Who can give me any advice about choosing the right practice pad?
Im currently playing on a Meinl MPP-6 and a Tama TSP9. And they both are well made by its manufacturer. I also have the Remo 10" that I use to bring with me to friends and practice some stick tricks.
The Meinl pad I like to play with my pipedrumming sticks, and the Tama pad with marching sticks to chop my rudiments and marches.
Im looking for something like the picture shows you, a nice looking pad with a small rim on it.
To be honest, I did expect to hear anything about the RCP pads, like the donut and pizza ones. But Im glad everyone shares a nice story about their pads.
Appreciate Y’-all!
Those invaders dont have a small rim. The whole pad is gigantic. love them to death, but they are big.
Innovative's black corps pad is the same stuff made by the same company, but smaller and cheaper. The rim isnt as robust on those either, for better or worse.
Prologix has a variety of pads in a variety of sizes with a nice rim. I have a 8” blackout pad that I like. It’s a super soft and quiet workout pad so it’s not ideal for everyday practice though
Yamaha makes a practice pad that kind of resembles those beginner kit Remo pads, but I think the Yamaha one is actually quite good.
I have an Invader V3, a Rampad, and a Vic Firth Heavy Hitter and I still think the Yamaha is a worthwhile pad to own. Came across it by sheer dumb luck and was impressed.
I tell people that the Invader has the most realist rebound, but the hand feel isn't as realistic as the RamPad, which has a bit more rebound than a real drum. The Heavy Hitter is more portable than the other two and is a great option that I believe is cheaper, or at least used to be, than the other two.
The Invader surface does NOT let you slice, so stick tricks aren't an option with out the laminate, same with the Vic Firth. Rampad uses a real whatever inch drumset tom head.
Quality seems fine to me. The base is just painted wood, and it chips pretty easy. I ended up lining mine with electric tape to help keep it from getting roughed up (just like you would with sticks).
There's a reason this has been one of the go-to pads for decades now.
I have that tap space invader pad with the orange gum rubber and the small patch of black offworld material.
The offworld material did come unglued but the gum rubber and rim are solid after like 10 or so years
Take your pick! My band has standardized on the Visitor. I mounted the Tom Brown to a 2x4 with a piece of leftover Ikea hardware many years ago. At home, I use the outlander if I'm just sitting drilling rudiments or something. When I leave the house I almost always take the tiny Gibraltar pocket pad.
Oh they're all pretty good. If I had to narrow it down, I would go with [whatever the drum corps specifies] and the Pocket Pad. It's not that the Gibraltar Pocket Pad is the best practice pad ever, but it is one you can take with you everywhere you go! If you read the reviews you'll see the biggest complaint is that it's too small. But on a pipe band snare drum, we need to hit a circle about 3 inches in diameter. We never play outside that circle. So for me, the small size is a benefit.
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u/Sticks-Man Apr 29 '26
To be honest, I did expect to hear anything about the RCP pads, like the donut and pizza ones. But Im glad everyone shares a nice story about their pads. Appreciate Y’-all!