Radek Owczarz is known to all Polish drum maniacs as one of the best studio and touring drummers in Poland. He has collaborated with some of the platitum-selling acts on the Polish scene, such as Kasia Kowalska, Pilichowski Band, Edyta Bartosiewicz, Patrycja Markowska, Jan Borysewicz or OCN. beatit.tv viewers are no strangers to radek as he has appeared on our channel in the past testing some gear.
This time round, he came over to our new studio to test some more equipment and talk about the most important stuff in life, i.e. drums and drummers… 😉
We will start with the Zildjian Reflexx Conditioning Pads, which our news department has already informed about.
BeatIt: What can you tell us about these pads?
Radek Owczarz: I don’t know what material it’s made from, but these Zildjian pads are dual-sided. That’s a huge advantage. Thanks to this, you can work on your technique on two different surfaces.
BeatIt: One of them being harder and the other one softer?
Radek Owczarz: Correct. This means one of them provides better rebound than the other.
BeatIt: We both come from the time when cushions were used for practicing. I also remember using a sandbag.
Radek Owczarz: I actually had a phone book wrapped in sticky tape.
BeatIt: Perfect pad.
Radek Owczarz: No rebound at all.
BeatIt: We’re not telling you to go back to that now (laughs). Now, there’s pads, which you can buy at your local drum store. But that was close to the idea of practicing with constricted rebound. This forces you to think about rebound and look for it on such surfaces as foam, which is to imitate floor tom rebound. Not the snare, not cymbals, but toms and floor toms.
Radek Owczarz: However, getting used to one type of surface isn’t necessarily good. You need to switch. I guess I’m evolving and constantly learning something new. Based on my experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not just about playing on a sandbag. You really have to know how to play on a surface that gives very good rebound. A high-tuned drum, a low-tuned drum – it’s all our motor skills and, above all, it develops stick control, which is probably the most important thing in playing the drums.
BeatIt: There’s lots of different surfaces on a drum set. In fact, each instrument has a different rebound surface.
Radek Owczarz: That’s right. All of that impacts the dynamics.
Basic product specs:
- Dual-sided practice pad
- Sized 6″ and 10″
- 50 per cent quieter than standard practice pads
- The surfaces are softer and thicker in nature than most practice pads
- ¾ inch Flexx surface works well for all types of techniques and velocities, including those utilizing the arm, wrist, and fingers
- ½ inch Workk surface, which offers less bounce overall, though still provides a firmness allowing for strokes to be more audible than on a pillow or other completely dead surface. Good for practicing techniques that involve the upper and lower arm, and wrist specific movements that utilize a larger range of motion, at low to medium velocities.
- Made for drummers looking to advance their technique, promotes control, strength, sensitivity, and endurance while allowing for a greater range of stroke velocity.
More detailed info: https://zildjian.com/zildjian-reflexx-conditioning-pads
