The Drumeo P4 Practice Pad - Four Different Playing Surfaces

Drumeo Pat Petrillo P4 Practice Pad vs Offworld Percussion Invader V3 RedI own both of these pads and love them both. I do not favor one over the other; each has small advantages and disadvantages. In order to help those buying new, I thought I’d share some of my findings about each of these excellent pads and post them on the reviews for each item.Sound: Your favorite video channel has many sound videos for each of these pads, so you can listen there with headphones and judge for yourself. I do notice that, a couple reviews for the Petrillo P4 pad state that the distinction between the red and black pads is not enough; I disagree, although the distinction on videos seems not as noticeable as in real life. I think all four pads on the Petrillo P4 pad are distinct, and I could tell with my eyes closed. Note: when I place the P4 on my snare stand, and the bottom is open as opposed to resting on a table, the distinction is ever greater. The Offworld V3 pad has a solid single sound, but oddly enough, I can hit the 2” nameplate Offworld badge on mine that has the branding and that has a distinct pop of its own. So, it can make two sounds. I have a friend that cut a piece of laminate, like you’d find on a countertop (aka Formica) and stuck it on half his Offworld pad and that gives it a very sharp and distinct sound, if that’s what you’re shooting for. The variety of sound on the Petrillo P4, though, is a plus for that model if variety is your goal or you typically play on a drum kit. I enjoy the variety and hand movement while practicing more than I thought I would; it adds to the sometimes mundane task of practice. I wondered if the middle pads, in particular, on the Petrillo P4 would be too small to hit consistently, or if I would miss and hit the edges, but this has not been an issue.Rim: The Petrillo P4 has no rim, the Offworld V3 has a full-sized rim. This alone makes the Offworld perhaps the better choice for marching drummers, and for players who do plenty of rimming, such as jazzy shuffle players. The Offworld rim seems to take a licking and not get dented; it’s some sort of hard plastic that truly seems solid.Weight: Honesty, to the feel, they weigh about the same. The Offworld is a touch heavier, but not enough to make one choose the Petrillo P4 over it for carrying. The Offworld can be carried short distances by it’s rim, though, like from room to room, which might be helpful in a crowded band room setting. The Petrillo P4 might better fit in a carrying case than the Offworld.Quietness: hands down, the Petrillo P4 has the quietest pad on the gray middle zone. I can play it on my apartment balcony in the summer without the neighbors calling the cops. The larger blue pad on the Petrillo is a touch quieter than the Offworld, the black middle pad is about the same volume as the entire Offworld surface, and the red top level of the Drumeo Petrillo P4 is sharper but again about as loud as the Offworld surface.Cost: the two pads are roughly the same cost, in the sixty dollar range as of early 2018. Note: currently, the Petrillo P4 pad is free if one signs up for a year pre-paid membership to Drumeo, so that is something to consider if video lessons are your goal. It’s on their website (and may change at any time; what I mention is applicable at the time of this review).Construction: I feel this is a tie. Note that they are both robust and look to stand up to the test of time (I will update if they do not). An Amazon comment from Drumeo on one of these reviews states that the P4 Petrillo model is made in New Jersey; I do not know where the Offword model is manufactured. The P4 ships in a cellophane shrink wrap, the Offworld in a plastic clear bag. Neither feels loose, slippery, sketchy, or cheap. They both feel robust and like you bought something that will last. The hardwood of the Petrillo pad can be seen on the black painted sides, and I like that even the risers for the tiers are stacked hardwood; they are not some cheap foamy riser. The Offworld shows no hardwood, just the hard matte plastic rim and the surfaces top and bottom. There are a couple reviews of each pad stating some glue runs or paint flaws, but mine at least, for both were completely flawless. Neither has even a hint of “homemade” character to them. Solid.Pad material: I included photos so you can see the surfaces after a few days of use, uncleaned. The Petrillo P4 shows stick marks, especially the black pad, but these clean off with Windex. The surfaces show no overall signs of wear or degradation, although they are generally (even the blue area) softer than the Offword surface. Time will tell if they slowly wear in striking locations, but that is the trade-off for a generally quieter, less strident-sounding pad. The Offworld pad has some sort of proprietary material that is stiff and strong, feels like it will not wear, but certainly catches anything in the air on its sticky surface. The company says to use Armour All car cleaner on the surface, and I have done this with great success. That said, it only takes a day of use for things floating through the air to catch on the surface (dust, hair, anything). If you’re a neat-nick that is bothered by that, the less sticky Petrillo might be better for you unless you plan to Armour All your Offworld every couple of days. Storing it in a bag might help, but I don’t do that. As to rebound, I find them both to be pretty authentic to my snare. The Offworld surface and the main Blue Petrillo P4 surface are pretty much indistinguishable for rebound; the other P4 pads vary on rebound (with the quietest gray level being the least rebound). I like the rebound character of both pads, but rebound is a personal thing and this may be the most difficult for me to help you with in a written review.Bottom: The original Ludwig (older) P4 Petrillo pad had a threaded cymbal stand mount on it; the current (newer) Drumeo version sold here does not. The bottom is a black, medium weight closed cell foam that works well to keep the pad in place on a flat surface. That said, I would not drum on the bottom foam as it looks not to be robust enough for long-term sticking. The Offworld pad also has no cymbal stand threads, and has the same sticky material on the entire bottom as it does on the top striking surface. So, the bottom can be used as a practice pad, and one without a rim if one does not want rim interference as they play (for instance on a high table). The downside is that the bottom, like the top, will pick up everything that you set this on (food crumbs, lint, dust, etc.).Size: The exact measurements you can read on the listings for each pad, but this is key: the Petrillo P4 pad fits inside the playing surface of the Offworld pad (see photo). There is about 1/8” all around the P4 pad (i.e. showing surface of the Offworld pad) when placed like this. In essence, though, one can think of the playing surfaces as roughly the same (P4 ever so slightly smaller), and the thick plastic rim is what adds to the overall diameter of the Offworld pad. Playing on either pad is not a problem…I never feel as though one is too small or too large compared to the other. Some might say I want the rim and don’t mind a bigger overall profile, others might say if it’s only the rim adding the size, I’d rather have more portability. They both work well, but I just wanted to give a size comparison. I must mention that the Petrillo P4 placed inside (atop) the Offworld does not allow rimshots, the Offworld rim is too low. Note that the top tier of the P4 is slightly higher than the overall surface of the Offworld, but it’s not an issue when playing (and is an advantage for simulating the movement around a drum kit). I will say that the rim of the Offworld does get in the way when I’m playing on a high surface, like sitting on my barstools and playing on the bar; the solution is to either flip it over and use the bottom (which mades it 1.0” higher, though, the thickness of the upturned rim) or to place it on a lower surface or snare stand. Otherwise, I have to sort of reach over the rim to play, if that makes sense…where a rimless pad like Petrillo P4 does not have a rim to contend with. That said, rimshots are fun, so it’s a trade-off.Summary: I can try to answer any questions you have in the comments and hope this review helped you decide between these two premium and popular practice pads. Overall, I truly love both pads and feel glad to have paid a premium compared to the many thirty and forty dollar pads available. I use both regularly and enjoy them. I love the variety of the Drumeo Petrillo P4 pad (Pat Petrillo shows how to make best use of the tiers with even something as simple as paradiddles on this YT videos; check them out), and the rimshots and marching band similarity of the Offworld. You can’t go wrong with either pad. Thanks. Wayne :-))

