Varying Volume on Hart Acusnare w/TD8

[crackie Registered Member Find all posts View Profile Close crackie]

My Hart Dynamics Acusnare (steel snare shell with mesh head) randomly increases in volume with equal velocity strikes. I use it with a TD-8. Here are the symptoms:

-It's a binary sort of thing with 2 distinct volume levels. It seems to be associated with the rim sensitivity.

-It goes away (i.e. volume decreases to normal lower level) whenever I do any sort of double stroke or buzz type roll

-Roland book suggests playing with Scan Time to fix this. It doesn't help. I can only turn the Rim Sensitivity way up to make it sound like I am always hitting a rim shot (undesirable). This produces the louder volume constantly instead of wavering back and ofrth between the louder and softer volumes.

-I have used the default settings listed on Hart's site...doesn't help.

Any suggestions?

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-Hart Studio B w/TD8

[Jimmy C Registered Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jimmy C]

How long have you had it? Maybe a connection is starting to come loose...

[antinucci Registered Member Find all posts View Profile Close antinucci]

I have had MANY simular problems with my Acusnare over the past two years, but my most recent modification has lasted over 6 months now and is still going strong.

I removed the mesh head and replaced the cylindrical blue foam pad that meets the mesh and the metal plate with a nice FIRM peice of yellow, plain 'ol household-grade sponge! It made the snare MUCH more dynamic and sensitive, no doubt better than how it originally came from the factory. I glued it on with my hot glue gun. The blue foam Hart uses on the snare is no where near firm enough, nor durable enough. The blue foam wore out within the first year, progessively making the snare less and less dynamic and sensitive. The mesh head just eats away at the soft foam they use. I tried many different foams, but the firm household sponge beats them all.