Best type of drum head for rubber-like rebound

skm372

Junior Member
Hi,

New to the forums and I have a question about drum heads.

So I've been drumming for about 4 years, but the last 2 years I've been living in one bedroom apts and thus I got a cheap electronic kit to practice on since an acoustic kit wouldn't be viable on a daily basis. I'll be moving in a month to a place where I can have a real kit again, and want to make the transition back to the acoustic set as seemless as possible. I've been working on a lot of straight technique this year, and I'm afraid of losing speed on the toms playing rudiment patterns when I switch over. Basically what I would like to find ideally are drum heads that I can tune up pretty tight to get a lot of rebound out of the sticks like rubber drum pads, but without sacrificing too much in the way of the bombastic tom tone I'm looking for. I already know that rubber pads are an unrealistic analog to real drums; I'm looking to get as close as possible, and that its never going to be totally the same. I am also well aware that rebound is achieved from technique, and surface rebound is not required to play doubles or anything else. I practice on pillows all the time, and my technique is pretty solid, but surface rebound, while not necessary, is still desirable for obvious reasons.
So my question is, does anyone know if any of the standard types of drum heads (single ply, 2-ply, hydraulic, coated etc) are particularly suited for this. My first guess would be 2-plys, based on the fact that the drumdial website recommends higher pressures for them than other heads, but thats just an untested hypothesis. If anybody has any insight into this, or other tips for transitioning from electronic pad back to real drums, it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
 
You've asked for a complete contradiction in terms. You want to tune your tom heads tight, but without losing any of that "bombastic tom tone"? Not going to happen with ANY head by ANY manufacturer.

A head rises in pitch as it's tuned tighter, so you either have heads tuned tight (and sounding like timbales) or heads tuned loose, maybe just a turn past wrinkling (which is where most toms have their "sweet spot") and sounding full, rich, and throaty.

You are not going to get the same response you had on rubber drum pads on your toms. The good news is, you play your toms maybe 5% of the time, so what's to worry about? Tune your snare tight and you'll be fine.
 
I don't think you'll have that big of an issue switching back to acoustic drums. I would just choose a decent set, tune it up to sound good, and just play them until they feel as natural as your electronic drums do now.

The acoustic kit is never really going to sound or feel the same as electronic drums, but trying to make the acoustic drums feel like electronic drums isn't a solution, it's just going to cause even more problems.
 
+1 for the points raised below.

And also, since your technique is spot on, successful and consistent rudiments on pillows can be difficult, you should in theory have no trouble going straight to the kit. It definitely won't feel the same, that's guaranteed, but with proper technique it won't need to feel the same.

But if it does cause problems initially, the best thing to do would be to just keep playing them. Just as you have got used to the electronic pads, you'll get used to playing acoustic heads.
xoxo
 
Start practicing your singles on a pillow.
 
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