More adventures with Beetle Percussion: rescue pads

I’ve been making it a point lately to search for used Beetle pads and snap them up.

Why?

Beetle Percussion is a guy making practice pads, one at a time, in his garage. 

Each pad is craftmade from the most sustainable materials available, and sourced as close to home as possible. The result is a pad that is solid, sounds and feels great, and is beautiful to look at too.

Beetle Percussion goes into great detail about the dimensions and construction of each pad model, and you can learn more at their web site.

My most recent finds — I call them Rescue pads — are below.

1. Ash Pad. This was advertised by the previous owner as a Grass Pad, which is a different animal altogether. So when it arrived, I was really confused. I confirmed with Bradley Lomax at Beetle that this is, in fact, an Ash Pad. It’s just light enough to take along in a padded bag, and has two sides for playing. The wood is gorgeous. Looking at the edge, it reminds me a little of the poured sand sculptures I made at the shore when I was a kid, in tiny bottles that could be sealed up and taken home. 

Ash is a hardwood, which means that when used as a pad base it will provide a feel that is harder and faster, even though the response is still very pleasant to the hands. Sloppy beats have nowhere to hide on this pad. Also, hardwoods darken as they age, lending a beautiful patina to the base over time.

(The Grass Pad is made from hemp fiber, and the difference in appearance is striking. Check it out on the web site for more details. I may still try to find one of these for my collection later on.)

2. Pine Pad. This model was one of Beetle’s first, and remains a staple in their lineup. Using a much thicker (1.5”) base, it’s also a fairly heavy pad, and for that reason is not ideal for travel. (There was once a single-sided 8” model, which I have, but that size is no longer in production. The 8” version travels well and is fun to play.)

The two different thicknesses of recycled rubber offer different feels, though on a base this thick it might be harder to head a significant difference in tone. I have this one set up in a stand right now and have been getting to know it better.

I’ve already reviewed the Carlos Botello signature pad in a previous post, and continue to be surprised at how much I enjoy this model.

3. Tony Teleky Bus Pad. These were designed in collaboration with Tony Teleky, a drum corps alum and current instructor with Carolina Crown drum corps. He shares my passion for sustainability and is a terrific musician. He designed the Bus Pad precisely for the reason the name implies: chopping on a pad on the tour bus. The pad’s dimensions work beautifully in the confines of a bus seat, and allow for easy transport in a backpack.

(When I marched drum corps in the late 1970s, we traveled on school buses and chopped on a pillow on our lap, or on the tall padded back of the seat in front of us. Heavier, marching-specific practice pads did not yet exist. At home, most of us practiced on Remo tunable pads, or a rubber pad like the Ludwig “keystone” model. Kids with money might find a Trankle Pocket Pad, though they were spendy for the time at over $20 each. Many of us made our own pads from a phone book and duct tape, which was good enough in the days of lower-tension Mylar-headed drums. It was, as we say, a different time.)

There are two generations of this pad in existence: the first was a single-sided pad with a solid wood base and 3/16” recycled rubber surface. It was very popular when it came out. The Bus Pad was later revised and the second generation is now made with a Valchromat base and two playing sides: one is made of naked recycled rubber, and the other is recycled rubber with the same laminate as used on the Botello pad. I obtained mine in a straight across trade for another pad. There are a few very tiny dents in the laminate, but only one is really noticeable, and it’s not enough for me to ask for a replacement laminate.

I have been enjoying this little pad a LOT. The playing surface on both sides is very nearly perfect, and positively dreamy for portable chopping on the bus or at the park. The perfect size for travel — this one fits in my bicycle saddlebag!

I may seek out an older version of this pad for sake of including it in my collection, but it’s not a high priority. If one falls into my lap, great. If not, that’s okay too.

 

4. In addition to these Beetle pads, I also have an original BAP (short for “Big Ass Pad”), made of solid pine and recycled rubber and measuring two feet in diameter. I bought this on sale when the last of them were being offered on closeout. The plan was to discontinue this version because the size wasn’t popular enough for the costs involved in making and shipping it and still remaining competitive.

