let alone your wires and the soldering the other pizio was facing right that alone was a clue. Thanks
Hey - thanks very much for taking the time and effort to do this. Just switched the snare head - NO way would I put the old one back on! Really appreciate you making it so dang easy to do. It is not rocket science, but your video probably saved me 22.758 minutes. :-)
Awesome I'm about to do this....thanks. very informative. I didn't know there was two types so was a little confused with different videos posted. Cheers to you!!!
This is awesome, tks. Did your kit have the Mylar heads? I've just bought an Alesis DM8 Pro kit a d the Mylar heads are rediculously loud. Would the conversion be the same?
hi , I just saw your video, its cool , i have a Alesis IO and seems like are semilar the pads, i wonder what is the name of the converstion kit or where to find it, thank you in advance ...
Maybe I have become snobbish but for years I looked at Alesis owning a dm5 and and I/O, I never really wanted the stupidly small pads, I converted my acoustic set, never was really happy about how my Diy mesh heads felt, they did work well with the I/o and Steven slate drums, but I still think it can be definitely improved. I am now going to spend more $$$ and get factory mesh heads, maybe Roland or 682 and rim silencers, also a set of vh11 or vh12 hats, they feel very very close to the acoustic ones. in all spending maybe $2000 in the end and over a span of years, I would end up with a set that looks better than any Roland, and sounds way better, using EZ drummer , also has a lot more cymbals (7 or 8) for way less than getting a set with a td30.
I ordered the A conversion kit. Like you I like my heads tight. I adjusted mine by sticking my finger in the screw wholes underneath the drum itself. Within 10-20 strokes one of the heads got a really bad run or tear in it. I contacted 682Drums and a replacement is on the way. I am now curious as to just how tight I should get these heads. Have you had any issues like this since you like them really tight. The one that tore, I am thinking it may have been a bit lose. Confused!
David Willard Hey David! I can't really give you torque measurements, but it sounds like you're tightening them down too much. I imagine it takes quite a bit to tear the heads! Mine are probably 1.5 times tighter than the tightest you'd want to tune a tom head.
I just installed one on my snare. Got all the bolts finger tight, tightened them in the standard star fashion 5 half turns, tightened them again another 5 half turns, and then finally 2 half turns. It has a nice tight feel with good bounce. Don't think I need to go any tighter and would be afraid too based on your story.
I got the Alesis DM10 Pro. Sensitivity is fine. But rebound is awfully bad. Which make it useless. I have 2 questions: 1 Will this conversion improve the rebound (with out affecting sensitivity)? 2 Will make it quieter?
Question: My DM MKii kick drum mesh head is ripping. Can I just replace the mesh head? Is there some mod that has to be done to change it? I'm also thinking of putting a rubber pad over the mesh head on the kick to make it last longer.
@@synthead Took off the mesh head and the only catch was that the trigger is glued to a foam pad and that has an adhesive I had to slowly peel away. I purchased a 2 ply mesh head on amazon and we'll see how it goes. Won't be here till mid nov.
I was also wondering about the cone size. I ordered the conversion kit but it came without the cones and I dont feel like waiting for them to come in, so I plan on creating my own cones for the time being. They kinda look more like 1/2" from what I can tell from your video. Does anyone have the exact dimensions and particular type of foam they used? I'm pretty crafty.
Jay Vitela From memory (which isn't saying too much), they were about 1 1/4" on the bottom and 3/4" on top. But I wouldn't worry too much about getting it exactly right because every drum will be a little bit different, and you can tune the DM10's drums on the brain anyway. Good luck!
I think the mesh heads are a little louder because they sound more like a drum. The original heads kind of had a "thump" sound, where these have kind of a "bing" sound.
It is the same for the bass drum because it's just another drum :) A really bouncy bass drum head is problematic for me, though, because the beater always bounces on the drum at any force. I loosed my head down a lot until it was almost mush, and this solved that problem, though!
I ordered from them nearly three weeks ago, and never even got a tracking number from the company. No communication whatsoever. But they did take the money. Waiting on a reply email otherwise the bank is getting the money back. I was hopeful this would be good..
Total waste of money..all you need to do is, peel the metal plate off and throw it away, bring the thicker foam yo the top THEN place the piezo and plastic disc in REVERSE so the wires are facing you..then just cut a regular washing up sponge to a circle shape about an inch in circumstance , place it on top of the piezo..then put mesh head on..job done..works perfectly no cross talk with dual sensor pads either.
