Fun with pad history:
Remo began selling practice pads in the early 1960s.
I’m a huge fan of the older Remo pads, with flat metal rims and fiberboard base plates. They are repairable and the Mylar heads can be replaced (and a 2026 replacement pad head will fit a 1962 pad).
Remo’s web site features a history page where you can learn about how they developed their pads and their Mylar heads, and includes a chart outlining the evolution of their logo — a helpful aid in dating their vintage pads.
My first practice pad in1973 was a 6” Remo pad with a hard plastic rim. I went through three heads between fifth grade and my senior year of high school. I still have that pad.
But here’s an even earlier version from 1962, with an original head that’s in great shape.
(If anyone comes across an older Remo pad in need of a new head, I have a few replacement heads available for sale or trade.)
A reminder, especially for younger pad enthusiasts: Vintage practice pads from before the rise of Kevlar or Hybrid heads were not meant to be tensioned as high as marching-specific designs! Tension these as you would a drum for use behind a drum kit, and remember that the technique in use for these lower tensions will require you to “pull” your strokes out of the drum, rather than waiting for the rebound.
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