I’m ashamed to admit that right now, my BAP functions as a bit of a catch-all table in my studio. I hope to rectify that situation soon. 

For quite awhile, there was no word as to whether the BAP’s demise was permanent, or just a long term hiatus.

That question was answered earlier this year when Beetle announced the release of a new version of the BAP, this time made with a Valchromat base and including a smart carrying handle.

If I were holding a monthly pad party in my community (something I’ve dreamed of doing, tried twice and gave up — maybe I’ll try again this fall), I might find the new version of this pad to be a nice thing to add to my stable. If you work with a drumline or afterschool arts program, you might investigate this pad as a useful resource.

I’ve now given myself some impetus to clean up the space a little and use this baby more.

There are so many — probably too many — mass-produced practice pads on the market today, and in my humble opinion, most are overpriced for how they’re made and what you get. (It’s telling that Remo’s tunable pad, first released in the early 60s and still made today in 6”, 8” and 10” sizes, still finds its way into the hands of schoolchildren across the country and around the world — and at a price far more commensurate with its construction cost and long term value. The 8” size, now considered the standard size for student use, retails for around thirty-five bucks. Compare that to the price of a gray Evans pad, with the same retail price of $35, but which is not as durable as the Remo and cannot be refurbished when it wears out.)

All those mass-produced pads have an environmental cost that isn’t taken seriously enough today.

That’s why I try to stick with pads with a higher sustainability quotient, like tunable pads whose heads can be replaced (pro tip: cut up the old head for those little strips to attach the snares to a drum), or pads made more sustainably (like Beetle and, to a lesser extent, Mad Pads, both of which source their components as close to home and/or recycled as possible and use local labor to make them).  

I encourage you to ask better questions about the drum equipment you buy and use, and seek out products that offer as high a degree of sustainability as possible, including buying local and/or used, trading for other gear, and choosing products that are lower on the environmental supply chain where possible.

I’ll share more sustainable drum goodness as I find it.

I take back ALMOST everything I’ve felt or said about laminates: Beetle’s Botello signature Pad

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I’ve never been a huge fan of laminates on practice pads.

Growing up on Mylar, I just never felt the need for adding something  that resembled Formica to what was already a perfectly decent pad.

So over the years, I’ve tried lots of laminated practice pads, and I have found most of them ranging anywhere from pointless to horrible.

I originally tried this pad three years ago, and because at the time I was doing a lot of drumming on older vintage drums with Mylar heads and standard tuning, I didn’t really appreciate the pad at the time.

More recently, I had an opportunity to buy this pad used and decided the price was worth the risk. Maybe my hands and head were in a different place now.

The Carlos Botello signature pad from Beetle Percussion is designed in partnership with percussion instructor, arranger and performer Carlos Botello, who teaches drumlines across the country including the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps. He’s also the creator of the multi-volume instructional series of books, The Left Hand Path (which are available online).

Carlos Botello and Bradley Lomax designed a really nice practice pad. You can click on the link that will take you to the Beetle page for this pad and read about the details that go into making it.

Disclaimer: I bought this pad used in a private party sale. The construction is identical between my used pad and the pad currently sold at Beetle’s web site. My pad is an early iteration of this model and lacks the graphics on the top laminate, but otherwise it’s the same pad.

My pad has been through the wars a bit — dropped, scuffed, played a fair amount (though happily, my laminate has no dents in it) — but works as advertised.

The top of the pad has a 1/4” thick recycled rubber surface, covered by a Mylar laminate. One might think that this is just another hard, unforgiving Formica-like playing surface, but they’d be wrong. 

This side plays like buttah.

It’s soft enough that the laminate offers useful articulation instead of undue resistance. The Valchromat base is more durable than MDF and if you drop it, there’s no surface paint to scrape off because the fibers of the Valchromat are impregnated with the plant-based color all the way through.

The rubber rim is soft, but embedded deeply into the base so it will stay put, and gives just enough presence for you to know if your rim shots are accurate or not.

