Emad 2 questions

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kekoa68

Member
Let me first start off by apologizing for the long post. I'm fairly new to drumming ( about a year with my own kit). I recently replaced my Evans EQ4 kick head with a EMAD 2. I am using DW 9000 double pedals with Tama wood beaters with a Salaam flam patch. I'm having difficulty achieving the same speed and precision with the new head. I have tried various different tunings on the batter and it seems like I have to work twice as hard with the EMAD head. Has anyone else experienced this or am I missing something on my tuning? Is my problem due to the fact I changed from a single ply head to a double? This is my first post so apologies if I didn't place it in the right category.
 
I had the same problem, but with a snare head. I switched out a coated Ambassador for a Coated Emperor X, and boyyyyyy what a difference lol. I have the Emperor X cranked so high up and I'm still not getting the same good feel as I did from the Ambassador.

But yea, just try tuning the head a little tighter and see how it feels.
 
Wow, quick reply. I have tensioned up quite a bit. Unfortunately my room acoustics, and possibly the fact that I still have the stock Remo/Ludwig reso on, make the kick sound high pitched and boomy. I guess I should probably swap out the reso and go from there. BTW, this forum rules. I can't tell you all how much I have learned in the year I have been lurking around in hear. Thank you all!
 
The Emad 2 is a double ply head and is quite deader sounding than the 1-ply EMAD. I can understand your frustration. I switch to the EMAD 2 from the original EMAD and it has much less response, I don't think you will ever get that 2-ply to feel like the EQ4 since it is a 1 ply head as well.
 
Thanks for the responses. I tried this head with a toll rolled up inside and against the batter head with little to know effect. I also shoved the pillow I had in with the EQ4 and it pretty much killed the volume. I'll play with my pedal adjustments a bit and see if that helps or maybe I'll try an Evans EQ pad. Or......off to try an Aquarian or Remo. THX all.
 
I've tried the Emad 1 and 2 heads and always went back to my Evans EQ4s. When I bought my Gretsch Renowns the bass came stock with an Emad 1 batter, which I let on the drum for a few days trying it with and without the rings and really trying to like the sound of the head, but went to the EQ4. I don't use any dampening in my bass drums and rarely ever use a ported resonant head. It all has to do with the way you tune the drum and the way You want your drums to sound. Everybody has their preferences.

I don't know if this will help you, but when I'm trying different bass heads, I try to tension the resonant head just above wrinkle stage to start. Then I adjust the batter head to get the right feel and punch from the drum. From here I just play with the tuning of the resonant head for the tone that I'm looking for. Tune evenly and keep the heads in tune with themselves as much as possible.

Good luck.
Dennis
 
Bottom line is, you choose the head/tuning for the sound you want, then you learn to play it. Keep at it, you were very used to your old setup, you'll get used to the new one, too.
 
Thanks Audiotech. I'll give that a try. I have been tuning the reso to pitch ( per the Bob Gatzen technique ) then tuning the batter. Makes far more sense to achieve the tone I want from the head that doesn't need to "feel right". Drummertechdad also has a valid point. I tend to be overly critical of my equipment and want to move on if something is not perfect. I will give it more time. That being said, I like the days when after I was finished playing it didn't feel like someone lit my shins on fire.
 
I forgot to mention that, and this could be a stupid question, but the kick sound is noticeably different standing in front of the kick versus playing. I know this is normal to a degree. When playing mine sounds like there's a 12" sub inside of it. From in front it is far more dead sounding. Almost sort of "flappy". I've tried various tunings on the reso and can somewhat even it out. I'm just not achieving the nice "thud" sound I'm looking for. A pillow inside got me close but I lost just about all the volume. The reso is a stock Ludwig made by Remo. It's labeled as UK drum head. Thoughts on whether this is a tuning issue or a cruddy reso head. BTW, the reso appears to have a muffling ring on the inside and I have know idea how old it is since I bought the kit used.
 
kekoa68 said:
I forgot to mention that, and this could be a stupid question, but the kick sound is noticeably different standing in front of the kick versus playing.
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I have news for you: all your drums sound different from a distance. If you ever have the kit in a venue-sized room, it's a worthy experiment to have someone else play the kit while you listen from 30' away. You'll notice that most of the snare drum ring is gone, tom ring too.

The reso is a stock Ludwig made by Remo. It's labeled as UK drum head. Thoughts on whether this is a tuning issue or a cruddy reso head. BTW, the reso appears to have a muffling ring on the inside and I have know idea how old it is since I bought the kit used.
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It could be a real (American-made) Remo PS3 or the version they have made in China as OEM heads. The PS3 is a great head, the Chinese version is okay but not as good. Neither is "cruddy." But they may or may not be what you want or need in a reso head.

I know this is normal to a degree. When playing mine sounds like there's a 12" sub inside of it. From in front it is far more dead sounding. Almost sort of "flappy". I've tried various tunings on the reso and can somewhat even it out. I'm just not achieving the nice "thud" sound I'm looking for. A pillow inside got me close but I lost just about all the volume.
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Muffling makes drums softer. That's why they call it muffling.

If you play out miked you can do pretty much anything you want, since your bass drum sound is mostly science fiction dreamed up by the sound guy. But if you play out unmiked, I would stick with the stock reso (or upgrade to a PS3) and ditch the EMAD2, which is a pretty dead-sounding head. Use another PS3 (or Evans EQ4) instead. Tune the reso up a little bit above JAW, up to where it begins to have some bottom end and sustain. Then tune the batter a smidge higher. You will hear the sustain at the kit, but the audience won't--they'll just hear a louder drum.

Bear in mind also that bass drums in particular are very sensitive to their placement in the room, especially smallish practice rooms. Their frequency (ca. 80Hz) is smack dab in the range of the room modes, so moving the drum a few inches here or there can make a surprisingly large difference.
 
I don't know how fast your playing the kick but if your doing fast stuff than your shins normally feel like they're on fire.
 
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