Choosing drum heads (I know.. I know..)

N

nddhc

New member
Ive searched this forum like crazy the past few days looking for info (well, and other forums too) I got a drumset given to me as a gift (an old Pearl BLX Birch kit from the 80s)

The heads on it are very old (probably at least 2 years old, and id be surprised if the resonant heads have even been changed in the past 10 years :eek: ) None of the heads are dented or anything, just scuffed up. The heads currently on the kit are a mix of "Pearl Pinstripes" (never even heard of them myself) and Remo Pinstripes. The bottom reso heads just say "Pearl." I figure I can get this kit sounding really good, it seems to be a well rated kit (Hey, BFD even sampled it for their program!)

With these old heads ive spent the past few weeks taking them off, resetting them, retuning them, learning about tuning, what works, what doesnt, etc etc. Now theyre at the point where I cannot get a decent tone out of them and theyre getting harder to tune... so im going to replace them!



Now there are tons of drum head choices out there and im having a very tough time deciding. Again, ive searched this forum up and down and still have some questions.

K so some of my favorite sounds are from the Abbey Road album. During Ringos drum solo on "The End" I love the way that floor tom sounds.. I know he would drape thin cloth over his drums, and ive done this with some degree of success. But then I also like really big, open drum sounds like on Nirvanas Nevermind. As you can see, im kind of all over the place and this is making my decision even more difficult :eek: Unfortunately cash is an issue at this point and $100 for a new set of drumheads isnt something I can do very often

I like LOTS of attack and a solid clear tone that doesnt ring forever (I know this depends a lot on tuning and your actual drum shell, but I thought id throw it out there) I dont want to be one of these people that puts wads of tape on their drums. Id like to get a head that sounds good AS IS if that exists :D

In order to get any sort of attack out of the pinstripes currently on my kit I have to tune them LOOOOWWW and if I tune them higher then they just sound choked. This might be the nature of Pinstripe heads, and like I said, theyre VERY old

And finally -
Is there a such thing as a kick drum head that DOESNT require a pillow being shoved inside? :rolleyes: Someone gave me one of those Remo muffler rings and I hate it. It takes away ALL the tone and youre just left with a thud. Im thinking of using a coated head on the kick as well, im still looking up info on that. I like really airy kick drums with decent attack, kinda puffy sounding (haha) Again I know this depends mostly on your drum and tuning.


Alright. I think I stated what im looking for.. If you can decipher any of my questions out of that wad of text please give me some input. Hopefully this thread can help others out too. :)

Main point - looking for Tom heads with lots of attack, clear tone, good for recording. Looking for kick drum head that doesnt need a pillow stuffed inside to sound good

Thanks!
 
I have a Remo Powerstroke3 on my kick, no pillow need apply. I tuned the wrinkles jus out of it, and then just a touch higher, so it resonates for an instant. I did the same to the reso head, but I tightened it once more after the "resonate for an instant" stage, so that it rings noticiably, but not for long, nothing like a tom.

Birch will naturally want to give you attack, so just get heads for the darkness and short sustain. I'm trying coated Emperors on my Starclassic Performers next week. I was considering coated Powerstroke3's on the toms, or at least the floors, I tried a 14", and it was really dark and round, but it had a decent amount of sustain. It had the dot, which I didn't want, but got anyway (GC :rolleyes: ) so I couldn't judge it well enough to equip the whole kit.

If you want buttloads of attack, stick to clears, and tune the tops loose. You could probably do worse than Emps over Ambs. You can always tape up a ringy drum, but you can't add openess to a pre-muffled head.

Get new reso, in case you were vacilating.
 
I use Remo Coated Emporers and I love them, but they might be a little too fat for your tastes. I'd recommend coated Ambassadors as batter heads and clear Diplomats as resonant heads for toms.

Remo Powerstroke 3 is all I can recommend for the kick batter. It's just got a great, deep sound.

And I'd say get a coated Ambassador for the snare batter and a Hazy Ambassador for the snare side.
 
What would be the benefits (disadvantages?) of using a coated bass drum head ? The Powerstroke 3 sounds exactly like what im looking for and I saw there was a coated version. I usually see clear heads on the bass drum, but the coated ones might be interesting. Seeing how much I hate bass drum "ring" maybe this would be a good choice. Im not planning on using a resonant head for now either.... ive read the posts here on this subject and so far it hasnt been a problem for me with my Pinstripe head. Plus, ive been able to get some decent kick drum sounds without one

thanks for all your help so far!
 
I never use coated heads. I find they break easier and ring too much. Coated Powerstrokes will give you a fatter sound with less resonance. But from what I've experienced there isn't much of a difference.
 
My thing with drum heads is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Remo heads ain't broke, they are proven to sound consistently good time and time again.

I use powerstroke 3 and ambassador snare (the ladder sounds more open, the ps3 a bit thicker and less decay). On toms I almost always use clear emperors.

On kick, I love Powerstroke3s and 4s (the 2ply version).
 
pandamonk said:
Anyone used the Evans EC2s, Emad, and Genera HDD? What do you think? I'm planning on getting a set consisting of them for my Pearl Export.

Sorry to hijack the thread.
Click to expand...

