Xymox Pad Review 

Not trying to be mean, but the reason the real feel doesn't feel like a drum is because the bouncy side is made for silence and speed, but the hard side is made for strength. It doesn't bounce as much so you have to do more with your wrists, so your strength improves. It's not supposed to feel like a marching snare.

They make ID pads again. They were just making their new pads (with the rims and carbon fiber laminates) and stopped production of the old pads so now you can make ID pads again, and they put a rim on it for you.

There's no option for the type of rim they give you, but after you order it they put the rim on it. It may or not be removable, like the low profile pads. You can always just call them and ask them. They tend to be pretty good with that.

You're playing with your thumb on top with your left, angle your hand upward by cocking your wrist and bring your index finger over the top of the stick, I think you'll find things like rolls and diddles to be much easier

Try keeping your left palm tilted more towards the drum for a more powerful sound!

When you play with traditional grip, there is a kind of a bowl shape in the middle of your hand. Instead of making it face up, make it face toward your right hand. It's a little uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it and it looks better. :)

that "foam" on the bottom is gum rubber, and can be drummed on.

The pad feels pretty good, I got the thinnest rubber they offered which offers close rebound to that of a real drum. I have played on my friends' invaders and it's hard to say which is "better" per say.... The invader boasts rims for shots and fits upside in 13" snares perfectly (the rims fits in the edges). I like the sound the Xymox makes, the invader is a bit.... pad-ish haha. Both are great pads, it really comes down to personal preference. The Xymox is lighter, smaller, and customizable.

I picked a photo on google images that i liked haha, it was under a search for fractals I think... but hey if you choose a picture, make sure it's very high resolution, the larger the photo the better, then you don't loose quality from having to stretch the image to fit the pad, cause it'll already be big and have HD quality!

hey man the only thing I can say. is as a drummer the most important thing is PULSE. right? you need to play with a metronome more so that you can know what subdivision you are playing out of, and be able to feel the pulse more when just practicing stickings and rudiments. Cool pad.

Yes I do, I tend to use it in more.... sound sensitive situations haha, the Xymox can get a bit obnoxious in quiet places (not to me but to non-drummers)

Thanks for the review man, good job. For building up your chops big time, I suggest picking up an Invader pad from Offworld Percussion. They feel awesome and can take a serious beating. Happy drumming dude.

I love the Real Feel, but I'm very big on physical sensation. I'm learning that it all depends on what you're trying to get from the pad. Obviously, he's looking to hear each individual note, and percussionists who like that usually don't like the Real Feel because the soft side is designed to be extremely bouncy and extremely quiet. I never cared much for table top practice pads because they feel too "gritty" in my hands. LOL

Hey everyone thanks for all the commentary on my technique, I'm much better now and I made center snare this year :D

You don't need an expensive/super nice pad to get better. It's all about control and knowing what you do right or wrong.

Good question! I saw a review where there was a magnetic cartridge with the beads that you could remove. Mine didn't come like that, the plate keeping the beads in is bolted to the pad, why? No idea...

Yes that one is good too, it boasts a rim for shots and is a bit sturdier.

I taped them like that, electrical tape, my line tapes the whole stick now and I like how it feels

Thanks for pointing this out but I'm not sure we could take one mistake on Xymox's behalf and generalize some fallacy about their company that may or may not be true. Mine shipped fine but it's good to know these things so customers can collaborate and choose good companies to buy from.

Yes I have and it looks much better, I just need chops now

Awesome. And they made rims available on xymox pads now so that's another plus to get it. Looks like I'm getting a xymox. Thanks a bunch!

They aren't tunable I'm pretty sure, the lugs just take off the plastic rim, my friend in my line has one.

I'm guessing you're talking about the Evans.... which was the first pad I ever owned. I wasn't good enough then to know and i wasn't at the skill level to where a good pad necesarily mattered.

they're back..

