Rock Band Drum Kit Fix
July 19th, 2008
Thanks to some over-enthusiastic drumming I managed to crack two of the plastic pads on my Rock Band drum kit. The kit still worked fine, but because the hard plastic underneath the rubber pad was cracked, the action was completely dead – the stick thudded against the rubber, rather than crisply rebounding. I figured it couldn’t be too hard to fix so I took things apart.
Tools You’ll Need
- Piece of galvanized stainless steel (I got this one from Home Depot for $0.78)
- Tin Snips (I happened to have a pair already, but if you don’t they can also be found at Home Depot for ~$10)
- A marker
- A fine tipped screwdriver
Step One:
The Yellow and Blue pads were the ones that I cracked. Here I’ll be replacing the Blue one. To remove the pad, simply put your fingers underneath the lip of the pad and gently pull upwards. The pads are held in place by a flared plug that will just pop out. Be careful not to pull up too hard as the pad is connected to the rest of the kit with a thin wire and it would be a shame to rip it out.
Step Two:
Flip the pad upside down and you’ll see the wire running to the trigger. There’s a small plastic tab that the wire goes through to before it gets to the trigger (see detail). On one of the pads that I replaced, the wire popped right out. On the other pad the plastic was a bit more melted and I needed to *gently* pry the plastic apart to get the wire out. The wire is pretty fragile, so just watch yourself here.
Step Three:
Unscrew and remove the trigger. There are just two screws holding the trigger on. Once you remove the top part, peel away the band-aid adhesive that holds the trigger to the pad. Don’t destroy the tape as you should just be able to re-stick it when you’re done.
Step Four:
You’ve now got the loose pad. Remove the 6 screws that hold the plastic lip.
Step Five:
Remove the lip.
Step Six:
Peel off the rubber pad (easy peasy). The texture there in the photo looks like felt, but it’s just the adhesive on the back of the pad. (UPDATE: A commenter mentioned their pad tearing when they removed it. Mine came off effortlessly without any trouble, but if yours are especially worn, cracked, etc… be careful)
Step Seven:
Now you can see the damage to the hard plastic. The Blue pad (pictured) was actually significantly less damaged than the yellow which had three large cracks coming out of the center of the pad. Even so, this crack was enough to deaden the stick rebound.
Step Eight:
Lay the pad face down (so you don’t accidentally draw on the pad face) and trace around the edge with the sharpie. If you put the pad flush against two edges, you have a little less trim work to do.
Step Nine:
Trim it out. This is by far the most dangerous part of the project. If you have work gloves, I would suggest holding the sheet metal with those. See that sharp bit of metal curling off as I cut… that just keeps getting bigger and you are guaranteed to stab yourself with it at some point (or slide your hand against the edge of the steel). You’ve been warned. Also, make sure you trim on the inside of the line – the metal has to rest inside a plastic lip that is no wider than the rubber pad.
Step Ten:
Place the steel on the plastic pad. I purchased some adhesive to use to stick the metal to the plastic and the rubber to the metal, but thought I’d try it first before I went to the trouble of gluing things down. It worked fine and so far, the lack of glue hasn’t been a problem. It just keeps things a little cleaner without it. (UPDATE: The yellow pad – which was significantly more cracked – is starting to feel a touch looser now that I’ve played it a lot. It’s still *way* better than it was before but if your pad is very cracked, gluing the plastic to the metal sheet should add significantly to the reinforcement. I would probably recommend coating as much of the plastic as possible with super glue (to give as much adhesive surface area as possible) and clamping the pieces together while they dry. Gluing the rubber to the metal shouldn’t be too important. That said, I haven’t done this step myself yet as it still works fine and it’s hardly noticeable at this point.)
Step Eleven:
Put the rubber pad back on top.
Step Twelve:
Put the plastic lip back on top and screw it down. The metal adds an insignificant amount of height and I didn’t have any trouble getting things to fit back together. Just be careful when putting the screws back in. Snug them down, but don’t tighten them too much. They’re just biting into plastic and it’s easy to strip that out. From there you just screw the trigger back on and you’re golden (watch the wire again). The plugs on the bottom of the reassembled pad just pop back into place on the kit.
