Aquarian Superkick II destroyed

[m1ck]

I heard a strange flapping noise while practicing today. Looked down and discovered that the outside ply of my SK II was shredded.

I've only had it for a few months and I haven't been practicing nearly as much as I should have been. Is this normal wear and tear? Or is it me?

How much life should someone expect from this drum batter?

mumblin', grumblin' and cussin'

m1ck

[Mcbrain]

That's not right...... Contact Aquarian and let them know........

[m1ck]

I'll do that..........

[bobdadruma]

I've been pounding the snot out of me SK II for over a year now. I use an Aquarian protector pad on it. Neither the pad or the head have shown any signs of wear. I think that they will replace it for you.

[Ironcobra]

If you don't use enough tension, the head can rip or be destroyed much earlier than expected. Possible reason...

[Budiesel]

what kind of beaters are you using, knives?

lol jk

all honesty, i'd contact aquarian as stated above. from what i hear, great customer service. or you can get yourself an evans eq3! lol

[m1ck]

If you don't use enough tension, the head can rip or be destroyed much earlier than expected. Possible reason...

I tuned it up to 65 on the DrumDial and it sounded great. How much tension is "enough?"

[m1ck]

what kind of beaters are you using, knives?

lol jk

all honesty, i'd contact aquarian as stated above. from what i hear, great customer service. or you can get yourself an evans eq3! lol

I'm using the felt beaters that come standard with Iron Cobra Jr. double pedals. I do lay into it sometimes but like I said, I'm lucky to get in a few hours a week and I've only had it for a few months. Just doesn't seem right.

I will contact Aquarian soon and ask.

Maybe I'll take a pic and post it...

[Mendozart]

Always use the Aquarian patch. If you don't like the regular patch, the Superthin works really well also. I've never broken any of my heads, and I use the plastic side of a DW beater. In fact, when the head is finally done, I peel off the patch and re-use it.

[m1ck]

Here are some pics of the deceased...

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/8949/aquarianfailure004hx1.jpg

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/3016/aquarianfailure008ep8.jpg

[razorx]

Damn. that's crazy. contact aquarian. My dad contacted them once when he couldn't get the head to tune and roy burns actually called my dad up on the phone and said he would ship a new head over night for free and he did.

[Mendozart]

Here are some pics of the deceased...

What kind of beater are you using?

[m1ck]

What kind of beater are you using?

I use an Iron Cobra Jr. double pedal with stock felt beaters.

[DamoSyzygy]

I would normally change my skins over within a few months, whether Im playing them much or not, as they will lose their stretch.

You should use an Aquarian Kick patch to stop this kind of damage from occurring.

[Shedboyxx]

May I suggest:

Call Aquarian AND use a patch.

Roy Burns is just great at taking care of issues. I've experienced this first hand

But....I did the same thing to a Remo Pinstripe years ago when I played in a Top 40 rock band. I was using a Danmar wood beater and just tearing through a head (Pinstripe) a week until I used a Danmar patch. Then the head lasted until I decided it was time to get a new head.... i.e. it never even got close to wearing out or breaking.

I normally receive a patch with the Aquarian pre-pack of a Superkick and Regulator heads. I always use it and have never broken a Superkick (I or II) even playing with a DW5000 AD3 double pedal using plastic beaters. If for some reason you don't like the idea of the patch, you are probably going to need to switch to another style of music or resign yourself to breaking heads regularly.

Good luck with this

Jim

[KarlCrafton]

Yeah, that heads pretty shreaded :-)

Depending on how old it is, you might get a replacement free--and maybe even if it's older.

If you like the sound of the head without a patch, here's a suggestion for getting as close to a "no patch sound" as possible.

Instead of one of those stick on patches, use a piece of the same head film cut to size and use some tape to attach it to the head.

You only need tape about 1" wide (half on the patch, half on the head), it can be clear tape or duct tape.

Clear doesn't work as well on Coated heads.

I have never had one fall off in 7 or 8 years by using tape to attach the piece.

It DOES NOT create any lag or buzz whatsoever by not being "glued" to the head.

It feels like you don't have a patch on the head too.

