Blue Dot Hot Spot?

[dhatchner]

Hello,

I just had the chance to play a set V-Drums today and was impressed overall. However, in the past I have heard some people say that the V-Pads have a hot spot in the center of the pad. Today when testing the kit I purposely checked to see if it was true. On the set that I played there was definitely a hot spot at the blue dot. Tapping evenly across the pad would give even volume unless you hit the blue dot. Hits on the blue dot are at much higher volume. Is this something that has to do with setup or tuning, or is this common with the V-Pads? Do Pintech’s ConcertCast ST pads have the same problem?

Thanks in advance for any info you can send my way.

David...

[Lee]

Hitting the blue dot (the trigger) is not encouraged as it may cause the trigger (and your ears!) to malfunction and/or break. Seems like I read something about 'voiding your warranty' somewhere in the propaganda

[Lee]

I'm sure many if not all of us Vdrummers have experienced the hot spot - mine seems to come and go - sometimes really hot, sometimes not even luke warm. Has anyone discovered settings that increase or decrease the hot spot or any work-arounds that decrease the problem?

[scoppa]

my kit does this as well (hot spots) I've tried to train myself to hit them about an inch off center to either side of the dot. It's kind of backwards from what I've always tried to do with acoustics but it does help a lot. I think it's a design trade-off for the sensitivity that the V-drums provide. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all...

[Dave Giraud]

You can minimize the "hot spot" effect by adjusting the trigger settings for the snare.

1. Hit setup button.
2. Hit F1 button (trig).
3. Hit F2 button (basic).
4. Hit snare.
5. Adjust sensitivity, threshold, and curve

I find that sensitivity = 1, threshold = 2, curve = LOG1 works 90% of the time for me. This effectively eliminates the hot spot and "tightens" the overall expression of the snare.

[This message has been edited by Dave Giraud (edited 07-13-99).]

[mrdarklight]

I tried the setting changes, but it decreases sensitivity too much for me.
I'm going to try something else one of these days: I'm going to get some thick tape or maybe even plastic or rubber and cover up that little dot! The theory goes, if you can distribute the strike force away from the dot to just outside of it, it should take care of the problem. Let me know if this works for anyone. (Rememember black-dot clear drum heads? Same theory! I think.)

[rus]

Originally posted by mrdarklight:
(Rememember black-dot clear drum heads? Same theory! I think.)

Tape sounds like a good idea... but I believe the dot heads you refer to were sopposed to give 2-ply toughness to a single ply head, thus giving more resonance.

rus

[mrdarklight]

Originally posted by rus:
Tape sounds like a good idea... but I believe the dot heads you refer to were sopposed to give 2-ply toughness to a single ply head, thus giving more resonance.

rus

Yeah, you're right. I'm thinking tape won't be thick enough... maybe 2 plys of duct tape. So much for electronics doing away with pillows, foam rings, tape...

[rus]

Originally posted by mrdarklight:
... I'm thinking tape won't be thick enough... maybe 2 plys of duct tape...

What about one of those 'falam-slam' kick drum patches? Lots of companies make them... but I'm thinking the Evans ones would do nicely. Know what I'm talking about?

rus

[puttenvr]

Hey guys,

Don't forget: everything you stick onto a drum head or every change from 1-ply to 2-ply drumhead will decrease the sensitivity since it will thicken the material on which you play.

And when you - next - turn up the sens inside the module, the hot spot will be there again.

How about hot spots on the Hart Dynamic pads? Pete Hart states that his pads don't have them

[drmoze]

feefer, can you be more specific? All of the threads on scan time that I've read (including a fresh search!) only deal with it's effect on the PS (head tension) adjustment (and it works!). Nothing I found relates scan time settings to hot spot sensitivity (or lack thereof!).

[rus]

Originally posted by drmoze:
feefer, can you be more specific? All of the threads on scan time that I've read (including a fresh search!) only deal with it's effect on the PS (head tension) adjustment (and it works!). Nothing I found relates scan time settings to hot spot sensitivity (or lack thereof!).

I think the point he is making is that, when the scan time is adjusted correctly, the 'hot-spot' effect is greatly reduced...

right?
rus

[Marc.]

Originally posted by feefer:
BTW, those reports of the cones' sensitivity to damage from hitting it dead-on are rather suspect ...

Chris, you're too much! I love you, man. Excellent info. Keep up the good work, my it's-ok-to-hit-the-blue-dot guardian angel.

-Marc.



[This message has been edited by Marc. (edited August 25, 2000).]

[Dean]

This is my two cents. I think that within the V-Drum family, there are two groups. First are the Positional Sensing purists. The second are those concerned with the "hot spot". The more you do to "fix" or play with one side the more it effects the other.

The Non-Roland pads use very different methods to transfer the vibration of the head to the pizeo. The Hart pads use a piece of round foam about 1 1/2" across. this is close to the Roland idea, but no cone. The positional sensitivity is compromised, because the "hot spot" is larger. Pintech uses a piece of foam that is not as dense as the Hart or Roland, and mounts the pizeo inside the foam. This seems like it produces the poorest results in the PS area. On the other hand, it seems like the Pintech pads have the least "hot spot" problems.

I've done two DIY projects, one with a Roland cone, and one with a larger homemade cone, I also have a Pintech 13" snare drum. The DIY project with the Roland cone has better PS than the Pintech or DIY tom with the homemade cone. The other two pads don't have many hot spot problems, but the PS is poor.

[xaltvman]

I am noticing the hot spot also. It drove me crazy during this mornings gig but I don't always hear it. The guys in my band didn't seem to notice it but the soundguy and system were not up to par. I was using headphones but could also hear it through the monitor. I've read the discussions on PS and scan time, but based on the fact that this issue seems to be bad at some times and nearly non-exsistent at others without any tuning changes, could this problem be due to differences in head tightness or trigger position? I know the drums are mostly if not 100% synthetic so I wouldn't think weather/humidity changes would affect it but maybe the foam cone absorbs moisture or gets dried out sometimes. Could movement cause head tension or trigger position change enough to make this problem come and go?