Vintage Corner: my last Remo pad post for awhile, promise!

It was pointed out to me that I haven't shown the internals of the vintage Remo tunable pad.

For those who want to tear into one, here’s a blow-up.

The oldest tunable Remo pads are made of wood and have a metal rim. Be careful when disassembling these sixty-year-old pads, as the wood may be degraded and the foam beneath the head may be disintegrating into particles. Consider working outside if weather permits, wearing a painters mask, or both.

After you carefully unscrew and remove the bolts, set them aside and lift the rim off, followed by the head. The metal retaining ring inside may come off with the head, and if it does you’ll need to gently and carefully pry it loose with a thin flathead screwdriver.

When you lay everything out, you’ll see the construction is relatively primitive.

Take the outer rim, the inner retaining rim and the plastic head and gently wash with warm, 

lightly soapy water and let dry.

While those parts dry, turn your attention to the baseplate.

The earliest tunable pads use a tilt panel made of compressed fiberboard this is not terribly robust, attached by three wood screws to the underside of the primary baseplate. If you carefully remove these wood screws, you’ll see that two of them tilt the bottom panel away from the primary baseplate by means of two rubber washers. I find that these tend to stay in place when I unscrew the tilt panel because age and compression have set them against the wood and fiberboard pieces for so long. If they fall off, don’t lose them! You’ll need to reinsert them when you screw the tilt panel back on. 

Inspect the tilt panel and the main baseplate for wood damage. If there is significant cracking, you can often apply a spot of Elmer’s wood glue and let this dry to stabilize the crack. When reassembling, do not force the wood screws past the point of tightness or you’ll strip the soft wood/fiber.

Because the third screw attaches without a rubber washer, I like to add a very small bushing of thinner rubber or leather to stabilize this point further and prevent the tuning bolt from “bottoming” out and possibly damaging the tilt panel when the pad is reassembled. In a pinch, a small circle of yoga mat works fine. You can use the wood screw to start the hole in the bushing.

(Note: the second generation of these tunable pads, circa 1969 through the late 1970s, used a hard plastic primary base and rim, and a tilt panel made of metal that attaches the same way. You will need to be just as careful when refurbishing these pads because the wood screw can easily strip the plastic if overtightened. By the early to mid 1980s, these were being phased out in favor of a pad that used a softer plastic and no tilt panel because most beginning drummers were being taught matched grip instead of traditional grip.)

If the foam inside the pad is crumbling you should replace it. Getting replacement from from Remo is basically impossible these days, so I usually substitute a firmer pad cut from an old ensolite camping pad. If it’s not quite thick enough, you can lay down a primary layer of thinner yoga mat, or even padded material from a mailing envelope, before adding the ensolite pad. This will give the pad a little bit of resistance that adds some freshness back to the feel and rebound. The ensolite material is closed-cell and much denser than the stock foam. Use the inner metal retaining ring as a tracing outline for any layer you want to add.

If the original foam is intact go ahead and use it again. If you want, you can still add a thin layer of yoga mat or mailing a envelope underneath, though the sound will be different than with a pad made from ensolite.

Remo used a silver paper sticker with their logo on it to seal the ends of the metal outer rim, and that sticker is usually torn or missing by the time the pad has arrived in my hands. I use a strip or two of metallic plumbers tape to cover the gap and stabilize the rim. 

If the head is intact, dent-free and in good shape, cleaning it with some warm soapy water will improve its looks considerably and it can be reinstalled. If the coating is worn off in the center but the Mylar is still in good shape, there’s nothing wrong with adding a layer of clear package tape underneath at the worn spot and it won’t affect the sound or feel. If there are multiple dents or the head is cracked, replace it. Remo still makes replacements heads that will fit any of their pads, whether made in 1966 or 2026. 

When reassembling, take your time. Never force anything.

I like to position the tilt so that the higher side is to my left and the lowest part of the tilt is to my right, just as it would be with a drum, because I play with traditional grip. If you play with matched grip you can position the high side at top or bottom. The tilt isn’t severe enough to adversely affect your practice. Once you determine where the tilt will go, position the logo of the replacement head at what will be the “top” of the pad when you look at it on a table or stand, and begin to reassemble the pad. 

These pads are not marching-specific! Over-tensioning can break them, so if you need a high-tension pad for marching practice, use a more modern pad. 

Tighten the bolts carefully and in small increments until the pad is reassembled and the tension is playable again.

I have a bunch of these old Remo pads in my collection and enjoy using them even now. They’re great for students because they’re affordable and have replaceable heads. (My first Remo pad from 1973 has had a few replacement heads over the years and still holds up well.)

Have fun!