another question from a confused drummer... are the 2box for hard hitters or it will break apart? will the pads survive after some heavy songs?
Quote from: mpampis on May 17, 2011, 09:16:14 PM
another question from a confused drummer... are the 2box for hard hitters or it will break apart? will the pads survive after some heavy songs?
Can't speak out of experience (waiting for my 2box). There are now a couple of threads here about loose wires of the piezo. You should be able to find it.
But keep in mind that there always will be persons with problems. And it fairly quiet of real problems. MK2 seems much more improved, and i'm suspect every batch they become better. In case of problems there is good support of 2box. Using the 2box at live gigs is still debatable.
Just my 2 cents.
Quote from: MisterE on May 17, 2011, 10:39:14 PM
Can't speak out of experience (waiting for my 2box). There are now a couple of threads here about loose wires of the piezo. You should be able to find it.
But keep in mind that there always will be persons with problems. And it fairly quiet of real problems. MK2 seems much more improved, and i'm suspect every batch they become better. In case of problems there is good support of 2box. Using the 2box at live gigs is still debatable.
Just my 2 cents.
I am not a really hard hitter, more varied depending on the music, but I have used my MKI 2Box live many times for rock stuff, it has travelled far and in the 18 months or so of owning it, I have had very few issues. Bass drum sensor failed after a very long trip away and many gigs, but that was the MKI bass drum. The distributor picked up the drum, converted it to MKII version and it has been perfect ever since. Another issue I had was the snare pad rim rubber degraded after a year, and I had to replace the rim. Again the distributor sent me spares free of charge. The pads and module are very strong, and the new MKII rack is far stronger than the MKI version I have.
Yes, the wiring on some pads has come loose, and I do think they could impove that (I have mentioned it several times on the forum, because it annoys me - such a small detail that could make a large difference to failure rates) by improving the jack housing so the wiring isn't so exposed when opening the pad to change heads. The soldered wires need to have a stronger connection to their jacks. This can be improved if you aren't afraid of a soldering iron of course!
The cymbal triggering is good all round but the bell is not quite as responsive as the rest of the cymbal surface - its not too bad really and I don't notice it any more - we hope its fixed in a future software update.
All in all the newer MKII kit is far sturdier than the first as regards the rack and better snare stand and MKII bass drum, and the software continues to evolve and improve.
At the end of the day, I had Roland before the 2Box, and I would not go back. Because aside from the small issues I listed above, this kit is a blast to play. The 2Box is, to be blunt, simply a more expressive instrument than Roland TD-9 or TD-12 imo. Remember, you are talking 24-bit sample quality, with enough layers to make your drums sound far more real and convincing and round robin to eliminate machine gunning (another awful Roland trait). When you hear a TD-9 or TD-12, you can tell its an electronic kit. When you hear the 2Box in a mix with good samples, it is very difficult to tell.
So, 2Box has better sounds, and feels more 'human' and natural than v-drums. You can also increase SD capacity up to 32GB, which is tons. The module is simple and has far less effects and tricks than Roland modules do, but it does quality drum sounds far better. And of course its only as good as the samples you use. In short its a great instrument with a great feel and a reasonable price. In its price bracket the 2Box is still king imo.
+ 1 for Baby Samus note
ok, baby samus this was exactly what I wanted to hear... You know, I am in love with the 2box because of the size and the sounds, but without the ability to try them (I am from Athens, Greece and here we don't have any music stores that let you play the drums, except 2 "known stores" that don't bring the 2box, at least not anymore) it is hard for me to decide between the "walked" (rolland, yammy) as we say in greece and the "unknown"... I am a TD-3 owner and what's sure is that roland is what I call indestructible... even the most cruel hitters couldn't hurt it... but the sounds... disgusting. Anyway, is there any video or tutorial for soldering the wires?
Quote from: rythm on May 18, 2011, 06:50:31 AM
+ 1 for Baby Samus note
+1000
Quote from: mpampis on May 18, 2011, 02:22:24 PM
ok, baby samus this was exactly what I wanted to hear... You know, I am in love with the 2box because of the size and the sounds, but without the ability to try them (I am from Athens, Greece and here we don't have any music stores that let you play the drums, except 2 "known stores" that don't bring the 2box, at least not anymore) it is hard for me to decide between the "walked" (rolland, yammy) as we say in greece and the "unknown"... I am a TD-3 owner and what's sure is that roland is what I call indestructible... even the most cruel hitters couldn't hurt it... but the sounds... disgusting. Anyway, is there any video or tutorial for soldering the wires?
another greek guy. awesome
about the wire soldering that would be awesome to know
also when you solder new wires what wires should you use? is there a specific type we must use?
i dont really need to do this yet as i have no probs but perhaps someone else might ned to knwo in the future. it would be good to have these issues solved
I guess I'm a hard hitter. About 16 days or so into drumming I already cracked my hi hat rubber at the edge. No idea what I'm doing with that thing. :) I'm not really concerned. Replacement rubber probably costs about as much as the beer, if I can get it. Looks like I'll go through a few each year. :)
I play open-handed and I do hit hi hat pretty strong.
Quote from: Baby Samus on May 17, 2011, 11:59:16 PM
I am not a really hard hitter, more varied depending on the music, but I have used my MKI 2Box live many times for rock stuff, it has travelled far and in the 18 months or so of owning it, I have had very few issues. Bass drum sensor failed after a very long trip away and many gigs, but that was the MKI bass drum. The distributor picked up the drum, converted it to MKII version and it has been perfect ever since. Another issue I had was the snare pad rim rubber degraded after a year, and I had to replace the rim. Again the distributor sent me spares free of charge. The pads and module are very strong, and the new MKII rack is far stronger than the MKI version I have.