The bottom surface includes Carlos’ signature and a 1/2” thick layer of dense, soft foam. This side is meant to give you a place to build your wrists and get a good workout. There is almost no rebound at all, which makes it similar in intent to the pillows we used to practice on while on drum corps tour, and when you play on normally-tensioned Mylar heads, such workouts make sense.

If I were still possessed of younger, stronger hands and not bothered by advancing osteoarthritis, I might find this surface useful in my practice. But working on such a surface now would actually be quite painful and potentially harmful for my hands and wrists, so I will likely just avoid this side completely. 

(NOTE: I’ve reached out to Beetle Percussion and asked about the possibility of swapping in a non-laminated recycled rubber surface to replace the foam. If they can cut a Floppy Disc to match the shape on the underside of the Botello pad, swapping the two shouldn’t pose a problem, and I can do the swap myself.)

I think the combination of the recycled tire rubber and a real Mylar laminate (similar to what’s used to make a drum head, though perhaps a little thicker) makes for an ideal practice surface, especially for Rudimental and marching applications. It’s articulate without being harsh in feel or sound, and the surface will indicate your accuracy immediately without hesitation.

Having tried other Beetle pads with a rubber rim, I can say that the rim is a little soft for my liking, and I wonder how long it will remain durable enough to help me gauge my rimshots. Because this pad is so used, I may stiffen the rim a little by adhering a very long zip tie to the outside wall of the rim. I’m waiting to hear back from Bradley at Beetle for his thoughts first.

The pads are currently available at the Beetle web site, but be warned: high-craft pads like this are made one at a time and you could be waiting a month or more for yours to arrive. Also, pad models are made on a rotating cycle (because the cutting machinery must be reset for each pad’s thickness and diameter.

Various models of Beetle pads go in and out of stock depending on the model schedule, so if a model is out of stock, contact Beetle and ask when it might be available again.

Beetle is my absolute favorite American practice pad maker today, because they pay attention to their impact on the environment and do all they can to reduce negative effects by incorporating as many sustainable manufacturing practices as possible. This does make their craft-made pads more expensive than mass-produced rubber-on-wood pads, but in my humble opinion it’s worth the extra cost.

This Carlos Botello model could became my new favorite rubber drum pad for awhile.

Under The Hood, part deux: is this pad REALLY worth A HUNDRED BUCKS?

This makes SEVEN that I’m aware of. In less than a month.

Bad batch? Bad packing? Bad packaging at the factory?

We will never know, because VF is a juggernaut with guard dogs on the socials who are shouting in defense of the new pad. I got dressed down by one of the pad’s designers for my previous article, and anyone who is complimenting the pad is getting all kinds of bro love from him on the same sites.

But if this is happening again and again, then the pad really isn’t worth A HUNDRED DOLLARS. 

I stand by what I researched and wrote previously. No apologies. If you are going to charge a hundred bucks for a practice pad, it had better be consistently amazing, and made of sustainable materials.

Under The Hood: What is MDF, and why should you care?

If you're a regular reader here, you know that I've occasionally referenced MDF as a component of modern practice pad manufacturing.

What IS MDF?

It stands for Medium-Density Fiberboard, which is a material often used as the baseplate material for modern practice pads. It's also used in flooring and furniture manufacturing. Because it's a wood product, rather than real wood, it's more resistant to pests like termites and ants, which is especially important in home construction** and repair.

A good basic examination can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

There have been concerns raised about MDF in multiple industries, including drum pad manufacturing, and with good reason. regular MDF requires chemicals to ensure proper adhesion of its multiple ingredients and one of those is formaldehyde.

What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde is commonly used as a preservative in medical laboratories, mortuaries, and consumer products, including some hair smoothing and straightening products. It is also a by-product of automobile combustion and is produced in very small amounts [emphasis mine] by most living organisms, including humans.

Formaldehyde is used in the process of embalming bodies to prepare them for burial.
(Side note: Jewish religious law prohibits embalming, in accordance with the belief that the body should not be preserved when the soul is done using it. So when I die, my body will decay faster. I'm fine with that.)
It is also used to preserve body parts in laboratory jars. (Remember the "Abby Normal" brain scene in Young Frankenstein?)

