Drum head with short sustain

steevunn

Junior Member
Hi guys,
I'm getting new heads, but don't know wich to choose. Maybe you could help me.
I've got a Ludwig Accent CS with 12", 13", 14" toms and 14" snare.
there are Remo UK Drum Heads on it and I'm getting tired of those stupid muffle rings wich I have on them.

I'm looking for a dry sound but not too dead.

Thanks in advance!

btw I'm from holland so my English can be bad (;
 
The thinner the head, the shorter the sustain. The trade off is durability.

I go for the most sustain I can get. Different strokes.
 
The thinner the head, the shorter the sustain. The trade off is durability.

I go for the most sustain I can get. Different strokes.


This comment confuses me. I thought thicker heads equals less sustain because they are so thick and difficult to put into motion, and the opposite went for single ply, thin heads. Easier to excite and put into motion, therefore, longer sustain. Maybe I have the meaning of sustain mixed up?
 
It's a scientific fact that the more mass, the longer it vibrates. A 10 mil head will have more sustain than a 7.5 mil head. When you get to 2 ply heads, there are other factors that come into play, but all things being equal, a 10 mil1 ply head will sustain longer than a 7.5 mil 1 ply head.

I wouldn't recommend 7.5 mil heads unless you play very lightly or play music that is low in volume. They dent too easily. I put 7.5 mils on my reso side once. I took them off after 1 gig, I like sustain.
 
When I bought my Gretsch Renowns they came equipped with 7.5 mil resonant heads on the toms. That very same day I changed them to Evans G1 clear (10mil) heads which vastly improved their sound.

Dennis
 
Hi guys,
I'm getting new heads, but don't know wich to choose. Maybe you could help me.
I've got a Ludwig Accent CS with 12", 13", 14" toms and 14" snare.
there are Remo UK Drum Heads on it and I'm getting tired of those stupid muffle rings wich I have on them.

I'm looking for a dry sound but not too dead.

Thanks in advance!

btw I'm from holland so my English can be bad (;

Ultimately it's up to you but my recommendations would be:

Snare:
Evans Genera Dry - much more open sounding than a 2 ply but much more focused sound than a traditional single ply . Sounds exactly like what you're looking for.

Toms:
This is harder for me to do as I've played an Accent that sounded terrible until the owner put Evans Hydraulic Blues on it, which don't sound like what you're looking for- they're the absolute deadest sounding heads around. But I'll give you some suggestions and you see what you like for yourself.

Remo Emperor, Evans G2, Aquarian Response II- these are all similar. The Remos have a deeper tone than the Evans, never tried the Aquarians.

Remo Controlled Sound- Not quite as bright as Emperors. John Bonham, Steve Smith, Tony Williams and Elvin Jones (at least in one of the videos on this site) used these as reso heads also.
 
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