DW DeadHead Complete Drum Practice Pad Set
The DeadHead set is a set of drum practice pads that sit on the heads and cymbals of the kit you already own, to bring its volume down. It does not replace the instrument, it quiets it — and leaves your throne height, your angles and your playing geometry untouched.
What sets it apart
- Five drum pads, one bass drum pad and cymbal pads
- Designed for a five-piece kit
- Sits on the instrument with nothing to take apart
- No positions to reset
- Rebound kept despite the lower volume
- Stores and travels as a single set
Why keep your own kit
A set of pads on stands recreates an approximate drum kit: surfaces of the same diameter, in roughly the same places. The key word is "roughly". Every drummer has spent years setting the height of their tom, the tilt of their snare, the distance to their ride cymbal. Playing on a copy destroys those references.
DeadHead pads avoid that problem by not touching the setup. They go on, the instrument stays exactly where it was, and you practise on your real geometry. What you rehearse this way carries straight over to the gig.
What a drum pad does to rebound
A tensioned tom head returns the stick with a certain liveliness, which depends on tension and diameter. Putting a mass on it necessarily changes that response: the pad absorbs part of the energy, and that is precisely what lowers the volume.
The design aims to limit that loss and keep a usable rebound. The result does not match a bare head — no volume reduction system does — but it stays close enough for hand exercises to keep their value.
The case of cymbals
Cymbals are the real challenge of quiet practice. A muffled tom drops a lot in volume; a cymbal struck bare stays loud even in a treated room, and it is what the neighbours hear.
The set includes cymbal pads in addition to the drum pads and the bass drum pad. They remove the most piercing part of the spectrum while leaving a response under the stick, so you can keep your placements and accents.
Specifications
| Contents | Five drum pads, one bass drum pad, cymbal pads |
|---|---|
| Intended kit | Five-piece |
| Installation | Placed on the heads and cymbals |
| Disassembly required | None |
| Purpose | Practice at reduced volume |
What it is for
- Practising at home on your own kit
- Rehearsing in an apartment or a shared basement
- Lessons at home, when volume is a problem
- Warming up before soundcheck, in a busy venue
- Technique work without changing your usual setup
Compare with other manufacturers
Other manufacturers of volume reduction systems for a full drum kit:
| Manufacturer | Comparable model | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Evans | SoundOff | Pads sold by diameter, set to be put together yourself |
| Remo | Silentstroke | Mesh heads installed as replacements, not pads laid on top |
| Vic Firth | Drum mute packs | Mutes only, cymbals handled separately |
| Gibraltar | Pad set on a mini rack | Stand-alone setup, the drum kit sits unused |
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to take anything apart?
- No. The pads sit on the heads and cymbals, and the setup stays as it is.
- Is the rebound still playable?
- It is lower than on a bare head, but enough response remains for hand exercises to keep their value.
- Are the cymbals covered?
- Yes, the set includes cymbal pads in addition to the drum and bass drum pads.
- Will it work on a six-piece kit?
- The set is designed for a five-piece kit; an extra drum needs an additional pad.
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