The perfect snare side drum head

J

JLoveDrums94

Senior Member
Ok, I've heard that Remo Ambassadors or the Evans G1 drumheads make perfect resonant side drumheads for toms but which would you say is the perfect resonant side (snare side) drumhead for a snare drum?
 
People say the Hazy 300/Remo Ambassador/Aquarian equivalent is the perfect one. Not too thick, not too thin, just the right amount of sensitivity.
Personally I like the ambassador, I'm thinking of try out a diplomat just to see how they sound...
 
I really like the Aquarian Hi Performance and the Ludwig snare side. Clean, bright, and open, with great sensitivity.

I've used Evans 200 and 300 and Remo Ambassador snare side and I like them just fine. I just prefer the sound of clear film on the snare side, as opposed to hazy film.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I just prefer the sound of clear film on the snare side, as opposed to hazy film.
Click to expand...
Really? You can hear a difference? I've always wondered why hazy gets advertized. I haven't been terribly picky about snare sides over the years. I just default to an Ambassador. However, I did not like the stock Ludwig that came with my LM402. It was sensitive but made the drum feel dry and choked. I couldn't get an open sound so I put an Ambassador on there (batter too) and it's been a treat ever since.
 
MikeM said:
Really? You can hear a difference? I've always wondered why hazy gets advertized. I haven't been terribly picky about snare sides over the years. I just default to an Ambassador. However, I did not like the stock Ludwig that came with my LM402. It was sensitive but made the drum feel dry and choked. I couldn't get an open sound so I put an Ambassador on there (batter too) and it's been a treat ever since.
Click to expand...

It's subtle, but I hear a little more brightness in the tone with clear film. Hazy and especially opaque snare side heads seem to have more "snap" in the snare response that sounds a little harsh at times to my ears.
 
I can hear a real difference between the hazy Amb and the Clear heads.
I use a No-Collar Amb (SA-0314-TD), which is a clear film.

It's a similar construction to the Ludwig head, but it's a beefier tone than what a Ludwig has. Not as dry either.
Very durable.

I like the hazy head sound, it's fine, but the clear No-Collar has better sensitivity, and I really like the sound I get on all my snares with it.
Been using this head for years now.

http://remo.com/portal/products/3/9/84/308/ss_clear.html
 
I've always gone with an Ambassador snare. Never bothered to experiment.
 
KarlCrafton said:
I use a No-Collar Amb (SA-0314-TD), which is a clear film.
Click to expand...
Hey, that's cool! I've never heard of those before. I might need to try them. I got S-Hoops top and bottom for both my snares but the bottom doesn't work that great with standard snare side heads with collars because as it pulls down tight, the inside lip of the S-Hoop starts to mash into the head - not good! But I think these collar-less jobs might be just the thing!

I know it's dumb, but I've never been thrilled with the hazy look that clear Ambassadors have - especially for a kick reso (I like clear reso on the kick a la Simon Phillips).
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I really like the Aquarian Hi Performance and the Ludwig snare side. Clean, bright, and open, with great sensitivity.
Click to expand...

Really? I found the Ludwig snare side head to be the worst head I've ever tried. To each their own :)

I favour the old faithful; the Remo Ambassador Hazy.
 
MikeM said:
Hey, that's cool! I've never heard of those before. I might need to try them. I got S-Hoops top and bottom for both my snares but the bottom doesn't work that great with standard snare side heads with collars because as it pulls down tight, the inside lip of the S-Hoop starts to mash into the head - not good! But I think these collar-less jobs might be just the thing!

I know it's dumb, but I've never been thrilled with the hazy look that clear Ambassadors have - especially for a kick reso (I like clear reso on the kick a la Simon Phillips).
Click to expand...


I started using that head about 5-6 years ago (at least). One of my guys at the shop hipped me to them. It's a really nice one, and it's real durable too, even though it's only a 3 mil head.

Simon used a Clear Ambassador batters when my band played with Toto. he had painted front heads, but he uses a Clear Amb reso a lot too.
These look pretty clear. If you can zoom in, you can see it's an Ambassador.

skitsnbd.jpg


I always liked the look of a clear front, but, I could never do it myself though for some reason.
Maybe someday.
 
I dont know if there such a thing as a perfect one and they are going to sound different depending on the batter head being used as well but personally I like the aquarian classic clear snare side reso with the coated studio x batter which has a nice wet sound and allows me to add a studio ring when a dry sound is needed.
 
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