Best snareside/Best heads (poll)

[Drummyjoey]

I really like the diplomat snareside that remo makes. Does anyone think that another brand makes a comparable head of a better quality?

There will also be a poll for favorite heads in general, though this is a different question.

[PhilGood]

I think Remo makes the best heads, period. Although I like the ambassadors better than diplomat. There really is no wrong choice, simply what you like best. Personally, I don't care for Aquarian heads, but that's just my opinion. The only other company who makes a snare side head that I like is Ludwig.

[rockcamaro97]

i had a "hazy" diplomat on my snare for the longest time when I was playing kit regularly and it sounded amazing.

Matt

[Drummyjoey]

Originally Posted by rockcamaro97

i had a "hazy" diplomat on my snare for the longest time when I was playing kit regularly and it sounded amazing.

Matt

Really? I've never even heard of that. What's the difference between hazy and plain clear?

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

I think Remo makes the best heads, period. Although I like the ambassadors better than diplomat. There really is no wrong choice, simply what you like best. Personally, I don't care for Aquarian heads, but that's just my opinion. The only other company who makes a snare side head that I like is Ludwig.

Have you ever tried Evans? They are good, I suggest that you try em on one tom. As for snare, I like the Pwoer Center and the Genera Dry, and the glass 500 and 300s bottom.

[Tim Brown]

For the Snareside head, I use an Aquarian #HPSN14 Hi-Performance Snareside Head. it's essentially designed for Marching, and has a white coating in two spots above where the snares stretch across the snare-side head to help protect it in case the snares break in either area.

For the rest of my kit - It's all Remo:
Clear Pinstripes on the Batters all the way around (snare, kicks, & toms)
Clear Ambassadors on the Resonant side of the toms,
Fiberskyn3's on the Resonant side of the kicks.


Tim

[Drummyjoey]

Anybody tried Attack?

[PhilGood]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

Have you ever tried Evans? They are good, I suggest that you try em on one tom. As for snare, I like the Pwoer Center and the Genera Dry, and the glass 500 and 300s bottom.

The last Evans I used were hydraulics. I am in need of a new snare head. Maybe I'll pick up some Evans snare heads for a test spin. Kick the tires, so to speak!

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

The last Evans I used were hydraulics. I am in need of a new snare head. Maybe I'll pick up some Evans snare heads for a test spin. Kick the tires, so to speak!

yea hydraulics suck. The Generas are way better. I also wanna try the new EC2 ones... but they don't have them in 18" tom sizes :-\.

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by Drummyjoey

Anybody tried Attack?

I had 2 ply medium thin on toms, and 2 ply on bass. They were pretty focused, but they were loud and and bass drum had a nice boomy sound. All in all, they are pretty good heads.

[wholelottabonzo]

I have what i concider to be the best snare skin ever on at the moment,

It is an evans genra dry with a kind of built in muffle ring on the underside around the edge and also some kind of tiny little vent holes around the edge, this does not as you may think deaden the sound but you can tune it high and get the best crack with alot of depth and no pinging or high pithched overtones, i will try and get a recorded sample of it on here when i can as it does sound amazing when recorded. It works an absoloute treat on cheap snares too making them sound comparable to much much higher priced models even under the scrutany of the studio mics.

[Drummyjoey]

Originally Posted by wholelottabonzo

I have what i concider to be the best snare skin ever on at the moment,

It is an evans genra dry with a kind of built in muffle ring on the underside around the edge and also some kind of tiny little vent holes around the edge, this does not as you may think deaden the sound but you can tune it high and get the best crack with alot of depth and no pinging or high pithched overtones, i will try and get a recorded sample of it on here when i can as it does sound amazing when recorded. It works an absoloute treat on cheap snares too making them sound comparable to much much higher priced models even under the scrutany of the studio mics.

Hey that would be awesome if you could get us a sample. I know I would appreciate it.

I am thinking about doing a little experiment by buying one kind of each of the four brands mentioned in the most standard (medium single ply clear) form available and doing a comparison with the only variable being the brand. When I can spare the money, I will post results and recordings if possible.