Hey P,
I use them all, just not all on the same kit all the time.
The Evans EC2s are my favorite tom head now. I have used all sorts coated and non coated over the years, but always come back to Evans clear g2s. This year I have played several festivals where the toms were the new EC2s, and they were fabulous. One kit was a Gretch Renown Maple, the other a DW Maple kit. I am SOLD on them for toms.
I have generally always used the vented dry coated head for my snare, I get a really nice consistent sound without too much ring (if any!)

I have an Emad on all my kicks ( 18 , 20 and 22 inch), there is non better for a deep thick punchy sound in my opinion.
Tom
 
Ringo did a lot of things to do his drums. On some of the songs you can hear that him and Geoff Emerick took the second skins off the toms to give them those real depth feeling as heard in "A Day In The Life"
 
tmix said:
Hey P,
I use them all, just not all on the same kit all the time.
The Evans EC2s are my favorite tom head now. I have used all sorts coated and non coated over the years, but always come back to Evans clear g2s. This year I have played several festivals where the toms were the new EC2s, and they were fabulous. One kit was a Gretch Renown Maple, the other a DW Maple kit. I am SOLD on them for toms.
I have generally always used the vented dry coated head for my snare, I get a really nice consistent sound without too much ring (if any!)

I have an Emad on all my kicks ( 18 , 20 and 22 inch), there is non better for a deep thick punchy sound in my opinion.
Tom
Click to expand...
Cheers tom, I appreciate your response. Can't wait to get my studio finished so i can buy them and try them out.
 
I decided to go with an interesting combination of heads based on some of your suggestions and what ive read on other forums online.

Its kind of a weird choice of heads, but I think it will be perfect for the type of sound im going for.


-Evans Genera HD Dry Snare
-Evans Hazy 300 Snareside
-Evans G2 Coated Batter tom heads
-Evans G1 Coated Resonant Tom heads (I know, coated is kind of weird, but I think it will work with the sound im going for)
-Evans EMAD 2 Batter Bass drum Head
-Evans EMAD Resonant Bass drum Head

^^ With the EMAD heads hopefully it will give me some flexability with recording without actually having to remove the head to adjust muffling options. I shouldnt have to use a pillow inside, plus I decided to get a resonant head to maybe give me a slightly fuller sound. The resonant head DOES have a precut hole in it but its not at the standard "bottom corner" position so it should make inside miking a breeze without turning the head upside down!


As you see I decided to go with Evans heads.. like every company ive heard good and bad things about them but some of my friends kits have them and ive seemed to like those. I didnt really want to start mixing and matching companies until I can start trying things out myself and seeing what works and what doesnt

Once they arrive ill let you guys know how it went!! In the meantime im going to take off all the current heads, clean the chrome parts on my snare and drum hardware, etc
 
nddhc said:
I decided to go with an interesting combination of heads based on some of your suggestions and what ive read on other forums online.

Its kind of a weird choice of heads, but I think it will be perfect for the type of sound im going for.


-Evans Genera HD Dry Snare
-Evans Hazy 300 Snareside
-Evans G2 Coated Batter tom heads
-Evans G1 Coated Resonant Tom heads (I know, coated is kind of weird, but I think it will work with the sound im going for)
-Evans EMAD 2 Batter Bass drum Head
-Evans EMAD Resonant Bass drum Head

^^ With the EMAD heads hopefully it will give me some flexability with recording without actually having to remove the head to adjust muffling options. I shouldnt have to use a pillow inside, plus I decided to get a resonant head to maybe give me a slightly fuller sound. The resonant head DOES have a precut hole in it but its not at the standard "bottom corner" position so it should make inside miking a breeze without turning the head upside down!


As you see I decided to go with Evans heads.. like every company ive heard good and bad things about them but some of my friends kits have them and ive seemed to like those. I didnt really want to start mixing and matching companies until I can start trying things out myself and seeing what works and what doesnt

Once they arrive ill let you guys know how it went!! In the meantime im going to take off all the current heads, clean the chrome parts on my snare and drum hardware, etc
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good choice, although coated for resonant?
 
Yep - I was having a hard time choosing. If it ends up becoming a problem then I can always replace the resonant side heads with regular clear ones.


Some people have said it gives you a slightly warmer full sound, so im curious how it will sound.
 
nddhc said:
Yep - I was having a hard time choosing. If it ends up becoming a problem then I can always replace the resonant side heads with regular clear ones.


Some people have said it gives you a slightly warmer full sound, so im curious how it will sound.
Click to expand...
Yeah, if it don't work, at least you have replacement batter heads :D
 
From his Wikipedia page it says this -

"Heads (Remo):

Snare: Emperor X or Coated Pinstripe
Toms: Coated Emperors on top, coated Diplomats on bottom.
Bass Drum: Powerstroke 3 Clear. "
 
OK my drumheads arrived and I am pleasantly surprised

Using the coated G2/G1 combo on the toms still is a little too ringy for me, but it gives me the option to dampen it myself. What ive done in the past is just fold over cloth and use a binder clip to attach it to the edge. (I dont like gunking up my drums by sticking tape and other things on them :eek: )

But so far I havent dampened the toms.. I like the attack and "Warmth" they give with this setup.

The bass drumhead is AMAZING. I love this EMAD2 head. Im using the smaller ring on the batter head and the firm foam ring on the resonant head. They were difficult to tune because the rings and foam tend to change the pitch where theyre applied. But it sounds awesome. Tons of attack, short bass drum sound (with TONE for a change) and best of all...


NO PILLOW!


So im very happy :)
 
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