How important is a miniscule difference? 1st gen VF Stockpad vs. 2020 RockJam pad

 We're heading into a mini heat wave this week, and it's already getting warm in my studio.
(I live in Oregon and most Portlanders living in older houses don't have A/C.)
Tonight, as a way to distract myself from the heat, I did a little contrast and compare between two pads I'm enamored of:

1. Rock Jam practice pad, circa 2020. This pad is made in China and sold around the world. It's shockingly cheap for a new pad, selling for as little as $10 including shipping. I bought a little stack of six of them during the shutdown last winter, looking forward to a time when I might take them to pad jams and clinics. I like the pad so much that I've kept one for myself. It's smaller by an inch or so all the way round than a Real Feel pad and weighs only a few ounces more. The playing surface is a gray silicon-based rubber that's slightly over 1/4" thick, mounted on a platform made from fine-grain, compressed wood and plastic laminate that's similar to Valchromat (used on Reflexx and other workout pads today). It has a nice rebound, good articulation and reasonably soft volume for indoor use.

Here I am farting around with a little bit of "Downfall"

2. Vic Firth (first-generation) Stockpad, circa early 2000's. This pad was developed by some heavy hitters in the marching percussion scene in the early 2000's. Using a gum rubber playing surface about 1/4" thick mounted on a large-grain particleboard platform. The first generation of these "Heavy Hitter" series pads (1/4" Stockpad and 1/8" Slimpad are very hard to find now, and very desirable among marching drummers who came of age in that era.)

Here I am laying down a little of "Crazy Army," one of my favorite snare solos.

I can tell you that, based on feel alone, there is very little meaningful difference between these two pads. The difference in feel is almost the same. The difference in sound -- specifically, in the pitch of each padbv -- has less to do with the playing surface and far more to do with the construction of the platform; if you were to mount the Vic Firth rubber on a heavier, denser Valchromat-style platform similar to the Rock Jam the difference in feel and sound would become almost imperceptible, even for experienced drummers.

I know I'll get pushback on this, but honestly I am not making this up.

If you've been dying to get one of the first-generation Heavy Hitter Stockpads, consider taking a break from your search and trying one of the Rock Jam pads. They're so well-made -- and durable -- that I'd recommend one not only to a beginner, but to any marching arts member who needs an affordable pad to take on summer tour.

I am only basing this on feel. If you're not convinced and you happen to own one of each, try it blindfolded, playing the same piece of music. The difference in feel will be small.

Happy chopping.

Product Review: HUN U-12 Marching Drum Pad

Once I realized that the RCP Active Snare Pad was, in fact, a rebranded product made by the Chinese company HUN, I decided to go to the source and see what else they made.
Along with the M-12 pad (which is being rebranded and sold under RCP, Salyers and perhaps other company names), I found this beefier U-12 pad.

I ordered the U-12 pad through their distributor, Alibaba. It took about 2 1/2 weeks to arrive from China. (Compare that to Xymox, which continues to fail at delivery of their products.)


Here’s my preliminary review.

Here are some additional photos of the pad and its packaging and features

The U-12 has all the same features as the M-12 up top, including adjustable snare sound and a heavy-duty plastic rim that seems able to handle rim shots without breaking down.
It also has the "floating" feature of a second platform underneath.
At a weight of nearly ten pounds, I have to define "float" as a lack of firm, stable attachment, rather than as an issue connected to "lightness". The "Float" feature does seem to allow for slightly greater resonance and viberation when the bottom platform sits on a table top or on a snare stand that is NOT tightened down (tightening the pad into the stand prevents the top platform from moving freely and eliminates the "float").

The pad came in this bag, which is the SAME bag that RCP sells at their site for around $25.
It's a nice bag, but because the pad is so heavy I'm not likely to want to travel with it; I can use the bag to carry other, lighter pads and books and sticks.

Total cost for the pad and bag was $110.
Is it worth that much?
Well, if you've been waiting for a Xymox pad, which is priced similarly and supposedly comes from somewhere in the US, maybe it is.
But in the greater scheme of things, the HUN pad probably cost less than half of its retail price to make in China. So now I must wrestle with questions of labor, carbon footprint and use of resources (the pad is made mostly of wood and plastic), which raises uncomfortable questions for me as a consumer and human being in 2021.

I don't have easy answers. The difficult answers have a lot to do with consumer-based economies of scale, global shipping, and cheapened labor in the interests of a bottom line.
Of course, on my darkest days, I can say the same thing about the entire Marching Arts activity because of the shocking levels of waste found in it. But that is another discussion altogether, and one I will continue to wrestle with.

Someone from HUN has reached out to me on Facebook. Perhaps we’ll communicate at length. Stay tuned.

Note: I purchased this pad on my own dime and was not paid to review it. 

For more info about the HUN U-12 pad, go to Alibaba.com and type “HUN U-12 drum practice pad” in the Search bar. 

Portland area Rec League Drum Pad Jam: NEW DATE June 1

Due to weather and confusion about the change in mask mandates, The Drum Pad Jam has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 1. 6:30 pm until around 7:30 or 8, depending on interest.
Afterwards, folks can repair to Breakside Brewery for a snack and beverage before heading home.

Please bring your own sticks, and your own pad.
I have two or three spare pads to loan for those who don't own one; and they'll be available for sale (cheap) afterwards.

Meet at 6:30 SHARP at Woodlawn Park in NE Portland. If the weather is great we'll grab a picnic table out on the grass; if not, we'll commandeer the tables beneath the overpass. I will have some music sheets available and you can also share a jam you know.

THIS IS NOT A CLASS.
You MUST already know how to play snare drum, know some rudiments and be able to read simple rhythms.

See you there!

Vintage Corner: First-generation Vic Firth Stockpad, circa 2000?

Kind of a holy grail among marching drummers. First-generation Vic Firth Stockpad. Extremely hard to find. (The Slimpad is even more scarce, and those who own one aren't letting go.)
The first generation Stockpad DOES look, feel and sound different than subsequent generations of this pad.  Marching drummers who came up with this version of the pad swear by it.

I now find myself with two, which is sort of unheard of. I will try to sell one. If I can't, I'll know that the end of the world is nigh.

 

Drum kit playdate: not bad for being so rusty

I haven't gigged behind a drum kit regularly, or owned a decent drum kit I could play at home, since 1993. That's almost 30 years ago.
My goal for assembling this vintage oddball kit, refurbished by Westcraft Drums, was primarily so I'd have a kit at home I could play regularly, even if I had to do so with mufflers to keep the peace there.
If things opened up in such a way as to help me find musicians to play with, great. But first I needed to play at home and get my sea legs back.

(You lose a lot in thirty years' time.)

Today, Sweetie gave me the rare gift of time alone in the house.

"Take the mufflers off," she said, "and have fun."

So for two hours, I did just that. Recent upgrades, including a 70's Zildjian Ping Ride and a 90's Zildjian light crash cymbal, made a great-sounding kit sound wonderful.

Of course, I shot video of everything I did, in ten-minute increments. Then, towards the end of my allotted time, I shot one final video, satisfied that all my previous efforts were sufficient to work out the worst of the ugly, forgetful kinks. I hoped I wouldn't suck.

After Sweetie got home, I watched all the videos to learn from them, and saved the best one to share (below).

For not having had this much time behind a kit in so long, I think I did okay. And I have quite a ways to go to get back to a point that will make me happy.
That's okay. I like to practice.