Yes, the wiring on some pads has come loose, and I do think they could impove that (I have mentioned it several times on the forum, because it annoys me - such a small detail that could make a large difference to failure rates) by improving the jack housing so the wiring isn't so exposed when opening the pad to change heads. The soldered wires need to have a stronger connection to their jacks. This can be improved if you aren't afraid of a soldering iron of course!
The cymbal triggering is good all round but the bell is not quite as responsive as the rest of the cymbal surface - its not too bad really and I don't notice it any more - we hope its fixed in a future software update.
All in all the newer MKII kit is far sturdier than the first as regards the rack and better snare stand and MKII bass drum, and the software continues to evolve and improve.
At the end of the day, I had Roland before the 2Box, and I would not go back. Because aside from the small issues I listed above, this kit is a blast to play. The 2Box is, to be blunt, simply a more expressive instrument than Roland TD-9 or TD-12 imo. Remember, you are talking 24-bit sample quality, with enough layers to make your drums sound far more real and convincing and round robin to eliminate machine gunning (another awful Roland trait). When you hear a TD-9 or TD-12, you can tell its an electronic kit. When you hear the 2Box in a mix with good samples, it is very difficult to tell.
So, 2Box has better sounds, and feels more 'human' and natural than v-drums. You can also increase SD capacity up to 32GB, which is tons. The module is simple and has far less effects and tricks than Roland modules do, but it does quality drum sounds far better. And of course its only as good as the samples you use. In short its a great instrument with a great feel and a reasonable price. In its price bracket the 2Box is still king imo.
In my opinion the 2box MK2 set is fine but the ride is the weakest point,playing with low velocity then it triggers weird, also the bell triggering is weird sometimes.
But has nothing to do with hard hitting ...
Quote from: puttenvr on June 26, 2011, 12:43:16 PM
But has nothing to do with hard hitting ...
That's true, but why do we need to hit the pads hard?its not your mother in law :D
Correct. With the years go by, you learn that good playing and a good sound, spreading your efforts, is more important than just hitting hard.
Also surprized that many drummers in loud bands don't play THAT loud at all.
Keen people
On the MK1 kit, the toms have 3 plastic polycarbonate lugs connecting the o-rings to the metal rim.
On my kit, at least 1 has broken on each rim causing the rim to disconnect from the tom.
I am not a hard hitter and transport the kit to gigs in a very secure supported case.
The distributors say they have never come across this with, which I completely believe as they are spot on and have helped me out in the past. Just curious If anyone elsewhere has ever heard of or experienced this?
I don't know if I am a hard hitter but I noticed today that my hihat rubber pad have some craks on the edge :(
I have that too ... what I did to fix it, I turned hi hat around so I can't see it. :)
I did that too ;D
arent you guys on warranty? wont they be replaced?if not is there ane alternate hi hat cymbal we could buy that is also 2zone?
Well, I'm not that kind of a customer that would return a product because of a small crack on the rubber pad. The functionality of hi hat is not hampered because of this crack.
well ok i didnt know how serious it was. any possibility of a photo?
Hi every one, first sorry for my poor english i'm french so... anyway,
I bought the new MK2 tow months ago, what can i tell about the hardware... it's pretty fragile, i broked the rim of my snare and from one tom, the rim of all my toms makes some little holes on the mesh (exactly at the place where the rubber connect the rim to the tom), i had the edge of one cymbale who had been cut, returned to the seller and went back changed but still cut about 2cm on the edge, go back again to the seller, and right now i'm still waiting for my parts since almost a month.
I love the great sounds of the 2Box, but the hardware is not enough tough for me.
I usually play on my Superstar TAMA Xtras from the 80's, and i'm playing drums since 29 years, my kinda music "fusion" if that can help someone?
My hihat cymbal is on the way to Thomann as it is under warranty.
Edit: it's been repaired, I received it this morning.
I like to hit pretty hard especially on the snare to get that no-nonsense beat. have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfzIQjXhpds
the black snare rim is now completely broken and detached from the drum - so if you're a hard hitter
the snare will probably break down
If you're a hard hitter - use regular heads or billy blast heads. But yeah, the cymbals... I almost break my cast ddrum cymbals ::)
at least if we break em we can get jman cymbals
hopefully customs wont fick us over here and pay little i hope
though i believe that if you have not big sticks, (i use 7a) then if you are a bit carefull , they are fine. when i get carried away, i also hit, but nothin has hapened yet
I'm quite a heavy hitter on acoustic drums but when I play 2box I'm usually much more 'relaxed' as there is no need to hit the drums hard to get the right sound from them. My suggestion is to learn to play electronic kit with less power and more precision. It will save the drums and give you the chance to show that you are versatile drummer 8). Unless you just want to show off. But, frankly, who would want to show off playing like for example Travis Barker on electronic kit... :rock:
I think it's a pretty interesting subject actually! Firstly the snare I think is always the weakest link in an electronic kit. I don't know if the 2box uses velocity to trigger (switch to) rimshots, but I guess so. (I'm still on ddrums) My point being that on an acoustic snare you can actually play pretty soft and still get rimshots, it's just a matter of playing technique. So the lowest rimshot velocity will be well below the maximum velocity on the head, making the two "overlap" velocity-wise. So on an electronic kit you need to hit the snare with a certain velocity to even get a rimshot sound, and the transition from one to the other is seldom very smooth.
Then there is the subject of what the guy who sampled the sounds thinks is the "maximum velocity". If you want the sound of a really heavily hit drum, but it's not in the range of the samples sounds, what then do you do? In my opinion that limitation often makes electronic drums sound more lame, regardless of the numbers of layers.