That’s it! The whole thing cost $0.78 per pad (assuming you already have the metal snips) takes maybe 20 minutes. As a side bonus, the metal backed pads not only seem to be a little quieter than the plastic ones, but they also seem to have a crisper hit too. I will end the post with the usual warnings that it is possible to break your kit while doing this (though difficult) so keep that in mind going in. Someone else also pointed out that making these changes to your kit probably voids the warranty, to keep *that* in mind. It’s also (VERY) possible to cut yourself while cutting the steel. Be careful and take your time.
30 Comments
Add your own1. Name | July 21st, 2008 at 9:01 am
Pretty simple concept, but looks like it’ll work.
2. Avalanche Wolf | July 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 am
Going to try this today for a cheap fix. I actually wanted to do this with lexan but cutting that would be a pain.
Good thinking. Any chance of you updating this page with after thoughts and how it worked ?
3. admin | July 22nd, 2008 at 9:11 am
I’ll definitely update this with a review of how well it works. So far I’ve only had it for a couple of days and relatively limited playing time but it’s working great. The only thing i’m watching out for now is whether it would be better to use spray mount or superglue to adhere the metal to the plastic and the rubber to the metal – but so far there hasn’t been any trouble with that.
I am actually considering upgrading the red and green pads (which aren’t broken) just because I’m liking the improved action of the steel plate.
4. Ryan | July 28th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
My dad just went to Home Depot today and he only found galvanized stainless steel for about $5 a piece. Are you sure it wasn’t some other type of metal?
5. admin | July 29th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Ryan, the piece of sheet metal you see in the picture is not trimmed down in anyway – that was the full size (I think it was around 6″ x 8″). I’m 90% sure it was galvanized and it was in the section with other larger sheet metal and various rolled metal ducts (for HVAC?).
Home Depots are pretty standard, but they may not have all the same materials – that said I don’t think the galvanized aspect of the metal is important and any steel sheets you can get your hands on should do the job. Call around to some local hardware places – you should be able find something.
6. Ryan | August 9th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I went to 3 Home Depots and 2 Lowes and the cheapest I was able to find the steel sheet metal was $5.13 for a 12×24 piece (26 GA). So I bought 2 of those which gives me 6 pads (2 as backups) for a little over $10. I think they were so cheap because you got them on clearance (hence the yellow tag). So if you want to do this, it’s probably going to set you back more like $10 (but still well worth the $ in my opinion).
7. admin | August 13th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Guess I just got lucky then on the clearance. Anyway, glad you were able to find something.
8. Eric | August 17th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I did this mod just yesterday, and the steel I found was 16″x36″ and was only a little over $5. I am able to easily make 8 pads from this, so it’s very cheap. I used just double sided tape to stick the plastic to the metal. One problem I noticed after completing this was more dropped notes, but after one of the EL penny mods, it’s a lot better although still not perfect.
9. Jogden | August 17th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
mod worked great, but removing the sensor is unnecessary. I found 8×8 galvanized steel sheets at Home Depot for $.37
10. Craig | August 17th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I got a 10″ by 10′ roll for about 1.50. It’s Flashing Steel that has been Galvanized if I recall. Works great and makes TONS of little metal circles.
11. Ryan | August 18th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Just one note…I think some people are getting steel sheet metal confused with aluminum. No hardware stores sell sheet metal this thick in rolls (how could you possibly roll 26 GA sheet metal?). There is a much thinner metal I saw that was very cheap (around the price some of these other people are saying), but it’s VERY thin to the point where it’s not going to help the pads at all. This is also aluminum which dents easily. Just make sure you’re getting steel sheet metal (should be either 28 or 26 gauge).
