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Welp, took the plunge today.  Ordered the 2box kit sans hardware from GC, should be here later this week!

Also scored an additional 2box cymbal from eBay for a song.  I'm thinking I might actually want a 4th cymbal instead of adding another tom, so I need to figure out what the pros and cons of that are.

Also, anyone have pics or is there a pre-existing thread discussing kick pad reinforcement?  Still curious about that.  I've played acoustic for quite some time now, and have lots of clamps and odds and ends around, so hopefully I can make something up from what I've already got that will work.

Welcome! Saw you dropped a lot of good questions. Hope I can chime in tomorrow for answers ... Too busy schedule today.

Thanks!

There's already been some excellent answers from people chiming in to my newbie question thread.  I really appreciate all the help.

Perfect- thank you for all the replies everyone!

Yes, I have pretty nice hardware so I'd like to re-use that stuff.

The capability the 2box has, to use VST-quality samples internally without going through MIDI, is the major attraction for me.  From what y'all are saying, using a custom-sampled kit in the controller and then simple recording through the stereo output will be very easy.  Sounds like a cinch.

Also, if I'm hearing everything correctly, there's 2 free inputs in addition to the base kit, so the base kit + 2 cymbals would be no problem then?

If the split-tom method is used, do you lose the 3-zone triggering/choke function on the 4th cymbal?

With regard to the replacement kick head- do you have a link to an exact model to recommend?  Still learning about heads for e-kits.. this is a whole new world for me.  What's the real volume level like on the replacement head?  We need pretty much the quietest kit we can get.

Also, I just read a snippet that the US 2box kits come with rubber heads instead of mesh.  Are these heads significantly louder and/or not as good as far as feel compared to the mesh?  Is is worth it to put mesh heads on the kit right away?

Thanks again for the help guys.

Hey ya'll,

I'm a new member, located in the Detroit, MI area (USA), looking to make the e-kit plunge very soon.

After much searching and research, it sounds to me like the 2box system is one of (if not THE) best systems available, even compared to much more expensive options from other companies.

I look forward to getting to know everyone here, and hopefully assimilating some of your experience and knowledge, so I can answer my many questions about the 2box kit, and recording in general.

Hello all.

I am a new member of the 2box forum.  I recently discovered 2box after searching far and wide for an electronic kit.

The situation I'm in is that my band has lost our former rehearsal/recording space and have relocated to a member's house, where playing an acoustic kit is no longer feasible.

I'd like to get into an electronic kit, and from everything I've read comparing 2box to Roland/Yamaha/et. al, it seems that the 2box kit is the best option, even compared to the Roland/Yamaha kits in the $5,000+ range.

I have a few questions that I'm hoping the members here can help me answer, before I make the plunge.

Hi hat setup- I currently play a DW 9000 two-leg HH stand. Is this HH stand compatible with the 2box setup?  I'd like to avoid the extra expense of the 2box HH stand if possible, and playing with the same HH stand and pedal I will use live on my acoustic kit is a major plus for me. 

With regard to the bass pedal- is there a recommendation from 2box (or based on the experience of members here) on the best beaters to use with the 2box bass drum head?  I play solid wood beaters on my acoustic kit, and I'm assuming solid wood beaters will destroy the mesh 2box head in short order.  Are the 2box foam beaters available separately? Is the 2box bass drum pad relatively stiff out of the box? Is it up to the task of playing with speed, without losing accuracy due to the bass drum pad flopping around?  On the other kits I've demo'd (roland/yamaha), this is a MAJOR problem.

Expandability- is there a retailer in the US that can supply additional drum/cymbal trigger pads?  I'd like to add at least 1 (possibly two..) additional cymbal pads to the base setup, but from shopping around it seems no one in the US sells them.  What's the max number of pads that can be added to the 2box?  My ideal setup would be the base kit plus two additional cymbals and an additional tom.

Recording- I've demo'd an older Yamaha kit, and done a few hours of recording with it.  Our band prefers to record all tracks live, as opposed to tracking everything individually.  With the electronic kit we used, latency was a major issue, to the point where we couldn't really jam together because of the delay between my actual playing and the delivery to the rest of the band.  Does the 2box have capability to be used in the fashion without a huge additional investment?  Forgive my ignorance, I am not extremely well versed in recording methods and technology used for digital drums- I know how to mic and record an acoustic kit well enough to get the job done, but recording with a digital kit is a new thing for me.

If the 2box isn't capable of this type of recording out of the box, are there any recommendations for additional tools that can get this done without a huge additional investment?  I'm very comfortable with the cost of the 2box kit, but I need the capability to record live, with the rest of the band, without spending much more than the cost of the kit itself.  Another $100-$200 would be tolerable, an additional $1000 would not be.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.  I apologize if these questions have already been answered ad nauseum elsewhere in the forum.  I look forward to learning more about the 2box system, and recording in general.