unofficial 2box forum

i know this has been discussed many times, but i didnt want to ressurrect old threads, and this thread could be used to sum up all our experiences.

i was playing some iron maiden tunes. since i consider my self mostly a rock drummer, i hit my mesh head exactly as i hit in my acoustic mesh head. as you can imagine, this, combine with the many hours i practice make me a danger for mesh heads. my snare head snapped... so i am in the market for a new 12mesh abut also a 14 mesh head for my kick...

in my mind there are 3 good options.
first is 628 dual layer mesh heads

second is z-ed triplex mesh heads

third is using the rubber heads with the stock 2 box mesh heads




in my opinion these are the best options for 2box.

but since i am in a hurry now, i will think about the 2 first options. in the beginning i thought about the 628. i remember that someone here said that their white and black mesh heads are not the same. anyone remembers which is suited better for my use?

of course feel, low rebound like in real acoustic situations, but also loudness, all will affect my decision


about z-ed heads. i read here that the 3ply heads they have are not as loud as the usual double heads.  so i am really thinking of having them as my first option. brian has both if i remmber well and said that z-ed were better. anyone tried them in both kick or snare?

if someone has any other info on the subject or new suggestions, id love to read them... anyway... thank you so much guys cheers



edit. after reading digital drummer again, i see that the z-ed triple are supposed to have too much rebound... so perhaps i should stick with 628?  oh god i am puzzled...

Hi john,

I can definitely recommend the Z triple, they do have less rebound than the 682's and are quieter. The 682's (white ones) are very good too but I think they are a little more expensive.

Good luck!

I have the 682 blacks which are supposed to be quieter than the white ones, but I never tried any 3 ply other than BillyBlast which was a lot louder. It had great responsiveness and would have loved to keep it , but, the neighbor wouldn't be as enthusiastic about it.  I would like to try the z ed 3 ply, but I am going to look at the Aquarian On  Head first, because I live in US I am thinking the shipping might be stupid on the Z head, unless somebody here want' s to donate one to my cause, just saying! LOL.

Hey :rock:
As you know I was in the same situation and lately I had the very same shortlist... After months of hesitation and looking at digitaldrummer I was finally going for the 682 when I read that post by Brian-D... From what I could find the Z-Ed and 682 were about the same price including shipping. Both have received good feedback and both are said to be better than the stock mesh so I thought I'd pick one and get just a snare mesh of the other to compare. Last weekend I ordered a full set of black 682 (Slap the Drummer liked them better than the white version). It turned out they didn't have them in stock so it will take longer than usual. I'm now hoping to receive them early next month. I'll follow Brian's tip about the Z-Ed triple next, with just one snare to compare :)

thank you all guys for the posts and advice etc. i wish i had the time to wait for lustars crash test as well. i am 50-50 right now on zed triple and 628 white (since in digital drummer they are stated to have less rebound). my decision changes by the minute lol.  but since i will want to order them tomorrow, if 628 havent replied to my email in the morning i will go for z-ed. cheers

News from Remo, Silent Stroke meshheads! Got this from another forum. Thomann.de got them too but not the 10 and 12 inch we need.

We did a pre Winter NAMM release at PASIC for these new "Silent Stroke" mesh heads. The main release will be for Winter NAMM 2014 but stores have already been placing special orders and stock orders since Sep.

EMD Music is our Distributor for the UK...they placed their stock order for 2014 new products, including all major sizes for Silent Stroke (8,10,12,13,14,16,18,20,22") and is expected to ship out from the Remo factory here in Valencia, CA by early February so they'll be hitting stores near you late Feb, early March.

And there are always the Pearl meshheads.

thank you murgen

some thoughts. the pearl mesh heads must be the worse ever. i had played on one and i could break it in 5 minutes if i played hard. seemed too flimsy... i guess thats why they have such a low price as well?

the remo ones i dont know anything about them. i could use them if they were really good, but for me, first comes rebound, then durabillity and lastly the noise. if the mesh head doesnt behave well, i do not have a use for low noise.... of courtse they could be brilliant, but i cant wait for 2-3 months just to be sure... but i hope they are awesome and we all have another option on the heads we could buy!!!!