12. dude | October 17th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I fixed my yellow this way the other day (26 ga, 12×16 @ $5) and it’s working great – well enough to consider doing it to the other pads. I think it helps with the accuracy on fast rolls; I posit that the naked plastic flexes a bit and that affects the sensor. It’s also nice to know that you can beat the living crap out of it without worry
Anyone curious about the RB hardware should read the rockband.scorehero.com forums if they haven’t come here from there – they’ve disassembled the instruments and taken pics, made mods, good stuff.
13. Ryan M. | November 1st, 2008 at 7:16 am
Check with Ace Hardware if you have one in your area. Some of them will cut off of larger rolls of sheet metal to your exact specs for a slightly higher markup but a lower price than an entire roll or sheet. Also, technically what you are looking for is: galvanized steel flashing (used for roof repair, HVAC, Rock Band drum kit mods, etc.), aviation snips (also called tin snips) and a #1 phillips head screw driver (You may even go ahead and buy a #0 and there are some screwdriver kits that have a range from #0-#3). If you you ask for these items by these names there will be absolutely no confusion and if you’ve ever looked into the eyes of an employee at Home Depot then you know what I mean when I say you want to remove as much confusion as possible from this process.
14. Brent | November 5th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I am doing this as we speak. I got the steel sheet metal 26ga and cut it slightly smaller than the rubber pad. i used gorilla glue between the plastic and the metal and clamped it in 6 spots and let it set for 2 hours.
now i used 3m 77 spray glue to get the pad to the metal.
should be solid as a rock
i’ll keep updated
15. Bob | November 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
This is a great fix. The relative difficulty of the steps did not match my experience (could just be my kit), but overall it wasn’t too difficult a process. Sensitivity is likely to be slightly reduced (it was in my case, at least), but ultimately this is an excellent fix, especially if your kit is no longer covered by warranty. In my case, the foam part split when I took it off (did not expect this), so the steel actually rests on top of half the foam (probably related to the reduced sensitivity), with the rest of the pad just taped on top. The steel is firmly in place without any glue, but the pad on top does slide around. It’s not a perfect solution but works well enough. Your mileage may vary depending on your kit.
16. Joel | December 9th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
This fix rocks. I did it about three months ago with no problems since. No dropped notes, nothing. And now I don’t have to worry about breaking my pads when I get ticked off (just the sticks!).
17. Repairing a Broken Rock B&hellip | December 14th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
[...] option for fixing a broken drum head is to add a thin layer of reinforcing metal underneath, though I’d only go this route if you already own a set of tin snips and you’re willing [...]
18. Brian ^^ | January 2nd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
I just did this fix with rock band 2 drums, nothing was wrong with my drums just people tend to wail on them and i was worried they’d crack…the drums are significantly harder to get off but its all done safely nothing ripped or messed up and i found out what was causing this annoying rattling vibration sound, the plastic on the foam was incorrectly placed during the making of the drums at the factory i noticed the foam parts on the 2 center drums didn’t have the plastic so i just ripped it off it took a tiny bit of foam with but meh, ANYHOW my steel is on and i am using dumbbell weights to weigh it down until the morning, if anyone tries with weights i put full unopened boxes of cereal underneath the drum heads themselves because the wire attached to the drum kit is rather short so it needed elevation (for some reason we keep a lot of cereal unopened here lol) anyhow i just wanna THANK the person who took the time to write and upload pics i couldn’t find this info anywhere, SIDE NOTE: i used gorilla glue spread thinly all over the plastic both sides of the metal and then pressed the drum head pad on i dampened the opposite side of whatever needed to be glued as u need to dampen the opposite side of whatever ur gluing before with gorilla glue anyhow its all sitting there nicely im smiling since it all went ok lets hope i can pop the drum heads on fine and no probs with rb2 kit ANYHOW rambling thank you again rock on!
19. Brian ^^ | January 2nd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
sorry for the double post but…I’ll post again in the morning with how it went when its all dry and good to go!
20. Brian ^^ | January 3rd, 2009 at 9:51 am
they work awesome! omg it’s a TINY bit less sensitive but the bounce back feels damn good and they sound sooooo nice
definately recommend this if you know what your doing, cutting the circles of steel can be a bit tricky but not too hard 
and now i don’t worry if my bro is gonna crack the pad 
21. Andrew Wiles | January 5th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
ok i don’t know how you got that steel for $0.78… it cost me 12 bucks!
