While using my Alesis DM10 with some of my other equipment (namely my Alesis Trigger I/O). I learned just how much Alesis made their equipment (what I call) vertically integrated. The above picture shows just how easy it is to physically hook-up your Trigger I/O to an Alesis DM10. Please keep in mind that you will still need to set-up the Trigger I/O to properly trigger the DM10. The “Alesis DM10 Trigger Zone Input Chart” below will be needed when doing this. For more information on this, be sure to check out:
DM10 Expansion with Trigger I/O & ControlPad (over at DMdrummer.com)
The Alesis DM10 has 35 additional sounds that can be accessed with midi. Each one of the 35 additional sound location are totally editable. Meaning FX, EQ, Decay, Layer A B etc. All you need is a few extra pieces of equipment to access them like, an Alesis Trigger I/O, Alesis Control Pad and a Midi merge box (if you want to use all the Trigger I/O and Control Pad together).
That means you could fill all the inputs of the DM10 (22 zones), add an Alesis Trigger I/O and fill all inputs (20 zones), add an Alesis Control Pad (8 zones), and still have room for 7 mores zones! Here is a picture to show how to connect up these device to get the most from an Alesis DM10:
It doesn’t stop there. You could also have 3 hi-hats using the above set-up. One variable hi-hat on the DM10 and two additional switch type hi-hats. One on the Alesis control pad and one on the Trigger I/O (be sure to set the hi-hat control to switch type with the Trigger I/O). Again, Keep in mind that hi-hats on the Control Pad and Trigger I/O would be switch type only. Also, you can add 2 more external triggers via the control pad’s two external trigger jacks. All of that should use up all 35 additional sounds. Now, that would be one heck of a kit!
Here is an additional chart I put together to show the midi note layout of the DM10:
If you are interested in more information about how to get the most out of Alesis drum equipment (like the DM10, Trigger I/O, DM5, SR-18 and more) please visit www.DMdrummer.com (The Unofficial Alesis Drummer Forum) and become an active member today!
Hi, i have a medeli dd602 and i’m not very happy of the purchase, so i want to buy an alesis dm10 studio kit.
1) Can i plug all the stuff of medeli dd602 to the dm10 module with this method?
2) (not very relevant with the topic) How do i download and install the alesis upgrade pack?
3) how about the sensitivity of the pads: does the drum module recognize all of the strokes, also with double bass pedal?
that’s all, if you reply i would be very happy
1) You should be able to but, keep in mind you are limited to how many inputs are used on the Alesis DM10 studio kit. If you buy an Alesis DM10 studio kit, most of the inputs will be used for the triggers that come with the kit but, your pad (or triggers) should be compatible. If you mean you just want to upgrade the dd602 module to an Alesis DM10 module (and not the whole kit) then yes your triggers pads should work just fine with the DM10 module.
2) The directions are included with the download from Alesis. If you have any problems after reading the directions, be sure to contact Alesis support.
3) The module seems to recognize all of my strokes just fine. I don’t use a double bass but, I see no reason why it would not recognize all of those strokes. Keep in mind that you may have to adjust settings in the module to get it to recognize all of your strokes. A lot of times people have problems with dropped notes because they have their cross talk setting too high so, you may have to spend sometime adjusting all the settings. I hope that helps.
1. I want to buy an alesis dm10 studio kit with alesis trigger I/O. Can I plug all the pads of my dd602 to the dm10 module only by using the I/O trigger?
2. Got it
3. I hope that the dm10 module is better than the dd602 one..
1) Yes you can and here is a link to DMdrummer.com that describes just how to use the Trigger I/O with the DM10.
DM10 Expansion with Trigger I/O & ControlPad
3) I think it is but, that is just my opinion.
Be sure to check out DMdrummer.com. It is the largest community of DM10 users on the net. Let us know how it all works for you.
Great Article Phil.
The expansion possibilities with the DM10 was one of the reasons why I bought it.
I have a DM10 studio kit, and I’m going to connect up my Roland Handsonic (10 zones) via MIDI, to trigger some additional sounds in the DM10. My daughter who’s 1, can now accompany her Dad. 😉
By the way, nice to know another drumming Boland!
Best,
C.J
Thanks Phil!
I currently have a Trigger I/O that I have recently retired…but I just may get one of these kits and press it back into service.
My burning question about the DM10 is about the outputs actually. Can you assign the sounds to Main L/R and Aux L/R to create 4 discrete outputs as you could do with the DMPro?
thanks in advance!
Phil,
I found the answer on dmdrums.com…thanks for pointing me in that direction!
