Roland Forums

Hi everyone.

Yesterday I bought a TD-4K, my first foray into electronic drums, and I love it but I have a few questions. The main one is, is there any way to dampen the vibrations from hitting the (KD-8) kick trigger pad? I'm playing on a fairly thick carpet, we had the screws going through the floor but unfortunately that made the sound go through the floor as well (and over to my neighbors house). We tried placing a standard rubber silencer pad underneath it, but then we couldn't screw it down even when we took the springs off the screws, so it moved when I was playing.

My second question is, what kind of beater should I be using? From reading around I've seen that felt beaters (like mine) aren't recommended for use on the mesh kick triggers, but seeing as mine is rubber will I be ok with a felt beater?

Also, if anyone has any other general tips I might find useful, I'd be very grateful. :D

I had the very same problem with my old Yamaha DTXpress kit.
I used thick carpet tiles under the kick pad, but you will still get some mechanical noise as the beater hits the rubber pad.
A mesh head would be quieter..

On the V-drum forum there's plenty of discussion about 'drum isolation platforms' aka 'the tennis ball platform'.
A bit extreme building a platform, but isolating the kit from the floor is about all I can suggest.

Failing that, play when your neighbours aren't in...


You will be fine using a felt beater on the rubber pad.

Hi,

I wouldn't recommend a felt beater on any Roland bass drum trigger, as I hve noted damage caused by them on even the rubber ones, with the exception of the KD7. If you have a KD8 (you get one with TD4) then I would definately use a hard plastic or wooden beater.

For noise dampening you are doing most of what would commonly be suggested. Try the ideas above from S-E-A as these should help. I would say, finish with a piece of carpet on top though as the grip on the bottom of the trigger will grip correctly helping to reduce movement. Bear in mind the noise you are experiencing is far less than you would have had with a normal acoustic kit.

In my own experience, the HD1 kit offers best low-noise performance. I sold to the guy who lived in the flaty directly above me, and I never heard it. I actually asked him if he was using it, but he assured me he was on it all the time. The sprung mechanism of the bass drum trigger really does reduce almost completely the noise to a point where it is negligible.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your fine TD4!!

John Sweeney - 08 February 2010 05:01 PM

Hi,

I wouldn't recommend a felt beater on any Roland bass drum trigger, as I hve noted damage caused by them on even the rubber ones, with the exception of the KD7. If you have a KD8 (you get one with TD4) then I would definately use a hard plastic or wooden beater.

For noise dampening you are doing most of what would commonly be suggested. Try the ideas above from S-E-A as these should help. I would say, finish with a piece of carpet on top though as the grip on the bottom of the trigger will grip correctly helping to reduce movement. Bear in mind the noise you are experiencing is far less than you would have had with a normal acoustic kit.

In my own experience, the HD1 kit offers best low-noise performance. I sold to the guy who lived in the flaty directly above me, and I never heard it. I actually asked him if he was using it, but he assured me he was on it all the time. The sprung mechanism of the bass drum trigger really does reduce almost completely the noise to a point where it is negligible.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your fine TD4!!

There's no doubt it's A LOT quieter than my acoustic kit, and has a nicer feel and sound (as I had to have silencer pads all over it). The TD-4 is the most expensive thing I've ever bought, but after only two days I love it. Still, I'm just trying to see what else I can do to make it as quiet as possible, so I can play it even more

I did look at the HD-1, but my friend advised that it's worth paying the little bit extra for a more advanced model in the long run. I had played on his TD-3 a while back and I remembered being impressed by it, which is why I went with the TD-4. Not sure if I could do without my bass pedal anyway... I love it.

Thanks for your help anyway guys, I'll definitely try some of those things out.