[Drummyjoey]

By the way...anyone tried the suede heads? I'm really curious as to what those sound like...they're by remo by the way.

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by wholelottabonzo

I have what i concider to be the best snare skin ever on at the moment,

It is an evans genra dry with a kind of built in muffle ring on the underside around the edge and also some kind of tiny little vent holes around the edge, this does not as you may think deaden the sound but you can tune it high and get the best crack with alot of depth and no pinging or high pithched overtones, i will try and get a recorded sample of it on here when i can as it does sound amazing when recorded. It works an absoloute treat on cheap snares too making them sound comparable to much much higher priced models even under the scrutany of the studio mics.

I just got one for my new 8" deep Yamaha Brass snare. THE THING IS TERRIBLE! I wanted something to kinda conceal SOME of the high pitched overtones. What that head did was fuck up all the overtones and took away the depth from the snare! I shoulda stuck with a G1 or a power center.

[wholelottabonzo]

If you learned how to tune your drum properly then you wouldn't have a problem with this skin.

I have recomended it to a number of drummers now, even two who work at recording studios and now they all swear by it. Dont slag stuff off if the reason it aint workin is you.

Tune both skins high about equally and then tune your bottom one even higher to get your depth.

Another tip is if you want the crack, when you have tuned you batter head, very slightly slacken the head maybe a 1/4 turn (if that) down the left side of your snare if you are a right handed drummer or visa versa. Try this and see if it makes a difference.

[MrBlackthorne]

I currently have all Remos on the top (Pinstripes, Ambassador) and all Evans Genera Resonants on the bottom. I've found this is a good combination. I used to really like the Evans Hydraulic tom heads - I had a drummer that was very stick-heavy and these didn't sound bad when he pounded the snot out of his kit. But they sound awful recorded, because there's next to no resonance, and I prefer some ring in the toms in a recording.

I used Attack snare heads for years. Loved 'em. They're a little heavier than and Ambassador, and if you're looking for that heavy crack with little ring, these are good for that. They're a tad hard to find these days.

Rick

[RecordingMaster]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

I just got one for my new 8" deep Yamaha Brass snare. THE THING IS TERRIBLE! I wanted something to kinda conceal SOME of the high pitched overtones. What that head did was fuck up all the overtones and took away the depth from the snare! I shoulda stuck with a G1 or a power center.

You still have to know how to tune your head. Just because it has a built in overtone dampener, doesn't mean you can tune your drum like crap and expect it to sound decent (like with O-Rings).

The truth is, no drumhead is terrible, especially this truely amazing Evans head. Not every head is right for every drummer, and their applications. If you can't tune, or you don't like it, read the Evans chart to define a sound you want. From there, choose a style illustrated in the quadrant you want to be in.

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by RecordingMaster

You still have to know how to tune your head. Just because it has a built in overtone dampener, doesn't mean you can tune your drum like crap and expect it to sound decent (like with O-Rings).

The truth is, no drumhead is terrible, especially this truely amazing Evans head. Not every head is right for every drummer, and their applications. If you can't tune, or you don't like it, read the Evans chart to define a sound you want. From there, choose a style illustrated in the quadrant you want to be in.

I can tune, problem is, it took away from the sound. It basically hid the factor that made it an awesome snare drum. The sound became too dry, and the drum's tone was concealed. I would imagine that the head would work be useful on cheaper snares, but it really didnt suit my snare well. I'm planning to get a G1 next time.

[usekgb]

As an engineer, and not really much of a drummer, I like the sound of the Evans G2's on snare and toms. I also really like the Aquarian Super Kick II on the kick drum. I have heard that Evans head with the little holes around it, and remember really liking it as well. When I mic a drum kit, I hate having to deal with all sorts of stray resonances. It may sound great to the drummer, but it wreaks havoc on the recording. The G2's really seem to tone down a lot of the ringing that a lot of the single ply uncoated heads seem to have. Also, please everyone, tune your kick drums! Nothing sounds worse than a poorly tuned kick drum. I don't care what kind of heads you use. If it's not tuned, it still sounds like crap.

Cheers,
Zach