The fact that it is used in hair products horrifies me. While humans produce tiny amounts of this stuff, what's found in hair products is in a more concentrated form and therefore should be suspect by anyone wishing to avoid consuming quantities of it on purpose. There's currently a huge brouhaha in the Black community among folks who were told for years that hair-straightening products were totally safe, but whom have experienced a noticeable spike in certain kinds of cancers after regular use of such hair products over an extended period. That should tell you something.

But I digress.

MDF is a popular choice for most pad manufacturers because it's cheaper than whole wood, and because it's less prone than whole wood to things like warping and natural flaws in the grain, which have to be removed and/or otherwise worked around at greater cost. MDF is easy to shape uniformly, and it takes paint beautifully.

Depending on the mix of ingredients (which, along with formaldehyde and other chemicals, also includes pulverized wood fibers, wood resins, and wax), it can be made in different densities and degrees of flexibility; however, most MDF is made to approximate the rigidity of natural wood.

But MDF has a much higher concentration of formaldehyde than the average human body, and releases that formaldehyde in the form of off-gases that can last indefinitely. Surface paint will seal off some of the formaldehyde for awhile, but eventually it does seep through. I can only imagine what it would be like to work in a warehouse where thousands of pads are stored, awaiting shipment. I don't think anyone has measured the seepage rate of offgases in a meaningful, verifiable way yet. But when they do, I'll certainly pay attention.

So many modern practice pads are made with MDF baseplates that it would be easier to note which ones aren't. And while it's easy to differentiate among brands of modern pads, it's worth noting that there are likely only a few overseas factories actually manufacturing all those pads.

Branding is not the same as manufacturing.
Want proof? Xymox made re-branded pads for  other drum companies for years. Offworld has done so in more limited quantities (Remember the yellow Lone Star pads? Apparently, those are a hot collectible right now.) The Chinese juggernaut HUN has been making pads right and left for Salyers, RCP and many other drum companies.

I've owned and used some of these pads myself over the years. But once I began reading up on MDF and what it actually is, my ownership and usage of these pads fell off considerably. Most of my "modern" pads are older and in used condition, so the worst of the off-gases has likely gassed out. But still.

Another issue with pads using MDF basesplates is durability. The less dense the baseplate is, the more prone to damage it is in a fall or other sudden impact. RealFeel pads have shown evidence of such wear and tear over the years; take a good look at the corners of any RF pad that's twenty years old and has been through the wars. So have older Xymox pads, from their rubber-on-wood days. Interestingly, the baseplate on a recently acquired NOS (ca. 2000?) Xymox shows evidence of a woodgrain on both sides of the pad. This could likely be a veneer laid over the MDF, or it could be really sloppy brushstrokes. I'm opting for the former until I can find out more. In any event, the baseplate on my NOS Xymox feels heaver and more dense than the one on my pre-2023 VF Stockpad.
As with all things, Your Mileage May Vary.

Here are photos of brand new Heavy Hitter pads from Vic Firth, released this summer. Both of these photos are from drummers who opened the box after receiving it in the mail, only to find that the MDF baseplate was split right through the middle, likely the result of being knocked around during shipping. (And we all know how brutal UPS can be.)

Hopefully, these buyers can get free replacement pads and therefore a good outcome.
The fact that this pad retails for a hundred dollars gives me pause. The fact that the baseplate can be damaged so easily because the material is less dense than actual wood convinces me that I should probably save my money.

Alternatives to MDF

There are a few alternatives to MDF, though they are not cheap.

