As drummers, one of our most important tools to have is a practice pad. They’re an essential part of any drummer’s gear collection, as they allow you to work on rudiments, technique, and various styles of playing whenever you can’t play at an actual drum set.
Practice pads are abundant, meaning that you can find them very easily at various prices. However, finding an amazing practice pad that you love and want to play on all the time can be tricky.
Different pads use different materials, and certain materials just don’t feel great. In this review, we’ll be looking at the Evans Real Feel 2-Sided practice pad. It’s a top-seller from Evans, which is a famous drumhead company.
The Evans Real Feel is a series of practice pads offered by Evans. The available size options are 6”, 7”, and 12”. The smaller pads are standard one-sided pads with gum rubber surfaces.
The cool thing about Evans Real Feel 12-inch drum pad is that it has two playable sides. One side has a natural gum surface, and the other has a hard recycled rubber surface. We’ll be focusing on the 12-inch version for this review, but it’s good to know about the smaller options.
The surface has a dark grey color, and the pad is outlined with the wood to which the surface materials are attached.
Overall, these features are very simplistic. However, they’re incredibly effective, which is what makes the pad so popular.
Evans is one of the top drumhead brands in the world, and the same quality that goes into their luxury drumheads goes into the Real Feel pad as well. It feels amazing to play on, and it has pleasant sounds when you hit the different surface materials.
The gum rubber side has the natural response that you’d expect from a drum pad. The volume is fairly low, but it’s a bit louder than some other pads out there. You’ll be able to easily train your hands and develop your technique when playing on this side.
The recycled rubber side is a lot harder. You get louder notes and more articulation. This side is fantastic for working on the clarity of your notes. It’s also great for nailing hand technique where you need to develop speed.
For example, you can work on your double strokes, as they’ll be easier to play on this side. Once you’re comfortable, you can move onto the softer side to see how your hand technique transfers over.
The harder side is also excellent for teaching, as it’s easier to hear. If you have a group of students learning from you in a lesson, you’ll find that the harder side is more optimal to use.
The Evans Real feel pads have always had amazing construction quality. There are so many drummers around the world who have been using them for decades, and they still hold up very well.
That’s the great thing about most drum pads. They never stop working. The only signs of wear and tear you’ll see are stick marks on the surface, and that shows that you’ve been practicing!
The 12-inch Real Feel pad is big enough to place on a snare stand easily, so it doesn’t have any mounting mechanism built into it. The smaller Real Feel pads, on the other hand, have a place where you can screw them into a cymbal stand.
When it comes to products from major brands like Evans, Remo, Vic Firth, Meinl, Tama, and DW, the Evans Real Feel is one of the most affordable 12-inch pads available.
So, the price-to-value ratio is amazing with this product. You get two playing sides, and the pad costs less than many other pads that only have one playing side.
You may be able to find a similar kind of pad from a lesser-known brand that is cheaper, but you won’t get the guaranteed Evans quality.
No, you don’t need a stand to play the Evans Real Feel 2-Sided pad. You can simply place it on a desk or coffee table and play to your heart’s content.
You can also place it on a snare drum that is 13” or 14”. Doing that is a great way of getting a bit of response from your snare wires, making the pad feel closer to a snare drum.
You can also place the pad on a snare stand if you want to. This makes it possible to raise and lower the height very easily.
Yes, any snare drum stand will easily be able to hold the Evans Real Feel pad. Since it’s 12”, it fits very nicely into most snare baskets.
Smaller drum pads are harder to mount on snare stands, but you don’t need to worry about that with this one.
Using a damp microfiber cloth is the best way to clean the pad down. You’ll need to use plenty of elbow grease while scrubbing it.
If that doesn’t work, you can try using a Mirror Glaze to get any stains or marks off of the pad.
Many drummers tend to start using their drum pads as coasters for mugs. If you do your best not to do that, you won’t need to clean the pad so often!
Overall, the Evans Real Feel 2 pad is one of the best affordable options on the market. It feels amazing to play on, thanks to its size and the materials that it has.
If you need a drum pad, but you don’t want to spend too much, we suggest getting this one. You can’t go wrong with it, and it will last decades of good use.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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