What Happened To Hart Dynamics?

[CowHow]

Yeah, I know I'm probably talking about last weeks news, but what happened to Hart? Specifically, I'm trying to buy some 8" Maxxums and can't find them anywhere. I've read some posts suggesting Hart went out of business, but their web site is still up. Was this a patent issue with Roland?

My real question is about replacement heads. Are Pearl or Remo mesh heads worth the money? They're cheap, but are they good? I loved Hart's Maxxum. A little noisy, but great feel and rebound.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Tony

[allanjohn]

Hart has ceased production and trading, but the website remains up as they are looking to sell the business.
So, no, it's nothing to do with Roland - in fact, Hart paid a licence fee for its heads.
As for replacement heads, digitalDrummer had reviewed pretty much everything out there. Pearl are probably the worst on the market. Remo is quite thin and very bouncy.
By the way, I still have some brand new Hart heads for sale Down Under, but limited sizes.

[CowHow]

To bad about Hart. Thanks for the info. I may have to bite the bullet and spend the money for Rolands. I'm glad you mentioned digitalDrummer. The review had good information and I've been intending to subscribe for ever.

[barryabko]

Pintech has compatible replacement parts, including heads, and is also able to perform most repairs for Hart products.

[CowHow]

Never used Pintech. But, the thought of using black heads is interesting. I guess I'm trying to get my cake and eat it too. I know most heads last a while, but paying $35 for Roland heads is not my choice.

[Picksorsticks]

Have had Pintech heads for 5(?) years, no problems. They make white heads now. Much of my kit is Pintech.

[jimorlando]

Do the pintechs have less bounce than the Roland Demo mesh heads?

[CowHow]

digitalDrummer's head review spoke highly of pintech. May have to give them a try. Ok, maybe not the black ones.

[allanjohn]

To bad about Hart. Thanks for the info. I may have to bite the bullet and spend the money for Rolands. I'm glad you mentioned digitalDrummer. The review had good information and I've been intending to subscribe for ever.

Subscriptions are free, but if you want to avoid hunting down the reviews (we've done three or four head2heads), we've compiled them all in one downloadable PDF here.

[CowHow]

Awesome! Thanks, Allanjohn. I'll check it out.

[thebitterroost]

Excuse me for resurrecting an old thread.

Does anyone know why Hart went out of business or if the company was actually sold? I figure if anyone did know they might be lurking around these forums somewhere. I'm just curious about this sort of thing. I remember first seeing an ad for a Hart kit in Drum! magazine a little over a decade ago, along with another conversion kit company called Drum Tech. Now neither one exists, even though they had really promising-looking products (especially for that time period). Anyone have the scoop on these two, and are there any other small indie companies (other than Mark Drum) who've taken up the banner?

[allanjohn]

Hart was sold by its founder, Peter Hart, a few years ago, and the new owners moved quickly to boost support and started developing new products. However, the market was very competitive and when the going got too tough, the owners tried to sell the business. Last I heard was about a year ago, when Elrctronic Drum Center picked up the remaining inventory and they still have a few bits and pieces lustre for sale on their site.

[Peter Warren]

That's too bad but I never understood how they could compete. If they had been able to develop a 2 box type module they would have been very powerful. I was under the impression that they are just providing a pad like Roland that is less reliable,the heads wore out fast and they didn't trigger quite as well.

[Psanchez]

I worked there years ago..

[KGee]

Just found out that Peter Hart passed away a few weeks ago. I had the pleasure of getting to know him through my best friend CT. He used to work with Peter. They were really close. He had so much musical knowledge and so many amazing stories of his many collaborations with artists.