1. Real wood. Beetle Percussion offers craft-made practice pads using whole wood (pine or ash) salvaged from trees killed by invasive beetles (hence the company name). The playing surface of Beetle pads comes from recycled tires. I own a couple of Beetle pads made this way and I like them. The real wood does offer a different feel that some may not like, especially if they're used to MDF pads. There is a little less shock absorption with real wood, and more of the vibration of each hit will be felt in your hands. For some, that's uncomfortable. For others it's useful information about the clarity and timing of each drumstroke. This issue seems to be somewhat mitigated by using a thicker slab of wood for the baseplate. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Beetle has also experimented with Hemp wood, which has a texture and feel closer to grass. When compressed and turned into board with a plant-based adhesive (as opposed to the chemicals found in MDF), it can be rather heavy, but durable. Best used in smaller diameter pads.

2. Premium MDF -- I just learned about this option from Michael at Mad Pads (stay tuned for an interview coming later at this blog!). It's apparently somewhere in between regular MDF and actual wood in terms of both price and environmental health, using far fewer chemicals and still having the ability to be cut, shaped and painted easily. I am still researching this option and will report back.

3. Valchromat -- this is a material constructed similarly to MDF, using compressed and glued fibers. It was developed in Europe as a stronger and more environmentally sensitive alternative to MDF:

Valchromat is an environmental friendly non-toxic substance made from recycled pine wood and mill waste. Valchromat panels are manufactured using waste wood such as branches and chips from softwood forests. In using waste wood Valchromat helps to sustain forests and minimize carbon emissions given off from felling machinery. Also the carcinogenic odorless chemical gas known as formaldehyde which is found in the wood fibre bonding resin used in standard MDF is absent in Valchromat where a special organic non- toxic wood fibre bonding resin is used allowing Valchomat is safe to be used in the manufacture of kids toys. Valchromat also use the same colour dye used in fabric. This dye is organic and non-toxic.

(from the Valchro web site)

Beetle Percussion uses Valchromat as the baseplate material in some of its pads. The vegetable-based color is impregnated into the material, eliminating the need for paint; and the lack of formaldehyde is a fantastic development.

The downside of Valchromat is that it's very expensive. Hopefully, as more industrial uses are found for this material and its use becomes more widespread, costs will eventually go down.

Is ANY amount of formaldehyde in MDF okay?

Good question. For a possible answer, I found this:
https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/what-is-mdf-furniture/

Read it, think about it, and do your own research.

In an age of faster access to information, it's easier than ever to learn about the details that go into the drums and accessories we use. If you're curious and want to go deeper, I invite you to see what you can find.

Happy drumming.

(** I live in a very little house that was built in 1906 and last remodeled in 1948. So the incidence of construction-based MDF in my house is pretty low. Just sayin'.)

DIY update: practice pad station

A few years ago I scored some plywood, and got my brother-in-love to cut it into two rounds for me. I took them home, painted them and used them as platforms for practice pads.

One of them was used on a drum carrier, so I could add drumming to my walking therapy while I tried to recover from Long Covid. I used that for about a year in earnest, then less often as my symptoms receded. I stopped using it last fall when I could walk in a straight line again.  I sold the carrier and recycled the wood earlier this summer.

The other was mounted on a sturdy concert stand so I could put practice pads on it without having to funble with the basket adjustment for pads of different sizes. Changing pads became fast and easy.
I still use this today, but have upgraded it into a serious practice station in my studio.

At the time, I modified the second round in a quick, clumsy way. I was never fully satisfied with the result. About a year ago I upgraded the whole thing with better padding materials and a much improved installation of the angle bar. I added a stick quiver and have been using it daily ever since. But I forgot to share photos here. A discussion about pads on stands yesterday prompted me to amend the situation.

This old Hamilton concert stand is heavy, but strong enough to support a heavy practice pad, even on a tilt. I replaced the cracked basket rubber pieces with new aftermarket ones, and replaced the bottom rubber feet (one was missing anyway) with plastic champagne stoppers so they would grab the carpet better. I took a chain and used it to hang a drum key off the angle bar for my tunable pads, and taped the contact points so it won't rattle while I play.

The whole thing probably cost me about forty bucks in parts and labor, including the vintage Hamilton stand and the stick quiver

Product Review: Yamaha Crosstown lightweight concert snare stand

I have been using a couple of different concert-height snare stands so I can play on a pad in a standing position. (A standard model, used when sitting behind a drum kit, doesn’t extend high enough.)

