Thoughts on rubber pads

roncadillac

roncadillac

Platinum Member
As I have mentioned many times before, I currently own an alesis crimson 2 and previously owned an alesis nitro mesh. Both with mesh snare and tom pads. I have played a few Roland kits with all mesh pads as well. My only experience with rubber pads was practice pads and little multi pad units.

I'm on vacation right now visiting some family and friends so I had the opportunity to get together with an old band mate and jam at his house. He had an old Roland td11 that was worse for wear, the hi hat pedal was basically shot, the bass pad creeped really bad, the rack was more wobbly then my original alesis nitro kit, and the snare pad was terrible. I'll elaborate on the snare pad briefly: this is one of those Roland mesh pads with the white plastic ring separating the rim and head, the rubber rim was unnaturally high so you had to play the drum like you were stirring a soup pot and I kept hitting the plastic for some reason. Also, the rubber rim was not sensitive at all. Sometimes it would make no sound, other times you could trigger a rimshot.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

The tom pads. Simple, basic, single zone rubber pads. Cheap... Basic... Ugly... Utilitarian... No rim zone...Just generally "vanilla" in the truest sense. But let me tell you, these stupid rubber pads were insanely sensitive, responded to every level of dynamics I could throw at them, and were an absolutely joy to play. I typically play smaller kits with only 1 tom, occasionally 2, and I rarely play fills. But this kit had 3 toms and I was absolutely shredding this freaking thing. I was pulling tasty fusion fills out of my pocket I have never played before. And I contribute it 100% to these effortless AWESOME rubber tom pads.

Now, with all that said.. I do wish they had rim zones. For my personal kit and band needs I would HAVE to have rim zones. But, I actually was very surprised by these pads and would have no issue playing a rubber pad kit if I could get multiple zones.

So... Where do I go from here? Yamaha seems to be the only one offering rubber pads on a modern kit but they are single zone... I think? Maybe this means I should try the tcs pads? I would probably love a full tcs pad kit?

@electrodrummer I believe you have previously mentioned gigging rubber pads for a couple two three decades now?

What a damn revelation this was for me.

I also played promark firegrain sticks for the first time and loved them, but that is a topic for a different thread.
 
roncadillac said:
As I have mentioned many times before, I currently own an alesis crimson 2 and previously owned an alesis nitro mesh. Both with mesh snare and tom pads. I have played a few Roland kits with all mesh pads as well. My only experience with rubber pads was practice pads and little multi pad units.

I'm on vacation right now visiting some family and friends so I had the opportunity to get together with an old band mate and jam at his house. He had an old Roland td11 that was worse for wear, the hi hat pedal was basically shot, the bass pad creeped really bad, the rack was more wobbly then my original alesis nitro kit, and the snare pad was terrible. I'll elaborate on the snare pad briefly: this is one of those Roland mesh pads with the white plastic ring separating the rim and head, the rubber rim was unnaturally high so you had to play the drum like you were stirring a soup pot and I kept hitting the plastic for some reason. Also, the rubber rim was not sensitive at all. Sometimes it would make no sound, other times you could trigger a rimshot.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

The tom pads. Simple, basic, single zone rubber pads. Cheap... Basic... Ugly... Utilitarian... No rim zone...Just generally "vanilla" in the truest sense. But let me tell you, these stupid rubber pads were insanely sensitive, responded to every level of dynamics I could throw at them, and were an absolutely joy to play. I typically play smaller kits with only 1 tom, occasionally 2, and I rarely play fills. But this kit had 3 toms and I was absolutely shredding this freaking thing. I was pulling tasty fusion fills out of my pocket I have never played before. And I contribute it 100% to these effortless AWESOME rubber tom pads.

Now, with all that said.. I do wish they had rim zones. For my personal kit and band needs I would HAVE to have rim zones. But, I actually was very surprised by these pads and would have no issue playing a rubber pad kit if I could get multiple zones.

So... Where do I go from here? Yamaha seems to be the only one offering rubber pads on a modern kit but they are single zone... I think? Maybe this means I should try the tcs pads? I would probably love a full tcs pad kit?

@electrodrummer I believe you have previously mentioned gigging rubber pads for a couple two three decades now?

What a damn revelation this was for me.

I also played promark firegrain sticks for the first time and loved them, but that is a topic for a different thread.
Click to expand...
The Roland rubber pads have always been great even when abused, you could get a set of rubber pads and pair them with a BT1 to have a rim sound (or whatever sound you want) both the rubber pads and the BT are super cheap so you could make it happen very easily:

My rubber pads on a drum... cover (there were really no drums and I was figuring out what to play as I was recording it so you see me hesitate at first then I kind of get it and finish the song (pretty much how I do a lot of my drum covers).


Of course you could find them used for even cheaper. you could also get a full TD11 kit for about $600 (then add the BT1s to compliment it.
Then Upgrade to the TD27 module and you will never want to play any other drums again. any other electronic drums that is.



Then save a lot of $$$$ to get the digital pads... OR, find a used complete TD27 kit like I did and get it all for the price of the module alone..


EDIT I realized there is not a lot of tom use on that song so I selected another one that uses more toms:

 
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roncadillac said:
@electrodrummer I believe you have previously mentioned gigging rubber pads for a couple two three decades now?
Click to expand...