Thanks for trying this out for us. I just converted a type B pad. One additional tip: there's no need to cut the foam; when you've pried off the plastic trigger plate, it will easily pass through the hole in the foam.
It's been a long time since I used my Alesis DM10 Studio simply because they were absolutely too loud for my apartment. I'm just ordering these now cause you've sold me. I was hesitant to butcher my kit but this looks more than easy enough. Thanks for the share!
You're welcome! You'll love the mesh heads!
Ditto on this.... my kit has been broken down because of the feel and sound....
This may be our solution!!!!!
Just made this conversion using 682 mesh heads...is excellent! The drums play so much better...and the dynamic range is amazing, even just dragging the stick over the head sounds good!!! At the same time as the head conversion I took the opportunity to make use of the space created by foam removal to add some LEDs around the inside of the drum shell under the mesh head (gives nice 'glow' from under the mesh head)...DMX control of the LEDS allows different colours for each drum!!! Looks v cool in the dark studio!!! :-)
Thank you, this is definitely the best tutorial on the subject. I used the 682 method, but I bought pretty much everything besides the mesh head at the dollar store. For the cone, I used a makeup sponge, which are shaped perfectly and pretty much the same density as the piezo cones. For the foam spacers, I used some stick on felt pads, and I have no idea what that cardboard thingy is even for, other than appearance, but I just put the foam ring back in, and it serves basically the same purpose. A grand total of about $3 at Dollar Tree, and a $15 mesh head, and my kit is transformed. Thanks again for posting this.
Very cool! Nice job! You should write this up and share it somewhere!
@@synthead I plan on it, also a DIY cymbal, I'm working on.
Love the commentary- thanks for taking the time and putting this together.
Fantastic instruction, just got my install done and you're right, AMAZING UPGRADE.
The piezo contact is meant to receive pressure from reverse side of solder points. Introducing impact to that region will eventually cause the solder joints to fail and/or destruction of the piezo-electric (white disc) material.
I was thinking the same thing you would have to know you were going to damage the ceramic white disk let alone your wires and the soldering the other pizio was facing right that alone was a clue. Thanks
Hey - thanks very much for taking the time and effort to do this. Just switched the snare head - NO way would I put the old one back on! Really appreciate you making it so dang easy to do. It is not rocket science, but your video probably saved me 22.758 minutes. :-)
Thanks for uploading this video,Saved me buying a complete new kit🤘
Awesome I'm about to do this....thanks. very informative. I didn't know there was two types so was a little confused with different videos posted. Cheers to you!!!
Great video. Just ordered them. Thanks!
Thanks for this video, it was really helpful!
thanx Captn - i dint even kno there was a 'Type A & Type B' .......so I was freakin out
RBG
Manors Creep
This is awesome, tks.
Did your kit have the Mylar heads?
I've just bought an Alesis DM8 Pro kit a d the Mylar heads are rediculously loud. Would the conversion be the same?
hi , I just saw your video, its cool , i have a Alesis IO and seems like are semilar the pads, i wonder what is the name of the converstion kit or where to find it, thank you in advance ...
Maybe I have become snobbish but for years I looked at Alesis owning a dm5 and and I/O, I never really wanted the stupidly small pads, I converted my acoustic set, never was really happy about how my Diy mesh heads felt, they did work well with the I/o and Steven slate drums, but I still think it can be definitely improved. I am now going to spend more $$$ and get factory mesh heads, maybe Roland or 682 and rim silencers, also a set of vh11 or vh12 hats, they feel very very close to the acoustic ones. in all spending maybe $2000 in the end and over a span of years, I would end up with a set that looks better than any Roland, and sounds way better, using EZ drummer , also has a lot more cymbals (7 or 8) for way less than getting a set with a td30.
Very cool! Nice job!
Hello, in the 12 "drums because they are very shallow, don't you touch the plastic when you hit it more firmly?
I ordered the A conversion kit. Like you I like my heads tight. I adjusted mine by sticking my finger in the screw wholes underneath the drum itself. Within 10-20 strokes one of the heads got a really bad run or tear in it. I contacted 682Drums and a replacement is on the way. I am now curious as to just how tight I should get these heads. Have you had any issues like this since you like them really tight. The one that tore, I am thinking it may have been a bit lose. Confused!
