So does gum rubber make a big difference?

[S1ashRev]

I was wondering if the gum rubber mod on the drums makes that big of a difference, because I was thinking about buying the gum rubber pads for $30 from http://www.bryanmentock.com/Bryan%20Mentock/gumrubberdrumpads/Gum%20Rubber%20Drum%20Pads%20for%20Rock%20Band.htm l (http://www.bryanmentock.com/Bryan%20Mentock/gumrubberdrumpads/Gum%20Rubber%20Drum%20Pads%20for%20Rock%20Band.htm l).

The only other reason I am waiting to order is because I just RMA'ed my drum kit because my yellow pad started rattling. It doesn't seem broken but I don't want to take any chances.:rolleyes:

[erickOnasis412]

i have gum rubber pads and i really like them.. there's another mod going around called the "sock mod", and i heard that plus the gum rubber combination is extremely useful.. the gum rubber i really do like though, it significantly dampens the sound, i haven't noticed any "chipping away" of the rubber.. there's a very slight loss in sensitivity, but since i got the gum rubber pads i've been able to complete a lot of the songs i couldn't do before

[Ventura]

Yeah I swear by the gum rubber solution also.

That guy selling em though is backed up pretty bad. I was last emailed an update on 26th January to say he's shifting to a new faster method of producing them just to keep up with demand.

So yeah while they're great, if you're looking for a set I'd get an order in ASAP, cause you'll be in for a bit of a wait either way.

[Kurai]

Love the gum rubber pads, they make a huge difference in noise. You do sorta leave little marks in the pads when you play, but, if you want you can rub em off, or just leave em, doesn't really affect the pads.

[Highlandlassie1]

These Drumshhh pads have been working fantastic for us,

Here is a link:

http://www.pregamelobby.com/forum/drumshhh/10907-drumshhh-product-faq.html

[A Passofist]

these rubber mod things seem pretty cool. i might get them, but question: are they durable? sure, they dampen the noise, which is good. but will it prevent my drum from cracking like my old drum kit with natural heads? if not, are there any heads that do that? if so, I'll get those. i don't really care if they're as loud as the normal one's, as long as they protect my drums from cracking, i don't really mind.

[STLnCHI]

The only other reason I am waiting to order is because I just RMA'ed my drum kit because my yellow pad started rattling. It doesn't seem broken but I don't want to take any chances.:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

i have the same prob with my yellow pad..it rattles which is annoying sometimes...but its not broken....im past my 60 days and didnt rma it b/c otherwise its fine and i didnt want to risk getting sent another one that might not work...which brings me to the question of did they increase the 60 day time frame due to the high volume of replacements....if they did i might want to send it back. they are releasing standalone drums in about a week so they should have fixed all the defects by now. still cant get the superfast red rolls but i think thats due to lack of real drum playing skill.

but back to the original topic...were u getting them from some guy named JT (cant remember the company name only the guys name)?

im thinking of getting the gum rubber mod, but im not convinced yet.

[GreyFoxx]

Well I had the same question as you. After a while of reading on the forums I decided to go ahead and get some. I went with the neoprene rubber because I thought black would look a lot better on my drums. which it does!

When I first put them on you can definitely notice a reduction in noise. The rebound however wasn't too great. I was expecting better after all the hype.

Also at first I was having some sensitivity issues. I kept getting randome misses even though I was sure I was hitting the notes. Some extra tape to make sure the pads were completely secure seemed to fix it for the most part. I also needed to get used to hitting them with the right amound of force. That way I didnt get a missed note or a double hit.

My overall impression is if you want them for extra protection and noise reduction they are a good deal. However they will not improve your drumming skill by much. If you want to get better only good old fashion practicing will help you.

Also just this week I found that 2 of my drums heads where cracked. I guess if you play the drums a lot like me, it is the fate of your drums to eventually break. I suppose the pads helped a bit. If you look at them you can see the wear and tear where most of my hits landed.

In the end though I didnt really notice that much of a difference with or without the pads. Its up to you if think you will need them. Hopefully with my new drums I will notice a much bigger improvement. I am not sure if the cracked drum head had anything to do with my performance. It looked like they had cracked a while ago and didnt notice it because of the rubber on top of it.

Anyways until then I am stuck playing on a crappy QM set until I get my replacement sent back. I hope its another EL model.

[dcha]

30 bucks?!?! is this guy out of his ****ing mind?

that like 150% profit.

