[sasman999]

Hello all, This my first post and indeed the first time Iv entered a forum of any description so be gentle lol.

Right....here goes..................HELP ME!!!!

Im a relativly new drummer (around 11 months) currently I play an acoustic kit but due to a change in living circumstances I may need to acquire an E-Kit for practice purposes, Ive done a little research myself but the sheer volume of choice is quite confusing, from what iv seen so far it seems that Roland and Yamaha are streets ahead of the rest but the price is quite frightening on some models. I have an inclination towards the Roland TD-4 or TD-6 for VFM but I have a techy type question that I hope some one will be able to help me with.

Is the Roland brain compatible with other manufacturers hardware, specifically does anyone know if I could use a Roland brain with the Traps E500 mesh heads (or similar) I ask because the Traps heads appeal to me because of the mesh head and the standard sizes used as opposed to the standard 8" size of Roland snare/toms etc. I have seen a Traps E500 kit used with an alesis DM5 module but would appreciate any advice on this before i commit my hard earned wonga.

Many thanks in advance and hope.

[Poco Askew]

Where do you live? The reason I ask is, at one time, the E500 kit with mesh heads was not shipping into the USA. It came with their awful rubber Power Pads (and I mean AWFUL).

I believe the Traps triggers are of the standard piezo type and do work with Roland modules (but I've never tried it myself). The bigger concern is the hi hat pedal (controller). How is that implemented (open/close switch, variable resistance, piezp/pressure sensitive, etc.)? Also the cymbal zones can be created and wired differently.

BTW, Roland does make 10", 12" and 14" mesh heads. I put them on a junker set of shells to make my Frankenkit. Not all mesh heads are created equally (nor are the riggers - even the piezo style). IMO, none of the other brand mesh heads are even close to the feel and reliability or Roland (and I've tried several).

You might investigate throwing triggers and mesh heads on your acoustic kit (or another cheap other acoustic kit) and add a module and cymbals. Just a thought. For me it is the best of both worlds: E-kit benefits with real layout and feel as clsoe as possible to the real thing w/o spending thousands of $$. Triggers will run you about $10 each unless you make your own. Roland heads are expensive at $30 to $50 each (but worth every penny). If interested, check HERE. You do not need to do it all DIY like I did. There are plenty of relatively inexpensive, pre-made parts to build a kit. I just enjoy playing around with the stuff.The hi hat control and module are the toughest and most expensive.

This post has been edited by Poco Askew: 07 September 2011 - 11:37 AM

[sasman999]

Hi, Many thanks for your swift reply.

I live in Scotland UK so as far as I know should'nt be an issue with the E500 mesh heads, not sure of the quality of the head or the triggers for that matter but drawn in by the "realistic" sizes so will need more research on that front. I have seen the larger size Roland heads but again it comes down to price Im tempted to just bite the bullet and cough up the cash as you only get what you pay for (or so they tell me lol).

Iv dabbled in making my acoustic kit an hybrid so to speak, I salvaged the piezo's from an old USB kit (which was more of a toy) I then inserted them into my silencer pads via a small pocket I cut, and ran it through the PC software from the old USB kit, It worked ok but some issues with responsiveness which i suspect was more due to the naff brain i ran it through than anything else, the only issues i encountered here were on the Kick drum (very difficult to keep it working as the beater seemed to dislodge the piezo wires more, possibly due to the extra vibrations/force used) and as you mentioned the cymbals, particularly the hats.

The E500 kit iv looked at does appear to have a more traditional hat set up inso much as its all one piece set up as per an acoustic kit, there does appear to be some issues with triggering on the foot mechanism but iv heard that morping an old bottom hat onto it usually relieves this and allows more realism to incorporate foot splashes etc.

The options seem limitless and I want to try an explore as many options as possible, the home conversion seems a good way forward, iv found some interesting literature on line with regards to this and as you said it doesnt need to be complicated, i think the biggest step for me would be housing the trigger in a more permanant fashion under a mesh head as oppossed to running it from my silencer pads as im currently doing to ensure a more permanant/stable soloution, and then choosing a brain to run it through, then again the gadget freak in me would like nothing better than to splash out a wad load on some shiny new Roland gear as they seem to me to be the clear leaders in this field (the wife might prefer the cheaper option though lol!!!)

Many Many thanks for taking the time to reply and for the suggestions/tips, I will keep you posted with regards to progress.

[sasman999]

Iv just noticed your link for your conversion and checked the link, looks awesome mate thanks so much for the info and inspiration.....watch this space :-)

[sasman999]

Ok status update....

Was still dithering about without committing to a purchase and then I woke up xmas morning to go to work (yes work on xmas day!!) to find my other half had purchased an e-kit for me for xmas, i was astonished and obviously chuffed, in truth she hadn't made the choice I would have but overall I've been impressed by the Alesis DM-6. I had tested this briefly in the shop but got quickly distracted by the DM-8 and DM-10, been playing it for a while now and think that once I link it with some PC software to expand the repertoire it will pretty much be there, took a while to adjust to playing it in comparison to my acoustic kit but it now enables me to triple my practice time compared to when I had just the acoustic option. I Still prefer my acoustic kit for obvious reasons but as an addition for practice reasons alone this e-kit is great VFM.

