I've been using my DTXpress III a little more recently and realizing I hate the pads. The one's that bother me the most are the snare and hi-hat. I only use it occasionally for practice right now, but that might change in the future. We practice at the bassist's house and he's about to have a baby. Using an e-kit would allow us to practice all in headphones, so other than singing there wouldn't be much sound.

Is it worth upgrading just the two pads, which seems like it will cost a fair amount? Or am I better off just buying another kit?

Getting an upgraded kit is going to be a good $1000 new, which is probably more than I should spend. I've seen used TD-4's (not the one with all mesh) for $600+ on CL, which seems like it wouldn't be much more than just upgrading my snare and hi-hat.

The other option was using mesh heads and triggers on one of my acoustic kits. It would allow me to control the volume at practice much better and I could use my laptop and addictive drums to get some great sounds going. Might even turn out well at smaller gigs.

Do the external triggers work with mesh heads? I'd have to get cymbal pads for this setup, which adds cost. Are the Pintech single zone one's decent? It seems like an AE conversion might be the best of all worlds for me if it's affordable.

I would't mind having the feel/layout of my acoustic kit, but having the control of an e-kit.

I appreciate any and all feedback.