Hi all,

I have a Mapex Mars birch kit with Aquarian Performance II heads on the toms. I've had both the kit and heads for months now, but for some reason:

a. Tuning them is extremely difficult
b. When I get them sounding okay, they detune within a week.

I can tune other heads fairly quickly and accurately by ear (though I'm no expert) and I don't play more than once a week—and lightly—since they usually sound bad. The kit is by a sliding glass door, so they're somewhat exposed to thermal fluctuations but the issue still occurred when they were in a closed closet.

Does anyone know why this is happening? Is it because the kit's lugs are hard to finger-tighten? Did MusiciansFriend rip me off and send me defective heads? Am I awful at tuning my own kit? Are the bearing edges poor? I've had it for three months and still haven't had a fun session on it. What can I do?