MY pad fix...

so i got my 500 today. my only choice is to completely love it so that's what i'm gunna try to do. the first thing i noticed was how unbelievably horrible the pads are. i dunno if everyones model is like this but at the most sensitive velocity its impossible not to hurt yourself smashing those down on your fragile plastic machine. noticed that dude said he took his pads out and its a lot better, tried it and it totally is. so what i did was got a new razor blade and cut out the individual squares and its AMAZING. the sensitivity is the highest it can be, and now the rubber seal is around each square (so no dust issues). i imagine you could clean it off once in a while too if you feel so inclined. it's gunna take some getting used to but it feels more like i have control at my finger tips now rather than my middle finger. cheers

I originally thought this was a stupid idea, but now believe I was wrong. Even if you ruined the sensors over time (and I'm not sure that you would), you can replace them for about $45 bucks. Other than that I'd worry mostly about liquid since those pad edges aren't completely flat (and won't protect from the elements very well).

It's probably worth it if you feel better about using it.

I still won't be removing my pads though.

Good luck to ya!

tomorrow i'm gunna gorilla glue a square of spandex/nylon under the casing so i've got little soft squares instead of the sensors themselves. so it'll be like raised nylon but it'll look clean and push down like butter. i can only imagine it ends up working really well.

you guys need to toughen up, it doenst hurt your fingers if you use it a lot and they do soften once broken in. And its hardly a fragile machine. sorry but lol at all these drastic solutions which are completely unnecessary

phono wrote:you guys need to toughen up, it doenst hurt your fingers if you use it a lot and they do soften once broken in. And its hardly a fragile machine. sorry but lol at all these drastic solutions which are completely unnecessary

I'm not sure it's just about pain...which is why I've developed the "to each his own attitude". The sensitivity and force with which you have to strike the pads on the 500 is clearly an issue for many (including myself at times). I find my SR20 (and even M-audio Trigger Finger) easier to develop intricate beats and much of that is due to the responsiveness of the pads. I don't do a lot of intricate beat development on my 500 for that reason (unless I'm step programming).

I'm of the belief that, like playing a guitar, people with problems would eventually get used to hitting the right velocities without pain. But why should anyone have to struggle when other drum machines/controllers have clearly provided better solutions?

Pretty neat.
That actually looks pretty keen also.

try flipping the pads now and insert them upside down on top of the case and see if theres any difference in velocity..

and then if theres not..take three pieces of masking tape,the size of the bottom of each pad and place them there one ontop of each other,perfect,,

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=110908

I kinda like that.
What I think I'd do also (although I'm just guessing since I've never opened mine), is put a film of something underneath the rubber and over the sensors. Maybe a screen protector like that dude was saying, so that your not directly touching the sensors. So that you dont wear out or damage the actual mechanism via extended contact from fingers, fingernails, etc.
Looks good.

robthom wrote:I kinda like that.
Maybe a screen protector like that dude was saying, so that your not directly touching the sensors. So that you dont wear out or damage the actual mechanism via extended contact from fingers, fingernails, etc.

that's my next concern. i couldn't be happier with how it plays now tho. i mean you can really get your groove on now. its very very very responsive. all my pads are at 16 velocity/b curve. it's crazy perfect for me. i'm gunna head out to the store today and pick up some gorilla glue and spandex and make a cover to go over the squares. i'll post pics and let you guys know how it went. and phono, i'm really glad you own a 500, really thats great news... but stfu. we know you're not partaking in a pad fix. your pads feel fine.

side note, why isn't the speed of scrolling thru the numbers affected by holding the shift button? i'd think it would make it go faster. hope jj puts some touches on the 500 one day

Grats on your 500 and your fix looks interesting, how hard is to cut tru the pads?

64hz wrote:Grats on your 500 and your fix looks interesting, how hard is to cut tru the pads?

super easy. theres a very thin line between the actualy pads and the frame rubber. i just folded the pads and went down the row doing each side at a time.

yea the pads are very stiff compared to other models, but over time they get a lot softer. i spent ages when i first got my 500, just bashing on the pads whenever i could, without even turning it on just to break them in

i love my pads, ive got 1000 pads in mine, and i gotta say it feels alot softer, ive got the black ones, you can totally tell the difference holding them side by side