Monday, March 30, 2020

does vintage mean "no longer made"? Or just "old"?

Vic Firth came out with a line of practice pads some 15 years ago called the Heavy Hitter series. They were designed primarily for marching drummers, to be durable and to approximate the feel of a marching snare drum.
The current line of Heavy Hitter pads includes the Stockpad and the Slimpad, both of which I own; the different thicknesses of rubber give the two pads a different sound and feel.
I like switching back and forth depending on my mood, my hands and what I want from the pad

 The Stockpad comes with a 3/16" thick gum rubber playing surface, and is meant to approximate the feel of a drum with a Mylar head.

It's not bad, and I do like to take it with me when I want to chop out at a park or something.
It fits easily in my bag and is portable.

(Second-generation Heavy Hitters had an all-white logo; third/current generation versions come with a white and red logo. I have one from each generation.)




The Slimpad is basically the same design, only with a thinner 1/8" gum rubber playing surface designed to approximate the feel of a drum with a Kevlar head. Sometimes, if my hands are feeling warmed up enough, I actually prefer chopping on this pad. 
Vic Firth Slim Pad Heavy Hitter 12" Practice Pad - Slimpad Marching Drum Corp 1/8" Gum Rubber HHPSL
 
The earliest version of these pads looked like this, with the rubber covering the entire wooden platform and lettering applied to the rubber.
Heavy Hitter Stock PadVic Firth Heavy Hitter Slimpad HHPSL
Other than the visual difference, some players swear that the gum rubber compound on this first generation of pads was different, and better, than what is currently available.

One fellow has gone as far as to offer up his first generation Stockpad in trade for the same vintage in the Slimpad version. He's had no luck so far. I've offered hima s much as $50 for his Stockpad but he is not interested. I'm not willing to pay $100 for a modern-era rubber pad, so I've let it go.

But it got me thinking: How long does something have to be unavailable before we can call it "vintage"?
I have pads in my collection that are older than I am, some dating from the 1940s (when my parents were kids). I have newer pads that are no longer made but which some people call "vintage" simply because they're out of production. Depending on whom you ask -- a antiques/collectibles dealer or a drumming ebthusiast -- both may be right.

I never had a chance to try the first generation of the Stockpad. I'd certainly like to try it, but not at the price that fellow is asking

I've got enough to keep me busy, even in this time of self-isolation. Happy drumming.,\

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