Replacing the Drums - should I even bother?

[stavejon]

Well, my Red Drum pad finally went bad. I've suspected it's been missing for a while, but I've only been playing on Easy and Medium. Now I get to hard, and start doing rolls, and I can't pass Train Kept A Rollin, even though I know I'm right. On top of that, it just recently stopped registering almost all my hits.

So the logical thing to do would be to request a warranty replacement, but after browsing the forums, I see that the problem isn't that my set is broken - the problem is all the sets are broken. It's ultimately a design flaw, not a broken set on my part.

I also see that the replacement sets being sent out are exactly like the bad ones (I didn't take mine apart, but I pulled up the edge of a pad enough to see I have the newer design, where the foam is attached to the underside of the pad).

So basically, I can get a replacement set that will also eventually break, and as things currently stand, I could do that ad-nauseum until EA finally decides to fix the real problem - the design behind these kits.

So what should I do - give up at this point? Has anyone actually received a replacement drum kit that worked flawlessly? (as it should) Does EA have plans to address the problem with these kits? As it stands now, it appears as if I've shelled out $170 for a product that will never function properly.

[Akurei]

I'm in the same boat and not really sure what to do. I mean for another 170 I can get a new gun, and a greyhound ticket and go postal. A "good" company would of issued a recall by now. But EA being who they are, have far far too much pride to ever do that. Why what ever would the investors think?

[AddictedtoKaos]

I too am interested in purchasing a GUN, and with the remaining cash from the $170 should get me plenty of gas to get to EA headquaters with a few cherry cans to douse the place with... lol only kidding ;) angrily though :mad:

[davidshek]

So what should I do - give up at this point? Has anyone actually received a replacement drum kit that worked flawlessly? (as it should) Does EA have plans to address the problem with these kits? As it stands now, it appears as if I've shelled out $170 for a product that will never function properly.

I have a fully functioning kit straight out of my original bundle.

A buddy of mine at work had a faulty red pad in his bundle, so he sent off for a replacement. His replacement kit works just fine, everything is 100%.

So flawless kits DO exist, take comfort in that fact. Just remember that the people posting on the forums are the ones who are having problems. So you get a bit of a biased viewpoint just reading the posts here. The thousands and thousands of people with working drumkits aren't on the forums complaining. They're off playing the game :)

[White_Rider]

I don't see why you wouldn't just go ahead and do the replacement - what do you have to lose? Perhaps you will get a good one. If your red pad is barely working, I doubt you'll get a replacement this is worse and it really isn't much bother other than a phone call.

[Lethnavrin]

Just a head's up. I had the exact same problem and had them send me an express replacement. The replacement has the exact same problem! I called tech support and they had no idea what I was talking about. This problem is getting very frustrating. It seems to be becoming more and more common as people are able to play at the harder difficulties where rolls are required. I figure I'll wait until I hear word that a new model is available.

[R33DH4M]

The EA customer support people are stationed in the Philippines and they have no ****ing clue what they are talking about and its very difficult to understand what they are saying with their strong accents. $170 of very poorly made ****.

[Jonathan]

Just a head's up. I had the exact same problem and had them send me an express replacement. The replacement has the exact same problem! I called tech support and they had no idea what I was talking about. This problem is getting very frustrating. It seems to be becoming more and more common as people are able to play at the harder difficulties where rolls are required. I figure I'll wait until I hear word that a new model is available.

I share the same experience. I got my replacement on Monday... same problem... I'll be calling EA about it today.

Also, my replacement kit was heavily used looking.... so I'm going to send them back the crap they sent me. LoL

All this is doing is continuing to suck money from EA, but I guess this is what they want to do.

[aznpride93]

I have the same problem
The drums work for about a minute then they completely die

The light is still on but none of the buttons register

Start, Select-nothing

After that i have to reset my ps2 to have the drums work for another 1 min. of a song

[NidoGod]

my yellow pad is completely busted, won't register 90% of the time. The sad part is, I just got it and can barely play on medium. I ordered a replacement, heres hoping :/

[don_Gotti]

I have asked for a refund. Support has not responded to me for a week. I will not be happy if a second bad drum is returned to me. I am also having a random loss of connectivity with the guitar, and when I press down, it doesnt register. Is this what I get for spending so much on a game? Still hoping for someone to contact me regarding a refund.

