DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

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Minerman
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DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Just like the title says, I'm thinking about making some diy mesh head drums for my e-kit...Since I'm locked into Yamaha, & their multi-zone pads use a different system for triggers (piezo/switch, where Roland/Alesis/whoever use piezo/piezo) I'll only be using single triggers, & only for my toms...I'm not even gonna try to replace the 3-zone snare I have, unless I get another Yamaha XP pad just like it, only bigger...With the prices of these XP pads, that most likely ain't gonna happen...I have the smallest 3-zone pad Yamaha makes, & it's $270 new, they have bigger 3-zone pads, but the price increases along with the size, the 12" 3-zone pad is $400 :eep: ...

Here's basically where I got the idea:

http://www.edrums.info/build-electronic-drums/

http://www.edrums.info/build-electronic ... um-shells/


I stole that guy's pics to post here, so I can't take any credit for the idea, & I'll probably do my shells a little different (single cross-bar to mount the trigger, use Roland/Alesis/whoever's mounting parts using L-rods to attach the shells to my rack)...

Buy some cheap drums & split 'em to make 2 from each (I may not even cut 'em in half, just depends on what I can find...think cheap :biggrin: ):
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Use a rubber hose/fuel line to cover the bottom of the split shell:
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Trigger mounts (I'll probably use a single cross-bar instead of the star shaped thing)
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Use fiberglass window screen for the mesh heads:
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Last edited by Minerman on Tue May 09, 2017 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Greg_L »

How does that mesh not slip under tension?

On a real drum head the skin is bonded to the hoop and that anchors the whole thing. You then place the drum hoop over the head hoop and tighten. That pressure tighten the whole head. Without a tight bond between the skin and head hoop, the skin will just slip through. How do you remedy that with these DIY mesh heads?
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Greg_L wrote: Tue May 09, 2017 4:42 pm How does that mesh not slip under tension?

On a real drum head the skin is bonded to the hoop and that anchors the whole thing. You then place the drum hoop over the head hoop and tighten. That pressure tighten the whole head. Without a tight bond between the skin and head hoop, the skin will just slip through. How do you remedy that with these DIY mesh heads?
I didn't show the pics where you basically sew the mesh to the heads, so when you tighten the lugs it tightens the mesh....sorry dude...

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I added the pics to the first post too...
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Greg_L »

Holy crap! Man that's a lot of work. But if it works, it works! Good luck.
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Greg_L wrote: Tue May 09, 2017 5:46 pm Holy crap! Man that's a lot of work. But if it works, it works! Good luck.
Yeah dude, it is a lot of work, but if I pull it off, I'd have something kinda unique...

I may end up buying some used, single zone mesh head drums instead, just depends on what I can find...
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by liv_rong »

Interesting. I had no idea there was so much gear nerdery with electronic drums! It's just like anything else though I guess. Pretty cool. Post progress pics!
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Tadpui »

That could be pretty damn cool if you can manage it. I can't imagine making that cut with a jigsaw though! Seems like that's asking to be a 9-fingered drummer :)
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by vomitHatSteve »

Oh... These aren't your photos? You haven't started yet?

Well shoot! Get going and give us some pics! This looks cool.
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Thanks guys, I'm not sure I'm gonna go this route...I've been weighing the options & price comparison...It will be cheaper to go the diy route, but as mentioned, it's a lot of work, & I'm not sure it'd be worth it in the long run...Still looking & thinking about things...

While searching online, I found an e-drum company called Goedrum ...They've got some pretty cool stuff, including the L-rod ball joint mount/clamp which would be a lot better than what I'm using now, along with diy parts/components if I do decide to go that route...

Goedrum 1.png
The snare/toms come in 10" or 12", & the kick drum comes in a 10" or an 18" version...AFAIK, the only colors you can get are shown above, but that's not a biggie to me...

Oh yeah, Tad, there's no way I attempt to cut one of those shells in half with a jigsaw...lol...I know a couple people locally that have table saws, & that'd be the only way to go IMO...
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

I'm at a standstill on this guys, mainly over not being able to make up my mind which way to go... :biggrin: I'm sure everyone knows I'm a cheap bastard that wants to get by spending as little as possible, but I keep running into little snags & learning new things as I go...

