Best Drum Heads for Recording!?

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vschiano2008

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I have a 1970's Ludwig Vistalite kit, 7 piece. I love loudness, and the acrylic shells work wonders. I also like the "boom", not so much the "crack" sound. Currently, i have Remo Pinstripes on top all around, and ambassadors on the bottem. I was set on purchasing an EMAD head, for the Kick. For the toms, i was considering Hydraulics, until i heard how they sounded on my Boss's Gretsch Kit, and i was not so enthused. the sound is dry with the hydraulics and i seem to like my pinstripes better. But for recording, what heads make a good professional sound? i know, it depends on many things, such as mic's and mic placement, whats around the mic, external noise, blah blah blah..
somebody take a crack at a suggestion.
 
I almost always use Pinstripes. If I want a warmer sound (I don't know if a vistalite will do 'warm') I use those Aquarian heads with the thick black stripe. ( I forget what they are called)
 
I dont care for Aquarian because of the squared off rim.(If your shells are less than perfect then they can be very hard to get on.)
I would play around with different heads if you can,I have a feeling that those
vistalites are different from the wood.I would think of maybe a thin head,
but then again I haven't had the chance to tune one up.
 
I have a vistalite kit in my collection. I like it with ambassador coated heads on top and thin acryllics on bottom. I would second the aquarian heads reccomendation as well. I really like the aquarians and they stay fresh longer than pin stripes.
 
before spending too much money, take your existing heads into the room you plan to record in. try different methods of muting to make those drums sound good in that room. remember not to mute too much though. i do all of the following on my Ludwig 5 peice.

for a kick drum i cut about a 4x4 inch peice of Tshirt (yep) and taped it inside my beater head right where the beater hits. along with the muting i have inside it delivers a good punch in the recordings but keeps the tone im used to.

for my toms and snare i folded kleenex into about 2 inch squares and taped one on each. in my case, it works best to place a mic on the rim and the mute about a 1/4 way around the head near the rim (imagine like 12 oclock and 3 oclock). an old neighbor showed me this and its a good way to tone down those drums that you usualy want to be louder in a large room or club.

just remember to use tape that will come off easily and cleanly so you can experiment. i use painters tape and it works just fine. good luck and have fun.
 
Well, I'm an Evans man.

I won't use anything other than an EMAD on my kick. In front, I usually use an EQ3 and occasionally a solid front head but that's rare. I tune the drum almost as low as it will resonate, then up a bit for better response. The sound is huge, punchy with a plastic beater, and has lots of low end.

On toms, I like clear G2's. They are punchy, durable, have good low end, and don't kill all the resonance. I use Genera Resonants on the bottom. If you're looking for a warmer sound for higher tunings, try coated G1's. For lower tunings, try coated G2's.

On snare, I like a regular coated G1. If a drum is especially ringy, I'll get a Genera HD, which has a thin muffling ring built in to the underside. A Hazy 300 on the bottom finishes it up. This setup is very versatile and doesn't kill the tone of the drums. You can crank it or detune it.

For tuning, read this:
http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/

And for mixing, listen to the clips at the bottom of this page:
http://www.badmuckingfastard.com/sound/slipperman.html

Search for tracking tips.
 
Im not an expert, but i would guess that if you think your drums sound good with the heads that you have on now, they will also sound good when recorded.
 
Farview said:
I almost always use Pinstripes. If I want a warmer sound (I don't know if a vistalite will do 'warm') I use those Aquarian heads with the thick black stripe. ( I forget what they are called)
Click to expand...

I think they are called StudioX.
 
I'm a pro drummer and I owned a blue Vistalite set. The best sound I got out of mine was with clear Remo Emporers (top) and clear Ambassadors (bottom). It was hard to get a good sound out of them since the drums are Lucite and hitting the drums produced a loud ringing noise as you would get from hitting a basketball, I would insert a piece of fibergalss or something to absorb the riging. Remo legacy heads are great if you are looking for a warmer sound.

- Michael
 
Evans G2 White coated heads

Evans G2 White coated heads give a great warm sound. Ive used pinstripes and aquarian heads for years and still swear by them for durablity. The evans G2 coated heads are so far for me the warmest ive used. There also very durable with the 2 ply construction. :) Look at alot of your technicle drummers they use the coated heads!!!!
 
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