KD-120 repair?

[montanaman]

I have had my V-drums for about 7 years and my kick-pad ( KD-120) is not responding to every "hit". I have to really put my foot into it to get it to trigger. I know there are replacement cones and the foam that backs the head as well can be replaced. I'm hoping that will be the fix as a new one is 300 bucks or so. Anyone know if either or both of these parts are going to remedy the problem.?

[Tommy_D]

Have you tried plugging in a new cable to rule that out? Many trigger issues are remidied by checking the cables.

If that doesnt work, take the head off and see what condition the cone is in. If it looks okay, look at the soldering of the piezo and jack. Make sure that looks good. If all of that looks good, but you still have poor triggering it may just be a module setting that was accidentally changed.

[montanaman]

Thanks for the reply. I have tried switching the cord and the input and that's not it. I will pull apart and look at the cone and assembly there. Does that large foam pad ever "fail". Could that be it?
If the cone itself is toast how would it look?. My guess is that something is worn out. I've had it for 7 years, play a lot and lets face it the kick gets most of the heavy use..

[brucethedrummer]

I have 3 PD-120s that were acting up. I ended up changing the foam cones. Ordered them directly from Roland USA. After I took the old pads apart, I discovered that indeed the foam cones were worn out. The top of the cone was flattened out and they didn't rebound as fast as the new cones. They were dry. They were shorter than new cones (due the use and constant impact). If I was a betting man I'd say your cone is worn down to the nub. Replacing my cones was pretty easy. Now the 3 pads work really well again. I have gained back better rim control and seem to have more dynamic range. I was able to turn down the sensitivity.

[montanaman]

Thanks for the tips. I pulled the head off the KD-120 and not only was the cone dry the top layer had fallen off so that answers why it was so hard to get a solid sound on every "hit". I am going to order a replacement and I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace the big foam pad for 40 bucks? It looks dirty and worn so might as well right? I am not sure what it really does other than cushion the blow.. I am contemplating all the other cones as well as the kit has 7 years of play and I live in Arizona where it is very dry

[Tommy_D]

You can buy cones from quartz percussion. Thats where I got mine for my DIY build. Its probably cheaper than buying them from Roland. The foam pad doesn't have to be replaced unless it has worn away to the point that it is not doing its job (ie. damping the bass beater hits).

[jammin777]

i wouldn't recommend the quarts cones only because they are shorter by 1/4" at least that was my experience on the batch i bought a few years ago.
they are good dont get me wrong but you would have to modify to get them to work with the oem trigger plates so that they contact the mesh head.