Hart foam columns?

[cobaltdrive]

Since Hart seems to be out of service these days I'd like to find another source for the foam columns that protect the piezos. They used to be blue but the newer ones are black. Anyone know where to find something that will work? My 2nd tom is hotter than the others which seems to indicate the foam in the other toms is wearing out again.

On the same theme I've noticed all the toms have much more pronounced hot spot (right in the middle) now that I'm the proud owner of a TD-20 which replaces my old TD-6. Any thoughts on why?

[PintechUSA]

Our foam seems to work great as a substitute. It is a column shape as well, but a little bit different design. It should retrofit right in without any modifications. We've had a lot of customers who respond back with how much they like it. Just give us a call, and we will take care of you on the pricing as well. We are doing whatever we can to help out you guys who have no other options. I will be happy to help you save some money on repair parts

-Ryan @ Pintech

[cobaltdrive]

Great! Thanks Ryan, I'll get your phone number from the Pintech website. Appreciate the help.
Michael

[KnipeDrums]

I have done quite a bit of research using Pintech foam cylinder, I settled on using their bass trigger foam for all my drums. You won't be disappointed. Tom

[jpsquared482]

Hi,
I have played Pintech triggers and foam, and they perform extremely well. I have found that they need more frequent replacement due to the soft nature of the top layer of foam as compared to Roland and Quartz, both of which I've also used.. It's not an issue given their fair price, but if you do go with Pintech, plan on stocking up on the trigger foam. I think the benefits of the responsiveness of the softer foam means they wear out a little more quickly. Just plan ahead and they'll serve you well. They should be considered wear items, just like heads are. Now if they could only improve the wear factor, they'd be awesome. I'd say they're otherwise "really good" triggers.
JP

[PintechUSA]

We've actually changed the design of our pad foam a little bit over the past couple of months. I will add a picture to show you what our foam is all about, but basically we put a VERY SMALL piece of medium density foam INSIDE of the soft foam. What this does is gives you a very small hot spot, but will also increase the amount of vibrations that go down to your trigger. The system is solid, and the performance and durability are great. We then also wrap the foams in a tape-like material to keep it all together and prevent the foam column from bending.

Our foams were already really really good in our opinion... But we wanted to make them THAT much better for all of you. We've done some very extensive testing with some big name bands, and have sold thousands over the past 4 months or so. I've had ZERO warranty replacements... Not bad!

[jpsquared482]

Looks great and I applaud you for your attention to detail and this response! You've clearly improved the design to address the original "issue" I ran into.

Thanks!

[cobaltdrive]

Ryan at Pentech is sending me these foam columns to try on my Harts. Pintech seems to really be trying to step up and help those of us who have Hart equipment but nowhere to turn when there are repairs or parts needed. He spent time on the phone helping decide what may fit and how to modify them. I'll post when I receive and try these out.

[PintechUSA]

Happy to help! Already shipped out!

[cobaltdrive]

Finally got a chance to modify and install the Pintech foam columns on my Hart Acupad toms. Each column had to be cut down slightly from the 1" Pintech height. Interestingly each of the 3 Acupad toms needed a slightly different height probably from placing the Acupads in the same position on my rack for all these years and playing on the "higher" toms more than my "floor" tom. But they were all between 1" and 7/8" in height. I marked the foam with a Sharpie and straight edge laid across the top of the pad rim once the head had been removed then cut the column with a fresh #11 x-acto knife. Even with the fresh blade it's hard to get the cut perfect because the foam is so soft and the inner, harder foam wants to bend as you cut. But if you're patient and rotate it as you gently cut it does a decent enough job. You can see by my pics it's not a perfect cut but that didn't seem to affect performance.

Once installed I was thrilled! They pick up all the nuances the toms (and my playing) allow. The initial attack is very crisp which I'd been missing with my old worn out foam columns. Just a huge upgrade sonically with a very small hotspot. You definitely know when you hit that hotspot though. I guess the holy grail will be when that's completely missing. Very, very happy with these. I'll be doing my snare next...

[jpsquared482]

Looks good.
I wonder, if you would have been able to cut some off the bottom and the top, leaving about 1/2" of each with the seam still in the middle, if that would have made less of an issue of the hot spot? Maybe worth trying on your next one?

[cobaltdrive]

The harder core foam runs the entire length of the soft column surrounding it so cutting top or bottom I think the results will be the same. Also, one cut is cleaner that two. I'm really happy with the way these have been playing.

[PintechUSA]

WOW! Thank you for sharing these pictures! I am so happy that they worked out well for you. We've been doing a lot of custom repairs and things for you Hart owners out there, and I am happy to see that people are happy with their results. We got a call last week from a customer who also changed out their stock foam for our pad foams, and he reported that his pads were responding better than they ever have - even when they were brand new.

Anyone who sees this, feel free to send us an email, and we will do whatever we can to help you out