Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "slivjakm" <mjsliv@h...> wrote:
> I'm having a related problem with my kick drum pad but I'm not sure 
> it's the same thing. The drummer in my band is a bit heavy-footed 
> and after about a year of no problems, it seems the pad doesn't 
> respond to hard kicks. A moderate kick will trigger OK, but when he 
> plays it hard there are random non-triggers (I would have thought 
> you would need increasing pressure trigger something that has been 
> stretched out?). I haven't taken it apart (any direction there 
would 
> be appreciated) and I'm not even sure what the warranty is on these 
> drums. Any help is greatly welcomed- thanks.

Hi Mark,

Is the offending kick pad a KP60 that you bought secondhand? If so, 
forget about a warranty; it must be three or four years old. I long 
ago threw logic out the window with that particular pad; relatively 
speaking, yours seems to have led a long life; not too many KP60s 
lasted that long. I've opened up a few of them looking for why they 
were misbehaving and never found an obvious reason. In your case, 
you'd be lucky if the problem were simply a matter of assigning a new 
pad type. But I don't think so. My guess is that some connection is 
loose on the board, whether visible or not. When you strike the pad 
moderately, the connection remains generally stable, but when you 
hammer it hard, it gets disrupted. The best you can do might be to 
open it up--which is simply a matter of unscrewing the plate and 
pulling the elements apart--check the wires and resolder everything 
regardless of appearances. You might also spray some WD-40 into the 
jack and on the connector. You'll be surprised how uncomplicated the 
insides are. If you're unable to improve triggering and have to buy 
another kick pad, you'll find the new one, whatever it is, superior 
in every way. That's all that occurs to me. Please feel free to get a 
second opinion.

Ed