"Pocket" pads: a historic comparison

The idea of a practice pad small enough to be truly portable has been with us for decades.
As far back as the late 1950s, drummers valued the ability to toss a pad into their suitcase for hotel room workouts between gigs, with enough substance to the pad to give them something that felt "real" while at the same time being quiet enough to avoid disturbing the neighbors.

I've made three videos of various examples of these smaller travel pads.

1. WFL "Porto-Pad", early 1960s.

This is a solid hunk of rubber shaped like a wedge to simulate the slant of a "side" drum and accommodate traditional grip, which was almost exclusively in use by kit drummers at the time.
The rubber is surprisingly bouncy for its age (over 50 years old!) and in a pinch would serve well enough. But it's not so bouncy that you don't have to do some of the work, which makes for a good workout. Sadly, the rubber isn't quite "grippy" enough to avoid a little skidding on a tabletop, or even when placed atop another rubber practice pad.

2. Rick Trankle "Pocket Pad", 1978.

 

In the late 70s, studio drummer Rick Trankle developed a very small, portable pad consisting of a steel plate sandwiched between two slices of pure gum rubber. The result was a pad heavy enough to avoid "creep" and bouncy enough to approximate the surface of a drum. Its small size (3" square) required greater accuracy. A 1/8" thick rubber slice and a 1/4" rubber slice could be switched back and forth to approximate the feel of either a concert or marching snare drum.

In 1979, my high school drum section leader got one of these, declared it awesome, and strongly suggested required that everyone purchase one. At nearly $20, this was not cheap for a freshman with a $4 weekly allowance, but I didn't want to appear poor (because what teen does, really?); so I scored some extra babysitting and lawn mowing jobs to pay for it faster.

It was one of those rare times that I agreed with my otherwise chauvinist ass of a section leader. The pad was amazing. It felt great on either side, was small enough to fit in the pocket of my homemade stick bag (sewn from a pair of jeans), and it forced me to be more accurate with my strokes.
I still have this very pad today, mostly because I babysat too many nasty little children to buy it. It's still a great little pad, but I no longer travel with it because if I lose it, I can't find another one.

3. Xymox "Pocket Pad", 2008.

Xymox patented a pad with a mechanism of steel beads inside that allowed the pad to sound a little like a fake snare drum. It was an interesting way to entice kids to practice more, and it worked, because soon other companies were paying Xymox for the right to use the patented design in their pads. Eventually Xymox was making their pads and stamping them with other companies' names (like Ahead and Promark). The pocket version did not include the fake snare sound.

This is a Xymox-branded Pocket Pad that I got online from a music store that was closing and had a couple left.  It's the lightest of the three pads shown here. The very thin rubber sheet on the bottom does help a little with reducing "creep" but if you hit this hard enough it WILL move. The rubber surface on top gives a satisfying bounce and diddle exercises are fun to play. It also just fits in an actual pocket. I got it to add to my collection of early Xymox pads.




Pocket-sized pads need to be heavy enough to avoid "creep" and bouncy enough to be satisfying to practice on. two of these three come close enough to fitting the bill that I'd toss either of them in a bag; the WFL gives me pause but if it were my only pad I'd use it until I could get another model.

Next time: how heavy a stick do you warm up with?
Happy playing!

Evidence of participation: UBB at Melt ICE Rally & Concert

The Unpresidented Brass Band took part today in a rally and concert at the ICE Detention Center.
We played in support of effortd to hold ICE accountable for the abuses against families separated and detained by them in centers across the country.

It was a beautiful afternoon and we had respectable numbers show up to play.
We wound up playing for a little over an hour, because the band scheduled to play after us was late in setting up. A good time was had by all. By the time we were done, I was done and ready to go home. I spent, an auto-immune terms, a lot of spoons. But I'm glad I was there.

We got on the 5 o'clock news, and were written up in the Portland Tribune. I hope videos will appear online soon.

I'm already looking forward to the next performance.
And my morning drum meditation now includes some woodshedding on really old-school stuff, like Three Camps and some solos from my old NARD book. I'm slow as molasses, but enjoying the relearning process thoroughly.