Sound like you are putting alot tension in your arms plus when you are hold traditional grip don't let your stick slude

Question: Does the pad feel like an actual snare? Like is the reaction or bounce back the same? And I'm debating wether I should get this pad or an offworld percussion invader pad. I've heard the invader pad is the best and closest to an actual drum but the xymox pad is fairly new so there aren't many opinions on them. If you've played on an invader pad can you tell me what you think? (Right now I have a junk 6" double sided vic firth pad)

I'm looking for something that has good rebound, feels good, doesn't sound like straight rubber or wood, and sounds like a marching snare. What do you recommend? the most I will spend is maybe 40, but its like, "what you buy is what you get" and I don't want to go TOO cheap where quality sounds like crap. Any leads? THANKS!

to help you diddles an doubles remember "tight fulcrum loose fingers!!!!"

Im noticing your index and middle finder on your left hand are very strait. try to curve them around the stick and have your index finger and your thumb meet at the top knuckle.

and always check your sticks before buying them. your sticks are unbalanced. (you hear the different pitches)

Dude, love 'em. They're called M-dawgs (design by murray gusseck). They feel great and i have yet to here a pair of sticks that brings such a poppy sound out of the drum. Their sound quality is ridiculous!

Well, corect me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked pads were a bit cheaper than drums. And flashy is cool but I'm more concerned about quality and how it feels.

I'm thinking about making a follow up review now that I'm actually somewhat decent at snare and have used the pad more, any takers?

You can get double sided with beeds... you glue two of them together!

'A Short Video' the most said no video ever

Hmmmm.... I wouldn't recoment the thinnest rubber, cause it won't suit your desired rebound. I would just recomend you try to actually try some different pads and pick one that you like. Practicing on alot of different surfaces, and getting things clean and comfortable with different surfaces, sticks, and a (wide) range of tempos, will probably help you the most. Sometimes i take this pad and a stand and make it a fun addition to my acoustic set just for fun :-p

When you play on your left hand don't rest the stick on 2nd knuckle

I like these drum pad i may be young but i am a levle 4 pipe band drummer

How does this pad feel compared to an actual snare? Does it feel around the same? and if you had tried them both, which would you reccomend more, the iD pad or the reserve corps snare pad?

Your Traditional grip is wrong, index finger over the stick and clamp it down with your thumb and use your middle finger to keep it in place, on the cubicle. (I prefer to put my index finger over the flag on vic firth Ralph Hardimon sticks so that distance is gonna feel better, maybe)

work on playing everything open especially the rolls. and be sure to not let your fingers off the stick

I couldn't say, I designed it but it was ordered as a gift so I wasn't sure when it arrived, sorry!

I'm with you. They seem to go dead really quickly.

I'd say check out the Xymox reserve pads with the rim! Those are sick and feel really good. One thing I noticed about my pad is that the rebound is not as responsive as a drum at low heights. The reserve does a better job at that. Invaders are always great too, they they're a little more pricey.

It feels alot like a snare, it's so much fun do buzzes/crushes on for some reason haha. I really like this one alot but have not personally tried any of the other pads enough to know the difference. Great pad, but keep in mind that absolutely NO pad exists that is exactly like a snare, and if there were no such thing as bitchy neighbors, and if we could all afford snares, pads probably wouldn't exist because nothing can perfectly mimic a snare. This pad is really sick though, I'd recomend it :)

@Dennis Smith Drags are still diddles

Dude!! Your Good!! Are you kidding me!!

Oh alright, well yeah thanks for sharing this info haha, that sucks, hope you get everything sorted out man.

On your left hand, dont let the stick slide off your cuticle to the middle joint of your finger!! Work on relaxing and loosening your form all together, then work on opening up your doubles, they sound a bit crushed.. Hope this helped!! :)

The xymox is double sided the back side is I think don’t quote me gm rubber and it can be played quieter that’s what’s its meant for so it is double sided fun fact. ;)

Wat kind of drum sticks are those or ate they just taped like that

How to you input an image onto the pad? I cannot figure it out

If you are marching use Paul rennicks

Ah darn. Are you sure you searched "fractals?" Because as soon as I saw this design, I new I wanted it too but I can't find it on google images. Any help?

