Product Review: Beetle Percussion Last Pad, Part Two

As promised, here's the follow-up to my testing of Beetle Percussion's Last Pad.

If you read Part One of this review, you know that I had an interesting experience in unpacking and assembling the pad. At the time, I assembled the hard side with the 3/16" rubber insert and a Remo Falams II batter head, and the softer side with the thinner foam pucks, the 1/4" rubber insert and a Remo coated Emperor batter head.

I felt that the hard side was simply too hard for my tastes. Since this is meant to be a marching-focused practice pad, I felt that the assembly I had proceeded with would suit a modern marching drummer well. However, after talking with Bradley Lomax at Beetle, I decided to obtain a second Emperor batter head and do some swapping around of pucks and inserts.

For the reassembly, I set up the harder side with the 1/4" Rubber insert and the coated Emperor head; and I set up the softer side with the thickest foam discs, the foam insert and the uncoated Emperor head. (In the video, it's red because it's the cheapest head I could find and until I knew more about the pad I didn't want to invest a ton into it.)

I also found a 5/16" combo wrench and a torque key to make the assembly go a little faster. 

(I know there are folks who would use a drill with a drum key bit, but I don't think I can exercise the control I'd want with something that fast. So analog it is.)

After reassembly, I was left with the 3/16" insert, which by itself makes for a very portable -- and very hard -- practice surface. Frankly, I will probably just put this in the closet and forget about it.

 

 

In playing the reconfigured pad, I really like the new setup.
The thicker (1/4") rubber insert beneath the coated Emperor head makes for a hard, but not painful, marching surface that's not much tighter than my Mylar-headed marching snare drum.
The softer side with thick foam pucks and the foam insert makes the response closer to a lower-tensioned marching drum, or maybe even a higher-tensioned rope drum. I really enjoy it, and it's likely the side I will use the most.
Both sides work best with a marching-focused stick. For the hard side, the VF Ralph Hardimons work fine, as do a host of other marching sticks. For the softer side, I'm currently useing my VF Brian Mason indoor sticks (as seen in the video) and like the results.

Some additional thoughts after this second part, in no particular order:

-- This pad offers a fairly wide range of tension and response possibilities, thanks to the variety of inserts and pucks available and the fact that it takes standard 14" heads. The flexibility encourages experimentation and creativity, as long as you have the patience for that. (This pad uses twelve tension bolts and that can take awhile to disassemble, reassemble and re-tension.)

-- This is a substantial practice implement, designed to take a beating while eliminating undue pressure on the base plate. As with many other tunable pads, the tension on the base plate comes from the pad being single-sided, and having the tension depend on the base plate remaining strong enough to handle the tension from the tuning bolts.

On some pads, such as the Rudimental Control pad, There is nothing beyond the receiving nut in the wood base plate to handle the tension. As a result, that pad has some limits as to how tightly it can be tensioned before the plywood base plate begins to warp or buckle. I've found this charateristic on the Rudimental Drummers Chop Pad as well.

To be fair, both of these pads are designed for drummers playing at lower tension.

The RD Chop Pad (retail $145 plus shipping from The Netherlands) is a dedicated quiet practice pad for most all-around drum practice, and not specifically geared to those playing high tension Kevlar heads.
The Rudimental Control pad (Retail $175) is marketed largely to HBCU drummers, who tend to favor a slightly lower tension on their modern drums (HBCU drum lines lean towards a deep, fat, bottom-heavy sound). For the intended markets, both pads work very well as long as you don't try to tension them to their utmost limit.

The Rudimental Drummers Drum Corps Pad (retail $250 plus shipping from The Netherlands) is designed for drummers playing drums at the highest tension. It uses metal panels on the underside to further stabilize the plywood base plate and allows for higher tuning than their Marching Pad or Chop Pad do. (I haven't tried the RD Corps Pad, so I'd welcome insights from anyone who practices regularly on one.)

Still, with the tension required of a modern practice pad, Beetle has come up with a way to allow for higher tension by adding a second head and rim and running the tension bolt all the way through, so it holds both sides together without adding undue pressure on the Valchromat (wood fiber) base plate. Mechanically, it's a good idea and performs as advertised.

-- This is THE heaviest practice implement I have ever used. It is SO heavy, in fact, that the only snare stand I own capable of supporting it is a vintage Hamilton concert stand, and it's a bit wobbly even on that. This pad weighs 16 pounds fully assembled. There are whole marching drums that weigh less. The weight is, for me, the biggest downside to this pad. Even though the base plate includes an integrated handle, I can't really transport it comfortably or practically. It's meant to be parked in a studio or practice room and left there. The weight is the price you pay for having a pad that can be tensioned so greatly.

Is the tradeoff worth it? Possibly, for a marching drummer competing at the highest levels of BOA or DCI, or for a school wanting to have two or three on hand for student practice in the band room. This is NOT a pad for a beginning drummer, but rather designed for someone who has made the commitment to what I might call a "drumming lifestyle". For anyone else, the retail price of $260 makes for a hefty investment that's worth thinking about before you buy.

I'm very glad to have the opportunity to test and review this pad. As with all Beetle Percussion products, it's craft-made with great attention to detail, using sustainable components and practices wherever possible. I have several Beetle pads in my collection and am glad to add this to the stable. Now, I just need to look for a really stout stand to keep it on.

Beetle Percussion makes pads one at a time in the USA. More pads are coming in 2025, but you will have to be patient. They're worth the wait.

Happy Drumming.