22. Justin | January 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I performed the fix and it does work extremely well. Thanks for the instructions. I didnt think to take pictures until I had already glued the metal to the plastic. The metal required I purchased at HD. It IS NOT in the duct work section DO NOT ask for that section. It is going to be located on the same aisle that has, and every HD has this, a bin with strips of metal approximately 4′ long and ranging anywhere from 4 inches to 8 inches wide. There will be a small section in the front of that bin with the 24 gauge metal in it.
The only problem I am having is the skin is coming loose even though I glued it to the metal prior to replacing the ring.
You are right though, the metal gives it perfect bounce and response.
I am going to do the remaining three heads later.
Thanks
Justin
23. Noah Martin | January 22nd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I got a so so sensitivty loss doing this. thank god its my red pad thats cracked and I hit it hard enough where the loss isn’t enough to affect me that much. I may just have to do it for another pad since my yellow pad starting to crack. Will prob do another one and just put it on the green pad since I barely use it and I can use the cymbal if really need to.
24. scott | February 5th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
i just fixed my yellow pad the other day i just used epoxy to layer the front and then used gorrilla glue to reiforce the back seems to work fine if someone doesnt want to use metal
25. Justin | February 16th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Well I did the remaining three and I was able to get a 26 gauge piece of metal from HD this time. Last time when I fixed the snare the first time it was a thicker 24 gauge piece. The difference is night and day. The 26 responds even better than the 24. With less loss of sensitivity. I cured the head problem with the rubber coming loose by taking them all off. I went to Gamestop and bought the rubber/vinyl pads that they sell to quiet the kit. They are self adhering so stuck them on there and now it is quiet and responsive.
DO NOT PEEL THE BACK OFF PRIOR TO CUTTING!
You will notice if you buy those pads that they dont fit inside the ring straight out of the box. You will have to do some trimming to get them to fit. Just use the colored ring as your guide and cut on the inside line. Yall should have the colors of the pad memorized by now anyway so you dont need the colors. If you’re looking down at the pads you cant be looking at the scree anyway to see what note to hit so dont sweat cutting the color rings off. I would post a picture of the finished product but I dont see how to.
26. Dan | February 26th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I tried this and got as far as placing the rubber pad back on top but when I went to screw everything back together I could not get the pad to catch on all sides taught enough to screw down the plastic lip. So how do you keep the pad from moving and feeling boggy not taught.
27. yelgo | March 31st, 2009 at 4:05 pm
hi thanks for the tutorial i’ve just done this to my red pad who was cracked and it works great, but obviously i’ve lost a lot of sensitivity, anything i can do about that ? i can try the coin mod but i’m not sure it will be enough , anyone try to buy better piezos or couple 2 or 3 piezos together to increase the sensitivity on a pad ? thanks for your help
28. Lenny | June 16th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Did this two days ago and it works great. I used gorilla glue to paste the steel to the plastic and made sure to get it in the cracks trust me it will make a difference also just glue guned the pad on then tightened the side thing and vuola new pads that i can wail on with no set back. the coin mod does make it a lot more sensitive than it was before.
29. Mike | November 6th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Hi just curious is there anyways to fix the sensors? my yellow pad was somewhat dead would love to fix it but don’t know where to start or such the little box that goes from the back of the pad into the little connector came apart. I was playing before and it was hitting but once every say 10-15 hits any suggestions? would love them get back to me thanks.
30. wayoutthere | December 20th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Just got done inlaying 4 26 gauge discs in my second set of RB drums and things work just fine. I haven’t glued the discs to the plastic heads but will have to glue the pads to the discs because 2 of them pop off from time to time. The first set of drum I had I rebuilt the heads with 1/8″ acrylic sheeting. This worked well but had to hit the drums extra hard to register the beat. The extra metal doesn’t seem to affect the sensitivity much if at all. Nice Fix Thanks…
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