Something I don't think I've mentioned, this project is purely aesthetic, adding mesh head pads won't improve anything except the look (maybe the feel, but since I've really never played drums other than fucking around years ago, it probably won't matter), & might make 'em a little quieter (which doesn't matter either, that's why I chose an e-kit, I can play at 3 a.m. without bothering anyone)...So the whole purpose of this project for me, to make my drums look more realistic...

DIY Acoustic to Eletric route:

This route wouldn't cost a lot for each drum really, but I want 4 toms (possibly the snare & another tom later on if I get these toms sorted), so it's gonna be roughly around $100 a pop, for a total of about $400, give or take...

I'd need basically the whole shebang, triggers, jacks, etc for the diy A>E conversion...The work/labor I'd have to put in isn't really much, plus, I enjoy stuff like this & it gives me something to do since I have basically 24/7...

I could just buy some of the Goedrum pads I mentioned before in this thread, but the total cost would be about $600, which is more than the A>E conversion...The upside of that is basically plug-n-play, but again, it costs more...

While I don't mid tinkering/tweaking my gear, it might be more of a headache going this route, just depends on how my module acts with 'em...I may have to move/re-position the triggers, but it wouldn't be very hard...

Modded drum pad route:

The slightly modded e-drum pad is way cheaper for the small drums (2 - 8" toms), I found a couple Alesis 8" pads dirt cheap, about $20 shipped to my door...While I can find a few 10" & 12" Alesis pads, the cost of just one is about 3 times the price of those 8" pads...That raises the cost, but it's still a little cheaper than the A>E route...

I'd mentioned the A>E conversion where I'd split/cut the shells down to a smaller depth, but discovered something interesting with the Alesis pads...They have an actual shell (granted only about an inch of it shows) that gave me another idea, which is just to replace that shell with a bigger one (IE: 8" instead of a 3" shell)...I wouldn't even have to use wood shells, I could use a piece of pvc pipe the diameter & length I'd want...
Alesis pad 1.JPG
The blue/silver/whatever colored part is actually the tiny little drum shell matching the diameter of the head (IE: 8" tom, 10" tom etc)...

I'd searched forever & thought those pads were one piece (except for the head/rim/etc), & didn't realize I could replace 'em with wood or pvc, then use a vinyl or similar wrap...

I'm about 99% sure it'll work on the Alesis pads, & may even work on some Roland pads, which are easier to find used in the sizes I want...I'll have to buy those Alesis pads as a test/trial run, but it won't cost much to find out for sure...Using the right Roland pad(s) could solve my problem finding 10"/12" pads too, but it depends on how they're made...

You guys got any ideas I may not have thought of???
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Greg_L »

I think those tiny shell Alesis pads look pretty cool, and probably feel fairly real. Do it!
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Greg_L wrote: Sat Jun 03, 2017 7:18 pm I think those tiny shell Alesis pads look pretty cool, and probably feel fairly real. Do it!
Thanks Greg...

They do look good dude & would look even better (IMO anyway) with a taller/bigger shell...It really wouldn't take much to do that...Swapping those mylar heads for mesh heads is just like changing a head on a real drum, I wouldn't even have to think about tuning 'em either, just tighten 'em up where the trigger response is good...

I did bid on a 12" Alesis drum like those in the pic, & will find out tomorrow whether I won or not...The price is still way more than those I mentioned, but if I do win the bid, I can probably still buy those 8" this weekend too...Those 8" pads probably ain't going anywhere, they've been up for sale for months now...

I'm not 100% sure on the size of the shells, I'll just have to wait until I get one to find out...I'll probably have to buy longer tension rods, but until I get my hands on one of those pads, I won't know what length I'll need...I might put some lugs on 'em just to make 'em look better too...

Gonna make 'em all the same color using some vinyl wrap, but that's cheap & easy, I should have enough to do 'em all for about $20...