I am very happy with my purchase. I had a traditional style "faux snare" practice pad, and I felt like I needed hearing protection just to use it. This is much quieter, pleasant feeling and sounding.I have only had it a few days and already feel like I am improving and inspired to practice more.I have had a full drum set for a long time but, haven't felt like I put enough time to become a steady gig worthy drummer. I think this is just what I was looking for.Good quality and performance.

Good for practicing those rudiments and otherwise warming-up. It actually does inspire a bit of musicality beyond just a single surface pad.I saw it being used by the Drumeo folks on their Youtube and was inspired to purchase it because of the different pads which are to simulate different drum surfaces (rack tom, floor tom, snare, cymbals).The only thing I can think of that might make it better, would be a slight redesign of the plastic to make room for the "floor tom" pad to be double thickness, because if you hit it a little too hard, you can feel the hard plastic under the pad. Else, just don't hit it hard enough to reach that plastic..if you can.I've been using 2b full-length sticks for practice on this Drumeo pad, but any can be used. Have had my pad for 2 years now, and yet to have any issues with the pads coming loose but I'd probably be considered light use, so your mileage may vary.

The Good: All of the 4 Pads feel relatively accurate to how the surface tension and noise creation of different parts of a drum kit would be, this is my favorite pad because it helps practice to feel more like sitting on a kit. This pad is great during day time because no one can really hear you around you, but if you need to be quiet at night time, the only pad that is practicable is the White pad. The other pads can be practiced on silently but at very low velocity.The Semi-Bad: The white soft pad is perfect amazing for the most silent practicing where no one around you can hear you even at night. Because I love the white pad so much, I wish the other pads on this unit were a lot more softer and less noisy.I would buy a new version of this with but with different surface tension like the white pad.Semi-Negative: The silent white pad's (which I like most) irregular shape and softness makes it so there's no perfect sweet spot on the pad (this isn't horrible, you can still practice a lot on this pad but if they can remake this pad, they should change this). The issue here is that a drummer will feel the difference between left and right strokes. A wide rectangle shape would have worked so much better than the shape it is on this pad. I appreciate the circular design of this, it looks nice, but it messed up the functionality of the soft white pad. The rest of the pads don't have this issue because they are a lot more dense than the white pad.I would like for this company to keep making this pad but also make a silent version of it.. I would totally buy the same version of this but with varying silent pads like the White pad on this unit. Or if a company would just chop off a square of every existing practice pad out there and put it into one board, that'd be drum practice pad heaven.Other practice pads surface may feel better and be quieter, but having only one practice pad surface is not as useful to me as multiple pads of varying bounce.