It's the original pad and has always been dyed. My player was painted too. Most of the ones I find are minus the pad, but, you can clearly see a paint line from when they were dyed. My pad has never been separated from top, very hard to find.
The moulded arm rests do cover some of the tape holder, but I can still manage to insert tapes. Make sure the foam is still inside the holders, the rattle of the tapes will make you nutz.
Steve