I'm pretty excited about this, I've jumped into the deep end of the e-kit pool, & love it...:minernuggs:
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Pulled the trigger on 3 of those Alesis pads, 2 - 8" & a 12"...Now I gotta find a 10" for a reasonable price...The pads should be here by the end of the week, & I'm pretty excited about 'em...

I'll have to wait until they get here before I know exactly what I'm gonna need to modify 'em with the taller shells...I've got a few neat ideas about the wrap/color/etc, but I'm gonna wait until I get 'em spiffed up before I throw any pics up...

I gotta say, I'm glad I drug the little DTX400 out of the closet, the past few months have been a lot of fun for me, & I've accumulated a pretty decent bunch of e-drum gear...Right now, I think I've got like 16 or 17 pads/cymbals, 2 complete racks & 3 drum modules... :biggrin:

I should have another monitor sometime this/next week too, I found a used 32" monitor dirt cheap & I'm gonna grab it before it gets gone...I'll put the 32" on/behind my desk, & move the 19" I'm using right now over by the drums somewhere...

After quite a dry spell for me gear-wise, the next little while looks promising, I'll have all kinds of shit to play/tinker with in a few days...:minernuggs:
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Tadpui »

Very nice, Miner!
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by liv_rong »

Cool stuff
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Thanks guys, the new (to me) pads will be here in a few days, I'm pretty stoked about 'em...:minernuggs:
Tadpui wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 12:43 pmVery nice, Miner!
Hey dude, not sure if you're interested or not, but I remember you mentioned buying another drum module...There's a couple modules for sale at pretty decent prices from the guy I usually buy my used stuff from....

Yamaha DTX502


Yamaha DTXpress

He's also got 4 of those Yamah TCS pads, one of 'em is a 3-zone (it's about $120 shipped, which is about half of the price of a new one), but the rest are just single zone ($85 each shipped...new these single zone pads are like $180)...

This guy moves a lot of stuff so if you're not quick, you'll miss out, but, he usually adds things pretty often too...

Just giving you (and anyone else) a heads-up...:minernuggs:
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Tadpui »

Much appreciated, miner. I'll peruse his stock, although I think that I'm gonna have to wait a while before I can truly afford it. Maybe I'll catch him next time he has one in stock.
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Greg_L »

Minerman wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 4:41 am I think I've got like 16 or 17 pads/cymbals, 2 complete racks & 3 drum modules... :biggrin:
Goddamn miner! :cuckoo: :lollers2:

Are you putting together a Neil Peart e-kit?
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Minerman »

Greg_L wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 8:38 pm
Minerman wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 4:41 am I think I've got like 16 or 17 pads/cymbals, 2 complete racks & 3 drum modules... :biggrin:
Goddamn miner! :cuckoo: :lollers2:

Are you putting together a Neil Peart e-kit?
Lol...not exactly dude, I started with the DTX400 which is basically 8 pads/cymbals...I bought another (10" 3-zone) pad for it, so that put the tally up to 9...Then came the DTX532K was another 8 pads bringing to tally up to 17 total... :biggrin:

Whenever I get these new (to me) toms lined out, I might sell some of the DTX400 pads/cymbals to clear the stable & possibly replace the weird looking DTX400-ufo cymbals with something better...

If I wanna keep my 3-zones for my cymbals, I'll have to stick with Yamaha, but I could buy some of those e-cymbals from Jobecky/Realit-E/whoever that look like real cymbals & give up a zone for each...

I could also possibly find some of those real looking 3-zone cymbals, & sacrifice an input (basically use 2 cables for one cymbal)...Since I have 3 drum modules now, losing an input isn't a big deal to me now...If I only had 1 module, it'd suck, but I've got 3...:minernuggs:

Basically It's gonna be a 6 piece kit, with 4 cymbals...That's not counting a couple pads I'm gonna use for a cowbell/tambourine/whatever though... :lollers:

I gotta say life's pretty good for me right now too dude, it's a far cry from 2015 when I sold a bunch of gear to survive, & would've ended up selling it all if things hadn't happened/worked out the way they did...I'm very fortunate & very, very grateful...
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Re: DIY Mesh Head E-Drums

Post by Tadpui »

I think that this is what Miner is shooting for:

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