Author Topic: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.  (Read 2529 times)

Offline Mr.J.

The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« on: March 29, 2018, 09:07:11 AM »
Hey Gang

I wanted to do a quick write up on a new beater head I have added to my kit.

The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.

I use this on my DM10 mesh kit. The bass drum is a Laurin with a mesh head.

I absolutely love this beater. I bought it because I found the plastic beater was too loud. I play my kit with headphones on and I could still hear the whack of the plastic beater which degraded the sound quality of a good bass beat. I also switched out the mesh head from one with a pedal patch to one without.

Did I mention that I absolutely love this beater?

I didn’t have to change any of my settings and what I hear now is a good clean bass hit. The playability is also very awesome. I did loosen the mesh head a very tiny bit so I could get the feel of really burying it into the drum. There are absolutely no rebound/double hits regardless if I play hard or soft, slow or fast.

It looks like just a plain old tennis ball but it is filled inside with what I assume is rubber. I do not believe that it has an unlimited life span but at this point I almost look forward to buying another one because I like it that much. I wish I had bought one of these years ago.

I do not believe these can be used with a double pedal unless you have enough space between the two heads as they are wider than a standard beater head.

Ok, bring on the questions.



Offline VandalX

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2018, 11:11:04 AM »
I'm a huge fan of this beater. Great response and feel. I was a little worried about using a "tennis ball" as that connotes a bouncy  experience, but it's just right for the mesh head scenario. Almost no double hits unless I want them. Hopefully it has a good lifespan, but at $17, I will be happy to replace when needed. I would be interested to see if I can adjust my Iron Cobra double to accommodate two of them at some point.
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.

Offline Purpledc

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2018, 08:21:50 AM »
I wanted to try this beater but I just couldn't do it.  I love the concept but my dog would chew on those if I wasn't eagle eyeing him.   I ended up getting tama Accu-strike beaters which I really love.

I dont have a problem with double triggers and hits.   The only time I did I found the foam tower that keeps the beater from using the head like a trampoline had fallen.  I didnt even know until I shined a light inside and sure enough the 5 foam discs collapsed which made it really bouncy.   I put it back and pressed it down so it wont fall again.  Now with the rubber beaters i can dial in the exact amount of rebound I want by the tightness of the head.   I run mine really tight.  So all the bounce is actually coming from the rubber of the beater. 

Still, i bet that kat beater feels great. 

Offline Purpledc

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2018, 08:49:55 AM »
damn it.  Ordered two of them and an evans patch.

Offline VandalX

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2018, 10:01:56 AM »
I can easily use two of these with my double pedal (Iron Cobra), as the spacing of the beaters on the rod is simple. They can be spaced so they avoid each other and still hit the Evans patch. I just picked up another beater from DW yesterday: a DW DWSM105 Hardcore. It's got a solid plastic center that's adjustable, surrounded by a dense foam. So you can adjust how soft/hard the hits are depending on your style or requirements. I like it so far. Still liking the KAT KT-TBB as well.
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.

Offline Iggford

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2018, 12:07:48 PM »
Is this beater safe to use on the mesh head without the Evans patch?

I'm very interested in ordering two for my double pedal, but I'm not sure about the patch.  If I had to get one, I would, but if it's safe with the mesh, I may go without.


--
Shawn

Offline VandalX

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2018, 12:34:23 PM »
Both the KAT and regular felt beaters do have a nap to them, so the fibers may still degrade the mesh after some time. Felt has a much smaller nap to it, and therefore perhaps that's why it tend to work its way into the mesh. The "tennis ball" of the KAT is still a rough surface, and to be honest, I have been using an Evans patch anyway. I tend to switch beaters depending on the feel I want for a particular genre I'm practicing. Easier to have the patch on just in case. I don't notice that it has any effect on my playing. My DW beater is foam and plastic, and I'm starting to think it's the best compromise so far. 
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.

Offline Iggford

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2018, 02:29:59 PM »
That makes perfect sense, and is one of the reasons I was curious about the patch.

Does the patch stay attached pretty well?  I move my kit around a lot, and if I'm going to use one, I need it to stay in place fairly reliably. 

Thanks for your help!


--
Shawn

Offline VandalX

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2018, 03:45:19 PM »
The patches are really sticky. Eventually they start to peel slightly, but they come in packs of two, and are inexpensive. I have gone through two of them, mainly due to removing the head to fix my triggers. But I like the extra layer of protection that they give the mesh head. Just one less thing to go wrong!

I think they might be more prone to coming off if you are constantly tensioning/de-tensioning the drum head. That would create flex and work the adhesive loose. But easy to re-stick or replace.
Alesis DM 10 MKII Pro (with Tama Iron Cobra double). Pearl Export acoustic. Fostex VF160EX Digital multitrack (16). Fostex monitors. Roland TR-626 drum machine. Roland Juno 106 Poly synth. Aria Knight Warrior. Peavy Fury. Digitech GNX3000. Digitech RP360. Tascam Porta 05 four track. MacBook Air.

Offline Iggford

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2018, 04:22:40 PM »
Ok, that makes me feel a lot better about it.  I may go ahead and pick some up.  I have never used them, so I wasn't sure how they really worked. 

I haven't had to make any tension changes so far, so as long as they stick pretty well, I'll pick some up and keep a couple of spares handy.

Thanks again!


--
Shawn

Offline Purpledc

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2018, 08:15:23 AM »
So, on Saturday I received two tama accustrike beaters.  Then yesterday at about 6pm (right at the end of my nightly session.. thanks fedex)  I received two silent strike beaters.   I played them for a 10 seconds and I packed up the......... tama accustrikes and had them going back to amazon faster than could say I love these kat beaters.   

Now I know full well they wont last very long.  But the heads are those are replaceable and I have faith ill find the same thing in a dog toy isle one day and have nice neon replacements at some point.  But even at $17 a pop if they last me 6 months I'm good with it.   The feel is amazing. 

Offline Mr.J.

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2018, 12:08:32 PM »
It's been a month....

I have to admit I am liking these KAT's more and more. I have a fear they'll stop making them one day so I want to load up on them.

I use them directly on the mesh head and haven't noticed any side effects yet. First and foremost I like how quiet they are compared to hard beaters, but I also really like the feel. I can play them comfortably or I can bury them.

Did I mention I really like these beaters a lot.

Offline Mr.J.

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2018, 01:31:37 PM »
6 months now

Still loving it.

Offline AlanK

Re: The KAT Silent Strike KT-TBB beater.
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2018, 11:13:54 AM »
It's been a month....

I have to admit I am liking these KAT's more and more. I have a fear they'll stop making them one day so I want to load up on them.

I use them directly on the mesh head and haven't noticed any side effects yet. First and foremost I like how quiet they are compared to hard beaters, but I also really like the feel. I can play them comfortably or I can bury them.

Did I mention I really like these beaters a lot.

LOL, I re-read this thread and laughed that you came back to your original "did I mention I really like these beaters" statement

Hey, if they stop selling them, can't you just drill some holes in tennis balls and as long as the shaft is still good, you've got replacements any time?
DM10X with Addictive Drums 2, Pro X hi-hat, 4 crashes, foam cone conversion w Roland mesh heads, Laurin Drums snare and kick, Mapex P710W double kick pedal, Mapex 2 legged hi-hat, Behringer 8 channel USB mixer, Tascam 144MK AI, Samson Expedition Escape powered speakers