Lemon snare and tom pads have two zones: head and rim. They all work the same way, so a snare works fine as a tom. This guide gets both zones working on your module and checks each one, so if something isn't right you'll know whether it's the pad, the cable or a setting.
Where everything plugs in
Each pad has one jack. It carries the head and rim and needs a stereo (TRS) cable; a mono cable only gives you the head.
If your kit's pads plug into a bundle of labelled leads from the module (a snake), plug its snare or tom lead straight into the pad instead of using a cable. Your module's page says which lead to use.
Already set up and something's wrong?
Start at the step that matches what you're seeing:
- The rim doesn't play at all: step 1 (your module may not read it), then try another stereo cable or lead, the swaps in step 5, and the rim settings in step 3.
- Rim hits play as head, head hits play as rim, or fast strokes come out as rim shots: first check step 1, because on a 1-zone input every hit plays the head. Otherwise the pad is working and the module is picking the wrong zone. Try another stereo cable (on a snake kit, plug the pad into another lead of the same kind, such as a spare tom lead), then the swaps in step 5, then the settings in step 3.
- Hitting one pad makes another one sound: step 3.
- Soft hits don't play, or a zone plays now and then: try another stereo cable or lead, then the swaps in step 5, then the settings in step 3.
- The pad only reads with very high sensitivity, or won't calibrate: try another cable or lead, check the pad sits firmly on its mount and the rim isn't over-tightened, then the swaps in step 5, then the settings in step 3, and only then step 6.
Step 1 — Check what your module can do
Open your module's page in Support and look at its snare and tom sections for the inputs and settings to use; note them down for steps 2 and 3. Then look for a Things to know before you buy box near the top of that page:
- No box, or no snare or tom entry in it: your module reads both zones, head and rim.
- Snare is 1-zone or Toms are 1-zone: that input plays the head only. Rim hits won't play there, whatever the settings.
- No snare input or No tom input: the module has no input for that drum, so there's nothing to set up for it.
Step 2 — Connect it
Plug a stereo (TRS) cable into the pad and connect it to the input your module's page names, or on a snake kit, plug in the kit's lead.
Step 3 — Module settings
- Pick the pad type your module's page names.
- If your module asks what kind of sensor the rim is, set it to Piezo, not Switch.
- If soft hits don't play, or a zone misses now and then, raise its sensitivity, lower its threshold and check the velocity curve.
- If the module picks the wrong zone, the pad is fine: the module's settings decide between head and rim, and raising overall sensitivity won't fix it. Tune them for this pad's size, since values set for a different-size pad may not carry over. Adjust the ones your module has:
- Scan time first.
- Then rim sensitivity, retrigger cancel or mask time, and the head-to-rim balance.
- If your module has a separate threshold for each zone, raise the one for the zone that plays by mistake, only until it stops, then check soft hits still play. With a single threshold per input, leave it alone.
- If hitting one pad makes another sound, raise the crosstalk setting on the pad that sounds by mistake.
- If real rim hits go missing, check the head-to-rim crosstalk setting (on some modules, Head-Rim Adj) isn't set too high: it can hide rim hits and make a good pad look faulty.
Step 4 — Check each zone
Hit the head, then the rim, a few times each, softly and hard.
You should hear each zone play its own sound, once per hit. On a 1-zone input you'll only hear the head.
Step 5 — Still wrong? Find out which part
Two quick swaps, using pads you know work:
- Plug this pad into another input that reads both zones: a snare into a tom input (if your module's toms read both zones), or a tom into the snare input. Settings tuned for a different size of pad don't carry over, so set the new input up for this pad first with the settings in step 3. If the problem still follows the pad, it's the pad.
- Plug another 2-zone drum pad into this input, ideally one the same size; if it's a different size, set the input up for it first (step 3). If that pad misbehaves the same way, it's the input or its settings.
If both point at the pad, contact us. If the pad only reads with very high sensitivity or won't calibrate, you can also try step 6.
Step 6 — Check the head sensor
The sensor under the head is held on with double-sided tape, and it can move. Take the head off and check that the round sensor sits in the middle and is stuck down firmly. If it has moved, press it back into place, or re-stick it with fresh double-sided tape. Then put the head back on and try again.
Bought it from a store other than ours and might return it? Check with them before opening the pad.
Still not right?
Email contact@lemonedrums.com with your module's brand and exact model, which zone is wrong and what it does instead, and which input the pad is plugged into. A short phone video of you hitting the head and rim usually lets us answer in one reply.