Yamaha DTX TCS Snare Drum Problem

Mabou2

Mabou2

Member
Hi all....

My 14 month new TCS snare drum started working intermittently. Like, every fourth hit wont register, and randomly no hits register... rolls on the snare drum are a waste of time, etc. It was fine, until it wasn't. This solely an issue in the snare pad. I did all of the cross-checking of cables, pads, settings, reset the module, etc. Tom pads work fine when plugged into the snare cable, so it isn't the cable or the module settings. Since I paid $500 for this just over a year ago, and since my old Yamaha rubber DTX snare worked until the rubber wore out... I'm kinda hoping to find a fix. I'm good with soldering and tech stuff, wondering if it would be worth it for me to dig into the pad and see if I get lucky to find a loose connection. Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Mabou2 said:
Hi all....

My 14 month new TCS snare drum started working intermittently. Like, every fourth hit wont register, and randomly no hits register... rolls on the snare drum are a waste of time, etc. It was fine, until it wasn't. This solely an issue in the snare pad. I did all of the cross-checking of cables, pads, settings, reset the module, etc. Tom pads work fine when plugged into the snare cable, so it isn't the cable or the module settings. Since I paid $500 for this just over a year ago, and since my old Yamaha rubber DTX snare worked until the rubber wore out... I'm kinda hoping to find a fix. I'm good with soldering and tech stuff, wondering if it would be worth it for me to dig into the pad and see if I get lucky to find a loose connection. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Did you got it new? You’d still have warranty. I would reach out to the shop where you bought it, so they can contact Yamaha as this is should not happen with regular use.
 
MusiQmaN said:
Did you got it new? You’d still have warranty. I would reach out to the shop where you bought it, so they can contact Yamaha as this is should not happen with regular use.
Click to expand...
Hi there, Yes, I bought it new. But the Yamaha warranty specifically says 12 months. S.O.L.
 
It has been a very long time since I've had this issue, so my recollection is fuzzy, but here goes.

The quarter inch stereo jack has a little pcb. I don't recall if it's integrated, or connected with solder. In any case, the solder is the weak point. I recall looking at the mounting and thinking it was a poor design choice, because it's taking too much vibration. Get those solder joints touched up.

I also remember putting some foam or rubber near the input jack internally before I reassembled to reduce the vibration the pcb would endure and hopefully prolong the fix.

I believe I also was able to source replacement parts for the jack/pcb combo from a generic online parts wholesaler. I may still have one around in storage to reference should it be necessary, assuming I even know where to begin with hunting it down.

Doraemon said:
I'd be curious to look inside. No idea how to open these...
Click to expand...
IIRC it's just screws on the underside, and the housing splits into top and bottom halves.
 
calan said:
It has been a very long time since I've had this issue, so my recollection is fuzzy, but here goes.

The quarter inch stereo jack has a little pcb. I don't recall if it's integrated, or connected with solder. In any case, the solder is the weak point. I recall looking at the mounting and thinking it was a poor design choice, because it's taking too much vibration. Get those solder joints touched up.

I also remember putting some foam or rubber near the input jack internally before I reassembled to reduce the vibration the pcb would endure and hopefully prolong the fix.

I believe I also was able to source replacement parts for the jack/pcb combo from a generic online parts wholesaler. I may still have one around in storage to reference should it be necessary, assuming I even know where to begin with hunting it down.

IIRC it's just screws on the underside, and the housing splits into top and bottom halves.
Click to expand...
Hi Calan, thanks for the reply.
Last night I connected the snare pad to explore understanding of the problem. The rim of the snare registers every hit. The head of the snare almost registers no hits. I slowly pulled out the ¼ inch plug (using the RTS on the plug as a way to re-route the signals) and suddenly I had the snare pad working 100% and the rim not registering anything. Since that very cable works perfectly with the other pads and my older DTX snare pad, I knew that the ¼" jack was the likely culprit.

I tore the pad open last night. Gave a stress test to each of the solder points... nothing notable, no loose connections, etc. Unfortunately the ¼" jack itself is housed in a plastic enclosure. I gently tried to see if I could nudge that plastic enclosure open but ended up deciding to not stress the solder points on the little daughter card. I did a round of making sure all visible screws inside the pad were snugged, then put it all back together. then with a magnifying glass and a tiny screwdriver, I went in the opening of the ¼" jack and was able to lift (bend) the long spring connection a little. Hoping to get down to my kit today and see if that was enough to make better contact with the plug..
 
UPDATE!
After a teardown of the pad (and carefully putting it back together), I didn't really see any issues. Still not working. I tried another cable (again) and the problem still occurs.

NEW THINGS I HAD NOT NOTICED PREVIOUSLY:
1) The rim click doesn't work... and probably hasn't in quite a while.
2) See enclosed image... while swapping cables, I noticed something odd in the cable plug. Look at the two wear grooves that are dug into the plug. These are not just blemishes or scratches, they are physically dug into the cable by the ¼" jack on the pad. (Note, the cable has been secure the entire time, it isn't from random abuse).

At first I thought those marks might have been electrical arcing because I couldn't imagine them being dug so deeply into the metal with the short amount of time I have been using that pad (and the cable never gets touched or moved by me). But nope, they are straight-up cuts worn into the metal.

So the jack on the pad must have a manufacturing problem.

NEXT QUESTION: Anyone know where I can buy replacement parts for these pads? I know the jack itself is a generic brand and can be bought online, but I'd rather buy the entire (little) circuit board with that jack factory installed.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3934.jpg
    IMG_3934.jpg
    170.2 KB · Views: 6
Mabou2 said:
UPDATE!
After a teardown of the pad (and carefully putting it back together), I didn't really see any issues. Still not working. I tried another cable (again) and the problem still occurs.

