Practice Pads

Re: a practice pad. but which one?

MAKE YOUR OWN!

i did it, and it would of been amazing if i didnt cheap out and grab a hunk of wood from the home depot reject bin. its warped, so i have to reglue the gum rubber periodically, and i havent bothered to go get new materials.

materials: gum rubber (1/4" is pretty standard, but vf heavy hitters go thinner)
any other type of rubber (open celled for grip like the heavy hitters, or neoprene or somthing)
some sort of wood or particle board (make sure its not warped!)
gorilla glue

gorrila glue and wood is easy. go to a hardware store. rubber is another story. here in portland i have what used to be portland rubber but its now more of a conveyor belt place. they have all kinds of rubber except open cell. making your own pad has been catching on up here in the north, so when i ask for such a small amout (about a foot, ended up with a foot and a half), he asked about practice pads and just let me have it for free cause that is such a small amout to what they usually deal in (it would have been $7).

if you find a flat peice of wood in a scap bin somewhere, its probably free (make sure its flat) and the gorilla glue is under $5 i think, but you wont use even an eighth of the bottle and its great stuff for everything.

so, in total, my practice pad cost about 20 cents (what ever the glue added up to), and works great minus the ocasional reglueing issue of having a warped peice of wood. the best part is i can customize it anyway i want. thicker gum rubber:quieter, softer feel neoprene: work out open cell rubber makes for a great underside so the pad doesnt slide.

ps. has anybody tried the scojo dynasty pad yet? it makes a quiet snare sound somehow. i was wondering if these things are all hype or something.
 
Re: a practice pad. but which one?

Making your own is not a bad idea! However, if you want to get a commercially made one, here's what I would suggest: Real Feel by HQ percussion. I've had the same pad (12") for years now and it's worn very well with age. If you play brushes, get the 12" double sided model. Or, if you want, you can cut a circular piece of corrugated cardboard and rest it on your snare drum for brush practice.
Don't get a Remo. They're way too loud and you have to replace the head, not to mention if you hit too hard you'll crack the plastic rim.
So, as you can see, there are plenty of options available. Have fun woodsheddin'!
 
Re: a practice pad. but which one?

I use a Xymox pad.. It has a rubber surface with small iron bullets inside so it makes a little snare sound. It's awsome. www.xymoxpercussion.com
 
did anybody ever buy the rtom? or make a decision at all for that matter? heh
 
Re: a practice pad. but which one?

MagnZ said:
I use a Xymox pad.. It has a rubber surface with small iron bullets inside so it makes a little snare sound. It's awsome. www.xymoxpercussion.com
i have one of those. serves me well. i'm looking for something quieter now though...
anybody have one of these?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au...QcmdZViewItem
i basically want a totally silent pad
 
Re: a practice pad. but which one?

A "real Feel" is a good start. I got the 6 inch and it's great.

---LG
 
I was going to but they never got back to me (reply).

I eventually got a Billy Hyde 'natural rebound' pad. It's not natural, but the very bouncy feel helps, as it really teaches to utilise the rebound, because there is so much, it's damn near impossible not use it. Good pad, but really loud.
 
Yeah i also have a Billy Hyde "Natural Rebound Pad" and its great! The good thing about them is that they have bits on the bottom so you can put them on stands so its just like a snare drum but bouncier.
 
Yea im ordering the real feel pad 12" two sided, but im also getting this little orange pad that feels really good from my drumstore, im only getting it because im going to Germany for 3 weeks on thursday so theres no way im going 3 weeks without drums so im taking a pad.
 
I have the reel feel, and its ok, but I like the remo one best, go to the roland website and look at the RMP-5 rythm coach, this thing rocks I want one, or two. But yes the reel feel will work good, but not very loud.
 
morbius25 said:
I have the reel feel, and its ok, but I like the remo one best, go to the roland website and look at the RMP-5 rythm coach, this thing rocks I want one, or two. But yes the reel feel will work good, but not very loud.

Well im in Germanz right now so...Im in Bergisch Gladbach if anzone is from round there, tomorrow im heaqding straight to here http://www.musicstorekoeln.de/index.php. Anwaz im usiong the orange pad and its ghoin prettz well. It has so mch rebound tho..Wen im back in Australia ill take some photos, but i really can't now. At the start of my trip i hated all of that rebound but now im so used to it, but wen i get back to my kit my snare will feel like a floor tom...
 
So i just picked up the real feel pad then, gotta say i am a bit dissapointed, its not much different to my little orange pad at all, and the 'workout' side i dont think ill use. (Is that side meant for muscle strenthening?) I had to order it in, but its the new black one.1
1 - Orange is better than black, its a happy color. :)
2 - Yea its not that much different to my other orange pad.
3 - You cant use brushes on it. Which is why i want to know really if they are any different from the orange cause its not quite the material i thought it would be made of. (i know hauk already said he doesnt think so, but i would like to know) IIn the Weckl vids it looks like a shiny material and it sounds different too. Does anyone ever use the 'workout' side, is it just for muscle strenth?(This side is very loud as well, its just like playing on a table.)
 
