Product Review: Prologix Green Method Pad -- and the pitfalls of redundancy

I'd been wanting to try one of the Prologix pads for several years, but the price of their early models was a little steep for my budget back then. Last week, an old college friend with some money reached out to me. Her son plays in a school band program and she wanted to gift the drumline with a matched set of practice pads. The school's band director isn't a percussionist and couldn't decide which pad to order with this lady's generous gift, so my friend read my reviews and got some info that way. She'd heard about Prologix pads and noticed that I hadn't reviewed them, so she arranged for me to buy one and put it through its paces. ("It's the school colors, green and black," she enthused. "Perhaps this would be a great way to go!")

It arrived a few days ago and I've had some time to hang out with it.

Prologix Percussion makes pads with different densities of rubber compound, and the idea is that you select the density you need based on your playing style and goals. The green compound is designed for "light" resistance, meaning it will provide more of a rebound and allow you to approximate the feel of an actual drum. (They also make compounds with higher levels of resistance, meaning you mjust work on "pulling" the strokes out of the surface, a great workout for hands and wrists. Check their web site for more info.)

I ordered the 12" Method pad, a two-sided affair which Prologix calls their "base level" pad, suitable for drummers at all experience levels. One side has the green rubber surface; the other side uses recycled tire rubber to achieve a feel that's harder and closer to a modern marching drumhead. Both sides have their purposes and both work well.

The pad is heavy enough to stay out on a tabletop, and large enough to work in a standard snare drum stand. At 12 inches it's also portable and will easily fit in a backpack or book bag.

The feel of the light green surface is quite similar to what you'd find on the Evans Real Feel gray chop pad.
The subtle difference in hardness between the two means that on the Prologix you will still have to work a little more to achieve good technique.

The reverse side of recycled rubber is harder and less forgiving in terms of natural rebound, so that you still must use good technique but will get a sound and feel that is tighter and more like a high-tension Kevlar head.

The thickness of each surface is evident from the side view. Both surfaces are mounted to a standard compressed wood platform that looks sturdy and durable for most purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's a very short video demonstrating the difference between the playing surfaces.

Below is a photo that explains my quandry: All three of these pads -- early Xymox (Promark), Prologix and Evans -- utilize a very similar rubber compound that is designed to offer a high degree of natural rebound while also remaining quieter than a real drum.



But the difference in feel between the three pads is SO subtle that I have to ask:
At what point does all of these different models become redundant?
And at what point should manufacturers take a step back and begin to ask this very question of themselves? The photo above demonstrates just three of the many pad makers out there who are creating pads using similar rubber compounds. Other pads using a silicone base and achieving similar results should be asking this question as well.

..::ducks to avoid flying debris from people who love free market capitalism::..

To be honest, there are already perfectly good pads out there that serve the same purpose as this one by Prologix. And they are similarly priced, which only serves to make things more confusing.

The Method pad is a nice pad. It costs $35 from Prologix, placing it in a similar price-point as the Even Real Feel pad. A smaller 6" version is available for $20. But to my perspective it doesn't really break any new ground from a technical standpoint. And since the Evans Real Feel pad has been around a bit longer, it's easier o find used pads at a considerable savings, something I generally encourage for individual students on a budget. There really isn't enough of a difference between the Real Feel and the Prologix Method pad for me to say one is unequivocally better or worse.

Because of all the redundancy in modern pad design, I've decided that, going forward, I will probably focus more of my attention of pad designs that truly count as breakthroughs, rather than re-hashes of similar designs already out there.  Nothing against any of these brands; but in a world where environmental and financial concerns are only increasing it makes sense to focus on that which is truly innovative.

Happy drumming!

Vintage Corner: Paul Patterson-style practice pad, ca. 1972

Paul Patterson was a popular drum instructor in Philadelphia. Between the 1950's and the late 80's, hundreds of students passed through his studio and went on to have great careers as drummers and percussionists with various bands and as session players.

I acquired this very beautiful pad from one of Patterson's students, who told me:

"I got this practice pad while I was a student of Paul Patterson probably around 1972. Paul used a similar pad for many years. It featured a resonating chamber under the pad that could be muted by covering the open ends with small pieces of wood. One of Paul's students started making pads of the same style.

There is a rudimentary isolation system to keep vibrations from traveling down the stand to the floor. The original cushions wore out and I replaced them with a different cushioning material."

 

The pad was likely built by one of Paul's students, but there's no documentation that comes with the pad to prove it. I will be looking for a photo of Paul Patterson using this design in his studio and hoping that leads me down a fun rabbit hole.

Meanwhile, the pad.

It's made from wood -- I'd guess what kind but I don't know how to identify wood that's been stained. The rubber surface was glued to the top after the pieces had been put together and fastened by bolts or screws; there is evidence of oxidization from the metal heads of the screws discoloring the gum rubber from underneath. It doesn't affect the feel, and the rubber shows only a minimal sign of cracking or hardening (the largest "blotch" of discoloration at the top of the photo).

