"woven" snare drum heads

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dcptnsdcvd

New member
i practiced at a studio a while back that had this old ludwig maple snare drum. the top head was this burlap looking woven head. i don't know what kind of material it was or who made it or anything, but at a nice low tuning it had alot of stick throw (if thats what it's called)(bounce maybe?) and big controlled sound. nice and tight while having alot of tone. i've never been able to get even a tollerable sound out of my yamaha steel snare no matter what head or tuning. i'd like to find out more about this woven head and use em. but no one ever knows what i'm talking about. anyone??
 
I used to have one. Lasted forever! I loved it! I don't know if they're made anymore, but mine was an Evans. I think it might have been a marching snare head.
 
Yea, they are marching heads and I believe they're made of kevlar. I have a Remo and it has lasted about 10 years. Of course, I haven't used that snare much in the past 5 years, but it's still in decent shape and holding its tension.
 
The Kevlar heads are indeed designed for marching snare which are normally tuned very high (since they are deep drums).

Heavy hitters (ie: hard rock/metal guys) sometimes use these heads on their kits.

But here's the problem - the tuning lugs on most snare drums really are not designed to take the level of tourque that the Kevlar heads require (you even see a "tuning key" for marching drums?? - they put my Craftsman tourque wrench to shame.)

Im my humble, but semi informed opinion, you risk damage to your standard kit snare by trying to put a Kevlar head (with the required excess tension) on a "normal snare. The lugs can strip and in a worse case scenario the shell can warp.

I don't think it is worth the risk.
 
I play an Evans "Rock" kevlar head, they now coat them because back in the "diz-ay" the weave would get pulled when your sticks started to splinter. The answer is to not tune them like a marching snare...tune them like any other head! Since they are not plastic they won't strech or dent and they sound like a cannon. Since this is a recording site, here's the news...at clubs the snare mic'd sounds like a monster...recording here at home I mic from the bottom because the mic dosn't pick up enough snare and it sounds like you playing a timbale.
 
they were from a company called Duraline made in the eighties and yellow in color.Thicker stitching then today's mesh heads and I recall a demo where a guy stabbed the head with a knife demonstrating that if torn it wouldn't spread. They where shipped standard on some Syndrums and may have some connection to the Remo Falams. Also feel the need add to the guy who chimed in about staying away from Kevlar heads blah blah blah...you contributed only useless information
 
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