Have we finally reached Peak Pad? Maybe, at least for now.

I've been watching used pad prices rise and fall -- mostly rise -- on the internet for well over a decade now. While I don't claim sole credit for the meteoric rise of used pad prices since 2021, I do believe that the Drum History Podcast interview I gave in July of that year certainly helped to accelerate some interest, especially in vintage pads. Since then, prices for select used practice pads have shot through the roof, most notably the tan Real Feel practice pads of the late 1990s and the first-generation Xymox pads from their pre-laminate days.

While prices on the tan Real Feel pads remain high, especially for those in mint or near-mint condition, I've begun to see some prices for other pads fall.

A pre-laminate Xymox pad that sold two years ago for over $100 is now stalling out at asking prices of $60 to 80.

And with the availability of information on the Internet, general antique dealers have gotten in on the action. An unlabeled pad that's probably an old Slingerland model, which would have sold in 2023 for perhaps $40-50, is currently going for almost $200 on Etsy. The dealer didn't know what she had, and when I reached out to tell her what I thought, she raised her price and listed it elsewhere for even more. It's a nice old pad, but without a label its provenance is impossible to verify. 

Old vintage pads have little or no appeal to most drummers under thirty. They all want the cool marching-specific pads that came on the scene in the late 90s and 2000s. In addition, many newer makes and models of marching-forward pads have since come on the market -- and the market is positively glutted with those pads now, as older drummers graduate from school, age out of drum corps or otherwise leave the activity altogether. With school arts budgets being slashed, music programs being eliminated and the birthrate beginning to fall, fewer kids are getting into drumming today. 

The end result is that there are now more pads available than people who want or need them.

I've watched prices fall on these used makes and models over the last year and a half:

-- Real Feel gray pad, from $30 to $10;
-- Ram Pad, from $70 to less than $40;
-- Xymox laminated "reserve" pads, from $100 to as little as $25;
-- Offworld Invader pads, from $60 to as little as $20

And so it goes.

I've been slowly offloading a number of pads from my collection over the last year and a half, either by selling them, using them as trade-in on stuff I need at local drum shops, or giving them away to students. Technically, I'm sure I've lost a fair amount of money in the process, but as someone who used to own a retail business, I understand that a new thing loses half its value when it leaves the store and will almost never get it back. I've enjoyed the research and testing of these pads. But I'm retired and am approaching the time when I will really have to downsize. So off they go, in dribs and drabs.

As of this writing, some significant practice pad deals are to be found online, especially on eBay. If you've been putting off your search for a cool practice pad, this may be a good time to take a more serious look. (No guarantee how long these items will be available, of course; but they give a good example of the state of the used pad market right now.)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/158325682366 -- Offworld Shuttle pad

https://www.ebay.com/itm/237030291700 -- Pair of Remo pads

https://www.ebay.com/itm/820132643625 -- Vintage Ludwig 1960s aluminum pad

https://www.ebay.com/itm/178494949572 --  vintage WFL 1950s aluminum pad

Tan Real Feel pads are still being offered at over $200 in good condition, but I've sensed that the hype around those pads is lessening over time. So if you have your heart set on one of those, be patient. I think that Peak Pad will eventually come around to these models as well.

I'm not being all doom and gloom here. Drum equipment follows the same retail rise and fall patterns as almost everything else being bought and sold on the market. There may come a time when smarter heads will prevail, schools will once again devote more funding to arts education, and maybe the demand for music equipment will increase again. Meanwhile, more people are DIY-ing their own pads, drums and other gear to save money and/or to express their ingenuity and creativity. It's an interesting time. Pay attention, and as always, happy chopping.