[S1ashRev]

The only other reason I am waiting to order is because I just RMA'ed my drum kit because my yellow pad started rattling. It doesn't seem broken but I don't want to take any chances.:rolleyes:


i have the same prob with my yellow pad..it rattles which is annoying sometimes...but its not broken....im past my 60 days and didnt rma it b/c otherwise its fine and i didnt want to risk getting sent another one that might not work...which brings me to the question of did they increase the 60 day time frame due to the high volume of replacements....if they did i might want to send it back. they are releasing standalone drums in about a week so they should have fixed all the defects by now. still cant get the superfast red rolls but i think thats due to lack of real drum playing skill.

but back to the original topic...were u getting them from some guy named JT (cant remember the company name only the guys name)?

im thinking of getting the gum rubber mod, but im not convinced yet.

Mine is over 90 days too. I got my set on launch day. They don't even ask for a date of purchase or your receipt (atleast not on the website) so I guess they extended the warranty period because of all the problems.

But about the pads, I am not only looking for the drums to be quieter but I was hoping for some more rebound. From what I have heard the felt and neoprene rubber don't give any extra rebound but the gum rubber does, which is why I was thinking about buying those.

[GreyFoxx]

Well as I stated in my last post I didn't noticed that much of a rebound. There is some but not enough to make it feel like a real drum set.

In fact you might get wore out from hitting because you have to hit harder to get a good rebound.

[Kyahx]

I have the natural gum rubber (ordered from the exact guy in the first post) and they are wonderful. I'm not sure if there is a difference between the natural gum rubber and the neophane, but mine have great bounce and really do reduce how tired you get while playing.

Gum rubber and neophane should both do well to protect the pads from damage. I'd avoid any felt-based mods completely, as they just break down over time (particularly on expert play)

[S1ashRev]

Well as I stated in my last post I didn't noticed that much of a rebound. There is some but not enough to make it feel like a real drum set.

In fact you might get wore out from hitting because you have to hit harder to get a good rebound.

I thought you were talking about the neoprene rubber not the gum rubber.:confused:
I heard neoprene didn't have rebound but the gum rubber does. Practice pads are even made of gum rubber. I am leaning towards the gum rubber mod. Hopefully they won't take too long to get here.

I am also thinking about the bass pedal mods. Looking more at the ones that use a real bass pedal. They are just kind of expensive but I do realize they are using a real pedal which cost about $50 by themselves.

[GreyFoxx]

Well I do have some Gum Rubber laying around. I guess I could cut some pads out and see if there is a difference in rebound. If there is they you can bet I will order another sheet of gum rubber. :)

[S1ashRev]

I just found another place to order them from on this forum. http://www.drumpadsinc.com/

You can get them in red, black, or tan. I ordered the red ones because they are supposed to be made from a better type of gum rubber. Can't wait.:D

[Sharpshoota34]

^^ I just took your advice and ordered the red ones as well...Did you get the adhesive backing? Does one have to order that too??


Can't wait to try these out though, I had done the foam/felt mod and it's really wore down and lost all of its rebound.

[Sayburr]

I have gum rubber pads, made a world of difference for my wife and I. After drumming for a while the original pads became marked and slightly dented, they clacked like crazy when playing, and there really was no bounce. Got the gum rubber and now they are quiter, the sticks bounce off the pads (making quick hits easier), and in the month of very heavy use, there is not a mark one on any of the three pads. Make sure you get GUM RUBBER, nothing else works as good from what I have read.

[S1ashRev]

^^ I just took your advice and ordered the red ones as well...Did you get the adhesive backing? Does one have to order that too??


Can't wait to try these out though, I had done the foam/felt mod and it's really wore down and lost all of its rebound.

No I didn't get the adhesive backing. You can buy spray adhesive or some good double sided tape for less than $8.

[brauks]

Not trying to derail this thread, I just want to throw another idea out there. If it's bounce that you're looking for, this is what I've done, which I've posted in another thread as well. This helps the noise significantly as well.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k306/gyllotine/February2090.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k306/gyllotine/February2089.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k306/gyllotine/February2091.jpg

This is my marshmellow mod. :D It's dense weather stripping wrapped in masking tape. You can get the stripping at any hardward store. It comes in long strips, and is very cheap, I seem to recall about $5 for a really long strip (I'm not 100% on the exact price). It will lose a bit of bounce over time though, but since you'll have so much of it, you can easily replace it when it does.