This was a method used years ago, but when stick on patches came out, people just used them, but the sound of the piece of old head patch is more natural, but still punchy.

If you like a lot of "click" in the sound, then a kevlar/specialty patch is better because they are made to get that sound.

One of the great things about this is you can change it when you want, and it keeps a new head feel every time you change it.

I have a couple kick heads over 5 years old--still in use--that have kept the new head sound/feel.

Since Aquarian uses it's own special film--and you busted the other one--you have plenty of material. Using Aquarian film will make it sound like what you had, and a different type of head film would sound different (could be good or bad).

It only has to be a little bigger than the beater area because of the tape.
My patches are about 2.5x3--something like that.

I've done this for about 7 or 8 years, and I don't ever see using any other method.
It works great, sounds great, and I don't spend money on kick patches.

In the pic I used a wider piece of tape--just happened to rip it that wide, but it can be thinner.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h257/KarlCrafton/kickpedalmuffle.jpg

Hope this can be of help.

[m1ck]

Excellent information - thank you all for the responses. (I love this place.)

I'll contact Aquarian today and ask if they think the problem is a flawed head or if I just rocked it to death in a short amount of time. If they offer a replacement I'll be happy; if they don't, I'll chalk it up to a lesson learned and use a patch from now on.

For the record - it's not my intent to slam Aquarian products. I totally loved the sound and feel of that head. I was just surprised it blew up so quickly and so catastrophically.

Again, thanks everyone for chiming in. I'll let you know how it goes.

[wolfmoon]

Strange... I have been using them for years both single and double ply. I always use a Remo Falams patch as well. I have used these heads without the patch and have never had that happen. Maybe there was already a small cut in when you got it ??? I hope you get a replacement.

[drumtechdad]

The Evans patch has very little effect on the sound.

[m1ck]

I shot an email to Aquarian with an explanation and the pics, and got a reply to call Roy. I did, and he said he can't replace a head that's been played three months. I asked if he looked at the pics and he said he had not, which seemed kinda odd.

I doubt I had 40 hours of actual play time on that head.

Oh well. Just a $40 lesson in the value of contact patches, I guess.

[Mcbrain]

WOW.......Now i understand 3 months...... But i have never heard of Roy turning someone down like that.....I am sorry too hear that and DO NOT hold that against Aquarian.....They make GREAT HEADS.........Again sorry to hear that

[-tarek-]

This always happens with the Superkick2. Use a patch and you'll never break through it. I know it sounds better without the patch, but that's really only from where you are sitting. There is very minimal effect on the sound from in front of the kit.

This happened to me the first time within a week of getting the head (I use wooden beaters), so, thinking it was defective, I bought another and the same thing happened within a month or so. I decided to try once more and put a patch on it, because it's my second favorite sounding head I've used (first is the EMAD, but that damn plastic ring cracks and breaks off within a few months EVERY TIME rendering the head useless). With the patch, I've seen no wear to the head so far.

[m1ck]

WOW.......Now i understand 3 months...... But i have never heard of Roy turning someone down like that.....I am sorry too hear that and DO NOT hold that against Aquarian.....They make GREAT HEADS.........Again sorry to hear that

Approximately three months; I could check my credit card statements to find out for sure, but I couldn't be bothered. Thing is, my life has been really hectic since the summer and I have hardly had time to practice. There's been very little use on it apart from weekly band practice and the occasional half-hour I can steal.

I don't hold it against Aquarian or Roy at all; I doubt I'd do different in his position. You have no idea what someone's done to a head in that amount of time. Actually, I didn't even ask for a replacement. I simply asked if the failure was normal or if it showed signs of a defect.

It's not that big a deal.

tarek - thanks for the input.

Hopefully this thread will serve to educate future/potential SK-II users: Put a damn patch on it or it'll bust. But they sound fantastic.

[Numberonefan]

My son used these http://www.evansdrumheads.com/EVAProddetail.aspx?ID=EQPC2
He likes the as they have less effect on the sound than others he has used.

Trouble is we go through one every two or three months. I keep an eye on it so this does not happen to my sons SK.
Interestingly enough he also uses a TAMA Iron Cobra. Maybe the material is more abrasive in theses?