Like I posted before, I still play on the original factory heads and they are fine. Got spare heads just in case. Only the kick is a 682 and that worked fine with the tennis ball regarding rebounce and feel but the tennis ball ate the mesh and a hole was melted into the mesh. Got a falam now, experimented with different beaters and back at the tennisball. Bit too bouncy with the falam but I can live with it.

Remo's meshheads are worth a try but only if I can get my hands on the right sizes.

hi BA

I use the same DDT dual ply for 3 years , and never broke any ...  for the moment ;)

I tested the rebound on my Z-Ed and 682 heads again today (I have the 682 on the bottom of my snare)

I can definitely say the the 682 head is louder with more buzz and the stick definitely bounces higher and longer with the same hit velocity than the Z-Ed.

Hope that helps!

ok now this is a game changer. well i am definitely getting the z-ed ones. we are talkking about these ones right?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Z-ED-Triple-Ply-Mesh-Drum-Head-Skin-For-Practice-Silent-Play-Electronic-Kits-/110897200986?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ&var=&hash=item19d1fcff5a

Z-ED Triple Ply Mesh Drum Head


a friend was coming soon from holland and wold save the the expences for the682, but now z-ed look like a winner. thank you brian for being so kind and testing the rebounds again for me. cheers my friend and thank you all my friends for helping

Hi John,

Yes that looks like the same one I got from the same ebay seller.

All the best!

ok here is an update. an angry one

i decided to buy the z-ed heads because they were a bit cheaper. anyway...
they came today

they are not good for 2box

in the snare drum, they need too much strength to make them fit on the pad. they have the correctdiameter, but they are wayy too shallow, so the case cannot be closed. i managed to close it but it was a tight fit.
and the rebound was too much. like in the stock 2box heads... they are not loud, the drumtech design heads were way louder i have to say

the drama begins with thekick mesh head. the 14 inch. there is no way on earth it will fit on the kick pad. worthjless. the case wont close at all. the zed heads are flawed by design. avoid at all costs. thats all. i am returning mine and getting what i should have got from the start. 628 heads.
fml...
sorry i am angry. i will post properly later on

Sorry to hear that John, I guess the heads are designed for acoustic drums as opposed to other types.
I only have them on my converted 13" acoustic snare.

Thanks for the update, I certainly won't be buying these for my 2box pads!

the snare head was a very tight fit. and i mean veeeery tight.
the kick head was impossible to install. i asked my sister to help me and push the kick inside, while i tighten the screws but was impossible...

anyone used the 682 heads for kick?
i need to know if they will work as well. cause i have been told that 682 heads arent that "spacy" as well....
ahhh crap i am sad.

by the few minutes i played with the head, i can confirm it is silent. nit like the stock mesh head but compared for example with my drum tech design head, it is way more silent. the rebound is like in 2box stock heads. i hate it....

I have 682 on my kick. Use Falam if you want to play with the tennisball or felt beater. Tennis ball on 682 head plays very natural but the plastic melts away because of impact/friction.

yes i know that mate. thank you. i use falam. and i use also real beaters. the ones that come with my eliminator pedals. plastic side. i wont them to feel real. tennis ball beatersare too light...
so, the 682 fits in the 2box kick right?
was it a tight fit? the rebound was way less right? and from my understanding, the kick should sound more loud than with stock head am i right?

i say that because i have noticed, the thicker-tighter the head, the less gain it needs

Yes, fits easily, less rebound and bit louder.

Hi John,

I just checked the depth of the Z-ed (13") vs the 682's(13") that I have and the 682 only looks to be about 2mm deeper. This may not be enough room for you.

thank you all for the info guys.
since 682 states that their heads are for 2box, i will try them. murgen says the kick mesh fits so we are fine.
thank you. ill send the z-ed back very soon and once money is returned, i will get the 682 and reply in the thread.


ps
i could and probably will make a new thread if there is no replies here or people dont see it.
i was really thinking to make mesh heads from tuff mesh. it way way too little rebound that i love. it could be awesome. i hate the fact that i have to make the rim myself but perhaps it is worth it. with such little rebound perhaps i could buy a cheap snare and make it work as a practice pad. anyone made a tuff mesh head?
i do not knwo from where to buy the palastic tht will be used as a rim. any ideas? cheers
if we find from where to get it perhaps it will be an awesome alternative. just saying

Sorry to hear the Z-ED Triple X haven't worked out for you, I use them on my A2E Pearl kit and have been able to get almost the exact same feel that I had on my Sonor S Classix with Evans G2 batters on it. They are very quiet and no too much rebound. I've always cranked my snare pretty high and the 13" Z-ED I have on it feels and responds almost identical to the Sonor 13"x5" I had. Same story with the kick drum with my A2E and Sonor both being 20". The toms are very close to the Sonors, again, being the same diameter but perhaps the Z-EDs are a little more bouncy but not enough to worry about for me. I've always tuned my drums a third apart in pitch and it seems to have worked really well for me on the A2E too.

