P4 Practice Pad
Practice pads are great to work on hand technique, rudiments, stick control, speed, endurance, etc. It gives drummers the ability to practice aspects of drumming that have a huge impact on sound and feel at relatively quiet practice levels. But there's a problem. It's great to use a practice pad to work on rudiments, but what if I want to work on fills or grooves? Enter Ludwig's P4 Practice Pad, created by Pat Petrillo.
This is another stunningly simple product that I kick myself for not thinking of first. Here's the basic concept: the pad has three different levels (heights) and 4 different practice pads. The red pad at the top is a hard rubber and it simulates the feel of a hihat or ride cymbal. The blue pad is a noticeably softer rubber and simulates mounted toms. The gray pad is dense and has very little rebound, much like a floor tom. On the bottom is the black pad. It gives solid rebound and isn't too hard or too mushy. In other words, it's a great snare drum replication. The P4 practice pad is roughly the size of a snare drum and will fit on snare stands, directly on your snare drum, or it screws onto a cymbal stand.
The levels and material of the separate pads are what makes this pad so versatile. I can work on grooves of varying complexity with pads that feel more like the drums that I'm supposed to playing. On a related note, it's also nice to have different sound ranges from the different pads. This way I can work on accents, or make sure that specific parts are as solid as I need them to be without listening to what can turn out to be inaudible mush from many practice pads. It's also great to be able to work on different fills and rhythmic patterns. Now I can take rudiments or any other rhythms that I'm working on and apply them to different parts of the kit. This is a great way to work on hand patterns without annoying the neighbors.
Does it work? My practice time went from practically non-existent to annoying my wife within a few days. Coupled with the HansenFutz pedals I now have a great little practice setup that is extremely portable and practically silent. I leave it set up all the time and, at times, I have marathon practice sessions (hour or more). But, most often I steal a few minutes hear and there to work out a drum pattern buzzing through my head or to get some quick work in on a specific rhythm or fill.
This pad runs about $60 and it is definitely worth the investment. Below is a great video by Pat Petrillo demoing the pad and it's versatility. If you haven't heard of Pat, check out some of his work below...
This is another stunningly simple product that I kick myself for not thinking of first. Here's the basic concept: the pad has three different levels (heights) and 4 different practice pads. The red pad at the top is a hard rubber and it simulates the feel of a hihat or ride cymbal. The blue pad is a noticeably softer rubber and simulates mounted toms. The gray pad is dense and has very little rebound, much like a floor tom. On the bottom is the black pad. It gives solid rebound and isn't too hard or too mushy. In other words, it's a great snare drum replication. The P4 practice pad is roughly the size of a snare drum and will fit on snare stands, directly on your snare drum, or it screws onto a cymbal stand.
The levels and material of the separate pads are what makes this pad so versatile. I can work on grooves of varying complexity with pads that feel more like the drums that I'm supposed to playing. On a related note, it's also nice to have different sound ranges from the different pads. This way I can work on accents, or make sure that specific parts are as solid as I need them to be without listening to what can turn out to be inaudible mush from many practice pads. It's also great to be able to work on different fills and rhythmic patterns. Now I can take rudiments or any other rhythms that I'm working on and apply them to different parts of the kit. This is a great way to work on hand patterns without annoying the neighbors.
Does it work? My practice time went from practically non-existent to annoying my wife within a few days. Coupled with the HansenFutz pedals I now have a great little practice setup that is extremely portable and practically silent. I leave it set up all the time and, at times, I have marathon practice sessions (hour or more). But, most often I steal a few minutes hear and there to work out a drum pattern buzzing through my head or to get some quick work in on a specific rhythm or fill.
This pad runs about $60 and it is definitely worth the investment. Below is a great video by Pat Petrillo demoing the pad and it's versatility. If you haven't heard of Pat, check out some of his work below...