Yup. First full kit I bought in 1986, (pictured, below, some years later) was rubber; still own those pads as well as some white ones from same range - see avatar). Still use a lot of rubber pads now, including IMHO some of the best rubber pads from anyone - the Yamaha TP100/TP120/TP120SD - really responsive 3-zone pads with on-board controllers for tuning/snare throw-off etc. [pic]

kit.jpg

Yamaha 3-zone rubber pads included the TP65S, TP70S, TP100, TP120, TP120SD [pic] (red knob in is the on-board contoller)

1753357181094.png
 
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electrodrummer said:
Yup. First full kit I bought in 1986, (pictured, below, some years later) was rubber; still own those pads as well as some white ones from same range - see avatar). Still use a lot of rubber pads now, including IMHO some of the best rubber pads from anyone - the Yamaha TP100/TP120/TP120SD - really responsive 3-zone pads with on-board controllers for tuning/snare throw-off etc. [pic]

View attachment 159647

Yamaha 3-zone rubber pads included the TP65S, TP70S, TP100, TP120, TP120SD [pic] (red knob in is the on-board contoller)

View attachment 159648
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Nice! I'm assuming those Yamaha TP pads are discontinued now that they have the tcs and mesh? I can only find the single zone 7inch pads in Yamaha's currently portfolio.

*Edit* actually it looks like Yamaha still makes a 3 zone rubber pad in the TP series. It's 7" which is a bit small and doesn't have the control knob but it does exist so that's cool! I'll have to dive into these a bit.
 
roncadillac said:
Nice! I'm assuming those Yamaha TP pads are discontinued now that they have the tcs and mesh? I can only find the single zone 7inch pads in Yamaha's currently portfolio.
Click to expand...
Yammy still does rubber pads on the DTX4xx and entry DTX6xx series.

The Entry DTX6 (non-mesh) kits come with a 3-zone TCS snare (XP80), and single zone rubber toms. https://uk.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/drums/products/electronic-drum-kits/dtx6-series/

The DTX4xx has options of a 3-zone rubber (TP70S) or 3-zone TCS (XP80), and single zone rubber toms. https://uk.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/drums/products/electronic-drum-kits/dtx402-series/

2nd user Yamaha 3-zone rubber pads are easy to come by - and can be very cheap - there's some TP100 pads on eBay in the UK for £30 at the moment (2nd user is fine - they're pretty bomb-proof)

Note re: 3-zone pads - they need a Yamaha module to get all 3-zones - as Yamaha sends all three zones (and controller data as applicable) down a single TRS cable - have done for decades. Same as with 3-zone cymbals - a single cable. Some people have physically hacked Yammy 3-zone cymbal pads to add an extra socket to work with, say, Roland modules (see vdrums.com)
 
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electrodrummer said:
Yammy still does rubber pads on the DTX4xx and entry DTX6xx series.

The Entry DTX6 (non-mesh) kits come with a 3-zone TCS snare (XP80), and single zone rubber toms. https://uk.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/drums/products/electronic-drum-kits/dtx6-series/

The DTX4xx has options of a 3-zone rubber (TP70S) or 3-zone TCS (XP80), and single zone rubber toms. https://uk.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/drums/products/electronic-drum-kits/dtx402-series/

2nd user Yamaha 3-zone rubber pads are easy to come by - and can be very cheap - there's some TP100 pads on eBay in the UK for £30 at the moment (2nd user is fine - they're pretty bomb-proof)

Note re: 3-zone pads - they need a Yamaha module to get all 3-zones - as Yamaha sends all three zones (and controller data as applicable) down a single TRS cable - have done for decades. Same as with 3-zone cymbals - a single cable. Some people have physically hacked Yammy 3-zone cymbal pads to add an extra socket to work with, say, Roland modules (see vdrums.com)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, very helpful! My alesis module also uses a single trs cable for 3 zones, I wonder if that would also work? I may just have to try it.
 
roncadillac said:
Thanks for the info, very helpful! My alesis module also uses a single trs cable for 3 zones, I wonder if that would also work? I may just have to try it.
Click to expand...

Maybe? Maybe not?
The Yamaha 3-zone tech is piezo for the head and two rim switches. The switches have a different resistance, so the module can "work out" where the hit was - none, switch #1, switch #2...
 
They can get a bit loud, but a good rubber pad feels quite a bit better than an average mesh pad. The Yamaha DTX pads are a prime example, and it's a pity they switched to common mesh pads. Cheap (hollow inside) rubber pads feel very bad, OTOH.
 
I used a Yamaha DTX6 with all silicone TCS pads for three years. That's practice, rehearsals and gigs, and it's awesome. I think you'll like the feel of them. I've just done a thread comparing the TD-17 to the DTX6 as I moved country and had to sell my trusty DTX and bought the Roland as it was what's available locally and thought I'd give it a go. I think the TCS pads have a more realistic feel, like a medium tuned head, whereas mesh has that peculiar unrealistic rebound. I'm just using the Roland for practice as now I will be gigging with an acoustic kit, however if I were to gig regularly with an ekit it would have to be the Yamaha.
 
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