[don_Gotti]

I have asked for a refund. Support has not responded to me for a week. I will not be happy if a second bad drum is returned to me. I am also having a random loss of connectivity with the guitar, and when I press down, it doesnt register. Is this what I get for spending so much on a game? Still hoping for someone to contact me regarding a refund.

[moneyhunter69]

i laugh because i too got bit by the dead red drum pad.....every other pad works, except the red one. yet my GUITAR works just fine..and so does the mic.....oh well....lets hope that my replacement works fine, then my rock band bundle will finally be complete

[White_Rider]

My first set of drum pads worked great until the yellow one stopped functioning. The replacement i got works great except for fast drum rolls. The pads won't register the fast repetitive notes, so I end up missing notes. This didn't happen with the first set of pads I had.

I guess I could do another Express replacement but i too am worried that this is an inherent design problem.

Wasn't there another thread where somebody was able to fix this problem with fast rolls not registering?

[Asgautr]

If you have no problems with doing the express replacement, just keep doing it until it's fixed. I'm not sure whether there is a drum model revision floating around yet that works perfectly, but I'm not going to sit around and wait; I'm going to make EA replace my set again and again until it works.

Some of the top drummers on the leaderboards have replaced their sets multiple times and can't get one that works. Is there anyone, who plays on expert, that can confirm they have a set that never drops notes, or at least very rarely?

[NickBrutal]

If you have no problems with doing the express replacement, just keep doing it until it's fixed. I'm not sure whether there is a drum model revision floating around yet that works perfectly, but I'm not going to sit around and wait; I'm going to make EA replace my set again and again until it works.

Some of the top drummers on the leaderboards have replaced their sets multiple times and can't get one that works. Is there anyone, who plays on expert, that can confirm they have a set that never drops notes, or at least very rarely?

Yes, if you play on XBOX360.
Error 505 is his gamertag, he plays on expert and his yellow pad barely ever doesn't register.

[davidshek]

Is there anyone, who plays on expert, that can confirm they have a set that never drops notes, or at least very rarely?

Yep, I've confirmed that in several threads, and will do it again here. I've been playing on Hard and Expert since day 1 and my kit works flawlessly. The only time I miss notes is when I miss notes. :)

[Matt]

My first set: yellow stopped responding almost completely. The red started skipping as well.

My second set: so far, perfect. I can't comment on the fast rolls, but given the fact that I have actually nailed a couple of the "super" fast ones (pure luck, I'm not that good) and I have absolutely no issues with mediocre rolls I'd say it's working perfectly.

The heads on the red and yellow drum on the new one seems to sit a little taller in the plastic housing and they are definately much tighter than the old ones. I did the foam/felt mod to reduce the noise as well and to be honest it seems to actually respond better. If anything I now miss less notes due to accidentally "double-tapping" the plastic heads (sometimes just the slightest little tap would blow it for me). That's more of my fault, and lack of technique than the drum set though.

Should you bother? Absolutely.

[stavejon]

Yeah, I requested a replacement for the drums. We'll see what happens.

[skullpit]

My drums aren't registering fast notes on the snare (Run To The Hills on expert) and I'm a drummer so I know I'm playing it right. *sigh* I guess I have to request a replacement.

My guitar isn't working well either. It also has trouble registering fast notes (hard or expert). It also sounds like there's something loose on the inside of it. I guess I have to get replacements on both.

[Project_Mercy]

My release-day drums have always been fine (beyond the voice comms jack not working). My red pad is now occasionally fickle, only after I threw a long party where I found some jackasses who apparently had no idea how to actually drum were monkey-gripping the sticks and mashing mercilessly on the kit. I can't pass Run to the Hills because I suck, not because of the pads. I'm fine with other songs with long rolls in them though (like train kept a rollin or ballroom blitz). This is on expert.