NEW THINGS I HAD NOT NOTICED PREVIOUSLY:
1) The rim click doesn't work... and probably hasn't in quite a while.
2) See enclosed image... while swapping cables, I noticed something odd in the cable plug. Look at the two wear grooves that are dug into the plug. These are not just blemishes or scratches, they are physically dug into the cable by the ¼" jack on the pad. (Note, the cable has been secure the entire time, it isn't from random abuse).

At first I thought those marks might have been electrical arcing because I couldn't imagine them being dug so deeply into the metal with the short amount of time I have been using that pad (and the cable never gets touched or moved by me). But nope, they are straight-up cuts worn into the metal.

So the jack on the pad must have a manufacturing problem.

NEXT QUESTION: Anyone know where I can buy replacement parts for these pads? I know the jack itself is a generic brand and can be bought online, but I'd rather buy the entire (little) circuit board with that jack factory installed.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for repair parts I would find a drum shop that sells Yamaha, they should be able to order the parts you need.
 
I think Calan is right.

One of the legs of the jack which is soldered on the card must have broken. I have two XP120SD and both of them showed the problem. You can open the pad and see this by yourself. For both of my pad, the same leg broke. I changed both jack. I used jacks that I externalized from the pads. The cable is soldered to the card and goes through the hole of the primary jack. Problem definitely solved.
This is clearly a flaw for a pad at this price... but att least, it is very easy to repair if you have what needed to unsolder and resolder.
 
Takelow said:
I think Calan is right.

One of the legs of the jack which is soldered on the card must have broken. I have two XP120SD and both of them showed the problem. You can open the pad and see this by yourself. For both of my pad, the same leg broke. I changed both jack. I used jacks that I externalized from the pads. The cable is soldered to the card and goes through the hole of the primary jack. Problem definitely solved.
This is clearly a flaw for a pad at this price... but att least, it is very easy to repair if you have what needed to unsolder and resolder.
Click to expand...
Even if it doesn't appear to be physically broken, it might be. Or a cold solder.
 
calan said:
Even if it doesn't appear to be physically broken, it might be. Or a cold solder.
Click to expand...
Takelow said:
I think Calan is right.

One of the legs of the jack which is soldered on the card must have broken. I have two XP120SD and both of them showed the problem. You can open the pad and see this by yourself. For both of my pad, the same leg broke. I changed both jack. I used jacks that I externalized from the pads. The cable is soldered to the card and goes through the hole of the primary jack. Problem definitely solved.
This is clearly a flaw for a pad at this price... but att least, it is very easy to repair if you have what needed to unsolder and resolder.
Click to expand...
I've called all of the "Yamaha Certified Service Centers" in the tri-state area as defined in the Yamaha website. All are either out of business now, or have severe supply chain issues, or mentioned that due to a backlog of requests to Yamaha, it would be at least a month until they are able to get an answer from Yamaha as to what the replacement part is. None had ever seen the issue with the ¼" plug photo (I posted above), and all thought it was interesting. They also all said it would cost $100 deposit just to take a look with some saying it would be a month from the date they receive the pad until they could take that look. Either way, I would be out that $100 just for them to diagnose the problem.

Removing the jack from the equation could be the answer at this point. That could definitely be the quickest and cheapest fix. I could simply cut the damaged quarter-inch plug off the end of the cable and just solder the wire directly to the board... hmmm...
 
New here.

I'm having the EXACT same problem with my XP80. Intermittent volume drops, unable to roll, etc. I replaced the entire snare with a brand new one and am still experiencing this problem, so it's not the jack or an other problems with the snare itself. Could it be the module? If so, why am I not experiencing this with cymbals, toms, or kick? Could it actually be the cable? Thank much! ~Dave
 
Frunosura said:
New here.

I'm having the EXACT same problem with my XP80. Intermittent volume drops, unable to roll, etc. I replaced the entire snare with a brand new one and am still experiencing this problem, so it's not the jack or an other problems with the snare itself. Could it be the module? If so, why am I not experiencing this with cymbals, toms, or kick? Could it actually be the cable? Thank much! ~Dave
Click to expand...
Well, if you've replaced the pad, then the next thing is to swap the cable with a known working one the kit. Any stereo one.
And plug the pad onto a known working input - say the ride (unplug the ride pad, plug on snare onto same cable).
It's a process of elimination. Swap non-working stuff for known working stuff, one bit at a time.

Always good to do a factory reset when checking stuff as well.
 
electrodrummer said:
Well, if you've replaced the pad, then the next thing is to swap the cable with a known working one the kit. Any stereo one.
And plug the pad onto a known working input - say the ride (unplug the ride pad, plug on snare onto same cable).
It's a process of elimination. Swap non-working stuff for known working stuff, one bit at a time.

Always good to do a factory reset when checking stuff as well.
Click to expand...
Well said. Variable elimination can tell you a ton about a problem, even if you are not well versed in said topic. Just basic logic.
 
Thank you!
electrodrummer said:
Well, if you've replaced the pad, then the next thing is to swap the cable with a known working one the kit. Any stereo one.
And plug the pad onto a known working input - say the ride (unplug the ride pad, plug on snare onto same cable).
It's a process of elimination. Swap non-working stuff for known working stuff, one bit at a time.

Always good to do a factory reset when checking stuff as well.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top