The Offworld Percussion Invader V3 practice pad is designed more for marching snare drummers with their approach to materials and surface. Let’s take a closer look at this one.
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Feel and Playability
The Invader V3 practice pad is designed for marching snare drummers and it has a harder playing surface that tries to mimic the feel of a kevlar marching head.
The surface is made from a custom material that Offworld Percussion has named DarkMatter™. The surface is a little harder with less rebound than rubber style practice pad surfaces. It feels good to play and it has an articulate feel that translates well to being able to hear and feel the patterns you are practicing and playing.
The rim works well on this pad and is made from a very strong plastic material. It feels like a metal rim without the extra sound and damage to the sticks that come along with a metal rim.
Noise
This practice pad has a louder sound to it due to the harder playing surface and ability to do rim shots on the hard plastic rim. The tapping sounds are articulate and sharp, but not overly bright. It’s going to be louder than practice pads with rubber surfaces like the Evans RealFeel or the Prologix Method, for example. But it might be slightly quieter than some of the marching practice pads that are specifically designed to have a louder, sharper sound.
Portability and Design
The Invader V3 has a diameter of 13-3/4 inches and it weighs in at about 5 lbs. It’s one of the heaver practice pads we’ve looked at. It’s not terribly portable but can be carried in a larger backpack if needed. The size is just right for placing on top of a snare drum inside the rim. If you’re looking for a practice pad that is closer to the size of a 14 inch snare, this one will get you pretty close.
This practice pad comes with smaller circular adhesive discs that can be affixed to the center of the playing surface. This allows you to replace them when the surface wears out.
The bottom is a tactile, hard rubber surface that can be used as a practice pad itself. It’s also designed to be sticky enough to allow you to place this pad on top of angled surfaces and not slip. This is a nice feature, but the surface also becomes a dust magnet and can get dirty and ugly pretty quickly. It can be cleaned easily enough, but it is kind of annoying that it hold dust so easily.
Durability
Other than replacing the pad on the center of the top surface every once in while, this pad hold up to lots of playing over years of use. It’s designed to take a beating and to be played however drummers want to play on it. Durability is not a weak point for this practice pad.
Pros
- Very durable
- Non-slip bottom surface
- Harder surface to replicate kevlar drum head feel
- Nearly the same diameter as a 14 inch snare drum
Cons
- Not the most silent pad available
- Pad surface can wear and center pad needs replacement
- Bottom surface collects dust
- Not super portable
The Verdict
The Offworld Percussion Invader V3 practice pad is a great pick for marching drummers who need a pad that will replicate the feel of a marching snare drum head. This isn’t the most quiet pad available, but it does deliver in feel and articulation.
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