There’s an obvious reason for the name of this little practice pad.

The base of the Pucpad is made of hard rubber and is 76mm (wide) x 25mm (deep) in size. On top of that is a 65mm x 15mm playing surface made of soft foam. 

As you can see, there’s a piece of string going through the base which is used to fasten the pad to your leg. You can also mount the pad to the top of a cymbal stand as well. I tried mounting the Pucpad to a couple of different cymbal stands and had no issues, although attaching the pad is more of a matter of forcing it down on the stand rather than screwing it down. I found using the pad on my leg to be easy and comfortable.

The playing surface of the Pucpad is soft and firm – but not too soft – so the stick rebound is at a reasonable and useful level. It’s also fairly quiet; to me it’s probably about the same as some electronic pads, with the same basic feel too.

The company also says the pad can be used as a dampener. 

While to my mind the Pucpad is a little too heavy for this sort of thing – think the average wallet weight plus a bit more – I did try it on a snare drum all the same and, yes, you can use it as a dampener. You’d need to tie it to tension rod to keep it in place, but you can indeed use the Pucpad for that too if you’re after that kind of sound.

Overall, from my experience, while not necessarily a revolutionary idea in itself, the Pucpad is easily portable, takes away the immediate need for a stand and is quite comfortable to use. Most importantly though, it does what it’s supposed to do, and that’s kind of the point.

More on the Pucpad over at – https://www.pucpad.com/product/pucpad

David Bateman

September 2021