Damage a brand new mesh pad?

[sciomako]

I bought a new PD-125. Inside the box, the very first instruction asks me to tighten all the the bolts on the head by at least one full circle or otherwise i will damage the pad.

Is that true? Too loose the mesh will damage the pad?! But the head is already very tight. Rebound feels ok. What if I really want to loose the tension to something similar to a floor tom?

John

[MisterMR]

It is true that if the tension on the head is too low, you could potentially strike the sensor (which is located quite close to the surface of the head within the pad), causing damage.

This is why Roland recommend that you tension the head before using it, as they tend to package the pad with the head loosely tensioned.

There is a limit to how loose you can have the head before potential sensor damage becomes an issue. It's also worth noting that you could get triggering issues if the head is too loose.

The best thing to do is do a search on here. There are lots of topics relating to this.

[stickinthemud]

It's possible that Roland gives this advice to be sure that the user pays at least some attention to the tension of the head before playing. On the PD125, the sensor sits below the cone in the spider basket. If the head is not tight enough and you strike the cone directly, a great deal of energy will be transmitted to the piezo disc. Also, the cone itself will experience more distortion than normal, which could lead to damage to the cone as well.

The head should be fairly tight. Slack as a floor tom is probably not tight enough.

[ige87]

Remember that mesh heads respond differently to mylar ones. You'll probably find you want the tensions higher anyway. I seem to remember someone saying that tightening the head made it less bouncy after a certain point?

[stickinthemud]

I have said that and it is certainly what I feel, but others have said the opposite, so I suppose one must judge for oneself. I guess there are two kinds of rebound - the springy, "trampoline" effect of a loose mesh head and the tight, "snappy" effect you get from a tight acoustic snare head.

[Hercules]

Hey Sticky,

That's a very Australian sounding colloquialism "Slack as a floor tom" - I like it.

[sciomako]

Thank everyone.

[sciomako]

By the way, I found it's difficult to judge if the tension is adequate without having an acoustic snare next to me e-kit... I only play a-kit once every fortnight. My memory is not reliable.

[stickinthemud]

Hey Sticky,

That's a very Australian sounding colloquialism "Slack as a floor tom" - I like it.

Then you'll love this one: "flat as a sheep's ass". My dad used expression once that I remember, and I never have heard it elsewhere. Frankly, I didn't know they were flat. Anyway, he may have been tight as a drum when he said it. Another of his expressions is "flat as a mashed potato sandwich".