Remo Powerstroke 3

[Budiesel]

Question to those of you who have used this head AND the SK2.. If I like my Aquarian, would I like the PS3? Are they about the same, or drastically different? The PS3 would be going onto a 22" maple kick, and my SK2 is on a 24" maple kick. (I know there will be a difference due to the size) Thanks in advance.

[Les Ismore]

Super Kick better feel, more dampaning, its a felt ring VS thin plastic ring on the PS-3.

PS-3 you'll probably want to add something else inside the bass drum (laundry). If you do this anyway (laundry) with your SK-2 on the 24, look into Aquarian 'Impact' bigger felt ring.

It doesn't make sense to buy these ring-arrested heads and then use other muffeling inside the drum. The 'Impact' (1 or 2) gives enough, if you like a lot so to speak. Impact top pic, superkick bottom.

The Evans EMAD2 has a rubbery feel, it has great tone, but only in a limited tension range. Two different ply thicknesses at work on the EMAD.

[Budiesel]

Ya I agree w/ the laundry thing. I don't want to put anything inside the drum at all. I think I want to actually hear a PS3 before I buy one. I just dont think I have heard anything bad about the PS3 before, so thats why I was curious.

[Mystic]

I think I made a mistake buying my PS 3's for my bass heads, they do sound nice, but I would suggest only for a single bass player, I play double bass and I feel like they are a bit too open for double bass, so i had to throw some pillows in my drums, but they do sound wonderful for single bass songs.

[Les Ismore]

they are a bit too open for double bass, so i had to throw some pillows in my drums, but they do sound wonderful for single bass songs.

It'd be interesting to find out how many PS-3 users add stuffing and how many actually play the things wide open. PS-3 is pretty feeble at cutting bass drum ring on its own, like its supposed to.

http://www.garychaffee.com/muffler.htm

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://store.drumbum.com/media/bass-drum-muffler.jpg&imgrefurl=http://store.drumbum.com/skuA-127.html&h=288&w=384&sz=33&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=-nLT2tLWMQzLcM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbass%2Bdrum%2Bmuffler%26gbv%3D2%26hl% 3Den%26safe%3Doff

http://www.vintagedrums.com/lud50'sdualpadbassmuff.jpg ****

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vintagedrums.com/lud50%27sdualpadbassmuff.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vintagedrums.com/hard.html&h=300&w=253&sz=41&hl=en&start=6&tbnid=L0HvcwPisSdz9M:&tbnh=116&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbass%2Bdrum%2Bmuffler%26gbv%3D2%26nds p%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.musiccorner.co.uk/images/mmf1620.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.musiccorner.co.uk/index.php%3FcPath%3D1105&h=128&w=250&sz=6&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=cEblXn3WXHy1sM:&tbnh=57&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbass%2Bdrum%2Bmuffler%26gbv%3D2%26nds p%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

Gary knows best? How about a muffler integrated with a drum pedal?

[Mystic]

Yea I was hoping it would rid me most of the reso, so I'm thinking of trying PS4 or the SK2
now you guys say the SK2 has a felt muffling ring in it right? But the PS4 like the PS3 has a plastic ring, so I'm guessing the SK2 is going to get you the more muffled/focused sound because felt is much more dense than plastic, so would you suggest I take the SK2 to find that muffled yet still open enough to get a decent volume sound.

[Steady Freddy]

The PS3 is a more agressive head than the SKII or EMAD2. More boom and less thud.
I like the head, but it may be too much for low volume settings. If you're playing in a loud situation it should work out well.

The SKII has a nice sound, but not a lot of projection. It may get buried in the mix. For small clubs it should be great.

The EMADs have removable foam rings and you can adjust the amount of dampening. I run mine without the rings sometimes and it still sounds good.

All of these heads are capable of producing a great sound. The EMAD is a little more flexible than the other two.

[Big Chris]

they are a bit too open for double bass, so i had to throw some pillows in my drums, but they do sound wonderful for single bass songs.

It'd be interesting to find out how many PS-3 users add stuffing and how many actually play the things wide open. PS-3 is pretty feeble at cutting bass drum ring on its own, like its supposed to.

My old kit had a PS3, and yes, it was too boomy, so i used a pillow to dampen it.

Just put a Powersonic on my new kick, but only done 1 gig with it, so too early for a verdict.(no damping in kick at all)

[metal overlord]

I just baught the PS3 yesterday, and I love it.

It replaced my worn and torn SK1's. I played EMAD 1 & 2, PS3, Powersonic, and SK2. And the PS3 came out as the honorable victor. I love them on my drums. I'de highly recommend them.

I have a double bass kit, and they sound fine. Loud, agressive, and boomy. I'm probably going to put a muffling ring on it, just to see, though.

