Available in various thicknesses

Cympad Cymbal Washers

So, we''ve had felt, we''ve had rubber, some of us have had nothing, however, now we also have Cympads.

"Cympad optimizes your cymbal sound.

Cympad is an incredible, affordable and easy to use system for optimizing the sound and performance of virtually all cymbal sizes, types and brands. Cympad is specially designed and made from premium-grade cellular foam to simply and effectively protect your cymbals and control your sound."

If you haven''t come across these before, and I hadn''t prior to the review, they''re washers (or ''felts'' to possibly give you a more familiar term) which are made of a light pliable foam. This foam is intended to cushion and seat the cymbal - when used underneath - and so it comes in several sizes to accommodate the different sized cymbals we use on our kits, namely 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90mm.

Cympads can also be used for sound ''adjustment'' as well - as in dampening - instead of using duct tape, Moon Gel, etc.

The firmer Ride Cymbal Optimizers

In addition, Cympad’s more recent Ride Cymbal Optimizers feature a higher density, firmer foam and increased height to better support larger, heavier ride and crash cymbals (though I didn''t have any very heavy crashes at the time of the review). These newer ride washers come as a two-pack which carries a suggested list price of $5.00 (so only a few pounds in the UK) and have a bright orange Cympad logo to identify and differentiate them from the specialist’s original Optimizer and Moderator cymbal washers.

Cympad states that their foam cymbal washers have been developed to outperform and outlast conventional felt washers while offering drummers a host of additional advantages. I''ll admit, that may well be the case, however, I didn''t really have enough time to effectively test the longevity of the Cympad, but they do seem to be quite robust, so I''ll wager this might be true and they will outlast normal felt.

I''ve always generally used traditional felts on my cymbal stands and hi-hat clutch, and apart from a very brief period of trying rubber washers on my clutch a few years ago, which didn''t really work out, I''ve never deviated from this. Now I come to write this, I''m not even sure why.

My experience with the Cympads I tried was that they worked and did seat my cymbals comfortably. I''m not wholly convinced on whether you''d notice the Cympad''s dampening qualities anywhere other than the studio, unless maybe it was on a ride cymbal which was held down reasonably tightly, but I think using foam as a cushioning material is pretty obviously a good idea.

And hi hat set

Good points I found are that they do indeed look like they''ll cushion your cymbals possibly better than maybe more traditional materials, you get a reasonable collection of pads for your money and, like I said before, they look like they will last a while. The only downside - if it is even a downside, maybe it''s just an inconvenience - is that I found with the larger diameter pads you have to take them off your stand after use prior to packing up because otherwise they''ll get squashed when moving your case. This isn''t something I noticed as being an issue with the more regular sized pads.

All in all, they''re not bad for what they are and if they do also stop you from having to put tape or other dampening materials all over your lovely new ride cymbal to stop it from being just a little too bright, then all well and good.

Is this something we should all look to be using from now on?

For more information visit your local drum shop, log on to www.cympad.com or visit www.myspace.com/cympads and www.facebook.com/cympad.

David Bateman
December 2011