New edrum and mesh head manufacturer??

[sepdrums]

Here is a possible new edrum manufacturer... The drums look promising, but I have never heard of them.
Take a look at the info from an eBay auction:

"We have had some questions about the E-Bay Zombies listing. This E-Bay Auction is for one White 10" Dual Zone Electronic Drum, with the Classic Zombie Mesh Head.(As shown in the pictures) We call them Zombies because "You can bash their heads all day long but you just can't kill'em !!!" The other items listed are also available separately, or in any combination.(Zombie Drums 10",12",13", and Zombie Classic Mesh Heads, 10",12",13",14",15",16".) DRUM BRAINS----We have tested the Zombies with the Alesis D4, the Alesis DM-5 and the Roland TD-10. The Zombies work great with the Alesis D4,and better with the DM-5. We then did a demo of our Dual Zone Zombie at a high end music store in the Baltimore area. The store allowed us to mount our Zombie right on the rack with their Roland V Pro Kit, and the Roland TD-10. They were blown away and we were DELIGHTED. Without tweaking the Roland Brain, the Zombies worked Great! We can't say that they are better than the V-Drums ONLY BECAUSE we weren't comfortable doing a lot of tweaking with the Roland Brain. ( We didn't want to mess up their settings) Thank you Very Much Jim in Baltimore"

Here are some pics of the drums mentioned:



and



Curious to see if patent infringements arise from this one, but heck, the drums look cool.

Erik

[sepdrums]

Looks like a light gauge sheet metal or aluminum.... Dunno, but the design looks awfully similar to Rolands, but more custom made than mass produced obviously. Again, I am wondering if there is any infringement? I suppose it would depend on the trigger mechanism.

I am curious about the mesh heads however.....from the pics they look like not quite as tight of a weave as Roland or Triggerhead - they look like Hart Kontrolscreens...wonder if they are dual or single ply...??

Erik

[BtnkBndt]

Recieved an email from him this morning. He does manufacture his own mesh. Waiting for more info on the pads and heads. I'll post if I find out more. Told him he should post some info on his pads here.

[Jim in Baltimore]

Hello all! I'm the primary operator of "Zombies". We started out just like a lot of other drummers freaking at the price of the Rolands, etc.,etc. So.......

The shells are a fairly thick steel, with welded seems and epoxy finish. The trigger/sense systems start out as the generic components that it appears all of the E-Drums use but we couldn't have "copied" Roland or any other drum because we've never had one apart, but looking thru the Roland Head we're sure that our system is not a copy of theirs. Our Heads are where we started. It's a fairly thick single ply Mesh Material that is very strong. In early production test runs we accidentally burned a hole in one about an inch wide and two inches long, about an inch from the rim. We decided to mount the head anyway just to find out when/how it would fail. It was on the drum for a year before we took it off and it never did fail and was fully playable. (as long as you avoided the hole.) The heads are for sale and are produced in all (most?) standard drum sizes and the Zombie Electronic Drums are available in 10",12" and 13" in both Dual and Single Zone configurations.All are welcome to E-Mail us directly at [email protected]

[sepdrums]

Excellent!

They look good! I always like checking out the alternatives. Btknkbndt has a great idea about the rubber trim too...

Erik
SEP

[bad karma]

Jim

welcome.It is nice to see a manufacturer come in here.I have to say you have a nice looking product on snares and toms,do you make kicks too?

[Jim in Baltimore]

The prices on the Mesh Heads are $18.00 U.S. each or $15.00 if three or more in any size combination, plus shipping. The warranty is simple: If you don't love them then send them back and we will refund 100% of the purchase price, less shipping.

The kick drum is almost done. We weren't thinking about a kick because we were using a bass drum with the mesh head. We have a Bass Pod but are still trying to make sure that our Bass Pod Frame is "universal" enough (is that an oxymoron?, and simple,light, aesthtic.....

Jim in Baltimore
443-415-4025
We'll call you back so you won't have a big long distance bill.

[Stixx777]

Do the dual zone pads trigger like the Roland pads or a different way? Can we get rim sounds on your pads on other inputs besides the snare? Also will the cross-stick function of the TDW work with your pads? I am getting interested in your stuff looks good and NICE price. What is the chance of a rubber rim or an 8 inch pad?

Thanks,

[drmoze]

I talked with Jim and can answer a few questions. I will be meeting with him next week to hook up my TD-8 and check the PS, etc. It's a dual piezo pad, like the Roland snares. You could 'Y' it into the TD8's 11/12 input to use both triggers. Cross-sticking should work just fine, as it's a dual-piezo setup (head and shell). Again, I will test these with my TD8 next week!

