does vintage mean "no longer made"? Or just "old"?

Vic Firth came out with a line of practice pads some 15 years ago called the Heavy Hitter series. They were designed primarily for marching drummers, to be durable and to approximate the feel of a marching snare drum.
The current line of Heavy Hitter pads includes the Stockpad and the Slimpad, both of which I own; the different thicknesses of rubber give the two pads a different sound and feel.
I like switching back and forth depending on my mood, my hands and what I want from the pad

 The Stockpad comes with a 3/16" thick gum rubber playing surface, and is meant to approximate the feel of a drum with a Mylar head.

It's not bad, and I do like to take it with me when I want to chop out at a park or something.
It fits easily in my bag and is portable.

(Second-generation Heavy Hitters had an all-white logo; third/current generation versions come with a white and red logo. I have one from each generation.)




The Slimpad is basically the same design, only with a thinner 1/8" gum rubber playing surface designed to approximate the feel of a drum with a Kevlar head. Sometimes, if my hands are feeling warmed up enough, I actually prefer chopping on this pad. 

 
The earliest version of these pads looked like this, with the rubber covering the entire wooden platform and lettering applied to the rubber.

Other than the visual difference, some players swear that the gum rubber compound on this first generation of pads was different, and better, than what is currently available.

One fellow has gone as far as to offer up his first generation Stockpad in trade for the same vintage in the Slimpad version. He's had no luck so far. I've offered hima s much as $50 for his Stockpad but he is not interested. I'm not willing to pay $100 for a modern-era rubber pad, so I've let it go.

But it got me thinking: How long does something have to be unavailable before we can call it "vintage"?
I have pads in my collection that are older than I am, some dating from the 1940s (when my parents were kids). I have newer pads that are no longer made but which some people call "vintage" simply because they're out of production. Depending on whom you ask -- a antiques/collectibles dealer or a drumming ebthusiast -- both may be right.

I never had a chance to try the first generation of the Stockpad. I'd certainly like to try it, but not at the price that fellow is asking

I've got enough to keep me busy, even in this time of self-isolation. Happy drumming.,\

what is the sound of one drummer chopping?

Now that we seem to be taking COVID-19 seriously and everything is cancelling or postponing indefinitely, I must self-isolate at home for the foreseeable future.
I have autoimmune issues that require me to take some varsity-level medications. These medications partially suppress my autoimmunnity, making me more susceptible to infection than the average human. So after checking in with my doc, I'm self-isolating for at least the next two weeks, and possibly longer.
That means no band rehearsals, no gigs, no nothing with other people in the room.

What's a gal to do?
Keep playing.
Today I posted the first of what will be a series of drum videos, designed to help those new to drumming (especially in Honk! bands, which are known for not having many rudimentally-trained drummers) get a grip on basics of snare drumming.
I didn't know if there would be a need for it, I just needed something to do and a way to remain useful, so this is what I came up with,
Today's video was a rundown of a couple of the most basic drumline warmups, plus a quick look at diddles (double-bounce strokes).
I tossed it up on my band's FB page, the Honk! Bands Network page and my own FB Music page. And so far response has been positive. So I'll make some more over the next couple of weeks, toss them up and let people use them if they want.
It will keep me sane while I figure out how to deal with deep isolation and stave off boredom.

And perhaps in the longer term, it may help me connect with some good people after this mess is over.
Happy drumming!

Aurora Pad addendum

One small quirk about the Aurora pad that turns out to be disappointing:

When the pad is mounted on a drum stand and you play accented notes louder than mf-f, the snare module can fall out from the underside of the pad. (When the pad is on a tabletop this problem is not an issue.)

I will contact Offworld to see if newer generations of the pad or modules have stronger magnets.