Do Practice Pads REALLY Feel Like a Real Snare Drum? | Practice Pad Shootout
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Do Practice Pads Really Respond Like a Real Snare Drum? Most critics would say “no,” and some would argue that you should solely practice on a real snare only if possible. But there’s got to be a practice pad that at least comes close, right? Today we’re testing 6 practice pads that I have in my collection here at the studio, and we’re going to find out which actually responds most like a snare drum. We’ll tune the snare low, medium, then high for a thorough comparison.
Today we’re looking at 6 different practice pads, though two of them aren’t really “pads.” We’ll be examining the Vic Firth two-sided practice pad, the Evans “RealFeel” two-sided pad, the Movement Drum Co. two-sided pad, and Aquarian Superpad, Remo Silentstroke, and RTOM Black Hole. We’ll see which responds most realistically, but we’ll also rate on versatility, simplicity, etc. I’ll tell you which pad is my personal favorite - a combination of all the best qualities.
Practice system comparison video from a few years back…
“What’s the BEST Drumming Practice System?”
• What's the BEST Drummi...
My recommended combo for full kit practice is…
Remo Silentstrokes on kick & toms
RTOM Blackhole on your snare
Zildjian L80 low volume cymbals (a great add-on!)
For stand-alone pad…
Grab an Aquarian Superpad or Movement Drum Co. pad for a great standalone, portable pad.
Here are links to all the pads discussed today (Amazon affiliate):
Vic Firth Pad
amzn.to/39QSfo0
Evans Real Feel
amzn.to/2x5ddCp
Movement Drum Co. Pad
amzn.to/2xg4o8M
Aquarian SuperPad
amzn.to/2XkXKZy
RTOM Black Hole Mesh
amzn.to/2UTSo5O
Remo Silentstroke Mesh
amzn.to/2XmF2Rh
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I think it’s important to note that the high rebound of the other pads are designed to emulate a marching snare drum rather than a drum set or concert drum.
We must remember also, when people say "it doesnt feel like any actual snare", they mean it doesnt sound like a drumset snare drum. AND 2 or 3 of those pads that he used in the video are not made to practice drumset, they are practice for marching snare drum, (hence the more bounce because marching snare drums have high tension heads). I play drum set and marching snare so just remember , before you say a pad is "bad" make sure your using it for what it is designed to be used for.👍👍
I've been using your Aquarian SuperPad + RTOM black hole combo on my snare drum ever since that previous video you did a few years ago. IMO it gives a great combination of realistic feel, and still retains some musicality. SuperPad by itself is my favourite 'off the kit' playing surface.
In fact that series of videos on apartment drumming very much influenced the way I practice now. Back then I was seriously considering buying an electronic kit, for home practice, but after watching your videos I decided to invest in low-volume acoustic upgrades instead. Very glad that I went that route. So a belated thanks for the sound advice
Thanks for this detailed comparison - really useful! I've never really used pads myself, but a few of my students like to use them. This will be a good vid I can recommend to them.
Hi Stephen-as a returning drummer after many years I've been following you for a few months now and appreciate the candid & unbiased information you provide to the drumming community. On the topic of drum pads I bought a set of Evens "Soundoff" pads and like them a lot. Since I need to quiet my new kit due to placement and family reasons I'm also looking to quiet the cymbals and bass drum. I know Evans makes pads for the cymbals, and am curious what your recommendation for bass drum quieting is. Thanks for the great content!
Great info, thanks!
I have the RTOM for the kick and want to get one for the snare. Love those, but you’re spot on about the cost.
Thoughts on the Sound Off pads? I use those on my toms for now and for practice they’re convenient and work pretty well.
I use the Silent Strokes because they work well with EAD-10 and I'm going to try the trick of using gaff tape... thanks.
I own a Reflexx practice pad. 2 sided pad. One side feels more like a snare, other side feels kinda like a tom. I like it. I'm torn between Rtom and aquarian! 🤔
Prologix Black/Blue pads are great :)
I have a few practice pads and personally I prefer the Sabian Quiet Tone pad - great stick feel and you can practice with brushes!