I wish the drumset wasn't as fragile as it is, but I don't think it's inherently flawed. My only gripe with the design is the fact there's so little rebound on the pads. Some rubber on the top would have been a nice touch.

I would RMA it and just be careful about how hard you're drumming.

[Asgautr]

I just got my new set today and it's still crap, though slightly better. The green pad is virtually perfect, the blue and yellow are okay, but the red pad is pure crap as usual. Taping doesn't help. Muting doesn't help. Lag calibration doesn't help. I can't get higher than 95% on songs I can play perfectly. That's 1 in 20 hits not registering. It's not fun to play when I see my combo breaking every 10 seconds.

I wish we could get some acknowledgment from EA. I just want to know if they're working on new revision and when it will be ready. You'd think they would want to announce something, because it would save them money on 2nd day air shipping from people like me requesting warranty replacements over and over.

It seems like it's an inherent problem with the design of the drums after trying 2 different sets with the same problem and seeing countless people on the forums having problems, yet I can go play online and see people get 99% to FC all the time. I don't get it.

:(

[GibGirl]

Ugh, this is discouraging. My launch-day set has been good to me, but I didn't realize until playing on someone else's set that my yellow pad is only about 90-95% functional, dropping enough notes to ruin my combos. So I ordered a replacement recently, and got it today.

The yellow is flawless. Unfortunately, the red pad seems to be in the same boat as a lot of other people here - useless for rolls.

While checking and comparing the two drum controllers to see which one to keep and which to send back, I also noticed that my first set seems to have suffered from a New Year's party - the blue pad has a crack in the plastic, underneath, and the yellow has two.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do... the original is still more functional in general, but yellow gets more use than red - trials with the replacement resulted in me scoring higher. Which is a quandary - especially with the cracks in the pads on my old kit. So, which do I keep? Should the cracks justify sending in the older one and dealing with the red pad temporarily?

[v1g1lance1]

Use tape on the red pad in the meantime. After doing that my replacement kit works fine. I prefer it to the older (intermittent register) kit.

[Project_Mercy]

So, which do I keep? Should the cracks justify sending in the older one and dealing with the red pad temporarily?

Have you tried snugging up the red pad with tape/foam on the new kit and see if that improves it at all?

I'm going to buy another set when the february sales hit the stores, maybe I'll have better input on the replacement drums at that point. I wonder if I can frankenstein a set together. between the two. I could probably even hack the snare off and put it between my legs. Hmm.

While mine are from a release-day set, I think I have the 2nd type of drums (not the first and not the last). They seem to work OK for me, but It's hard for me to tell what's me and what's the kit, given how mediocre my expert playing is. And on hard you just don't get up to a speed where it seems to matter.

[GibGirl]

Have you tried snugging up the red pad with tape/foam on the new kit and see if that improves it at all?

What exactly should I be aiming to do here? Is it something a couple rubber-bands around the pad would also accomplish? I haven't kept up-to-date on the temporary drum pad fixes since I didn't realize until recently that mine had problems.



Do I just need to tighten the pad a bit closer to the base via some means?

[Project_Mercy]

Edit: This post is only applicable if your pad internally looks like this (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15499). If your pad instead looks like this (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15020), then it works slightly differently.


Do I just need to tighten the pad a bit closer to the base via some means?

Mostly. If you pull the pad off from the drum frame you'll see that the pad consists of 4 bumpers on the edges and a sensor in the middle (with the wire going to it). The middle part is a plastic cage that consists of a piezoelectric sensor next to the pad surface, and a spring beneath it. It would appear to me that the spring's purpose is to keep the piezo tensioned to the pad, while still providing some give when the pad flexes or takes an excessive hit as well as not fix-mount the sensor so it doesn't miss trigger from the other pad hits. I could be full of crap, but that's just what it looks like from my untrained eye. The bumpers and side foam and all that exist soley to give the pad rebound and keep it quiet (respectivly).

I'm explaining this because this is the tidbit that I think explains why the taping or foam or penny or any of that has an effect, and lets you make your own decisions on the mod.

