Drum head terminology

lagouyn

Junior Member
Warning...very newbie questions:

I'm presuming a coated top head on a snare and toms is the batter head, and that the bottom, clear head is the resonant head, correct?

On a bass drum, is the coated head typically not the head struck by the bass pedal...ie, is the clear head the thing the bass pedal makes contact with?

On a bass drum, which head is the batter, and which is the resonant?

An off topic question...on the bass drum, the side facing the audience has two legs that raise that side of the drum. On the other side of the bass drum, are legs ever used to raise that side, or is all of the weight on that side placed on the pedal?
 
On a bass drum, the side facing the drummer and struck by the beater is the batter, the side facing the audience is the "reso".

Legs/spurs should typically raise the front of the bass maybe 1/2 - 3/4" off the floor, as the pedal usually raises the batter side by 1/2" or so. That way, the bass isn't resting directly on the floor, and will sound a little fuller.

Bermuda
 
Well I'm a newbie too so just take my word with a little salt ;D

The batter head on the bass drum is the one where the pedal hits...the other is resonant. Same goes to other drums.

Please correct me if I'm wrong C:
 
Thanks for the replies.

If two bass heads are supplied, and one of them is coated, should the coated one be the resonant head (unlike, say, a tom, where the coated head is the batter head)?
 
Thanks for the replies.

If two bass heads are supplied, and one of them is coated, should the coated one be the resonant head (unlike, say, a tom, where the coated head is the batter head)?

Typically if there is a coated head, it's used as a batter and the other one is resonant. However, many drummers use clear heads of varying thicknesses as batters as well. Coated heads aren't currently very "in vogue" as kick drum batters, but there's no hard and fast rule.
 
On the bass drum, put the coated head on the front (resonant) head. After all, you do not want people peeking into your bass drum. Peace and goodwill.
 
Whether or not a drumhead is coated doesn't determine if it's a batter or resonant head.

Snare resonant (bottom head with snare wires against it) heads are always clear (I think). Snare batter (top head that you hit) heads are usually coated, but can be clear if desired.

Tom batter (top head that you hit) and resonant (bottom head that you don't hit) heads can be clear or coated. This is left up to the preference of the drummer. Typically, tom resonant heads are clear, but some prefer coated for either sound or appearance.

Bass batter (head you hit with bass pedal) heads are usually clear, but can be coated if desired. Bass resonant (head that you don't hit with the bass pedal, sometimes with a hole in them for microphone usage) heads are often solid black or white, not necessarily coated.
 
Whether or not a drumhead is coated doesn't determine if it's a batter or resonant head.

Snare resonant (bottom head with snare wires against it) heads are always clear (I think). Snare batter (top head that you hit) heads are usually coated, but can be clear if desired.

Tom batter (top head that you hit) and resonant (bottom head that you don't hit) heads can be clear or coated. This is left up to the preference of the drummer. Typically, tom resonant heads are clear, but some prefer coated for either sound or appearance.

Bass batter (head you hit with bass pedal) heads are usually clear, but can be coated if desired. Bass resonant (head that you don't hit with the bass pedal, sometimes with a hole in them for microphone usage) heads are often solid black or white, not necessarily coated.

Now, Typo has said everything you'll need to know for a beginer, now you'll just have to tune them.... Good luck :))
 
Whether or not a drumhead is coated doesn't determine if it's a batter or resonant head.

Snare resonant (bottom head with snare wires against it) heads are always clear (I think). Snare batter (top head that you hit) heads are usually coated, but can be clear if desired.

Tom batter (top head that you hit) and resonant (bottom head that you don't hit) heads can be clear or coated. This is left up to the preference of the drummer. Typically, tom resonant heads are clear, but some prefer coated for either sound or appearance.

Bass batter (head you hit with bass pedal) heads are usually clear, but can be coated if desired. Bass resonant (head that you don't hit with the bass pedal, sometimes with a hole in them for microphone usage) heads are often solid black or white, not necessarily coated.

This is pretty much it.
 
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