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View Full Version : Rock Band 2 wireless drum rubber bubbles and an effective fix for fresh ones!



Frankie_Says_Relax
11-16-2008, 12:04 PM
For those of you who have a Rock Band 2 drum kit and are experiencing the "bubble" issue with the rubber coming UP off of any of the pads (notably the red one) here's a fix I came up with that I find to be very very effective.

And if you have yet to experience a bubble on any of your pads, this may also be a highly effective preventative solution.

Harmonix has an officially licensed solution that they and consumers with the drum bubble issue may not even be aware of.

THESE: http://www.rockbandstore.com/detail....01d862567f8b75

The OFFICIAL Rock Band licensed vinyl drum skins! (I found a set at Best Buy for that same price.)

I've had my PS3 wireless RB2 drums for a little over a week when I started getting the bubble on my red pad.

I googled and read up on as many threads as possible ... RMA'ing the set didn't seem to be a viable solution as I read a lot about users getting a new set that had the same issue in about the same amount of time.

I was not interested in doing surgery to the rubber skins as that's a recipe for disaster in the short and long term.

The sound-dampening pads and shush pads didn't seem like a good idea either as with the pressure sensitive pads on the RB2 set, I didn't want something that would get in the way of accuracy.

AND lastly, I'm too into aesthetics to use something like duct tape to keep the bubble down.

SO, here's what I did.

I popped off the red pad (find a guide online on how to do it without breaking anything), flipped it over, used a micro-screwdriver to remove the silver plastic ring, smoothed out the rubber so the glue on the bottom of the pad stuck back down (went over it for about four or five minutes to make sure it wasn't coming back up again) put the silver ring back on and cranked the micro-screws back in so the plastic was giving just a BIT more grip on the edges of the rubber pad, popped it back into place then applied the official Harmonix licensed "drum skins".

They're vinyl, they're stiff, and they're about half a millimeter thick.

They're exactly 7 inches across, so they fit within the interior of the silver plastic (unlike the official sound dampening pads) They do NOT interfere with the sensitivity of the impact of a stick on the drum head, and the stiffness combined with the adhesive on the bottom making contact with nearly 100 percent of the exposed rubber on the pad makes it physically impossible for the rubber to become pliable enough to bubble UP.

They also take massive amounts of abuse and show ZERO signs of stick impact. I'm very, very impressed.

For those of you who have a generally "fresh" bubble, this is the way to go. Unfortunately it's probably not a viable option for those who have bubbles that have actaully ripped open.

I can't speak on the effectiveness of any other brand or make of drum skins. Only the official Harmonix licensed ones.

And this probably doesn't help for pads that have impact "dents" (but MAY prevent them from happening).

While I know it has yet to be requested on the DP forums, I figured this info certainly couldn't HURT anybody.

Rock on!

Kitsune Sniper
11-16-2008, 12:36 PM
And why didn't they just fix the problem and include the drum skins in the first place? :\

Frankie_Says_Relax
11-16-2008, 12:42 PM
And why didn't they just fix the problem and include the drum skins in the first place? :\

Good question, but ultimately moot when you're weighing the best options of how to fix the problem yourself.

If you check other RB forums (including the official one) you'll find that replacement sets are doing the same thing.

EA/Harmonix ultimately doesn't seem to have the same "handle" on this problem that they did with strum-bar issues on the original RB Fender.

SegaAges
11-17-2008, 05:34 PM
I am the 1 stubborn person who will continue to send it back until they fix it, hehehe.

no bubble for me thus far though

Frankie_Says_Relax
11-17-2008, 05:42 PM
I am the 1 stubborn person who will continue to send it back until they fix it, hehehe.

no bubble for me thus far though

Actually, I think I'm the 1 person that came up with an aesthetically pleasing and effective fix ... apart from repeatedly RMA'ing the pads (which is totally fine as long as they keep sending them at no charge) the rest of the RB community seems to be content to use duct tape, socks, and perform all sorts of ridiculous surgery on their drum pads.

They've largely ignored my reponse to this fix in threads asking for help on the issue.

SegaAges
11-17-2008, 05:44 PM
Actually, I think I'm the 1 person that came up with an aesthetically pleasing and effective fix ... apart from repeatedly RMA'ing the pads (which is totally fine as long as they keep sending them at no charge) the rest of the RB community seems to be content to use duct tape, socks, and perform all sorts of ridiculous surgery on their drum pads.

They've largely ignored my reponse to this fix in threads asking for help on the issue.

WTFDONKEYPUNCHINTHEFACE?!?

I would never duct tape something that could be returned or fixed. I paid for these pads. If I can return them or do a frankie fix, u better believe I am doing that before do duct tape.

Frankie_Says_Relax
11-17-2008, 05:46 PM
WTFDONKEYPUNCHINTHEFACE?!?

I would never duct tape something that could be returned or fixed. I paid for these pads. If I can return them or do a frankie fix, u better believe I am doing that before do duct tape.

If you want a litmus test of how people treat their Rock Band / Guitar Hero equipment go to any GameStop and look at the selection/condition of used guitars.

You shouldn't be surprised that they're covering their pads in duct/packing/masking tape after that.

SegaAges
11-18-2008, 10:35 AM
If you want a litmus test of how people treat their Rock Band / Guitar Hero equipment go to any GameStop and look at the selection/condition of used guitars.

You shouldn't be surprised that they're covering their pads in duct/packing/masking tape after that.


You know, I am actually curious now. I am seriously going to look at that stuff next time I am in gamestop.

it is a shame people treat a 200 game with disrespect.

I mean, frankie, your fix is awesome and seems extremely easy to do.

Frankie_Says_Relax
11-18-2008, 12:20 PM
You know, I am actually curious now. I am seriously going to look at that stuff next time I am in gamestop.

it is a shame people treat a 200 game with disrespect.

I mean, frankie, your fix is awesome and seems extremely easy to do.

Iknowriiiiiight?

From what I've read ... the rubber bubble can get pretty damaged if not addressed early (and continually beat on with a drum stick), so I've made the disclaimer that it's a good fix for early indications of the issue.

But the Rock Band fourms in general are pretty jaded in terms of getting a million DIY fixes for every issue, so I half expected people to ignore the issue regardless of how easy the fix was.

Personally I think Harmonix SHOULD be sending these stickers out for free like Nintendo sent out replacement Wiimote straps and those ugly Wiimote rubber condoms when people started breaking their TV sets with their Wiimotes.

salvarezr
01-01-2009, 04:57 PM
hey man, nice solution... i followed the link and it took me to the rock band store, not to the drum vinyl skins product you mention... i wonder if these:
http://www.rockbandstore.com/detail.php?p=65465&v=rbs2_gear_xbox-360_drum
are also made of vinyl and can be used to fix the bubble prob

Frankie_Says_Relax
01-01-2009, 09:12 PM
hey man, nice solution... i followed the link and it took me to the rock band store, not to the drum vinyl skins product you mention... i wonder if these:
http://www.rockbandstore.com/detail.php?p=65465&v=rbs2_gear_xbox-360_drum
are also made of vinyl and can be used to fix the bubble prob

Those are exactly what I was talking about!

They're drum sticker/covers, and they're made of thin vinyl. (The same grade as high-end car bumper stickers ... very durable).