This has worked great for me, the feel is fantastic. It feels just like my practice pad. I played a marathon 12 hour BWT on Friday night, and they held up great!

[flyingzeke]

I have gum rubber (the red ones from JT), and I love it.

To be honest, I don't notice a huge reduction in noise (there's some, but not more than 20%), but the rebound is so much better. I can roll now, which is nice. I also like that I don't have to worry about my heads dying anymore. The gum rubbers is pretty stout.

[Angry_Games]

Not trying to derail this thread, I just want to throw another idea out there. If it's bounce that you're looking for, this is what I've done, which I've posted in another thread as well. This helps the noise significantly as well.

<images removed to make slow forum go a little faster haha>


This is my marshmellow mod. :D It's dense weather stripping wrapped in masking tape. You can get the stripping at any hardward store. It comes in long strips, and is very cheap, I seem to recall about $5 for a really long strip (I'm not 100&#37; on the exact price). It will lose a bit of bounce over time though, but since you'll have so much of it, you can easily replace it when it does.

This has worked great for me, the feel is fantastic. It feels just like my practice pad. I played a marathon 12 hour BWT on Friday night, and they held up great!

I tried this at first, with ALL kinds of things...hard computer foam (shaping foam), soft but dense foam, motherboard backing foam, etc. Tried just about every kind of foam there is.

Then I happened to see these:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tama-TCP10D-Silent-Tips?sku=440041&src=3SOSWXXA

in my local music store while buying a mic stand.

rubber tips + gum rubber pads = still very quiet with excellent bounce!

(besides, taping that foam to your sticks means you repeatedly have to repair them and they don't provide even bounce on the hits, etc)

edit: yikes! my first link linked to tips that were like $13...this new link is the proper one where they are about $4-ish...

edit #2: gah...well, google for "Tama silent drum tips" and you'll find a plethora of choices! (since the link I provided says they are back-ordered until nearly April)

[S1ashRev]

So, now my blue pad has started rattling too. Both the yellow and blue pads still work with no problems but if the replacement I am getting works better I'll keep those. I am not taking any chances by waiting to long to exchange because they might start getting strict with the RMA's.

Also, I might try those tips too. If they work well with the red gum rubber I will be very happy. Can't wait. God, I love this game on the drums.:D

[Project_Mercy]

Well I do have some Gum Rubber laying around. I guess I could cut some pads out and see if there is a difference in rebound. If there is they you can bet I will order another sheet of gum rubber. :)


There's a difference in rebound. Neoprene damps the hit more than the stock rubber does. You can see this via my (agreed poor) pad test, which is linked below. Neoprene's only strength is that it's black, and it's pretty sturdy.

My testing pretty well ran in combination with what Greyfoxx said in his first post.

[darknessmoon]

Also at first I was having some sensitivity issues. I kept getting randome misses even though I was sure I was hitting the notes. Some extra tape to make sure the pads were completely secure seemed to fix it for the most part. I also needed to get used to hitting them with the right amound of force. That way I didnt get a missed note or a double hit.


I just got my Gum Rubber Pads yesterday from Industrial Rubber Supply (That's the name of the company of that one JT guy we all read about) and I loved the noise reduction, but I also noticed I was having the exact, same issue you were having in regards to sensitivity, and it frustrated the living hell outta me cuz I knew I was hitting the right note, but it would register as a miss...

Seems that it was a bit more responsive when I would hit them a bit harder, but I don't want to be bashing away at my drum pads. I then took off the Gum Rubber Pads, and I was able to gold star a few of the easier songs on expert that I kept failing to do so while I had the Gum Rubber pads on.

I couldn't find my damn tape, so I'm going to buy some more and try to tape them down a bit to see if there is any improvement. If that doesn't work, then should I upgrade to heavier sticks? I'm completely ignorant in regards to stick sizes, so would anybody be able to help me with what stick size I should try in this case?

[S1ashRev]

I hate to hear it lessens the response on the set. Hope I don't have the same experience. My new drum kit will be in tomorrow, but I am still waiting on the gum rubber pads.

Also, I did a thread asking about sticks and most people said the best sticks to use were the 5a or 7a. But that was before all the rubber mods, so their answers might be different now.