I thought the RTOM looked pretty similar. I might have to review the video to judge them again. Some of the pads had noticeably more rebounds.
I use vicfirth pad + piezo mod, into a KORG ClipHit. This maybe useful to reduce volome when practise in apartment.
I just learned a new rudiments and got it up to speed. Sit down on my snare and can't play it....wtf?!?!
To all the people telling that the pads are designed to emulate marching snares:
there is NOTHING about specific use in all practice pads I have red about. Amazon product pages do not tell anything about type of snare they emulate, so stop telling "it's not designed for that" because when I buy a pad there is no information about what is designed for. They just suck or brands need to get proper marketing material.
The Prologix Red Storm has a great feel
I tried them all, and here’s what I ended up with. (and I assume we’re talking from the most-realistic-feel perspective, NOT from the most-realistic-sound perspective, because they all suck at sound)
For my main pad practice, I use a 12” Aquarian Superpad as a standalone pad. It fits just fine in a cheap snare stand I bought specifically for this purpose. And while it produces a weird and unrealistic sound, it’s the closest I get to the feel of a real snare drum, which I usually tune relatively high. I like how it’s less bouncy than all those hard-rubber pads, forcing my fingers to do the extra muscle work, very similar to the muscle work I have to do on the actual drum.
However, there’s a special case. Most of the pad exercises I do at either slow or “normal” speed, “normal” being a relative term here. I define “normal speed” as something that doesn’t stress my muscles and my brain, something I can play while watching TV. But sometimes I do exercises where I specifically push for speed, really hard. And for those, I switch to a hard-rubber pad, Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Stockpad in my case. It doesn’t feel realistic, there is no way you can get such a good and effortless rebound from an actual drum, no matter how high you tune it, but it’s a good thing in this particular case. When you’re pushing for speed, having to do all the extra muscle work to fight the poor bouncing is a distraction. You don’t need it at the moment. You’re teaching your muscles and your brain to do super-fast motions in perfect sync, with both yourself and the metronome. Once you internalize that fast speed and it no longer shocks your brain and your muscles, you can switch to the softer pad then, adding that extra muscle workout to that newly normal high speed.
But if I had to choose just one, it would definitely be the Aquarian.
Thanks for the great details.
The Vic Firth Heavy Hitter series is meant to replicate the feel of a marching snare drum. Those pads don't even replicate a higher tuned drum, it's just somewhere in the middle.
Has anyone ever used the Drumeo P4 practice pad? What do you think about?
I have the Reel Feel for years and still like it. Didnt even know the hard side is supposed to be used as well :-D But wouldn't recommend that anyways. // Nope, it doesnt feel like a real drum, but like you said: it's great for getting your technique together. I practice with marching sticks and it really boosted my drumming in terms of technique.
However, there will always be a difference. That's why it's called a practice pad, not a drum. :-)
Whatever pad you chose, just make sure it's not pillows, for you own good.
It's meant to replicate a marching snare drum, not a drum set snare drum.
Which has the more rebound: evans soft side or vic firth soft side? Also, how's the rebound of Movement Drum Co(Hard and Soft) to those two?
Was disappointed when I tried the RTOM black hole pad. I thought they weren’t accurate at all and feels like more of a mesh Roland pad. And they’re almost $100 cad just for the 14in snare! I didn’t really get to tighten it as I only got to try it in a music store. Would still prefer a practice pad for practice. Will try the Aquarian super pad maybe and put it on top of my snare. Been using the Evans Real Feel for about 5 years now (since I started learning) never really had the need to buy a new one.
Have you had a chance to try the Sabian Quiet Tone pad? (with a regular head, not mesh)
the sabian quiettone pad is great too!
No it’s not
No
While the RTOM feels nice, it sounds too monotonous unlike the superpads. Its hard to practice dynamics with it I noticed.