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Okay, so this question is still open. What's a good really, really quite practice pad? I'm not looking to do rim shots or brushes, just rudiments & stick control. Of the ones mentioned above, it doesn't sound like there are any winners yet. I have the old grey 12" Remo practice pad which is loud as hell. My kids can hear in when I'm in the basement with the door closed and they are two floors above me. So, I typically practice on a pillow at night, but that doesn't really cut it for stick control.

I know they are out there because I've seen them in the distant past. Really quite ones that were black rubber. I don't know about all the new stuff...

Anyone, anyone, anyone???....
 
Murphinelli, is your pad from the distant pad one of those old ludwig ones? - a metal sort of frame and a circular rubber pad in the middle?

Those are neat! -but you can't buy 'em anymore unless you spot one on e-bay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Ludwig-...006396539QQihZ015QQcategoryZ308QQcmdZViewItem

Personally, I like my Real-feel pad and I don't see much difference from one rubber pad to another. I just like a large enough pad so you can put it in a snare drum stand, or, even better, sit it right on top of a snare drum for just a little sound. I think Vic Firth makes a similar rubber pad.

I rarely use the dark side -I guess that makes me like a jedi- but I like the weight it gives to the pad, makes it not move at all if you just put it on a flat surface to practice.

Also, I have a gibralter pad-set:

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/?fa=series&sid=141&cid=35

I used to work in a music store that had one and I'd always mess around on it. ...so I bought one and now it tides me over because my wife and I live in a condo and so I don't get to play on any of my real drums these days ouside of when I'm with my teacher, which bites the big one, but, hey, you do what you gotta do. IMO that's the best feeling bass drum pad on the market too.


Both are 'library quiet'

Also, my teacher buys 13" or so disks of raw rubber and just sells them to his students for what he paid -just a few bucks- because those reel feel pads are pricey. You have to make your own base for it and glue it on, but they have a really, really nice feel to them -somehow a little different than other rubber pads. I keep meaning to make a base and buy one, but I'm lazy.

wow, I can't believe I wrote a book on that. ...what can I say, it's friday afternoon ...I don't want to be at work anymrore.
 
Auger said:
it's friday afternoon ...I don't want to be at work anymrore.

Me neither, and I'm just about to make like a tree and leave...(bu-bump-bump).

Thanks for the feedback on the pads. If you say "library quiet" I believe you. I'll try one of those out maybe. But maybe I'll try what your friend does and look for something like that. Home Depot must have some big thick rubber thing for something.

My old pad is just a plastic gray circle with a remo ambassador coated head in the middle. I'm sure you've seen them. It can mount to a stand also. But way too loud.

I used to have a big rubber disk that went over the Ludwig student snare. That was great, but I lost it.

Anyways, thanks again.

Cheers,
Murph
 
To people with the Real Feel pad, what side do you use more? I use the main side way more, but im thinking whichis actually better for me to use, the side that has a bit more rebound that a snare would, or the side that has a little less rebound than a real snare, even though the 2nd side is louder, im thinking that would be better?

EDIT - Man just did a tiny bit of reading and i take all back about the real feel, it is a great pad.
 
Maybe just to clarify some things so people dont have to read it all. From all the information...

Best Single Pads seem to be
-Real Feel Pad - The double sided is a good idea-
-The RTOM pad, this is very quiet, pretty sure the quietest out there.
-The Vic Firth Pad is also a good one, but very similar to the real feel and a little bit more $ i think
-Then there are the 'other' pads like the xymox pads, and the promark etc
One of the top 3 is best, but again personal prefrence

-For Bass drum the Gibralter kick pad is the best

Best Pad Sets seem to be
-Get a collection of pads and the gibralter bass pad, and your set.(I have done this, and i think is the better way because you can get different pads with different feels to imitatae the different feels of a kit
-Just the bass pad and one of the single pads, if for you just want to do some stick control etc
-The DW is very portable and seems to be a great choice
-The REMO pad set is louder but they are ok, obviously with the rack there are more positioning availability etc
-the GIBRALTER pad set is bery good to, and is also highly recomended

Out of the sets, the DW and GIBRALTER kits are the best but then dont ask out of those two cause i think it has been prooven that personal prefrence is what wins through here, eg how your heads are tuned etc which one has the closer feel to YOUR real kit.
 
Hey Guys, we've been working on pad designs for many years and at this point I feel we've achieved the closest-to-kevlar feel and articulation with the INVADER by way of it's new playing surface. I've posed this question on a couple of different forums. We'd appreciate any feedback players on many levels have on these units, check out the website, watch the video and let me know what you think!
http://offworldpercussion.com


snaretop.jpg


 
Choice of pad depends on a lot of factors.

Is it just for quiet practice or is it mainly about portability,

I have a Real Feel pad and it has a bit of extra bounce, which mentioned before isn't necessarily a bad thing for a beginner getting used to rebound. The other side has less bounce, but is also a lot louder. Remedy for both issues for me has just been laying an old t-shirt or towel over the pad. You can adjust rebound to our liking and it makes it completely quiet.

For REAL feel the old Remo pads are the best I know of.
 
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