I agree with all of this. On mine it’s obvious it changes over time as the pads I have hit more often are obviously better than others. The velocity is not however an Akai.
I liked the feel of Akai pads more though too. Here’s a post from way back talking about removing the film:
Might try that now mine is out of warranty.
I had planned on applying the twofinger technique to the MKII but was just totally bamboozled by the encounter I left early.