Both stands are adequate, but heavy when I need to transport them for, say, chopping in a nearby park on a nice day or offering a clinic at another site.

So I researched my options, and came up with this.

The Yamaha Crosstown series of stands is made primarily of aluminum tubing, with steel connecting pieces for greater stability and durability where it’s needed most.

From Yamaha: 

The Yamaha Crosstown Concert Snare Stand SS-3H is an ultra-lightweight aluminum snare drum stand for standing performance. A dramatic reduction in weight enhances handling and portability, significantly reducing the burden on the player. This revolutionary snare drum stand is not only lightweight and compact, but it is also easy to set up, durable, and does not interfere with the natural acoustic tone of the drum used. By using aluminum alloy for most of the stand’s structure, its weight has been reduced by about 50% compared to steel snare stands (in-house survey). The SS-3H is also very compact when folded, providing a considerable improvement in portability. Although the SS-3H is primarily constructed of lightweight aluminum pipe and aluminum castings, steel is used in a few small-but-critical areas that enhance overall strength. The legs are made of aluminum U-channel (channel legs) with a cross-section designed to maximize strength and durability as well as stability. This also makes the stand comfortable to hold for positioning and adjustment. Specially-designed rubber feet prevent slippage while the stand is in use.

More Information

Manufacturer	Yamaha
Model #	SS3H
Color/Finish	Aluminum
Hardware Type	Snare Stands
Hardware Series	Yamaha Crosstown

I blinked a moment at the price — MSRP $180, average retail price around $140 plus shipping — and then looked around online for any sort of discount I could find. A drum shop back east was closing out their stock and offering fee shipping, so I ended up paying just under $130.

I set it up with a couple of different pads and tried it out.

As I suspected, a lightweight pad (like, for example, the Evans Barney Beats pad) posed no issues and in fact chopping on it while in the stand was pretty nice. This is probably the configuration I’ll use most often when take the pad and stand to other places for extended chopping.

The true test came when I put my Drumslinger Marcher pad in the stand.

The heavier pad sits well in the basket when tensioned down. However, it’s a lot heavier than a simple rubber-on-MDF pad and the stand wobbled a tiny bit when I played assertively. Whether this is a matter of needing to spread the legs out a little more, or the fact that the basket was extended to nearly 34” from the floor (with perhaps a couple inches still inside the bottom half), is unclear and I’ll need to hang out with it a little longer. 

The stand is solidly built. However, it’s also mostly aluminum and offers weight reduction that may come at the expense of good weight distribution. This aluminum stand weighs 3.75 pounds; Yamaha’s standard concert snare stand (model S665) extends to the same height, is made of steel and weighs over 7 pounds. Depending on how heavy then object in the basket is, you may experience some unpleasant top-heaviness. Use discretion and be conservative in your choices.

I can see this working well with a standard concert snare drum, or even an old, much lighter field drum.

I would not put a modern marching snare drum on this stand; if you need to mount such a drum on a stand for stationary use, I’d go with a marching-specific stand made to work with your drum’s carry system and built to handle the extra weight. 

Full extension goes to no more than 35” tall, which is fine for a drummer of average height (I’m 5’ 7” and have no issues here.) A very tall drummer, over 6’ or more, will have a harder time making this stand work with a practice pad, but they could probably squeak by with a standard concert snare drum. I think that for the tallest drummers, an extension of some kind might be a good idea, though only with a stand whose legs extend outward far beyond the diameter of the pad or drum in use. Such an extension does not exist in the current Yamaha catalog, and would probably need to be made or retrofitted from an older piece of equipment.

I like the look and the ease of use. It remains to be seen how well the stand will travel and how durable it can be when used with a heavier, tunable pad. Bicycle frames made of aluminum tubing tend not to last as long as steel under the stresses of heavy, daily commuting. I wonder how well this hardware, intended as it is for light weight and portability, will fare in the long run.

Do I think it’s worth $130? I think that for my purposes, maybe. Probably. Your mileage may vary.

Happy drumming.