Same Reso's & Batter?

[That Guy]

Hey guru's... first, let me start off by apologizing if this question has been asked before. I did search, but didn't come up with a topic. If it has already been discussed, please point me towards the thread, I would appreaciate it.

Ok, I'm about to buy some new heads (bat & res.) I'm leaning towards Evans EC2 clear's. I have never used the same brand of reso as the batter head but was contemplating trying this. In all my years of drumming I never did it or did I ever listen to a kit that had it... so I think. I always had stock resos and good batters, its always served me well.

Is it common practice to use the same heads all around? Or, am I leaning more towards a personal preference type of answer from the general populace? Or, does it harldly happen?

Just curious.

[harryconway]

Much more common practice than you might think, but mostly done with single ply heads. It's all personal preference and/or what desired sound you're trying to achieve.

[That Guy]

Much more common practice than you might think, but mostly done with single ply heads. It's all personal preference and/or what desired sound you're trying to achieve.

Neat.. so this is something that has been done by a great many that I'm just now contemplating huh? Why is it mostly done with single ply heads? Is it to allow the drums to resonate & sing and not choke the sound?

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Neat.. so this is something that has been done by a great many that I'm just now contemplating huh? Why is it mostly done with single ply heads? Is it to allow the drums to resonate & sing and not choke the sound?

Spot on. That's exactly it. Usually having double ply resonant heads will choke the sound too much. Unless that's really what you're after.

[That Guy]

Spot on. That's exactly it. Usually having double ply resonant heads will choke the sound too much. Unless that's really what you're after.


Ok, since I am leaning towards the EC2 clear heads.. could those be too much when it comes to the batter and reso being used together? I'm obviously not looking to kill the sound, but I do like a nice deep/bottom resonating sound. I like it to sustain just a tad and not flatten out. Might I wanna go to the EC1 Clear? Do you think the EC1 Coated might be too much to be used together?

I only wish you could try heads before you buy them. It would be a much easier purchase.

[fourstringdrums]

Putting EC2's on both sides of the drum will kill the sustain. You could try EC2 on top and EC1 on the bottom. It might be a bit much for some, but you may like it, though I think your best bet for a nice round sound with just a touch of sustain is a coated EC2 with a G1 bottom. You could even go for a coated G1 to cut the resonance a bit more.

[That Guy]

I think your best bet for a nice round sound with just a touch of sustain is a coated EC2 with a G1 bottom. You could even go for a coated G1 to cut the resonance a bit more.

Thats a neat idea. I'm liking the idea of a EC2 Coated with a G1 reso. The G1 Coated bottom is catching my minds-ear as well. I think that might be cool. But, do these configurations vary greatly depending on the type of wood that the shell is made of or are they universal in thier effects no matter what type of kit one has?

[fourstringdrums]

Thats a neat idea. I'm liking the idea of a EC2 Coated with a G1 reso. The G1 Coated bottom is catching my minds-ear as well. I think that might be cool. But, do these configurations vary greatly depending on the type of wood that the shell is made of or are they universal in thier effects no matter what type of kit one has?

Like all heads the results vary depending on the wood your kit is made out of. My Catalina has a similar head setup as my New Classic (except the Catalinas have coated G1's on the bottom as well) and the New Classics have much more resonance. Now granted it's not an accurate test because the reso heads aren't exactly the same, but I know that even if I put coated G1's on the resos of my New Classics, I'd still have more resonance.

[That Guy]

Like all heads the results vary depending on the wood your kit is made out of. My Catalina has a similar head setup as my New Classic (except the Catalinas have coated G1's on the bottom as well) and the New Classics have much more resonance. Now granted it's not an accurate test because the reso heads aren't exactly the same, but I know that even if I put coated G1's on the resos of my New Classics, I'd still have more resonance.

Interesting. Like I said before, I wish there was a way to test out configurations before I buy them. As of now I would like to try the EC2 Coated on top and the G1 Coated on the bottom, but I am skeptical that the G1 Coated would be too much and choke the small amount of sustain that I like to have. But, if I buy the G1 Clear for the bottom.. I might want less resonance and sustain. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.. lol. I would hate to have to buy both just to figure it out.

Does the same method apply to the bass drum as well?

[chopsy]

My combo is G2 clear batter, G1 clear reso. I can't take credit for it, but it's Danny Carey's setup and I love his sound.

At one point I had G2 clear on my primary 16" floor tom and another 16" floor tom with G2 coated (both with G1 clear resonant). I was surprised how different the coated head sounded.. it was further off than the map Evans has on their site (http://www.evansdrumheads.com/EVAProductsDS.aspx?ID=13) had me believing. I ended up pulling the coated and getting a matching clear G2 and I'm much happier.

The round warm sound of the coated batter seemed to hum on forever, reminding me of the sound of a distant car subwoofer, whereas the clear batter sang louder initially and faded sooner.

[maddrummr]

Interesting. Like I said before, I wish there was a way to test out configurations before I buy them. As of now I would like to try the EC2 Coated on top and the G1 Coated on the bottom, but I am skeptical that the G1 Coated would be too much and choke the small amount of sustain that I like to have. But, if I buy the G1 Clear for the bottom.. I might want less resonance and sustain. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.. lol. I would hate to have to buy both just to figure it out.

Does the same method apply to the bass drum as well?

Its really trial and error here. The most you can do is get other peoples experience with the same items. That is pretty tough to find sometimes so you just have to go with the gut. If you make a wrong choice well...then dont have the same combo again.

[konaboy]

Best thing to do is buy a reso and batter for ONE tom and try it through all the tuning ranges to see if you can get a sound you like, remember to listen to the sound out in front of your kit as the sound behind where you sit is not a true representation of what your tuning and kit sound like. so have a friend or sibling play them while you listen out front. A G1 is a pretty common reso and I don't think you can go wrong with it especially if you're using an EC2 batter.

[Cymbalrider]

I put Genera Resonant heads on my toms and they stayed there for two years. At the beginning I had g2 batters which I hated (it could have been because of these bottoms) and later Aquarian Texture Coated heads which were another disaster. Finally I ordered Remo Fiberskyn for batters and clear Ambassador for bottoms. The bottoms came in before the tops did. So I got to hear the huge difference that Remo Clear Ambassadors made on the bottoms instead of Genera Res. When the Fiberskyns came the sound got even better. Go for Clear G1s on the bottom first and if you want a warmer tone get Coated later. I'm going to change to Coated Emperor/Coated Ambassador to get a warm sound with a bit more modern flavor. Unless the drum is made of acrylic, aluminum, ironwood, or something resonance shouldn't be a problem. The biggest difference in changing out stock resonant heads is that you will finally get a nice tone out of the drum. 2 years ago when I changed my heads first on my Mapex ProM I replaced the bottoms first. Huge difference in sound. Changing batters affects the initial sound while resonant heads affect the tone, pitch.