I think what it comes down to is that there are a few different reasons why a pad stop responding well. There are also a couple different ways to go about resolving the issue.
A number of people have had the little plug that connects the drumhead to the body come loose or, it was just never plugged in all the way. This is a really easy fix and can be identified with out even removing the drumhead. Just peak between the top and bottom gap on the offending pad and see if the plug is in the clip. If it isn't, put it back in the clip. Problem solved.
The second reason does not seem to be fully understood by a lot of people. I can try and explain it as best I can. The sensor that detects a hit is a type of transducer. It takes the vibration (energy) of the drum strike and converts it into a signal that a hit has occurred. These particular sensors ability to convert your hit to a signal can lessen over time. Time is not so much a factor as hard strikes can cause hairline fractures in the surface of the sensor. This increases resistance and often results in a "dead area" feeling on the drum head, or it takes a harder hit. Other manifestation is roll detection. Rapid hits become tough to translate into individual strikes.
The sensor is mounted dead center in the drumhead. A single sharp direct hit or a "frustration hit", as was likely the case with mine, could cause the beginning of a crack in the sensors material. A downward spiral of notes that I was certain were hits and friends saying, "I know I hit the green pad WTF!"
So what can you do about it?
The first thing is prevention. I know its fun to play these things hard. I personally love to. However, you will at some point fracture that sensor with the perfect hard, dead center hit. If you have to play hard (which you don't), I strongly recommend one of the neoprene pad mods.
If it has already happened, obviously warranty replacement is an option for now for most of us. I think most us know the deal by know with the long waits and credit card holds. I am not knocking that process. It seems a lot of people have had success with it.
Outside of warranty, I can tell you what isn't a good idea. Pennies of anything else that increases pressure on the sensor. That route may buy you a short time while waiting for a replacement but that "fix", will actually make things worse by putting further pressure on a cracked sensor.
So heres the pitch. As mentioned earlier in this post, my green pad stopped working nearly all together right before New Years. My wife and I were carting Rock Band all over the place for the holidays to have our families and non-gamer friends join in on the fun. My kit travels A LOT. After the third demo day in a row I started to notice everyone complaining about green not working most of the time. I checked the plug and all was well in that department. So I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I didn't want to wait weeks or even to many days to get my drums back. That night I tore into my pad and discovered my sensors "brains", in pieces. It was only being held together by the taped on bandage looking material that some of you may have seen in the
www.oxm.com article on the drumset. Upon pulling off the tape I realized I would need to do something about the situation myself because at that point I had obviously voided my warranty.
After a lot of investigation and cross reference with component specs I was able to source replacement sensors. I bought enough to fix my set and have a few on hand for friends. The rest I am selling on ebay. I made a detailed set of instructions and include things you will need to install the sensor properly. Its not hard and can be done pretty quickly. The sensors work FLAWLESSLY. I will be posting a link to a youtube video of my sensor working for the skeptics.
So yes I am selling something. Something I would have gladly paid for if it had existed when I was searching for it. It was a lot of work to get the right piece and now that work is done for anyone that is interested.
I would be happy to answer any questions with in reason.
Here is a link to the auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MESE:IT&ih=011
Drum Pad Broken Sensor Discussion
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