Meinl Split Tone Pad Anika Nilles

Well, it's a practice pad. What possible can be big differences between various practice pads? Sound is not important, rebound and feel more so.

I've used several practice pads to date, some robust and heavy, some tiny and light travelling away from me when practicing :D

This one is somewhat different and now I split practice pads into 2 categories.

Category one - muscle and memory training. For this I have used practice pads with a single sound/feel surface to practice rudiments, dynamics, accents, which worked well for a quiet(er) one drum application or drum set application (just add a few quiet cymbals).

Category two - muscle, memory and ear training. This is where Anika's pad fits. Playing patterns with hands partially alternating and partially simultaneously at the same time on different surfaces on the same pad makes so much difference for the ears to hear patterns. I do not have to concentrate so much to capture a pattern of my right hand vs left hand. I do find myself drifting from one hand pattern to another hand pattern seamlessly now. The main side of the pad offers 3 different "sounds/surface" zones at the same height level (see description for more details of the pad or visit Meinl website and videos). The other side of the pad surprised me equally well if not more. It's really quiet and offers that workout surface when your hands need to do all the work without rebounds to gain strength. A while ago I was considering the 10" Reflexx, now Zildjian pad. I think Anika's pad is very close to it so I have no regrets. The only thing that I would change at cost, if I was Meinl product manager, would be to make it slightly but only slightly heavier / robust by increasing the thickness of the middle wooden layer.

After seeing a similar drum pad like the Drumeo practice pad, upon seeing this one I was very interested in seeing how this one would be.

Coming through the post this comes with a canvas bag, a sheet from Anika with a really great exercise for this pad, and of course the pad itself. It's weighty which was already a good sign for me.

The main pad had a very nice bounce to it, the feedback from the stick hitting it felt like I was hitting a snare head. The thickness here really helps it have that feel. Volume-wise it's not so indifferent as a regular pad you've used.

The red spots allow you to hit notes accented at a higher volume and are also a very nice addition if you want to work on the exercises Anika sends you with this pad. I quite like this especially because it has a nice higher-pitch sound which has a nice punch no matter how hard or lightly you hit it.

The top-muffle area is also a nice addition to the pad if you are simply wanting to practice ghost-notes or even just mess around with some rudiments on all areas of the pads. However, my only gripe with this is that the material seems too light so I feel like if I hit a stroke at a medium-volume stick height I feel like I'm hitting past the muffle and into the wood itself. The same can be said for the backside which the whole backside is this muffle material. I would change this to be more resistant and maybe denser felt so that it really does make it for better quiet playing. With that being, it can be managed by just playing more lightly!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this and would recommend this to anyone who wants more 'features' out of their drum pad. Good job Anika and Meinl!