QuietTone UPDATE: making it better and better

Previously, I talked about finding a new Sabian QuietTone pad, one made in Taiwan, and making some changes to improve the pad’s response and sound.

Between the time QuietTone was a small, independent company based in New Jersey and the time Sabian bought the company and moved production overseas, QuietTone pads were made in New Jersey, using up parts from the smaller company. These transitional pads were using most of the older parts, with some replacement plastic inner layers and all new heads that carried the Sabian logo alongside a revised QuietTone logo. 

The quality of the transitional pads lies somewhere between original and imported, with a solid lean towards the original design.

Along with my New-and-improved pad, I’d picked up in recent months an all-original [New Jersey] pad in 14”, and transitional pads in 14” and 12” each. (During the transitional period, Sabian made up as manyPads from remaining stateside parts as possible before moving the operations overseas, which meant making up final, transitional versions of pads in sizes offered by the original company. Going forward, Sabian chose to offer pads in only 14” and 10” sizes, doing a way with pads in 12” and the hard-to-find 16”.)

Once I’d taken the new Sabian pad apart and reassembled it with a new head and a flipped-over inner rubber layer, it was relatively easy to decide to do the same with my transitional pads and see if I could improve them. I’m happy to report that I was successful both times — so much so that I decided to sell my in-the-box original QT pad to a friend who’d been searching for months for one of his own.

I’m quite happy with the sound and feel of my transitional pads, each of which has great response. The 12” pad has a replacement head, a simple Remo Ambassador coated head that fits fine and gives me a response very close to the original pad.

(below: Newer Sabian QT pads have heads with the Sabian logo BELOW the QuietTone logo. Transitional pads have a head with the Sabian logo a little larger and to the right of the QT logo.)

My 14” transitional pad, which so far does not require a replacement head.

(Shown here with the Innovative Percussion CMS-1 sticks I modified/improved upon, and which my blog post about caused a veritable firestorm over at Marching Percussion Marketplace discussion group last week.)

I flipped over the rubber insert.

When I reinstalled the head, I worked to make sure the core platform and rubber remained centered inside the head while I tightened the tension rods.

I’d gotten the 12” pad first of all, last winter, for a really cheap price. The head had some pretty bad dents in it so I’d been looking around for a replacement head to fit it. After trying some old marching heads and finding them too deep, I realized I’d need to find a Remo Ambassador pad to solve the issue. I found one last week, and as I’d guessed it fit and played perfectly. Of the two, this one has become my favorite pad.

 

My advise to the curious? Follow your curiosity. Try new things. Ask good questions.

If your intuition and your skills suggest taking something apart to see how it works, or to make it better suit your needs, do it. 

If it doesn’t work out, can usually put it back the way it was.

And either way, you will have learned something, and fulfilled at least some of your curiosity.

Cheers! And happy drumming.