[AceFrehley]

I have tried 1/16" tan gum rubber pads, 1/8" red gum rubber pads and 1/16" black neoprene rubber pads and while they do help with noise reduction, they really hurt the sensitivity of my drum kit. I have the EL drum kit model and when I used the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads, I had missed notes every now and then and since it wasn't as thick, the noise reduction was only about 30 to 40 percent better. The 1/8" red gum rubber pads hurt the sensitivity of the drum kit even more since they are thicker, but the noise reduction was about 50 to 60 percent better. The 1/16" black neoprene rubber pads also caused missed notes, about as much as the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads and the noise reduction was worse than the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads. It was around 20 to 30 percent better than without pads. Anyhow, with all of my experimenting and getting frustrated, I decided to play my drum kit without pads, using Zildjian 5A Anti-Vibe Trigger Sticks, and I am not missing any notes at all on medium difficulty, unless it is my fault of course. In fact, I have bettered all of my scores from what they were with the pads on. I have decided to play my drum kit mod free until hopefully a sturdier drum kit is produced. Just because these pads didn't work for me doesn't mean that they won't work for someone else. There are many people on these forums that are having great success with the gum rubber and neoprene rubber pads. For this reason, I am selling all of my pads. I will only accept Paypal or a money order as a method of payment. FYI, I am a reputable seller on Ebay with a rating of over 250 and only 1 negative feedback. Please send me a PM if you are interested and I will quote you a very reasonable price.

[S1ashRev]

Well, I just got my new drumkit in. This one is different from my old one, which was a launch model. This one is quiter and the pads seem softer, but pretty much has the same response as my old one. My old one was EL and so is this one. From what I have heard about the QM's, I am glad I got another EL.

Still waiting on the gum rubber pads. I will reply when I have some time to test them.

[darknessmoon]

I hate to hear it lessens the response on the set. Hope I don't have the same experience. My new drum kit will be in tomorrow, but I am still waiting on the gum rubber pads.

Also, I did a thread asking about sticks and most people said the best sticks to use were the 5a or 7a. But that was before all the rubber mods, so their answers might be different now.

I had many, many friends that are drummers and I'll probably ask to borrow some different sized sticks to see if any would improve the response on the Gum Rubber. It's a great product, but I really hope there is a way to improve the sensitivity issues while having them on...

[scourge]

I have tried 1/16" tan gum rubber pads, 1/8" red gum rubber pads and 1/16" black neoprene rubber pads and while they do help with noise reduction, they really hurt the sensitivity of my drum kit. I have the EL drum kit model and when I used the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads, I had missed notes every now and then and since it wasn't as thick, the noise reduction was only about 30 to 40 percent better. The 1/8" red gum rubber pads hurt the sensitivity of the drum kit even more since they are thicker, but the noise reduction was about 50 to 60 percent better. The 1/16" black neoprene rubber pads also caused missed notes, about as much as the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads and the noise reduction was worse than the 1/16" tan gum rubber pads. It was around 20 to 30 percent better than without pads. Anyhow, with all of my experimenting and getting frustrated, I decided to play my drum kit without pads, using Zildjian 5A Anti-Vibe Trigger Sticks, and I am not missing any notes at all on medium difficulty, unless it is my fault of course. In fact, I have bettered all of my scores from what they were with the pads on. I have decided to play my drum kit mod free until hopefully a sturdier drum kit is produced. Just because these pads didn't work for me doesn't mean that they won't work for someone else. There are many people on these forums that are having great success with the gum rubber and neoprene rubber pads. For this reason, I am selling all of my pads. I will only accept Paypal or a money order as a method of payment. FYI, I am a reputable seller on Ebay with a rating of over 250 and only 1 negative feedback. Please send me a PM if you are interested and I will quote you a very reasonable price.


I'll buy the red ones off of you if you give a good price. How do you send a PM? I don't see it on here.

[klaymation]

What I've seen as the main issue with responsiveness is that a lot of the people leave the original pad on before applying the new rubber.
I didn't use natural gum rubber, I used some synthetic replication, but it works great for me. Granted it doesn't have the rebound of a real kit, but it does feel a lot less dead. Every hit feels much more crisp, and they're crazy responsive. Like, it picks up every hit from a buzz roll.
For me, changing the rubber made a HUGE difference, especially because all of my pads were bubbled up like nobody's business.
I ordered a 12x48" sheet of 1/8" rubber and set to work.
I made a video for anyone interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6-u1diRoko
I'm not the best instructional video-maker, but I did my best! Haha.