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While hand practice pads are incredibly popular, bass drum practice pads allow you to develop more holistic practice routines that keep your feet in as much shape as your hands when you’re not at your kit.
A typical bass drum practice pad looks similar to a kick drum pad from an electronic drum kit, but it costs much less.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the best bass drum practice pads for quiet practicing. I’ve compared design, sturdiness, volume, and cost to give you my top recommendations.
What Is The Best Bass Drum Practice Pad?
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Best portable pad
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Best large pad
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Best premium pad
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Best adjustable pad
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Best budget pad
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Bass Drum Practice Pad Reviews
Evans RealFeel Folding Bass Drum Practice Pad
Evans RealFeel Folding Bass Drum Practice Pad Review
The Evans RealFeel Folding Bass Drum Practice Pad is the ultimate bass drum pad on the market. It offers amazing playability, excellent rebound, and most importantly it stays firmly in place whilst you practice.
The Evans RealFeel bass drum practice pad provides a quiet practice solution as a substitute for a full-size bass drum.
It ticks all of the boxes because the build quality is fantastic, the gum rubber surface produces a realistic rebound and the impact pad is wide enough to accommodate a double bass drum pedal.
If you want to improve your single and double bass drum speed and technique without disturbing others then this is the best bass drum practice pad on the market.
It’s rock-solid and it provides the perfect attack and rebound whilst playing. Lastly, it can easily be folded up for easy storage and transportation.
With this practice pad being so popular, it’s very easy to find, and it’s the one pad that tends to always be in stock.
Features:
- Fits double and single bass drum pedals
- Compact and quiet
- Realistic bass drum playing response
Pros
- Great feeling rebound from the impact surface, but not too much rebound to feel unrealistic
- Very quiet performance, allowing you to happily practice with it without bothering anyone on the other side of a wall
- Rock-solid when being used, which is surprising due to the fold-up design
Cons
- The impact surface may wear down over time, but it will take very long before that happens
Gibraltar Bass Drum Practice Pad
Gibraltar Bass Drum Practice Pad Review
Up next we have the Gibraltar Bass Drum Practice Pad, and this is a sturdy and good value bass drum pad. This Gibraltar kick practice pad features a large 10” rubber surface that offers a quiet playing response.
This bass drum practice pad feels great to play and it works perfectly with different models of double bass drum pedals. The oversized rubber surface means you can play with a range of different beater height settings on your pedal.
The Gibraltar bass drum practice pad is perfect for building bass drum speed and control without disturbing your neighbors. Practicing on this pad will really improve your technique and allow you to transfer your skills onto a real drum set.
Overall this double bass drum practice pad is solid to use and it feels great. The 3 spurs help to keep the pad secure on carpeted surfaces and the base is sturdy, which means it won’t creep away from you whilst you play.
You just need to make sure that you only use it on carpeted surfaces. Otherwise, it will feel quite wobbly without those spurs securing it.
Features:
- Fits double and single bass drum pedals
- Large 10″ rubber impact surface
- Air channel design provides a realistic response
Pros
- Large rubber impact surface that accommodates all kinds of setups
- Very durable for the price
- Great value for money compared to other bass drum practice pads
Cons
- Wobbles a bit if you don’t stick the spurs into the ground
Pearl BD10 Bass Drum Practice Pad
Pearl BD10 Bass Drum Practice Pad Review
The Pearl BD10 Bass Drum Practice Pad is one of the best bass drum practice pads on the market. It’s incredibly sturdy and supportive, meaning it doesn’t move at all whilst you practice, which is really important.
The impact pad is wide enough to accommodate a double bass drum pedal and the material is softer than most bass drum pads. This also means it offers a much more realistic rebound compared to other competitor’s products too.
The Pearl BD10 is pretty expensive but the build quality is fantastic and the impact surface feels really good to play on. It’s really quiet and it doesn’t move at all, making this one of the best bass drum practice pads to practice on.
The Pearl brand has a huge reputation for offering heavy-duty and reliable hardware, and this practice pad perfectly fits that description. If you want something that you will still be able to use in 20 years, this is it.