Hopefully you'll find the perfect head for your situation soon, I guess I've just been lucky

well i am sure that they would work really well on acoustic drums. since also the screws there are longer. i didnt crank the head in the snare, up, cause i wil lreturn it. it had more rebound than i expected. but i have to say for a 3 ply it is VERY quiet. that was pleasing. anyway, ill search in another direction for a great head. thank you

Quote from: BURNIN AMBITION on February 10, 2014, 07:03:35 PM
i hate the fact that i have to make the rim myself but perhaps it is worth it. with such little rebound perhaps i could buy a cheap snare and make it work as a practice pad. anyone made a tuff mesh head?
i do not knwo from where to buy the palastic tht will be used as a rim. any ideas? cheers
if we find from where to get it perhaps it will be an awesome alternative. just saying

i ve seen some tutos about people doing their on mesh heads ... but IMO i doubt it s possible to make something reliable , but why not....   You could use old drumheads rims , from mesh or normal heads ...

We did a review of Tuff Mesh in digitalDrummer and used clear plastic hose for the hoop. It was fairly thin so it could fit under the top hoop. I think you could even use the thin black irrigation tubing - anything that will thread through and join to itself at the ends.
He has instructions here: http://tuffmeshmaterial.weebly.com/how-to-install-tuff-mesh.html

thank you guys for the tips. if i deide to also get tuff mesh in the end, i think i will use some old rim and tell my morther to saw it lol

I think Fulrmr did his mesh-heads out of 'Suntex 90' material. 

8)   :rock:

Drum-tec have a cheap black single-ply head that is very heavy duty and would be great for a bass drum. It was a bit too heavy as a snare/tom head, but I figure it would solve your problem. I passed my review sample onto someone who is using it on their 12" kick trigger.

cheers my friend

Quote from: Dänoh on February 11, 2014, 11:04:15 AM
I think Fulrmr did his mesh-heads out of 'Suntex 90' material. 

8)   :rock:

Yep. I like them better than any of the Brand Mesh I've used. Curious about the Tough Mesh though. Would like to have white heads on standby for a change in look. It just seems very pricey to me. Suntex90 comes in a "stucco" color...not really sure how "white" it is though....but it is less expensive when bought by the roll....or foot.

edited

ειρηνικό, ήσÏ...χο ...

ahahahahahaha murgen you are a god. yes ok i have blown out thye steam i have to admit. i am ok now!!! ahahahahahahahaha

just received the payment.
i have to say that adrian the guy behind playrecord_uk, is as honest as it gets. great communications, he is an understanding guy, changed the description in his ebay product and he refunded me the whole price i paid for the heads. just received them. to sum it akk up, the 12 head fits really difficult in 2box. reeeally difficult. the 14 head doesnt fit at all. these are great heads but unfortunately are not meant for 2box. unless u get bigger screws...
but he is a really great bloke. id totally recommend hin if you want to buy something from his shop.

i ordered 12 and 14 inch heads from 682. hope they come here soon!!!! anyone tried to communicate with the guys of 682? really slow communications i have noticed...

Usually one day reply, they are Dutch, prolly watching speedskating and it is a holidayweek over here. I can always give them a Dutch push.

Beware of pushing the Dutch, our dikes are made of clay and it's wet here :P

hahaha. i have sent 2 emails. first got a reply a week later (or even more) second time, i still havent gotten a reply, so i decided to order anyway...ill review them heads once they arive!! and if they are awesome as i suspect i will also buy for my toms as well...

I have dealt with 682 drums before and although they are a little slow communicating back, they resolved a problem with my order fairly quickly. The good news is that there meshes are quiet and the rebound is great. I used them only on an a to e conversion but they have been pushing 2 box meshes from the jump. I think most of your angst is dealing with the whole z ed nightmare, but when all is said and done, you will be happy. Good luck!