For a pad hit to register, the piezo has to deform. For the pizeo to deform it has to bend or get squished. For that to happen the pad has to cease movement and deform. To do this (by default) there is a foam pad directly beneath the piezo cage in the drum frame. When you strike the pad (anywhere on the pad) the pad will bend on the edges, but the center will push into that foam pad, causing the above to happen. Over (a sadly short) amount of time, that central foam becomes deformed. The more you strike on the edges of the pad vs the center, the more that foam appears to become deformed.

By taping the pad down, what you're doing is forcing the piezo cage closer to the foam pad, but by doing so you're removing some of the travel in the rebound. Your other option is to increase the padding beneath the piezo cage. There was even one person who unscrewed the pizeo cage mounts slightly, thereby increasing the cage depth. I suspect he'll destroy the whole assembly soon doing that though.

So, what I did was take some thick but extremely loose foam, and put it over that central foam pad at the bottom of the drum frame. It doesn't cut down on my pad rebound (what little there is in these pads) and increases pad responsiveness (also it doesn't increase piezo sensetivity). Taping it down also does the same, but reduces rebound slightly (depending on how hard you tape).

Additionally, if you increase the tension of the spring that holds the piezo to the pad, you can increase the sensitivity of the sensor. This could be good or bad. If you increase it too much, the pad will miss-trigger when you hit one of the other pads. To do this you just need to put something beneath the spring that pushes on the piezo at the bottom of the cage. Various methods work. Some people have chosen to use pennies. I think a better solution would be to take a slightly less solid substance and mold it into that. Like Plumber's putty (which dries pretty hard, but still has some elasticity to it).

I'm pretty sure opening up your piezo cage will void the warranty. Maybe even popping a pad off will. So, doing any of this is at your own risk.

I apologize for the length. I didn't realize it would take that much to explain it.

[stavejon]

Just got my replacement kit. It seems slightly better, but it still stops responding on the red pad (and green on this one, too) if I do a roll any harder than one where I literally "brush" the sticks up against the pad. When I say brush, I mean there is no wrist action - I drag the ends of the sticks across the center of the pad and let them skip like stones on a pond. I know they recommend you do soft rolls, but this seems excessively soft.

Even those rolls don't register all the notes. I always test on the Drum Roll and Guitar Enters sections of Train Kept A Pollin' on Expert, and the best I was able to do was 75%, which is up from 70% on my old kit. Unfortunately, when playing the song on expert outside of practice mode, 70% still fails me out unless I use overdrive.

I am going to try to recalibrate again using your method. I always set the sound offset first, and testing by playing a song without looking at the screen. I thought it was good, but I'm going to try it "backward" like you did and see if I can get it more precise.

[Project_Mercy]

My favorite way to check drum calibration is the 2-hand rolls on Ballroom blitz, or by playing Foreplay. For whatever reason, I find the 2-hand rolls on BB to be the most fickle. Maybe it's just because I suck.

[Liger_Trainer]

I just got an replacement drum set a few days ago and it does seem "better". I can register about 90% on the red pad if I play on the edges - not the center.

For anyone that removed their pads to add a penny - do you just pull up or do you have to unscrew anything first? I don't want to break anything by trying to force it open :)

[Project_Mercy]

For anyone that removed their pads to add a penny - do you just pull up or do you have to unscrew anything first? I don't want to break anything by trying to force it open :)

There's no screws holding it on. The pad floats on 4 rubber plugs/bumpers. Gently grasp the sides of it and pull up softly until you feel the plugs release. Don't yank up hard or you may damage the sensor wire.

If you look at Keebler's pictures in his penny mod thread (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15020), you can see the 4 bumpers. I believe this is what the early model drums look like. I think the later model drums look like this (http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15499), but you'll have to confirm that for me. I'd be interested in seeing a shot of the inside of the drum frame and pad bottom on the drums they're currently shipping out as replacements.

I still think increasing the spring tension is a better ideal than putting a penny between the pad and the sensor, but YMMV. Or maybe something slightly softer, like a piece of plasticard.