David Willard Hey David! I can't really give you torque measurements, but it sounds like you're tightening them down too much. I imagine it takes quite a bit to tear the heads! Mine are probably 1.5 times tighter than the tightest you'd want to tune a tom head.
I just installed one on my snare. Got all the bolts finger tight, tightened them in the standard star fashion 5 half turns, tightened them again another 5 half turns, and then finally 2 half turns. It has a nice tight feel with good bounce. Don't think I need to go any tighter and would be afraid too based on your story.
Is this hard to do? Can I just put the mesh on top without taking out the foam?
I got the Alesis DM10 Pro. Sensitivity is fine. But rebound is awfully bad. Which make it useless. I have 2 questions:
1 Will this conversion improve the rebound (with out affecting sensitivity)?
2 Will make it quieter?
Yes..and yes.
Dude! Question! By these method can I do the upgrade to the bass drum? Or is it only meant for the toms and snare?
Question: My DM MKii kick drum mesh head is ripping. Can I just replace the mesh head? Is there some mod that has to be done to change it? I'm also thinking of putting a rubber pad over the mesh head on the kick to make it last longer.
I can't see why this wouldn't work. You could keep the foam pad and all the stock stuff in the drum if you'd like.
@@synthead Took off the mesh head and the only catch was that the trigger is glued to a foam pad and that has an adhesive I had to slowly peel away. I purchased a 2 ply mesh head on amazon and we'll see how it goes. Won't be here till mid nov.
Definitely get the protective patch for your mesh bass drum head. Especially if you are using a felt beater. They tend to tear into mesh.
@@johndef5075 I'm using the plastic side of the beater and i did pick up a kick patch. Thanks John.
Walking the Mile, walking the Greeeen Mile... lol. Great vid, thank you. I'm going to do this :-)
I was also wondering about the cone size. I ordered the conversion kit but it came without the cones and I dont feel like waiting for them to come in, so I plan on creating my own cones for the time being. They kinda look more like 1/2" from what I can tell from your video. Does anyone have the exact dimensions and particular type of foam they used? I'm pretty crafty.
Jay Vitela From memory (which isn't saying too much), they were about 1 1/4" on the bottom and 3/4" on top. But I wouldn't worry too much about getting it exactly right because every drum will be a little bit different, and you can tune the DM10's drums on the brain anyway. Good luck!
Thanks for your quick reply. I found some stiff foam and made my own till the correct ones come in.
hELLO! instead using one single foam piece in the middle ,you can use 4 of them arrangeg in square shape avoiding hot spotting...
Is mesh less loud than the regular head?
I think the mesh heads are a little louder because they sound more like a drum. The original heads kind of had a "thump" sound, where these have kind of a "bing" sound.
is it the same for the bass drum and would you recommend doing so?
It is the same for the bass drum because it's just another drum :) A really bouncy bass drum head is problematic for me, though, because the beater always bounces on the drum at any force. I loosed my head down a lot until it was almost mush, and this solved that problem, though!
Hi, I was wondering what's the height of the cones? Thanks for the video!
gonzorudeboy They're already installed, but if I were to approximate, they're about an inch tall
Wow, that was fast answering! Thank you very much!
Thanks!!
You bet!
Bro, of What material is made the black paper? Carton?
It's just cardstock. It's not critical to the drum, either, and could probably be made with plenty of other materials.
I ordered from them nearly three weeks ago, and never even got a tracking number from the company. No communication whatsoever. But they did take the money. Waiting on a reply email otherwise the bank is getting the money back. I was hopeful this would be good..
Ah that sucks! I hope you get that all figured out.
@@synthead never once did I hear back from them. So I got some Remo Silent Stroke heads and figured it all out for myself.
Total waste of money..all you need to do is, peel the metal plate off and throw it away, bring the thicker foam yo the top THEN place the piezo and plastic disc in REVERSE so the wires are facing you..then just cut a regular washing up sponge to a circle shape about an inch in circumstance , place it on top of the piezo..then put mesh head on..job done..works perfectly no cross talk with dual sensor pads either.
You really need a tripod, so u can use 2 hands for the conversion, cos most of the time , ur just trying to cope.