The practice pad in our videos, and the one we link on Get Started, is the Evans RealFeel 12-inch two-sided pad. Flip it over and the second face looks and sounds different. That's on purpose. Here is what each side is, how they differ, and when to use which.
What is each side made of?
One side is natural gum rubber. The other, the black side, is a firmer recycled rubber. Both are mounted on a wooden base, and the pad can sit on a table, on your lap, or in a snare stand.
The gum rubber side is the softer of the two. The recycled rubber side is noticeably harder.
How do the two sides sound and feel?
The gum rubber side is the quieter one. Evans and the retailers that sell it describe it as the realistic side, meaning the stick comes off it in a way that feels like a drumhead. The sound is a soft, low tap.
The black recycled rubber side is louder, with a crisper sound on every note. Retailers call that articulation: each stroke is distinct, so you hear exactly where it landed and whether two notes that should match actually do.
The two sides are springy in different ways. The gum rubber is the springier material: it gives under the stick, which is part of why it's quiet. The stick itself bounces higher off the harder side, because a firm surface gives less and sends more of the stroke back up. Sweetwater describes the recycled side the same way, as the one with added bounce.
What is rebound, exactly?
When a stick hits a surface, some of its energy comes back up as bounce and some is soaked into the surface. The more a surface sends back, the more the stick rises toward your hand on its own, and the less lifting your wrists do. The more a surface soaks up, the more your hands do that lifting themselves.
Both are useful. More rebound makes a pattern feel easy and lets you play longer without tiring. Less rebound asks more of your hands, which is why drummers sometimes practice on pillows. A two-sided pad gives you a little of each without buying a second pad.
Which side should I use?
We had always only used the gum rubber side. It looked like the springier side, the one you were supposed to use. Then we filmed on the black side, and we've liked it better ever since. The stick comes back up more, and the sound is crisper, so you can hear whether a pattern is even, like the two strokes in each pair of Doubles. It's the side we'd start on now.
The gum rubber side is still useful for when someone is asleep or on a call in the next room.
Some people pick a side and never flip it. Some use the quiet side at night and the louder side in the afternoon.
Why 12 inches?
Twelve inches is close to the size of a snare drum, so it gives you a full-sized target and fits inside a standard snare stand's basket if you ever want to play standing or sitting at kit height.
The 12-inch version has no threaded mount underneath. The smaller Evans pads can screw onto a cymbal stand; this one just sits on whatever it's on.
For quieter practice on either side, set the pad on a folded towel. The towel stops the table from carrying the sound into the floor.
Where does Beatwired fit?
Beatwired is a rhythm-based regulation tool, not drum lessons. Every session works with no gear at all: thighs, a tabletop, or a pillow. A pad adds rebound and a satisfying sound, and the pad plus a pair of 2B sticks runs about $55. The exact pad and sticks we use are on Get Started.
Sources
Sweetwater. Evans RealFeel 2-Sided Practice Pad, 12 inch (product listing, part no. RF12D).
The Drum Ninja. Evans Real Feel 2-Sided Pad Review.