Below: Woodshedding on Three Camps, single-stroke and with diddle variation. (I forgot to take the repeats on the variation. Sorry.) 

unpresidented brass band - my current drum jam for justice

Last summer, I joined the Unpresidented Brass Band, a community activist marching band that participates in protests, parades and civic events around the Portland-Vancouver area. We're small but mighty; our drumline averages two snares, a bass drum and a trio tenor. One of us will attach a cymbal to our drum so we can have an occasional crash or ride sound.
And we don't sound half bad for our size.

Here's a sound file from a recent recording session, an original tune called Welcome To The Party.

And here are some photos of my participation with the band since I joined.

Left: September 2018, Community parade for #metoo in support of survivors of sexual abuse, Hollywood neighborhood, Portland.

This carrier really hurt my back and I had to find something else.






















Below: October 2018, Get Out The Vote rally at Clark College, Vancouver WA

Below: Anti-Bullying/Trans Youth support Rally, Portland City Hall, November 2018. Note the upgrade to Dynasty Wedge drum and a more flexible May carrier. It's not perfect but it's a lot better.

I started out playing a Yamaha Power-Lite snare, hated the sound and carrier, and upgraded to a
Dynasty Wedge and a more comfortable carrier. Now I'm looking at an older drum of the vintage from when I marched in high school band in the late 1970s. (Stay tuned, I'll post pictures of that drum when I've fixed it up.)

Tomorrow I'm playing with the band at a rally and concert in support of those who've been abused by ICE while in detention.  If you're in Portland and want to voice your support for holding ICE to greater accountability, please join us at 2 pm at the ICE building on SW Macadam.



I'll periodically post more updates from the UBB here.
I love playing with this group because they're tight and because playing for the community in this proactive, postitive context feels really good.
I'm playing for peace and justice.
And we will build this world from love.

(Below: the back of my band jacket. Look for me tomorrow!)

Pad du Jour: "Red Dot" pad, 1960s

I got this pad early last year. It wasn't much for playing; the rubber had hardened and faded with age.
But I was able to research it and found a listing for it (upper right) in the 1967 Rogers catalog:

 

Presumably the red dot was intended as a target for accuracy. (I guess by the time you
d worn it off you maybe wouldn't need it anymore?)

Manufactured by JAB products, which I was unable to find any history on in my research. I'm guessing they made pads and more than one company distributed them. But so far, the only old catalog I've seen this pad in is from Rogers. (Rogers enthusiasts, feel free to comment.)

It's not the prettiest thing.

And honestly, the two "twigs" holding up the back side of the pad don't inspire confidence, especially if you play aggressively.

Still, it's almost cute in its vintage homeliness.
I'm continuing to look for earlier evidence of this pad's existence.
Stay tuned.
Below:
A little vid of what age-hardened rubber sounds like.

Why I started drumming again, this time: Unpresidented Brass Band

Last year I was invited to join the Unpresidented Brass Band, a community acvitist band here in Portland. It's a fairly small group, but everybody can play well.

I sat in with the band last spring and had so much fun that I decided to join.

Today we had a recording session, to contribute to a compilation recording benefiting organizations that are working for immigrants' rights.

Here's a bit of what we did today, a tune called "Welcome To The Party". We'll go back and record soloists on separate tracks later, and then the whole thing will be properly mixed and mastered.
(Today's drumline included two snares, a bass drum and tenors, playing second-line style.)

It's a great bunch of folks, and playing with them has inspired me to pick up the sticks and practice daily again. And I've enjoyed it!

I'm hoping to play out with the band again in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

Left: Honest wear.
Vic Firth sticks, Ralph Hardimon model. A great all-around marching stick that I also like to use on the pad.

Below: me and Carl. We always have a good time playing together.

I made a thing - homemade practice pad

I'd been wanting to make my own practice pad for a long time.
Then I saw a photo of a pad that had been made and used by Elvin Jones, and I decided it was time to see what I could come up with.
Jones's pad is a little bigger and heavier than modern travel pads, and perhaps was never meant to be tossed into a bag.

I wanted something more portable.

So I scored a little square of hard silicon rubber ($7 on eBay) and a piece of scrap wood ($1 at ReClaim It!), cleaned them up and super-glued them together. After half an hour under a weight, the pad was ready to play.

I liked it right away.