../Mark
heloe im using the dm 10 with the alesis io can i run two hi hats from this using the same hi hat slave pedal pedal? so i have two pads that work on the same note both controled by the same hi hat slave pedal being the alesis real hat pedal.
many thanks to the people who know e drums, n give pricless help.davidx
Hi, I have an Alesis DM5 and surge cymbals with choke (13″ and 16″) but it can’t reproduce the choke effect, can I expand it with an Alesis Trigger I/O and get the choke effect?
hello there, i’ve bought a roland td11 kv and now i’m looking to add more pads/triggers/cymbal. i’ve already added 1 cymbal to the extra slot but wanted more..
i’ve looked at alesis trigger io and alesis dm dock, and they seem to do the job.
i do prefer the dm dock as it has 13 triggers to plug in, however, i only use my edrums with superior drummer and don’t need the td11 module so to speak.
could you please advise what would be my best option please and if the dm dock can be considered a substitute of the td11 module?
been searching everywhere and came up to your page..
thank you and best regards
Keep in mind that Alesis and Roland handle triggering a little differently. Roland triggers also, tend to be a lot more sensitive when plugged into Alesis modules. If you are use to the way your Roland kit works, I would stay with the Roland module. The DM Dock might work for you, but I haven’t tried it myself. If you do decide to buy a DM Dock, make sure you buy it from someone who has a good return policy. Also, don’t get rid of your Roland TD-11 until you are sure the new Alesis module will work for you. I hope that helps.
hello phil, within my searches to configure xtalk, threshold, gain, and all those fine tweeks for the dm10 module.. and yes.. i sold the td11 kv, and got the drum tec mesh conversion kit from dum tec.
at the moment i have the alesis trigger io with 2 extra crashes and 1 tom.
i found out that module configuration is one thing and midi is another, which can be configured on the SD2.
been shedding some lights about this, just gotta be pacient and first of all, learned to read the manuals. 😉
Sorry for upping this post after 6 years ^_^’
I’m curious about the “3 hihats” assertion. I’m in the need of ad additional hihat, half-open or such. I noticed that triggering the hihat note from the TriggerIO basically triggers the same hihat on the DM10, so the open status is controlled by the DM10 pedal.
I than mapped an additional hihat sound on a different note in the DM10, but I can’t have a half-open sound. If I trigger the sound on a “rim trigger”, it’s full open. If I trigger it on the head, it’s closed.
I thought it’s OK to have a full open sound, that I can fade by a low decay value (cheap-tricks FTW) but I can’t have it on my head zone. Switching zones would up in esoteric cross-soldering on the wire to trigger a full-open sound.
So, when you talk about having 3 hihats on a single kit, are you talking about three *independent* ones?
How did you did this? Many thanks!
To be honest, its been so long I don’t really remember off the top of my head. I do remember that the trigger I/O must be set to switch type hi-hat controller. You would then need to change each midi note on the trigger I/O to correspond with the note locations to your sounds in the DM10. For instants, if you have a hi-hat sound assigned to midi note #37 on the DM10, make sure your trigger I/O hi hat control port is set to note #37 (pedal up) to trigger that sound on the DM10. You should be able to assign a hi-hat sound on the DM10 at these midi note locations:
MIDI#37,MIDI#39,MIDI#52,MIDI#54-56,MIDI#58,MIDI#62,MIDI#65-91.
If you are triggering the regular hi-hat in the DM10, then you don’t have the trigger I/O assigned to the correct midi notes for hi hat control. Chances are the Trigger I/O is set at the stock values which is only going to trigger the same hi-hat in the DM10. You need to set up your “additional” hi-hats sound in the DM10 somewhere in the midi note values I listed above. Then you need to make sure your Trigger I/O hi-hat control notes match the note locations in the DM10 to your “additional” hi-hat sounds. I hope that helps.
I don’t know if this helps but, you might want to also check out this link:
DM10 Expansion with Trigger I/O & ControlPad
I have a question for you. I’m purchasing used equipment to keep the cost down. A DM 10x kit and probably a DM 10 kit for the extra hardware and smaller heads. So, if i understand this concept correctly, i could conceivably connect the two DM 10 modules this way? And possibly have easier and greater control over the added equipment? Please let me know.
Thanks much,
Mike
Hi Mike,
If you are using two DM10s, the easiest thing to do is just combine the audio output of the two modules to a small mixer. That way you don’t have to worry about the midi set-up. If you plan on using the two modules with a VST, set-up the modules with different output midi channels (example: module one is on channel 10 and module two is on channel 9). Than you should be able to use both modules within your VST (hopefully). Some VST’s do not allow for multiple midi devices.
Oh. I didn’t think of that. And don’t have the second kit yet to experiment. So then, here’s another question for you. Could I output one into the other and output from the second to an amp or headphones and still be able to input a music source and record?