Hi Stephen! I think the Aquarian pad looked the closest in the video. But also the real feel was close too. But l think when it comes to a work out you don't want it to be just like the drum. You want less bounce. A pillow would actually be the best for that. But after seeing this video I think I'd like to try the Aquarian pad. Also,one quick note. No matter which pad you use I think the most important thing is to get the drum sticks in your hands and just do it! Thanks for another awesome video! ❤🥁
Muy buenas, yo he practicado sobre muchos pad y muchas superficies distintas y te puedo asegurar de que segun el tacto y el rebote que tenga el pad, o la superficie sobre la que practique ,te puede cambiar por completo tu forma de tocar, he practicado sobre un trozo de marmol,(que tiene un sonido limpio y claro), y me perjudico muchisimo, pues despues de practicar sobre el, cogi la bateria y tocaba fuertisimo y sin control de la fuerza,(no podia tocar suave), el pad o la superficie sobre la que practiques importa y mucho.
Some of the pads are more attuned to be similar to marching snare drums instead of kit or concert snares so they aren’t gonna feel similar
I bought a reflexx pad. Flexx surfaces gets very close to a medium tension snare
I think I read the Aquarian super pad won’t work with an S-hoop. True?
What about Rtom and S-hoop comparability?
Which one is the quietest one?
I use a KEN 1601 student.....I like it??
I haven't used many practice pads but what I have done (at times) is have the pad close to my snare and then played something fast on the pad and then immediately played the same thing on my drum. Guess what? I could still play just as quick on my snare. It would seem that sometimes the transition of the sound (how you hear it) can be a problem as I was sure I wouldn't be able to match the speed from pad to snare. You know, "clickety - clickety - click" as opposed to "whackety - whackety - whack"😁😅🥁
The Super-Pad sounds like a great choice, but it costs 120€ in 14" size here in Germany ...
No. They do not. But they kinda, sorta close. One just makes an adjustment in sensitivity and feel when applying and orchestrating what's practiced on the pad to drum set.
a lot of people forget that many pads are geared towards similarity towards a marching snare. my guess is the real feel pads are made in comparison to a marching snare
I'm surprised that you didn't include Remo tunable pads. They are probably the closest to the feel of a snare drum out there and the best selling pad to boot.
Gimme a link
You use a pad mainly because the volume is low; the Remo pads are very loud, there response is indeed good.
@@Drumsmurf They are not as loud as either of the VF or Evans pads that were demonstrated.
In my experience, they are way louder than any of the other pads, and have zero rebound
@@Histgyph I agree they are louder but would also disagree that, when tuned properly, they have "zero" rebound. Actually, my experience has been that they respond much more like a snare drum than other pads. I was just wondering why they were completely omitted rather than tested like the others since there are more of them out there and more of them sold than any of the others.
Ive found a way to make the Quiet Tone pad feel exactly like my snaredrum thats tuned quite low without adding stuff onto the top of the head. If you wanna try this lemme know ill make a video
I still got practice pad from the 70’s remo made them.plastic gray pad 🥁
The hard sides are supposed to emulate the kevlar marching heads so they acually feel half decent (I'm in marching band I know my stuff)
Just what i was looking for. My neighbors dont like my drumming
When I learn something on the pad, I can't play at all on real snare
Aquarian superpad looks quite similar I thought.
I think with the practice pad 'debate' I see plenty of pros using practice pads so that's good enough for me to think they're worth it.
Pros can practice on a pillow with no problem but it doesn't mean everybody should use pillows because pros can use them. Btw there were no alternatives to practice pads not so long ago due to Roland patent for mesh heads that expired few years ago and not because the practice pads are great.
Check out drumslinger pads. They use actual drum heads
real feel (old version with yellow surface) are the best pads on the earth
indeed !!!!
Where can you find these?
@@Histgyph ebay!
Drumeo P4 anyone?...
Nobody ever seems to talk about how over priced pratice pads are , the evans is just rubber sheet glued to some MDF, its over $50! that shit is made in china for peanuts!
Only the original *HQ Percussion RealFeal* Tan Natural Rubber Practice Pads do. They were and still are awesome 🤘🏻, best ever made! Evans/D’Addario screwed the pads up 😤! Bring back the original!!!
No.