Got loose change? Then you can FIX YOUR DRUMS!

[Keebler]

I'm gonna show you how to fix your broken pads with an US penny.

Once you start playing Hard and Expert on drums, you're gonna have to do a lot of rolls. It might not be until then that you realize your drums are effed, and the drums aren't picking up notes that they should.

The best way to test if you have a problem is to go into practice mode, choose "Won't Get Fooled Again" (loop the Organ Solo) and then choose 90% (so you don't have to listen to the organ solo loop 50 times!)

I decided to pry around and look for a solution, and I found one.

This may not work for all versions of the drumset. If the pads have foam on the underside of them, along with an orange mechanism with a spring in the center, then you have the version I'm talking about. Here's what it looks like with the green pad pulled off:

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/8...rumfix1xu1.jpg

That orange mechanism you see there is screwed into the underside of the pad. This orange mechanism has a spring attached - this spring is pinned against the drum pad's contact sensor. If you remove the orange mechanism w/spring by unscrewing it with a Philips head screwdriver, you will reveal the sensor. Pull the sensor up and you will see a rubber pad either attached to the sensor or laying in the sensor tray.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2...rumfix2kr2.jpg

What is this rubber pad for? Well, it serves 2 purposes.
1.) It absorbs the shock of other pad hits. Without these rubber pads, you could hit the red pad and have it register for both red and yellow.
2.) It helps to create more tension on the spring, thus putting more tension on the sensor (making it more sensitive).

From what I saw, there is 1 rubber pad for the red and green drums, and 2 rubber pads for the yellow and blue drums. This is because yellow and blue are adjacent to 2 drum pads and thus, need to be able to absorb twice the shock.

I originally experimented with relocating rubber pads from some drum pads to others - this was met with mixed results. Then I found the solution: a good old American penny. If you swap the rubber pad from the red or green drum out for a penny, you can improve the sensitivity of your drum to rolls. Doing this will result in a piece of metal touching the metallic sensor, leading to more vibrations being picked up. This, in turn leads to more sensitivity and better pick up on fast notes.

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5...rumfix3vk7.jpg

So yeah. Once you have that in place, place the orange mechanism w/spring back on and screw it in very tightly. Test out your drum to make sure it works like you want. If you find other drums are registering, put the rubber pad you removed underneath the penny.

Alternatively, if this solution doesn't help, you can fool around with the contact sensor to make sure it is well placed in the tray. Or you can fool around with the orange mechanism w/spring to make sure it is pushing on the right part of the sensor - and that the springs are very tight.

Hopefully, this will help you guys out.

[Maggot_Brain]

Pretty cool. I may have to try this.

[Huitzilopochtli]

Well, it may certainly void any type of warranty but if it works, I'm all for it.
My yellow pad is starting to fail, it picks about 1/4th of the hits only and it won't probably be an option to send for a replacement.

Question, how do you go about disassembling the pad?

Also, do you have any recommendations for the pedal plug? It keeps disconnecting while playing and although I'm sure a bit of tape would solve that, I wanted to make sure there wasn't a more permanent and sleeker looking solution before covering that plug with duct tape

[Keebler]

The drum pads should pull off with a little force. Those rubber plugs you see are all that is keeping the top of the pad connected to everything else.

How does it void ur warranty. i mean is there any visual evidence that you took the pad off. cuz if it doesnt work just put the stuff back the way it came and it looks exatly the same, how would anyone tell

[Keebler]

Let me know if it helps you guys out. I'm kind of interested in seeing how it helps people with differently affected drum sets.

[Keebler]

I hope people are seeing this thread, because it definitely fixed my drums.

[DasKonstruct]

Just tried the mod and it works and it doesn't work. The penny works but by adding pressure to the sensor not by being metal. Anyone who plays beatmania and has modded their keys knows what I'm talking about. It increases the hit rate but the penny also vibrates to the point of registering 2-3 hits per 1 hit. Theres a simpler solution though.

I'll post a few mods tonight with pics that I've done this past week that have let me increase the sensitivity of my red and green hit pads without the tape or penny mod. It also let me play full throttle at 2am in my apt with no added bass beats coming from the neighbor or special lighting from the police.

[voodoo idol]

Originally Posted by DasKonstruct

Just tried the mod and it works and it doesn't work. The penny works but by adding pressure to the sensor not by being metal. Anyone who plays beatmania and has modded their keys knows what I'm talking about. It increases the hit rate but the penny also vibrates to the point of registering 2-3 hits per 1 hit. Theres a simpler solution though.

I'll post a few mods tonight with pics that I've done this past week that have let me increase the sensitivity of my red and green hit pads without the tape or penny mod. It also let me play full throttle at 2am in my apt with no added bass beats coming from the neighbor or special lighting from the police.

We have no pics! We want pics!

[RX King]

Originally Posted by DasKonstruct

Just tried the mod and it works and it doesn't work. The penny works but by adding pressure to the sensor not by being metal. Anyone who plays beatmania and has modded their keys knows what I'm talking about. It increases the hit rate but the penny also vibrates to the point of registering 2-3 hits per 1 hit. Theres a simpler solution though.

I'll post a few mods tonight with pics that I've done this past week that have let me increase the sensitivity of my red and green hit pads without the tape or penny mod. It also let me play full throttle at 2am in my apt with no added bass beats coming from the neighbor or special lighting from the police.

Please share this mod -- the tape works, but looks pretty awful.