head selection

[DayOfVengeance]

right, im not super knowledgeable about this subject, so forgive me

i have clear pinstripes on a 24" bass and clear emperors on my 12/16 toms.

im looking for less "slap" and more ommph", i don't mind the sound of the emperors but i'd still love to have a smoother sound (especially the bass drum). for dampening i use moon gel for the toms and a small blanket for the bass BUT i prefer to not dampen when possible.

any suggestions on remo heads?

ps, i have a Taye tour pro

thanks!

[drossfile]

if i'm interpreting your post correctly, you're not overly concerned with attack. are you going for a jazzier sound? based on what i can tell, you want coated heads. if you've never tried them before, i'd go this route first. you can always try something different next time around. hydraulics would probably be my 2nd suggestion for the sound you're describing.

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by drossfile

if i'm interpreting your post correctly, you're not overly concerned with attack. are you going for a jazzier sound? based on what i can tell, you want coated heads. if you've never tried them before, i'd go this route first. you can always try something different next time around. hydraulics would probably be my 2nd suggestion for the sound you're describing.

+1. Coatd heads.

[Supercreep]

Greg get's really good drum sounds, listen to him.

[DayOfVengeance]

i want a nice open boomy sound, i prefer to not dampen anything..... right now i have to moon gel my toms to get rid of the slap/pop... the downside being they don't resonant well. maybe try some ambassadors with clears on the bottom or coated both sides?

coated means less attack?
and
what are hydraulics?

[Greg_L]

You're not making yourself very clear. You want less attack and more open boom, but you can't get that with a clear head? That makes no sense. Clear heads generally have more boom and resonance. If you want more warmth and less resonance, you'll want to try a coated head. It's hard to tell from your posts, but I think the sound you want would come from coated batter heads, clear resonant heads, and wood tip sticks.

[DayOfVengeance]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pfNBUVzRSY

this is the sound im after

[DayOfVengeance]

i can't get that with my clear bass head especially when its not dampened with a blanket.... it tends to have a huge slap pop sound.

all my heads are tuned loose (a full turn from finger tight)... could that be an issue?

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pfNBUVzRSY

this is the sound im after

in that case, just use your existing heads and record your audio with a video camera microphone.

seriously though, are you talking about the live sound or the recorded sound of your drums? there will be a difference between the two. i use moon gels for live (unamplified) jam sessions, but take them off for recording.

ultimately, i wonder if tuning isn't your problem here.

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

all my heads are tuned loose (a full turn from finger tight)... could that be an issue?

yikes. yes.

edit: i took that to mean you're a full turn shy of finger tight, and just realized that perhaps you mean a full turn tighter than finger tight. if you meant the latter, that shouldn't be a problem in and of itself.

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pfNBUVzRSY

this is the sound im after

Oh okay.

First off, the first 2 minutes or so he has the snare wires disengaged. Tune the snare tight and disengage the snares and you'll get a sound like that.

The floor tom sounds pretty tight too, and the top and bottom heads are probably tuned to the same pitch to get maximum ring. Maybe a single ply clear batter and similar reso head. He's also barely hitting the floor tom, so that can squash some of the attack.

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

all my heads are tuned loose (a full turn from finger tight)... could that be an issue?

Lol. Yeah. Learn to tune properly to get the sounds you want.

You're using the wrong kick head for the sound you want.

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

what are hydraulics?

they're a 2-ply head with a coating of oil between the plies. i personally hate them, but i like maximum attack from my drums.

[DayOfVengeance]

heh fair enough ...... i think i've tuned it well though, i'd definitely would like a better sound for the bass drum.

cheers greg

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by drossfile

they're a 2-ply head with a coating of oil between the plies. i personally hate them, but i like maximum attack from my drums.

Yeah hydraulics are about the deadest heads you'll find. I hate em.

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

heh fair enough ...... i think i've tuned it well though, i'd definitely would like a better sound for the bass drum.

cheers greg

Try Remo clear ambassadors for your tom batter heads and clear diplomats for the reso heads. This combo will give you a wide open ringy tone.

Maybe try a pair of Remo smooth whites on the kick drum. It's not a sound I'd want, but it will definitely sound vintage.

[Greg_L]

These are just my opinions, of course, based on that crappy youtube clip.

[DayOfVengeance]

i like your opinions

this will be the first time trying coated so you never know i may not like it, it took me a good week to get a good tuning, lol ... so im kinda new at this fine tuning stuff ....... and knowing how to achieve the sounds i want.

i'll post some results when i get the heads

cheers

[Greg_L]

Originally Posted by DayOfVengeance

i like your opinions

this will be the first time trying coated so you never know i may not like it, it took me a good week to get a good tuning, lol ... so im kinda new at this fine tuning stuff ....... and knowing how to achieve the sounds i want.

i'll post some results when i get the heads

cheers

No, I'm suggesting clear. Yeah I said coated at first, but that was before I heard that youtube clip which you said you wanted to sound like.

[DayOfVengeance]

heh coated on the bass mate. im undecided about the toms, i've got clears already so its kinda pointless if coated has a warmer attack

[89gtsleeper]

You said you were using moongels on the toms. Have you tried just using tone rings instead? Our drummer just switched to tone rings and there was a huge improvement. It has just the right amount of sustain, then COMPLETELY eliminates the rest of the junk that was ringing out after what's needed. He's using single-ply coated ambassadors on top and bottom. Seriously though, the sustain is near perfect for doing our particular breed of rock music. In the past, I've always had to mix using gates on the toms, with a very dialed in release setting to try to get just the right amount of decay from the tom before it fades back off into never-ever land. The ring from the toms would still be picked up considerably in the overheads. The new coated head/tone ring combo is working much much better for us.

[Rimshot]

The YouTube clip of the sound that you are looking for is exactly the sound that I tune my drums so vigorously to make certain that they NEVER sound like that. That very ringy metallic sound almost hurts my ears. Different strokes for different folks.

[DayOfVengeance]

lets face it, what youtube vid IS GOOD quality?

i bought coated emperors so we'll see how it goes, still looking for a bass head .... no one carries 24" for god's sake... "oh it will take a month to order them"

sleeper, i've tried a full ring on my snare only but will give it a go before i swap out the heads, i even find one moongel to be too much dampening (i like them to resonant as much as possible). i only use one overhead so these coated emperors might just do the job.

cheers for the help gents!