More pad restoration: know what to look for, and keep it out of the landfill

 So this week I scored a wonderful selection of old pads and hardware.

The seller needed to clear it out quickly, accepted my below-asking offer and was willing to ship for free.

Granted, these pads will need some cleaning up, but when I’m done, they’ll be as fun to pound on as when they were new, and the hardware will help complete a few drum kits in the neighborhood.

When you look for used pads to clean up and reuse, you have to know what to look for.

AND you have to be willing to put in the time and work to rescue them.

The rubber pads will need some cleaning, and some real elbow grease to bring them back to useful life.  The tunable Remo pads just need cleaning up and fresh replacement heads.

Soon after I take delivery on this lot, several drummers will have great pads to practice on, and I will have kept all this stuff out of the landfill.

THIS is what sustainability is about. Find old, beat-up stuff, fix it up and clean it up, and prepare it for a second life with a new owner.

What I’m saying here won’t make many manufacturers happy; for them, it’s about tying custom to buy new stuff regularly. But for kids on a budget, for nonprofit youth programs on a budget, for your friend down the street who’s preparing to audition for a corps and needs a more durable practice pad, sustainability is EXACTLY what we should promote within the drumming world.

End of sermon. Happy Drumming!