The platform measures 6" x 5 1/2" and is about 3/4" thick. Because it's fine-grained particleboard, it's heavier than a simple plank of wood would be, which makes it ideal for a pad.
The silicon measures 4" square by 1/4" thick, and has a nice rebound -- not too mushy and not too hard.
I love how it turned out.

 

When I get back from my February tour, I want to begin researching a really old pad so I can make a replica of it and see how it works. Stay tuned.

Triplet Grid

Deceptively simple. Actually, this one is going to be in my head and hands for awhile now.
Have fun!

Jersey Surf pad: update

SO I got one of those cool little practice pads that were produced and are being sold by the Jersey Surf Drum & Bugle Corps. I promised to share an update on how I was getting on with it.

I've had it for a few weeks now, and here's what I can tell you.

First, it's a great little pad for taking anywhere with you. I've kept it in my messenger bag pretty much all the time, and when I have a long bus ride across town or I'm waiting for a friend at an outdoor cafe. Sometimes I'll be on a bike ride somwwhere, running ahead of schedule, and I'll pull over and sit on a step and chop out for a couple of minutes.

The two surfaces are both pretty hard. The "logo" side was made from a repurposed mouse pad, so there's not a lot of padding underneath and when you play a roll on this you are definitely feeling and hearing the wood underneath.
The other side is a slightly thinner version of the black rubber compound found on the "hard" side of RealFeel's two-sided practice pad (which I also own and use a lot), and it's a little softer than the logo side. Still the difference between the two surfaces is noticeable enough for both sides to be useful.

Here's a video of me playing the black side of the pad, a little bit of a Spree:

 

I would say that if you want to play on a surface this hard, it's probably not a bad idea to warm up on a softer pad first (like the grey side of a RealFeel). Warming up on this little pad could be kind of hard on your hands. That said, I like this pad enough that I'm going to take it on tour next time. It's a little louder than most travel pads, but I don't think that's a big deal; I'll just play somewhere out of earshot if it bugs someone.

Overall I am happy enough with this pad that I may spring for another one. Then I can invite someone to jam with me on tour without having to lug two heavy pads.

These are available at the Jersey Surf website, while supplies last.

 

Next time: A closer look at some vintagey WeatherKing goodness.

infinity plus one

A friend reports that her 6-year-old has been faithfully watching my Hype Of The Week videos (over at my Facebook page) and now he wants to learn to play drums.

My work is done here.

Pad du Jour: GK Music, Poland

Very occasionally, a pad will come my way from overseas.
I don't pick up many of these because the design and construction are often too similar (or identical) to that of US pads. But every so often,  something will grab my attention and/or be priced affordably enough that I'll buy it That was the case with this little pad from a Polish company called GK Music.

The pad is small (7" diameter) and judging by feel I'd guess that it weighs little more than a pound or so. It's essentially a thin wood platform with a different playing surface on each side.

The "bottom" of the pad is completely covered with a hard black surface with a raised diamond pattern on it. The material is a very hard rubber or rubber-plastic blend that provide a fair amount of bounce without too much strain.                                 
The "top" of the pad is a red, closed-cell rubber with a different, less bouncy surface that requires the player to put some work into achieving a decent, balanced rebound. Some wood has been left open to allow for a logo to be added.

Both surfaces appear to be glued securely to the wood, and the whole thing is wrapped in what appears to be little more than black electrical tape, carefully and even applied. It will be interesting to see how the tape binding holds up under regular use, especially if the pad is carried around a lot.

The light weight of this pad (relative to its size) gives me some pause, especially if the pad is to be used for heavier, rudimental/marching practuce. The only way I could keep it from bouncing around on a tabletop was to put a larger rubber pad underneath it (that's a full-size Real Feel pad shown for scale in the photos).
If I had to recommend the pad I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. There are better pads out there for new players. But as a little pad I can toss into my carry-on and play at a bus station or something, it's okay.
I bought the pad on eBay for $17 plus another $12 for shipping. It was an experimental purchase, and one I wouldn't make again. The pad has about as much natural rebound as the vintage Cappella/Beato pad I reviewed several weeks ago, and that pad cost considerably less even as a "vintage" item. Still, it's cool to have something from overseas in my collection.
You can find out more about GK Music here: http://www.gkmusic.pl/en/practice-pads/