Hey Burnin, got to thinking about the 682 drums thing and now I remember! I think there was one point that they didn't respond to me for almost 3 weeks. I think a guy named Rene finally got back to me with a big apology and then he would respond in a couple of days. I am gonna try a z ed 3 ply for my acoustic snare, hope it fits!

because the acoustic snare screws are longer, you wont have any problems i am sure. i should have my 682 heads this week. i hope they fit. and then i will compare both heads and post here.cheers

Yeah let me know how you like the 682's . You got the black heads , I assume

For the record and after a PM session with Lustar a word of advice. It is not hard to get the 682 kick head in place but it indeed requires a bit of concentration to get the bolts screwed in. I did the upper ones first and worked my way down. Took me only a couple of minutes but keep your coolness when you work on it.

ok i got the 628 heads

the strange thing is that lustar mentioned he suffered installing the heads. murgen said it was fine, though they were a bit tight. my experience is a bit different. yes the heads installed easily. much easier than i had expected.
BUT,  it seemed that the rims were sort of narrower (a tiny tiny bit) than they should or, the mesh head doesnt sit evenly on the rim, or both issues combined.
because when i installed the head and screwed it on the pad, it wouldnt get tight equally. on the top right the head was not tight at all while on the other areas it was. i had to remove it from the kick and reinstall it but this time i paid attention to move the head towards the area it wouldnt get tight in the previous attempt. that fixed the issue, but to be honest there shoudlnt be such an issue at all. the kick head installed quickly and evenly but the rim was definitelly few cms narrower than it should. i can see the rim clearly when i look at my 2box kick ....
all these things make me realise that the production of 628 heads is not consistent. sometimes they come out fine sometimes they dont. no 2 heads are the same. and that is bad...

about the performance
first good thing is thet they are way more silent than all the other heads i have used. way more
about the snare head.
all the other heads i ever used, when i cranked them up, really really tight, the rebound got less. this doesnt happen here. if you tighten it too much the rebound increases. so you have to find the sweet spot where the heads are tight but not THAT tight. once you find it, the rebound is amazingly good. i will look into it more tomorrow when i practise properly
about the kick. finally a kick that is perfect
i really really love it. way better than stock head or roland head. way better. i am loving it

about the snare head, while it is really good, i still believe that my drumtechdesign head i used to have, was better! but i was stupid enough to tighten it too much and destroy it...and it was also way louder. hope i helped guys. any question just ask me. i will post more in the days to come....

ps. lustar, when you read this, i will answr you later tonight properly mate

Good to hear, I like them too but the proof is in trying them.

one last question (i will laso ask it to 682 but i dont hope to get a reply since they havent answered yet my last email which was about 2 or more weeks ago)...
the mesh heads for the toms, are they more difficult to fit? and also are the mesh heads from different material. because another great member of this forums, says that, and i do believe him. i just want to know if this is a fact or perhaps he got a bad batch of heads?
thank you

cant wait to play with the heads tomorrow, they feel terrific!!!!

have to say it. been playing for an hour now!! the heads are magnificent. i have noticed that in these 3 last weeks that i am practicing with the original mesh heads, my hand technique got worse cause of the excessive rebound. now i am back on track i can feel it in my hands, it feels like playing a coustic snare. or very close to that . same for the kick. loving it!!!!!

i will definitely get the toms. unless 682 never answers my email from last bight...
ill keep you guys informed but if the toms are as good as the snare and kick, they will make an amazing difference for sure

Another satisfied  customer, Burnin! Glad you finally got the head situation resolved. That is the only problem with shopping outside of your country, but they are making some great products elsewhere! These forums are great even though one of us ends up being the guinea pig with new products, the rest of us can learn from these situations from your experience. If they had these products in a brick  and mortar store, we wouldn't have anything to talk or get riled up about, Anyway, go back to enjoying playing again and don't buy anything for a while! Only kidding, G.A.S away!

finally 682 replied.
they said that the tom and snare mesh heads are exactly the same. they used to be 2mms smaller , but after a disatisfied customer, they make all the heads 2mms bigger so everyone should be fine. there is a difference in black and white mesh heads because of the way the 2 plys sit on top of each other!!!
ill go for the white ones all the way. i am just thinking perhaps i should buy a mesh head more (than the 3 toms i will order) or perhaps i should get the pack(i will have less shiping costs). dunno...

ok i just rehearsed the songs my band will play live, in a week!
with the new mesh heads

the feeling is day and night!!! it is like i am playing an acoustic kit. the kick is amazing (i still have my sweater on the kick pad hahaha). the trigerring is excellent. especially for the kick. it is now loud enough. even when i was using the roland head it was not that good. the feeling is incredible!!! guys trust me on this. go get the 682 heads. you cant go wrong!!!! it doesnt get better itell you!!!!

