Bill Sanders designed his practice pad in 1973, to approximate the feel of his Premier drum kit while greatly reducing the volume. The design was so successful that he went into manufacturing the pads and selling them, first in the UK and then internationally.
I'd wanted to try one of his pads for a long time but the cost of importing one from England, including import fees and shipping, was beyond me. In retirement, I was finally able to purchase one and it arrived this week.
The pad comes in multiple sizes, from a very small 4" diameter mini-pad to a 13.5" model that fits neatly on top of a snare drum. (More recently, Bill has released a brush pad and a marching version with snare beads inside, but those are beyond the scope of this review.)
I ordered a 13.5" size.
The pad is light in weight, 2 kg or around 4.5 lbs.
It has a relatively low profile, similar to that of the Sabian QuietTone without the legs, of around 3/4". The top uses only 3mm of rubber, the bottom has a thin nonskid layer and it's all wrapped very neatly in a metal band around the edge.
The pad easily fits in the basket of a snare drum stand. (Suggestion: Tighten the basket arms just enough to secure the pad, without squeezing the metal rim too hard. I'm confident that the metal band is sturdy enough to last, but it's also made of rather thin metal and there's no need to abuse it.)
The nonskid underside does the job, but is not really meant to be played on as it is very thin.
I tried to take a peek at the base sandwiched between the top and bottom
layers, and couldn't really see much without disassembling the pad,
something I'm really not prepared to risk.
I would guess that the
base is a fiber material that could be similar to what's used on the
QuietTone pad, based on weight and feel. (Before Sabian bought QuietTone
from Henry Adler, the first QuietTone pads used a fiber baseplate that
was made of asbestos. Obviously, Sabian had to change the material for
safety purposes! If I were to make an educated guess about what Bill
uses in his baseplate, I'd think it was similar to what Sabian replaced
the asbestos with. And while I would never ask a pad maker for the recipe to the secret sauce, I'd be happy to learn that the baseplate is something else entirely, as long as it doesn't throw off tons of offgases.)
The videos below show the pad:
-- mounted in a stand
-- set on a platform at my practice pad station
-- set on the platform and then set on another pad on the platform
The sound changes noticeably when you slip another practice pad underneath, which is why many modern marching drummers, especially here in the US, will stack several pads in order to get a more muffled tone.
Since I have pads that are designed for big, heavy marching sticks, I am using lighter concert and drum kit sticks here. (I did try a heavy marching stick and did not like the feel or tone. But "marching" in the US means big, heavy sticks on a very tight head. In the UK it more often refers to pipe drumming, which this pad would make a lot more sense for.)
This pad, being sold mostly in the UK, is used there by drum kit, concert and pipe drummers far more than American-style marching drummers, and this seems the most appropriate focus.
When I asked Bill about his design, he had this to offer:
"The pad uses a very special rubber surface....Its so special that if I could not source it my business would fail. I have used this rubber for over 45 years and it was only last week I went to a school that uses the pad every day since 1985. and there is not a mark on it. That's why it's such a popular pad over here.
I have been told by the marching guys which I agree they say the feel is just under a tight snare head. ( be interesting to hear what you think) but of course this will vary on the weight/wood or size of drum sticks one uses on the pad. However its not just the rubber which is only 3 mm thick. (It's a fallacy to think that the thicker the rubber the better the bounce.) I went through 100s (sic) of bits of rubber to find the right one.
We use an elasticated glue which adds to the special secret of the Sanders pads.
I purposely designed the pad to be only 13.5 inch in diameter so it would fit snugly into a 14 inch snare including S-Hoops enabling you to lift out easily. It has a chrome metal rim which is standard on all our pads and non slip underside.
The BS 726 [the one I ordered - Ed.] is the largest pad we do.
My pads have a 10-year guarantee on the special drum feel rubber that we use."
Bill Sanders offers all of his practice pad designs directly from his web site. He offers international shipping if you are prepared to pay the cost. At present, there is no US distributor for his pads. If you have questions, reach out to Bill Sanders directly and he will be happy to answer them. All of his pads are made in the UK, under his direction. Sanders is currently the only company specializing in drum practice pads in the UK. (Other British companies offer pads as accessories to their drums, but those pads are made elsewhere, usually in China.)
My BS 726, 13.5" pad is priced at 45 pounds. Based on the exchange rate at the time I ordered, that came to around $62 US. (Plus shipping and fees, of course, which will depend on location.)
I am pleasantly surprised at how this pad feels and sounds, though I admit that the tone did take a few minutes of getting used to when compared with my other practice pads. I also think that I like it better on a platform or table top than in a snare stand, but I'm glad to know it's perfectly usable either way. And I appreciate its light weight for portability, as I like to take a pad with me whenever I go out. (You never know when you'll have to wait in line somewhere!)
If you want to spring for something really interesting to add to your pad collection -- and really useful! -- this would be a great pad to get. I'm happy to add it to my stable and it's a pad I'll use regularly with my concert and drum kit sticks.
Happy drumming.
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