Ed's Music Articles | The Best Drum Practice Pad on the Market

The Best Drum Practice Pad on the Market

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a drummer but don’t have enough money to afford a proper drum kit, or just want a more portable instrument to practice is on, a drum practice pad might be ideal for you. Practice pads have come a long way in the last few years, they are far more sophisticated than most people realize and they can be instrumental in developing a good technique.  This article is going to compare two of the leading drum practice pads on the market to find out which one is top dog.

Let’s get one thing straight before we begin, a practice pad is far more than just a surface that you hit with drum sticks. The latest models on the market come with inbuilt metronomes to help you keep time and games to keep you thinking on your feet. There are far more verities of drum pads than people realise and choosing the right one can really make a difference to your playing.

The Alesis E-Practice Pad promises to make learning to play the drums fun. This pad is capable of producing 65 unique drum sounds and features an-built metronome to help you keep time too. Additionally this electronic drum practice pad also features over 50 different exercises and games for players to learn. The Alesis E-Practice Pad really is a sophisticated piece of equipment, its dynamics are awesome, it can actually distinguish variations in the amount of force used to strike the pad and adjusts the tone to reflect this.

The Alesis E promises to help its users develop their timing, consistency and incorporate a greater degree of dynamics into their playing. The great thing about this pad is that you can actually record yourself playing along to different games and play it back to yourself once you’ve finish to evaluate your performance. The Alesis E-Pad costs around £75 ($120) from music retailers and has a number of expansions available which include hit-hats and foot switches.

The Classic RealFeel Practice Drum Pad is one of the most popular models on the market. Unlike the aforementioned model, the designers of this drum pad have focused all of their efforts creating a practice instrument that feels as close to the real thing as possible rather than delving into the technological side of things. The Classic real feel is about as close as you can get to the feel of a real snare drum; its gum-like material has many characteristics of a snare but is made out of a gum-like material instead.

The Classic RealFeel has been praised for its versatility and the quality of its sound. The great thing about this drum practice pad is that you won’t disturb the neighbours when you play it. The gum like material produces a toned down authentic drum sound which is designed to be used in the home which means extra care has been given to ensure the RealFeel doesn’t disturb anyone. The “6 inch version of the Classic RealFeel costs around £22 ($30) and can be purchased from online retailer’s DJM Music.

If I had to choose between these two practice drum pads I would have to pick the Alesis E-Practice Pad. Although this product doesn’t quite have the realistic feel of the RealFeel, I do believe that the vast amount of exercises and games this drum pad has to offer will aid a drummer’s development much more than an instrument which just replicates the responsiveness of a snare drum. The fact that the Alesis E also comes with an in-built metronome also makes it really handy to learn how to keep time.

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