[Big_Philly]

Using PS3's on two bass drums might give a little too much overhang but if it's the sound you want it's all good of course. At gigs, the sound techs will hate you for open sounding drums though. What I would recommend on bass drums - though I haven't tried it - is a PS4 batter and PS3 reso combination. Or a Powersonic batter with PS3 for reso, in that case you probably won't be needing the snap-on pillow for extra dampening on your Powersonic.

[drumtechdad]

they are a bit too open for double bass, so i had to throw some pillows in my drums, but they do sound wonderful for single bass songs.

It'd be interesting to find out how many PS-3 users add stuffing and how many actually play the things wide open. PS-3 is pretty feeble at cutting bass drum ring on its own, like its supposed to.



PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. Since we play out unmiked most of the time, I need a bass drum that booms--otherwise it will never be heard. Heads muffled more extensively may sound "just like a recording" from the driver's seat, but they're just too quiet and lifeless for unmiked use.

Regarding your comment that they are "pretty feeble at cutting bass drum ring on its own, like it's supposed to": personally I'm glad there's a choice of heads out there, not just the heavily muffled types as mentioned in this thread. The PS3's control ring keeps the drum from sounding boingy yet lets a little tone out, too. Tone is good.

If you'd like to preserve some tone while cutting down on sustain (and increasing attack) try this: bring your reso up from finger-tight very gradually, no more than 1/8 turn at a time. As soon as the head goes from that flappy, papery sound to a real tone, stop. Now tune your batter just a smidge higher. At this point you'll have lots of sustain--this is where I leave mine--but as you gradually raise the tension of the batter head you get less and less. You can pretty much dial in how much fatness vs. attack you get this way.

[Mystic]

I can get a sound I like unmuffled, but no matter what I do I can't get the attack you get with a little muffling in the bass drum and I still need to try a double ply head, whats the difference with PS4 and Powersonic?

[Les Ismore]

whats the difference with PS4 and Powersonic?

PS-4 is an Emperor with a plastic ring , its a 2 ply version of PS-3

Powersonic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSX0nEPBvZw

Get an EMAD, better tone though in a limited range, which is cool, most drummes aren't particular about bass drum being tuned high. EMAD slightly approaches what I drivle below.

I honestly feel what's going to happen is, some company will introduce a 'tuned' bass drum head (Hello! Bob Gatzen please???).

Since no one tunes to a spacific note (99.9997% anyway), the market will swallow up a 'pre-tuned' kick head that feels and sounds killer. There could be two or three versions (low-med-hi). Throw it on, crank it up evenly and you get 'noted' sweetness just past wrinkle, no overtones.

No brainer, good sound/feel, add $10-20 on top of retail for the mystique.

[Mystic]

I think I'm sold on the Powersonic, now for toms (sorry if it seems like I'm stealing the thread, I just have many questions about this particular subject) ok so i have PS3's on all of my toms and my 10" tore within a month, but sounded good on my rack toms and my floor toms (I have abnormally big tom sizes) sounded a bit too open still because they are 16" and 18", so I am thinking emperor or powerstroke 4, which will get the better tone but be muffled enough to cover those big toms?

[Mystic]

I forgot to add, what is a good snare head that eliminates most all overtones, but still gives you the ability to hear the softer ghost notes?
Oh yea and is a different snare reso head a necessity for a better tone as well, or will a stock work just fine, and if so what is a good snare side head?

[Big_Philly]

I think a coated powerstroke 3 will be fine for a snare drum if you want no overtones, otherwise there's an evans head with little holes in it to make it sound drier which will also help eliminate some of the annoying ringing.
A stock snare head will work when tuned properly but better heads stay in tune longer. You'll need a thin, sensitive head. I have an ambassador snare side head for reso which is very thin and easily deforms so you'll want to be careful when mounting your snare.

[Mystic]

what do you think of the emperor x snare head?

[Big Chris]

I use an Emperor X on my Chad Smith.

If you do a lot of ghost notes, avoid the Emperor X. I like it's attack, no overhang, and it's ultra durable, but ghost notes aren't great on it.

If you only do a few ghost notes, as i do, then you shouldn't have an issue.

Oh yeah. I use Pinstripes on my toms from 8" to 16" and love 'em.

(I also recently stuck a Powersonic on my 20" kick, but only done 1 gig with it, so can't give you an accurate review yet)

[drumtechdad]

I forgot to add, what is a good snare head that eliminates most all overtones, but still gives you the ability to hear the softer ghost notes?

Any 10-mil single-ply coated head will do, but you have to tune it well.

Any head that will "eliminate most all overtones" will be muffled enough to make effective ghost notes difficult. It will also sound soft and lifeless from the audience.