On the bright side, it looks like positional sensing *will* work with these. The piezo uses a foam cylinder (about 1/2" diameter) to contact the head in the center. This is a *big* plus for snare applications. There are 10", 12" and 13" drums available (for approx. $85, $95, and $105, repectively). They're about 4" deep, possibly reducible to 3". You can easily get a rim silencer from several sources (and even some types of automotive trim available at auto stores will work).

[captain54]

as far as the bass, how could you use a mesh head if your largest size listed is 16"???
Did you use some sort of cocktail kit hybrid bass??

[cliff]

Jim,
You might want to consider making the tom and bass drum shells deeper to look more acoustic. Some sizes would be able to nest(for traveling purposes) due to the hollow design. I would also think about offering wrap finishes. Mount all to a rack and I think you'll have a winner. Put out a 5 pcs. kit with rack for around $1000 and I think you will sell quiet a few.
Cliff

[MattSDP]

Damn!!!!!!!!!

Good work Jim! You beat me to it!! I am currently working on a custom edrum design of my own! I am am about a month away from compleation.

Hey fellow edrummers do think there is room for my design too?!

[sepdrums]

Why not?? I think so...

Actually before I started selling other mfg's gear, I built it.... Here are some OLD links:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/...p-cymbals.html

The cymbals did quite well until Pintech released the TC cymbal line. Needless to say I discontinued building them and started selling Pintech.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/...udio-pads.html

I changed my design from the 13" flat pad to a piccolo style edrum with mesh or acoustic heads, etc.....
Then I got a phone call from Al up at Boom Theory - I was infringing on his patent.. So I began selling his gear among others.
I also had the "Digiskinz" kits which were converted Remo Practice Pad kits. I got litigation threats from (edited by Erik - "A COMPANY") because I used a "z" on the end of the name....that was just too hilarious...

I would still like to get back into building some components again.... possibly some ecymbals....??

Kudos to the guys doing the Zombies... I may look into testing them and asking for dealership rights if all works out...

Erik


[This message has been edited by sepdrums (edited April 18, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by sepdrums (edited April 19, 2001).]

[BtnkBndt]

Originally posted by Harlock:
Thanks for the response Erik...

I actually was talking about trim at both ends...

Yes, credit where credit is do .

drmoze, get a good look at the heads. Stiffness/bouncyness compared to Roland/Pintech/Hart is a major concern.

Jim, you just might be turning alot of these pads at those prices for sure.

Pearl makes an upright practice kick that a pad could be mounted to for around $50 or less, model # is BD-10. Pintech I believe uses it on thiers.

[logiztix]

Once in a while there arises a need for our company to correct information posted to this site as it pertains to our company, Logistix Productions, Inc.

Logistix Productions, Inc (dba Logiztix) operates both the http://www.electronicdrums.com and http://www.acousticdrums.com sites.

Our company finds the posting from SEP to be erroneous in regard to any 'litigation threats'. If not for our nation's Copyright laws, (including the right of Mr. Shafer not to have his e-mail correspondence published without his permission), we would post the dialogue in it's entirety to alleviate this issue once and for all.

'Trade dress was the issue at hand throughout our correspondence. The following is an educational excerpt from one of our supposed 'litigation threats':



"Trade dress" refers to the total impression made by a product's packaging,
size, shape, color, design or name. Federal law recognizes that emulating
the trade dress of another company's product is a form of unfair
competition, and provides remedies accordingly. For example, Owens-Corning
was able to register the pink color of its fiberglass insulation as a
federal trademark. Trade dress does NOT have to be registered, it is
established through usage in a national or international market, as we have
done.

Our intention is only to preserve and protect the long-standing,
international reputation associated with our designs, products and company.
Our company is simply concerned with the potential confusion your company
may cause our customers by creating triggering products that appear to be
our own well established designs.



Roland has a right to have their product be distinguishable from copies. You don't see more than one company driving brown trucks with gold logos, delivering your packages do you?

Among our own established forms of 'trade dress' are our 'LogizmO' design, our red, white and black color scheme, our excessive use of the letter 'Z' in place of a typical 'S' in our product naming...; any and all of which are protected by applicable Trademark and Trade Dress laws.

Our LogizmO is a trigger design featuring a 1/2", O shaped cylinder of foam for a head contact patch. This 'O' shaped 'LogizmO' contact patch, visible through the drum head is in fact the 'trade dress' for our mesh-headed triggering designs. This 'trade dress' is how our customers distinguish a mesh pad as being one of ours. Duplication of this trade dress by another product is subject by applicable laws as well.

Membership to our site permits construction of our designs for personal use. The entire contents of the site are protected by applicable copyright laws. In addition, the designs are not to be constructed for sale outside of our own classifieds section.


William J. Reeves, President
LOGIZTIX (dba)
Logistix Productions, Inc.

[This message has been edited by logiztix (edited April 20, 2001).]