Clear batter head on an acrylic snare?

[.altamont.]

Hi there
I'm now using an Evans coated head on the batter side of my acrylic snare. I saw the other day the same snare as mine but with a clear batter head. It looked great since it's a see through acrylic snare.

I was wondering what clear batter head would be a great choice for me?

I'm kind of a hard hitter so I need something that will last more than a gig. I used to get the Remo Emperor X on my other snare and loved it, but I haven't tried it on my new snare. I had an unused Evans head left at my local and strapped it on when I got my new kit. I'm just not quite sure which model it is. Looks like a G2 Coated but with a center dot. Works great for the moment. Anyways the snare is a 13x7 if that can help.

Thanks!

[Cymbalrider]

Coated batter heads do much more than just allow brush playing. They give a warmer sound with a more focused attack. Clear heads would have plenty of ring, but would be great for a loud acrylic snare sound. Evans makes the Power Center heads which is what you've got now. No one is stopping you if you want to put a clear ambassador or g1 on there, but Evans EC Snare heads and G Plus are translucent and would look just as nice and sound great on an acrylic snare giving it some warmth and body. The single ply clear would be a very lively head with a lot of that plastic zing to it--sort of like a timbale sound. Of course Remo clear emperors and powerstrokes would sound quite different, much fatter and controlled. However, you probably would be most interested in the Remo CS heads. These old fashioned clear heads with black dots have been quite popular snare heads for decades now and give you a great pop with a focused center but open edges for powerful rimshots. They would look great too. I hope these ideas were some help in narrowing down the sound you are looking for. Again warm and focused (coated or thick heads) open and zingy (Remo CS or clear G1/Ambassdor)

[shrink]

I was also going to suggest the remo CS. I love that clear + black dot thing on clear drums.

The octobans i just picked up for £5 locally, had remo CS heads on them, and it looks superb with the transparent shells. ALso sounds as you describe, nice lively outer edges but heavier and fatter sounding when you hit it in the middle.

[MikeM]

I've never heard of anyone looking to acrylic drums for the sound they make, not that they're bad necessarily, but their primary appeal is the visual they provide. Putting a coated head on one (if you're not using brushes) would seem to work against the whole purpose of going acrylic.

I personally like coated heads better, but then again, my drums aren't made out of plastic either.