Quote from: BURNIN AMBITION on March 07, 2014, 07:26:41 PM
ok i just rehearsed the songs my band will play live, in a week!
with the new mesh heads

the feeling is day and night!!! it is like i am playing an acoustic kit. the kick is amazing (i still have my sweater on the kick pad hahaha). the trigerring is excellent. especially for the kick. it is now loud enough. even when i was using the roland head it was not that good. the feeling is incredible!!! guys trust me on this. go get the 682 heads. you cant go wrong!!!! it doesnt get better itell you!!!!

Told you so, and so did others. You are a believer now. 😛  Anything Dutch is more then much. ðŸ'»

well sorry for being a disbeliever but i was using a roland head for the kick. which is supposed to be as good as it gets. but it was poop.  i still cannot believe how good it feels. it is amazing. i type and while i think of the kit i feel ecstatic.
now icant wait to get the tom mesh heads. cause the original tom heads are bad to be honest... ok i learnt to live with them but now i have witnessed how good these heads are i am sure they will make a big difference in my playing!!! wooowwwww again
imo 2box should start a relationship with 682 and sdse and new customers should have the option to buy a kit with sdse and 682 heads together. i now know my kit is the best electronic kit in the world for sure!!!! thank you 2box thank you 682 thank you sd card mod thank you hi hat mod!!!!
it is amazing!!! hell yeah!!!!

Burnin, Can you please show a little enthusiasm?. Good to hear the satisfaction. You got the white 682 's or the black ones? I have the black ones and they are super quiet, too and feel great

i have the white ones my friend because in digital drummer review i remember they were  the ones with less rebound!!! and they are phenomenal and surely the silentest double ply heads i have ever used

I also use the white 682's for my converted Ludwig Questlove kit in blue azure. The head sizes are 14" snare, 10" rack tom, 13" floor tom and a 16" kick. The heads play quite well.

Now I sit down and patiently wait how your kickhead stays in shape. Remember my first 682 kickhead had a hole melted into the fabric after playing with the tennisball for ~ 9 months? I use a falam now paying a price with a wee bit more rebound.

i agree that i hate falam. but i also hate tennis ball beaters. i use my eliminator double pedals with the stock pearl eliminator beaters from the plastic side. i also use a falam but on the kick pad i also have a sweater my mom made in the kick pad shape. so  this mcgiver thingy, eliminates any excessive rebound etc. but if i didnt use the sweater and falam the outcome was exactly the same!!!! fantastic!

Hey Burnin, I meant to tell you. Digital drummer rated the black 682's even quieter than the whites so that's how I ended up with them and they said the z ed triple is quieter yet. I want to change back to white heads that are quiet. That's how I got on the z ed trip kick to begin with

ah yes you are right my friend. i remember now that the eason i chose the white ones was not the loudness but the lesser rebound!!! and i did really well!!!!!

I got the 682 heads this week. I got the snare on, but man the toms are a bitch to get on. I can tighten the one end at the trigger, but then I can't seem to get the threads to catch on the other screws. I might have to hold it down hard and get my buddy to put in the screws.

Did you guys have any issues getting the tom heads on?

UPDATE:

Good god, that was laborious. The tom heads were ridiculously hard to get on. No joke, I had to get a thick cloth and vice grips to get it to the point of the threads catching. I had to do that on all 3 ten inch drums. Not sure if the 682 heads were just a little too tight on those smaller drums or what. The snare went on easily. Waiting to put the kick on when I get the Kat ball beater.

The mesh heads are much more natural feeling. I give em' a good work out this weekend. Shipping from 682 was super fast. I ordered  and received them within 4 days. From Holland to Canada...not shabby!