convert [mesh heads & cymbal triggers]

[starofthe80s]

I'm looking to convert my acoustic drum kit to that of electronic. I want to be able to trigger Roland TD-20 series, but first need to have the proper head replacements with a Mesh type as same to that of Roland, and/or other.
Do they make all size heads? as I have 10" - 12" - 16" toms. 13" snare. 24" kick..
I also need the same triggering system and don't know where to get these Roland triggers as the ones they use in their Roland TD-20 series, also trigers to mount on my cymbals.
Does anyone have an answere for this? thx

[Francis_Beland]

For the mesh heads, I know that Pearl are making almost all size but from what I hear here, they are the low end for mesh heads. Personally I use those pearl heads and I'm satisfied with them. I don't think Roland are making 16" and 24" mesh heads. As for the triggers, I'm using the Roland RT-10 series (RT-10S for snare or tom if your want rim triggering, RT-10T for tom without rim triggering and RT-10K for kick). For the cymbal triggers, correct me if I'm wrong but you have 2 choices: DYI or buy cymbals triggers. I did buy Roland cymbals.

[racer52]

the Hart Magnum heads come in sizes and are worth the money.
http://www.rmcaudio.com/kontrol_scre...rol_screen.htm
Give them a call, the heads do come in larger sizes...at least they did in mid 2008

pics of the Magnum mesh heads on a kit I built are at my album on this site:
http://vdrums.com/forum/album.php?albumid=57

it is cheaper to make your own..but time consuming. Here is a pic of one I made:

also can vew build method here-> http://edrumforum.com/album.php?albumid=8 <-if you register at edrumforum.com


there is a guy on this site (vdrums.com) named 'quartz' he sells some pre-made triggers w/cone attached for about $8 each. Mount these under your mesh head, that and a piezo attached to your drum shell will trigger the TD20 head and rim inputs when connected via a TRS (stereo) jack.

quartz email is: [email protected]
pic of his cones:
http://vdrums.com/forum/attachment.p...9&d=1226305443

I have not built e-cymbals yet.. can't offer any first hand info on that however a piezo mounted on the under side of a piece of plywood with some rubber on the top side to strike will actuall work as a basic trigger for a cymbal

[starofthe80s]

I do have one more Q for you all; these Piezo you are mentioning; years ago when Simmons electronic drums first came out, we where actually one of the first to use and quickly found problems with them,

One of the first, although seems small but was a huge help, which changed the electronic drum feel for that time was, to go with a neoprene rubber pad as apose to that of their first carbon sheets.
Reason I mention this is, our sound tech and I one day took them apart in order to do this experiment and found that were using a cheap but affective Piezo in the same you would bloody find at a store such as Radio Shack for about 25 cents a piece. These Piezo were Basicaly the same use for door ringers or something of that nature, silicone on a piece of plywood, no big deal, but again effective..

So my Q to you all is, this the same kind of triggers are these Piezo you all are referring to now are completely different?
If they are the same I think I still have about a hundred of these in one of my drum cases.

Also I want to thank you all very much in helping this Dinosaur get back into the electronic end of drums again thx

[Hellfire]

Welcome to the forum starofthe80s.

So my Q to you all is, this the same kind of triggers are these Piezo you all are referring to now are completely different?
If they are the same I think I still have about a hundred of these in one of my drum cases.

They are the same piezo's from back in the day, what has changed is the way it is mounted (the size may be different as well). Today most eDrums are made using 27mm or 35mm diameter piezo's. You may be able to use those old piezo's you have. Actually, the old Simmons drums will still work with the new drum modules out there. It is true that you can slap a piezo on just about anything and make an electronic drum trigger out of it. It is all in how you mount piezo.

[racer52]

So my Q to you all is, this the same kind of triggers are these Piezo you all are referring to now are completely different?
If they are the same I think I still have about a hundred of these in one of my drum cases.

Yep same stuff, as Hellfire said, it is all in the mounting - trying to protect the piezo yet make it feel good to the drummer. There are lots of examples of how people mount them. Using a memory foam between the piezo and the mesh head allows the foam to not take a set. As the foam loses its pressure against the mesh head the triggering becomes inconsistant.

Looks like you will be building some edrums! welcome and best wishes