Is there a fix for crosstalk on SL drums?

[phaedrus1313]

I RMA'ed my original EL drums and got an SL set. Overall I really like the sensitivity, and haven't had any problem with fast rolls.

But I do have pretty regular cross-talk (cross talk? crosstalk?) that triggers the blue pad when drumming other pads and using the bass pedal. Here's what happens (and doesn't happen):

I _can't_ trigger the blue pad just by hitting the other pads (soft or hard).

I _can't_ trigger the blue pad just by hitting the bass pedal (soft or hard).

But I _can_ relatively reliably trigger the blue pad via a combination of yellow+bass or yellow+red+bass or yellow+green+bass.

Patterns like the alternating yellow+bass and yellow+red from Wave of Mutilation (and many other songs) or patterns like the beginning of Enter Sandman on expert (or on hard, i'd guess) trigger the blue pretty frequently (thus interrupting streaks).

The weird thing (to me) is that it seems to happen regardless of whether I play extremely lightly or bang away. I thought it would be due to vibrations and would be more likely to be set off when baging, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

What causes this crosstalk? Are there any mods that address it?

Should I RMA these drums? I've managed to put together some long (1000+) note streaks with them on some songs (Gimme Shelter), so they're not all bad, but the extra blues are pretty dang annoying on many songs. (For example, I used to get streaks of 500+ notes pretty regularly on Sandman, and now I'm lucky if I hit 200 and most streaks are probably around 30 notes.)

thanks for any help / advice,
Lee

(My investigation that led to this question was posted here: http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31554)

[phaedrus1313]

So I forgot one thing, which I didn't think mattered: I've been using 1/8" gum rubber pads on the drums for increased rebound and cutting the noise.

After more frustration tonight, I took off the gum rubber pads, and lo and behold, the problem went away completely! The drums seem to play perfectly without the pads on.

Now, this makes me sad. I really really like playing with the pads on.

Can anyone (Project Mercy, are you out there? :-) explain why having the pads on would cause cross-talk on the blue drum head? Any guesses as to different ways to apply the pads (I've been using simple double-sided tape) to make it better?

thanks!
Lee

[Destromas]

Your noise reduction pads might be too heavy, the vibrations might be crossing over into the blue pad.

[angry_jonny]

My guess is that your blue sensor is very tight against the pad head, tighter than the others. Hitting bass sends a vibration through the whole set, which is somehow compounded by the rubber pads, perhaps due to the (slight) extra weight of the rubber. I would think the pads would typically dampen that effect, not compound it, but I confess I don't really get the physics involved with the extra rebound (I would think that force returns to the stick and not to the pad).

At any rate, why not open up your blue pad and check the piezo? Try a counterclockwise 1/8 turn of each screw on the orange plastic dobber (loosen it a tiny bit) and see if the decrease in pressure works. Worth a try...just be slow/cautious getting the pad off.

[phaedrus1313]

thanks, angry_jonny. I will try exactly that and report back here :-)

Lee

[STLnCHI]

i cant figure out how to pm project_mercy so ill post my question here and see if i get the answer im looking for......so i originally had el's...i put dish cloths on the pads with rubber bands to lessen the noise (it kinda worked)......but in the long run it messed up my pads....they started makin wierd sounds and stuff....i rma'd them...since the yellow had been acting funny since the beginning.....i got sl's which i was happy about...i havent had any crosstalk issues.....but to my question....since the sl's are very similar to the qm's according to project_mercy.....should i do the sock mod?...or with the pads end up messed up like before due to the tension from the rubber bands? my red pad on the el's became very loose and started making wierd sounds after i put rubber bands on them.....any help would be appreciated....especially from people with sl's with the sock mod....thanx

[oddroot]

my issue is much the same as this.. except it's my yellow pad, any whacks at the blue drum of any amount of force will set the yellow off... I tried adjusting the sensor but it really didn't help much at all... pulling the yellow pad out and letting it sit on top plays great until it bounces right off the drum set...

I love this set, but can't live with the blue setting yellow off, sounds like i'm putting in for my 4th set :(

anyone find a good solution to dampening it?