Features:
- Fits double and single bass drum pedals
- Ultra realistic playing response
- Sturdy and supportive frame
Pros
- Realistic rebound due to the softer playing surface
- Very sturdy build, stopping the pad from moving no matter how hard you hit it
- Quiet performance, meaning no noise complaints will come your way
Cons
- Not fully collapsible, making it hard to travel with
- Premium price tag
DW Steve Smith Bass Drum Practice Pad
DW Steve Smith Bass Drum Practice Pad Review
The DW Steve Smith Bass Drum Practice Pad is a smart bass drum practice stand that is the ideal practice tool for drummers looking to improve their bass drum speed and control.
As you would expect from DW the build quality is excellent. This DW bass drum practice pad is small and compact, and it folds away for easy storage.
It’s also one of the few bass drum practice pads that are completely adjustable to suit your playing preferences and pedal settings. Drummers that like to raise their beaters quite high will feel at home here, while other practice pads may feel uncomfortable.
Most importantly it is really heavy-duty and it stays securely in place whilst in use, even with fast double bass drum playing.
However, there are a couple of downsides – it’s a little more pricey than some of the other bass drum pads reviewed and the impact pad is firm, meaning it’s not the quietest or realistic.
If you live in a tight space, this is one of those practice pads that may irritate the people around you.
Overall it’s a really good substitute for a real bass drum to practice on.
Features:
- Fits double and single bass drum pedals
- Adjustable height to suit your pedal
- Heavy-duty construction
Pros
- Heavy-duty steel construction, prohibiting any movement from happening when you play
- Fully adjustable, allowing drummers that like their beaters high to feel comfortable
- Compact and folds away easily, so it’s easy to travel with
- Designed to last incredibly long
Cons
- Impact pad is quite firm, so it’s a bit louder than many other pads
- Playing surface doesn’t feel as realistic as other pads
Meinl Dynamic Bass Drum Practice Pad
Meinl Dynamic Bass Drum Practice Pad Review
Lastly up for review is the Meinl Dynamic Bass Drum Practice Pad. Meinl is well known for producing really high quality and good value for money percussion products. Unfortunately, this bass drum pad isn’t quite as sturdy as the others reviewed.
The design of this bass drum practice pad is simple and the pad also has a great feel and it isn’t excessively loud. However, I’ve really struggled to make it stay in place whilst playing it with a double bass drum pedal, even with the spikes fully retracted.
The unit doesn’t have a wide and supportive frame like the other bass drum practice pads in this list. For that reason, I would recommend this pedal for single bass drum pedal users, as opposed to double bass drum players.
Also on this note, the bass drum practice pad is quiet and lightweight which makes it perfect for single pedals.
Features:
- Fits double and single bass drum pedals
- Impact pad has a great feel
- Lightweight and compact design
Pros
- Fully adjustable, allowing you to lock in a very comfortable setup
- Lightweight and easy to transport
- Quiet playable surface that also has excellent rebound
- Affordable price tag
Cons
- Struggles to stay in place when you play hard bass drum patterns
- Only suitable for single pedals
- Lacks a supportive frame
Bass Drum Practice Pad Buyer’s Guide
One of the only downsides of drumming is that it’s super loud! Unfortunately, as drummers, we have to be considerate of others whilst we play – both those living in the same household as well as our neighbors.
But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t great alternatives to playing on a real drum set out there! There are fantastic practice solutions that enable drummers to play drums quietly without bothering others. Practice pads, electronic drum sets, low volume cymbals, and mesh drum heads are all great practice alternatives!
The best bass drum practice pad is the ultimate tool for building endurance, speed, and control over your feet and will improve your technical finesse on the bass drum. Here is what you should look for in the best bass drum practice pad!
The Best Bass Drum Practice Pad Features
The best bass drum practice pad will boast several features that make it ideal for practicing on. You should look for a bass drum practice pad that imitates the playing experience of a real bass drum. Most importantly it should feel sturdy and offer a realistic rebound.
You will also ideally want your bass drum practice pad to be adjustable, so you can raise or lower the height of the impact area. You will also want to buy one that folds away conveniently for practical storage and transportation.
The best bass drum practice pad meets the following criteria:
- Feels rock solid and sturdy
- Doesn’t move about
- Adjusts to your desired height
- Produces a natural rebound
- Is quiet to play on
- Offers easy storage and transportation
- Will help you to become a better drummer