The end panels of the pad are held in place by a thumbscrew, and can be removed or replaced as needed to dampen or open up the pad's sound.

(To fully muffle the pad, you can stuff the cavity with a small towel.)

Beneath the actual pad structure is a second platform to which the stand bracket attaches.
The purpose of this second platform is to provide a very simple isolation system to reduce the vibrations traveling down from the pad, through the stand and into the floor. It works pretty well.
The previous owner had replaced the original felts with some thin rubber layers, which worked well enough but left the pad feeling wobbly. I remedied the issue by adding a layer of dense wool felt to take up the excess stack space and stabilize the pad.

As you can see from the photos, the panels of wood used to make this pad may have been scrap from another project. There are differences in the grain width and direction, and the horizontal panels all show signs of warping. It's not pronounced enough to affect the pad's function, and it lends another touch of realness to the pad's homemade origins.

I was made to understand that there are likely less than fifty of these pads still in existence; as with any homemade project, anything can happen to a simple practice pad made of wood and rubber, and it's possible there were more that didn't survive multiple moves or multiple generations of drummers. There's really no good way to know with homemade pads.

That said, this has to be one of the nicest homemade/short-run pads I've ever seen or played, and I know I'll enjoy using it from time to time here at home.

Videos. I'm using 2B drum sticks.

1. The pad with both panels attached and thumb screws tightened:

2. The pad with side panels removed:

I would especially love to hear from anyone who studied with Paul Patterson back in the day. What kind of teacher was he? What's your favorite memory of learning with him? And did you use a pad like this?
Happy drumming.

Product Review: Aquarian Super-Pad

Sometimes I will be introduced for the first time to an item that's been on the market for several years. That's the case with the Super-Pad by Aquarian Drumheads.

I obtained this 14" Super-Pad used on craigslist for ten bucks.

I took it home, and tried it both on and off of a 14" snare drum.

Pros:
-- It's relatively lightweight and therefore portable as a stand-along practice pad.
-- The feel resembles that of a lower-tensioned drum with a Mylar head. This is great if you play a drumkit or a large, old-school marching snare drum. (Kevlar kids -- skip this pad entirely.)
-- There isn't really anything else like it out there in terms of a practice pad/drum muffler combo, except maybe the R-Tom mesh head system, but the sound and feel are different.
-- It does an effective job of muffling the volume of a snare drum while still allowing the snares to be heard.
-- It weighs just enough to avoid bouncing off the drum when hit hard.
-- Works nicely on a drum or a tabletop, eliminating the need for a separate stand.

Cons:
-- Average retail price on this size -- if you can find it in stock -- runs between $57 and 60. Its list price from the manufacturer is around $85, which seems, frankly, rather high for this kind of thing.
-- Aquarian has run out of stock on all sizes except the smallest 8" model, and it appears that an item that's been on the market for several years may soon be discontinued. Which seems strange because as recently as last fall it was still getting rave reviews from kit drummers who liked the feel and versatility.

I guess I'm glad I got to try this put for so little money. At this price, it's interesting enough to be a nice addition to my pad collection.

Video: played with Vater MV-20 marching sticks. In hiondsight, this is probably a much better pad for concert or drumkit sticks, and less idea for marching applications in general. I went back and played it later with some 2B sticks and it felt much better all around. Also, I tried playing the underside and it works, but since it's a non-skid foam surface I wouldn't make that a habit.

Happy drumming!

Drumming as part of the songwriter's craft

I'm dropping this here so I can share with you how my two musical loves -- songwriting and drumming -- can intersect. Not a lot explanation, just, well,  here you go. Enjoy.

"Count to Four" by Beth Hamon, performed at URJ Biennial, Chicago, Jan 2020

"There Was No Voice" - music by Beth Hamon, Lyrics by Stacey Zisook Robinson
Performed March 12, 2021 in Portland, OR

#drumgoals: Wilcoxon's All-American Drum Solos

I've decided to set a new drumming goal for myself.
Inspired by Kevin Lehman and his FB Group devoted to collecting recordings of each of the 150 solos in Wilcoxon's "All American Drum Solos" and having contributed a couple of videos to that group. I've decided to work my way through the entire book, all 150 drum solos.

The book is a masterpiece of short snare drum solos that range from reasonably easy to quite challenging, and which call on the player to get comfortable with each of the 26 drum rudiments as codified by NARD.

I began late last week and dove right in. I am having a blast. I read the solo through a few times, very slowly, then a begin breaking apart the solo in small chunks and cleaning it up. Eventually, the solo is clean enough for me to put it all back together and begin to play it at gradually increasing tempi.

Along the way, I'm reacquainting myself with the rudiments I don't get to use as often in my playing. And I'm acquainting myself with a wonderful collection of snare drum solos that will challenge me and that are a delight to play.

Stay tuned. The solos I find the most musical I'll videotape and share here.
Happy drumming.