And the pad you don't sounds and feels because your just letting the stick bounce use your wrist and open up your diddles make them fat

Hmmm... this pad is good, I also like the corps pad by Xymox, it had a bit more cushion/depth but that is a bit too small for my tastes... I'd recomend the Vic Firth single-sided pad (black wood and grey rubber), my friend has that and it's like sex.

Did u tape those sticks like that or is that how you bought them?

It is wonk no longer, but glad i could help

@1000krutch much appreciated!

Nice video. Where did you find that design?

nice reveiw but u might want to work on ur rolls i can tell each time u hit to roll when its suppost to sound as one huge roll.

How long after you ordered your pad did it take to deliver to your house?

What gum rubber sizes did you put on the top?

I got it straight from the xymox website (just google it) and i wanna say it cost around 60 bucks.... Idk what prices are now though

You would probably get a little better if you fix that left hand grip

For one, technique is important, not comfort, and because i may march corps someday and they care haha. Technique has purpose, there's a reason it exists, thanks for the support i guess? haha

Play it slow first just cause just you can play it fast doesn't mean your good get control especially on your diddles

No, it's kinda small at 11.5"

NOTE: To anyone inquiring about the realism of this pad or the difference between the ID, invader, or other Xymox pads etc., I would ask ARZeihm here on RU-vid. He marches BDB and is a real snare player, I'm still kind of a noob, so he knows alot more about what he's talking about and owns a real snare, invader, AND a Xymox. He's much more reliable on any of this than I am.

Where did you order your pad and what is the average price?

hey man. good video. try to pay attention to your left hand, especially when your slamming in those diddles. try not to rely on your thumb to push down. you'll never be able to have amazing chops. but aside from that, nice vid. keep working!

Hey I'll put the link in the description for ya! Also if you just search "fractal wallpaper" and select "large images" on the side bar, there's some really really cool pictures too, but this one's pretty sick!

Do the Xymox Reserve pads have good lateral movement? I have a RealFeel like the one in the video, but it sort of grabs my stick and isn't slippery at all like a real marching snare. I need a pad that's more slippery like that but still feels like a real snare.

what kind of sticks they using

DOH! Wow, I didn't realize they're already gone! That's really strange, I'm afraid I don't know why... I could see a few problems: they might have been too expensive to manufacture, bad reviews (I like mine but they're not crazy popular), the website was a b**** to use (the page that designed your pad), maybe they just weren't selling? I like their other pads too though....

what sticks are they

Your not holding the left stick correctly and your not using your wrist your letting the sticks just bounce other than those two things your fine

What drumsticks are you need?!

i love vic marching sticks. preferably some colin mcnutts or tom floats

Are the I.D's available still? It doesnt say I can get one...

Thanks alot!

Yes haha my tradish is so so much better now haha I really need to make a new vid showing that I don't suck as much as that now haha I'm center snare now as a sophomore and beat out two juniors and a senior who just moved here (who was going to be drum captain)

How did you get you customize like that

Bro your traditional grip is a bit wonk, and your crushing your diddles! But good review...

What sticks were those at 7:12

Yep they're really nice dude! Realfeels use some weird rubber stuff, the reserves are probably the best pads out there, period. I just ordered one because the laminate on my ID is coming apart!

Take a shot every time he says "umm"

how long did it take to come in? please reply

try to keep your fingers on the sticks

so why do you tape your sticks like that?

Take a look at your traditional :) But chances are that you already heard that :)

Hmm... why don't you like the invader?

how do u make one

Rim??

And also, you contradicted yourself. A pad will sure as hell last longer than a real drum

You knows it's a 4 years old video when the intro is PowerPoint

CONSTRUCTIVE! Tighten your left hand just a little

hell yes it did, now it still needs work but it doesn't make me want to vomit

How's the pad holding up?

that grip tho