Resos: Do They Really Need To Be Changed?

joeybeats

Silver Member
Maybe I'm just getting a little cranky here as I cleaned shells, hardware and changed out heads on my kit this weekend. Perhaps I'm just having a bad day in my old age. (Or maybe just disappointed and unsatisfied that Tom Watson let The Open get away.) In any case, will one of you more knowledgeable board members tell me why we do it.

I mean really, no damage, never been struck by a stick, using clear Ambassadors ... they are close to bullet proof. If we were talking snare side, I might understand, but the bottom of my toms? And not looking for a brand or sound change? It just seems like this is all an unnecessary contribution to the drum head manufacturers retirement fund. So, again ...

Why exactly do we change the reso side of things?! Joey
 
When you hit the batter head the moving air moves the reso. It is a slow process but they do stretch and become loose over time. After too much of this they are impossible to tune because they are stretched. I read somewhere that they should be changed every fifth time the batters are changed. this of course will vary.
 
I check the tune on my resos from time to time, I see no need to replace them unless they are damaged. You're a better man than me, I never remove a head from my drums just to clean them! LOL!
 
It's like my batter heads. Sure, it's been 6 months and there are no dimples and the coating hasn't worn off. They sound fine to me...until I put NEW batters on!

I'd say change 'em if you're not getting the sound you like out of the drums, or if they become too hard to tune. Other than that, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

In a related story, I just played a 60s Slingerland kit last week with the original resos, and they didn't sound bad to me at all...
 
When you hit the batter head the moving air moves the reso. It is a slow process but they do stretch and become loose over time. After too much of this they are impossible to tune because they are stretched. I read somewhere that they should be changed every fifth time the batters are changed. this of course will vary.

You are right but i think its a slight variation of what you said. I think that when the air hits against the resonant head, it slowly loosens, causing the need to constantly re-tighten the head, thus stretching it and wearing it out.

Or you may be right. Or its some combination.
 
Like Grundersdad said they do stretch out over time. Have someone else play your kick drum and go out front and put your hand on the reso head as he's using the kick drum. You will notice that your hand is getting swatted off of the drum.
 
Yes, they do stretch out over time.

How much time is the question?

I admit, it's not something I do all that much. As long as they tune up, I'd think they last many, many years.

Now, if you're touring a lot, then maybe they would need to be changed more often. Extreme temperature differences over time can make the heads somewhat brittle.
 
I also depends on what heads you use too.

First off, how often do you change your heads. If I changed my heads once a year I'd go ahead and just do it...

Try this experiment. Go out and buy a reso for one of your rack toms. The first of every month change it out and see if there is a difference in the sound. Do this every month until you hear a difference.

You have your answer. When you hear it go out and buy them for the rest of your kit too.

Personally I like to experiment as much as I can. It is very interesting to put different combinations on to see what sounds you can get.

I once had a sit of 1979 Rogers (memriloc) with XP8 Shells. I was using, what we called back then, (remo) hydraulic heads, and clear remo on the bottoms. Just for kicks I put black dots on the batter and used the hydraulic heads as reso.. (I had all my drums miced in the band I was in at the time.) I couldn't believe it. I got this nice crack with a full "Waavooomf" aftertaste. I loved it...

My take is change your heads as often as you can. If you play with different people and different styles of music you may even want to have a few sets that you swap out according to what you are playing at the time.

I know the bigger the set the more it cost, but do what you can. If this is the case for you don't feel you need to change your floor tom(s) every time (if you find yourself changing heads fairly regularly). Most of us leave them loose enough that they don't stretch out as fast as the other drums, and often we don't hit it quite as hard either. (individual styles, of course, vary with this theory.)

All of this is My Opinion based on my style of playing and experience. Take from it what you will.
 
I like to change my reso heads as soon as they become dull. I think it is amazing just how alive a drum becomes when these heads are changed. I like to keep my drums in good order. When working alot I change batters once a month. Reso's about every 2 months.
 
I was using, what we called back then, (remo) hydraulic heads, and clear remo on the bottoms. Just for kicks I put black dots on the batter and used the hydraulic heads as reso.. (I had all my drums miced in the band I was in at the time.) I couldn't believe it. I got this nice crack with a full "Waavooomf" aftertaste. I loved it...

Hey Chip, Remo never made Hydraulic drumheads, that was Evans. If you're SURE it was a Remo head, the effect you thought was oil was actually a phenomena called "newton rings", an interference pattern caused by the reflection of light between the two plies of plastic.

If you're SURE the heads were hydraulic, they had to have been Evans.

I remember having the Evans heads on my drums for a short period of time as I worked through the "culture shock" of changing from concert toms (single headed) to classic toms (double headed). The resulting added resonance with two heads was almost overwhelming at first, but as my ears became accustom to the sound I eventually changed to much more lively heads.

.
.
 
Twice a year batter changes, once a year reso changes, is reasonable enough. (for me) I could probably change resos once every 2 years, I'm sure they would still sound good.
 
Well of course it depends on:

The Brand
1 or 2 Ply
How hard you hit, yes even the resos.
How they are maintained
How they are stored
Any other variable you wish to put here. My point was that over time the resos will need to be changed. That's why they sell them.
 
It's like my batter heads. Sure, it's been 6 months and there are no dimples and the coating hasn't worn off. They sound fine to me...until I put NEW batters on!

Exactly.

My first kit I bought used. Some of the original heads were on the kit. I was getting more and more dissatisfied with my sound and thought about buying a new kit. I bought new resos instead and it SOUNDED like a new kit. Night and day.
 
I think that changing the Resos has a much bigger effect than most people would think. I change resos everytime I change batter heads which is about every two months. The difference really is huge - I've done all the testing: Only changing batters, Only changing resos and changing both.

I ususally tune my resos pretty high though, so there is a lot of tension meaning they wear out quicker than if I'd tune them lower.

To add durability to any drumhead, just make sure that the tension at every tensioning screw is exactly the same. That way the heads will last much longer, meaning you will save some bucks :)

Unless you are a freak like me and tune your drums on a daily basis.....

It's strange though: At the music school where I am teaching, there is a Basix set with really old heads (about 3 years) and it sounds good (I used it in the vids in my sig if you want to check).. It becomes much harder to tune though - but as long as the sound is allright I guess it doesn't really matter.
 
honestly, i have heard both arguments. i myself have never seen the real need to change the reso heads. everyone i play for/in front of loves how my kits sounds. i play a yamaha beech custom. i only change batter heads. but i really dont change my batter heads very often either. the heads i have on my kit right now are about 6 months old and still sound great. my uncle plays a gretsch kit from the early 80's and he still has the original resos on it. still sounds great.
 
If your resos tune and they ring when you tap on them I see no need to change them. I use Diplomats for resos and they last forever.
 
Hey Chip, Remo never made Hydraulic drumheads, that was Evans. .

Wow you are right... ! that was 20 years ago... @:)

You know the first two things to go...

1) Your Memory.
2) ....Man, I can't remember number 2..?!?!

Those Hydraulic heads saved me a couple of times. If you notice my avatar pic.. (I dug this one out of moth balls. Taken in like 1982) My sticks are on fire. One night my snare head caught on fire and I got it out before it burned through both layers... needless to say, I did go through a lot of drum heads..! @:) those were the days...
 
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