A peek under the hood: Rudimental Control practice pad

Peeking under the hood is something I’ve done with every tunable practice pad I’ve owned.

I’m curious, and handy with tools, so taking apart and reassembling a pad is no big deal.

I got this Rudimental Control practice pad last year, and was invited to send a pdf of my College crest for inclusion in the pad’s design. I liked the idea, and sent the pdf.

The pad looked amazing.

I’ve enjoyed chopping on it. It has a hard, “knocky” kind of sound and feel.

After hanging out with my refreshed Drumslinger pad, I wondered what was under each pad.

I’d already peeked under the Drumslinger, back when I tried to stabilize it myself. It was very much like other tunable pads, with layers of cork and neoprene laid over a wood base, and then covered with a mylar head.

This was the case for all the tunable pads, including Rudimental Drummers, Drumslinger, and the Ram Pad. They all had varying layers of neoprene and cork on top of the wood (or plastic, on the Ram Pad) base.

I took a peek under the Rudimental Control pad, and found a different story. 

There was a wood base, covered with a cork layer and then a thick felt layer, onto which was screened my college crest. The felt is thick and substantial, but doesn’t offer the bounce that a rubber layer would. Without a rubber/neoprene layer, the felt is the only thing softening the edges of the tone. It lends the sound and feel of the pad a harder edge to the tone and the response, and makes this a different pad than others I’ve tried. The felt is glued to the cork, so lifting it up would ruin it. 

Still, I wanted some verification for my hunch. So I decided to add a rubber/neoprene layer by using a piece of stack mat (basically a very thin mousepad), trimmed to size. I laid it on top of the felt, reassembled the pad and tried it out.

After trying the pad with the added rubber layer, I took the pad apart, reassembled it the original way and tried it out again.

The videos tell the tale.

While I liked the way the the pad felt with the added rubber layer, I already have a couple of pads with a similar feel, and I didn’t feel a need for a third. Plus, I really like the Portland State crest on display in the center of the pad. So I removed the rubber, and reassembled the pad its original way. I suspect that the Rudimental Control pad is specifically meant to resemble the feel of a high-tension marching snare with a Kevlar or Hybrid head, a very tightly defined feel and sound. 

It’s fun to peek under the hood with tunable pads. Not to steal ideas or anything — the design of these modern tunable pads isn’t exactly a state secret — but to get a better idea of why something works. 

It does feel like the design of these tunable pads doesn’t really have a lot more new ground to break. But if something exciting happens, I’ll be sure to check it out and report here.

Happy drumming!