[einarabelc5]

Poco Askew, on 07 September 2011 - 11:33 AM, said:

Where do you live? The reason I ask is, at one time, the E500 kit with mesh heads was not shipping into the USA. It came with their awful rubber Power Pads (and I mean AWFUL).

I believe the Traps triggers are of the standard piezo type and do work with Roland modules (but I've never tried it myself). The bigger concern is the hi hat pedal (controller). How is that implemented (open/close switch, variable resistance, piezp/pressure sensitive, etc.)? Also the cymbal zones can be created and wired differently.

BTW, Roland does make 10", 12" and 14" mesh heads. I put them on a junker set of shells to make my Frankenkit. Not all mesh heads are created equally (nor are the riggers - even the piezo style). IMO, none of the other brand mesh heads are even close to the feel and reliability or Roland (and I've tried several).

You might investigate throwing triggers and mesh heads on your acoustic kit (or another cheap other acoustic kit) and add a module and cymbals. Just a thought. For me it is the best of both worlds: E-kit benefits with real layout and feel as clsoe as possible to the real thing w/o spending thousands of $$. Triggers will run you about $10 each unless you make your own. Roland heads are expensive at $30 to $50 each (but worth every penny). If interested, check HERE. You do not need to do it all DIY like I did. There are plenty of relatively inexpensive, pre-made parts to build a kit. I just enjoy playing around with the stuff.The hi hat control and module are the toughest and most expensive.

Where can you get triggers for $10?

[FourPieceMetal]

einarabelc5, on 07 February 2012 - 09:44 AM, said:

Where can you get triggers for $10?

Right here. Whether or not theyre good, IDK, but they're 10 dollar triggers. lol

This post has been edited by FourPieceMetal: 07 February 2012 - 09:57 AM

[einarabelc5]

sasman999, on 07 February 2012 - 04:31 AM, said:

Ok status update....

Was still dithering about without committing to a purchase and then I woke up xmas morning to go to work (yes work on xmas day!!) to find my other half had purchased an e-kit for me for xmas, i was astonished and obviously chuffed, in truth she hadn't made the choice I would have but overall I've been impressed by the Alesis DM-6. I had tested this briefly in the shop but got quickly distracted by the DM-8 and DM-10, been playing it for a while now and think that once I link it with some PC software to expand the repertoire it will pretty much be there, took a while to adjust to playing it in comparison to my acoustic kit but it now enables me to triple my practice time compared to when I had just the acoustic option. I Still prefer my acoustic kit for obvious reasons but as an addition for practice reasons alone this e-kit is great VFM.

I just saw this thread because of this post ^. You and I got an ekit for the same reasons and around the same time. I got a DM10 and to be honest is not what I was expecting, even when paired with a nice VST, because I wanted the same thing as Yamaha or Roland for a lower price without really knowing what Yamaha or Roland really offered and that's NOT what the DM10 is. It's just an O.K. kit for the price(at least here in the U.S.)

If by any chance you want to convert your acoustic here's something on your side of the pond that might help:

http://www.682drums....CFWgZQgod8DmP5Q

Also, this kit which is ALSO sold on your side of the pond was more what I was looking for when I did the transition. Basically something that sounded as close as possible as an acoustic and that didn't get in your way too much and most importantly that was as quiet as possible. I'm still having problems with my DM10 and noise, and to be honest the Roland is just going to add more bell and whistles like positional sensing and a MIDI sequencer.

http://edrumattic.co...info&Itemid=147

If you wanna know more about the 2BOX Drummit five this is the best thread I've found about it where a couple of seasoned ekit players actually review its pros and cons, and its evolution:

http://www.vdrums.co...g-The-Kit/page9

As I always say, it's up to what anyone in particular wants.

This post has been edited by einarabelc5: 07 February 2012 - 10:30 AM

[Poco Askew]

einarabelc5, on 07 February 2012 - 09:44 AM, said:

Where can you get triggers for $10?

Several to choose from on ebay. One example.
You can make your own for quite a bit less, if you enjoy that sort of thing. I pay less than $1 for the piezo elements and make the foam cones. The trick is finding the proper foam rubber at a good price without buying a huge quantity. Some guys modify sanding sponges, "nerf" rubber toys, and all kinds of other foam rubber products. I was able to find a sheet with the PSA backing locally for about $25 that will probably yield a lifetime supply for me.

[sasman999]

The 2box looks awesome and read quite a few good reviews but the price is steep IMHO, I tested the DM8 and DM10 in the shop when i was researching and TBH i would have chosen both these over the DM6 but as i said my good lady made the choice for me and now I've played the DM6 it appears to have everything i want for pure practice reasons, I too find the pads (especially the hats)loud so much so that I need to upgrade my phones to some iso phones to cut out the stick noise, the kick pad too is fairly loud.

I am still intrigued by the self conversion of my acoustic kit especially when I saw the kit Poco made and from what info iv looked at so far I think I could manage the tech aspect of it but just need the time/money aspect to fall into place and we shall see where it leads in the future.

One thing I would say about any e-kit though and Its probably stating the obvious but the first thing i would recommend to any e-kit user is to programme their own custom kit into the module, the pre-set kits are ok but once you get into the programming you can tweak the finer points to what you want but thats probably stating the obvious.