Heads for Saturn Toms?

kettles

Gold Member
I've got a (recent) Mapex Saturn, maple+walnut with 13x10, 16x16 and 18x16 toms. I'm playing in a loud band where punch and projection are more important than sustain, so I'm looking for heads that are a bit more focused than the Emperor over Ambassador config they came with. I'd also like to have a good interval between the 13 & 16 toms, And I guess as much distance as possible between the 16 &18. And if I could get them close to my snare and 24" kick in terms of volume, that would be awesome.

I've heard good results from Pinstripes, but don't really have experience with other heads. I'm not worried if I have to use a different head on each drum, either. Ideas?
 
Back in the day, I used to use, by accidental experiment, Evans G2 Clears on my DW Collectors (G1 Clears on bottom) toms (10 and 12), but kept a Remo Coated Ambassador for the batter head of my 15" floor tom. The Remo head is thinner, and it gave my floor tom a lot more rumble.

The G2 Clears usually work well for punch. Some like the Aquarian Studio-X, too.
 
Yes the Emperor and G2 are essentially the same thing, two-ply of 7 mil.

If you're looking for more punch and projection Pinstripes are going in the opposite direction; those are going to be even more mellow and controlled-sounding than the G2/Emperor.

I'd suggest a dotted one-ply head like a Remo Control Sound or Evans Power Dot head. You'll get more attack, with some control, but also should get better sustain as well.

If you want to project and have a balanced volume with the rest of the kit you don't want to cut sustain, it's that sustain that is helping your toms project through the louder band sound.
 
Coated Pinstripes sound really good on the Saturn drums.
Coated PS3 also. I'd use a regular head for the front, and not a PS3 type.
PS3 type on both sides gave the bass drum a weird "tong" sound (used that same kit twice on a back line situation) that was a pain to tune out.
 
Yes the Emperor and G2 are essentially the same thing, two-ply of 7 mil.

If you're looking for more punch and projection Pinstripes are going in the opposite direction; those are going to be even more mellow and controlled-sounding than the G2/Emperor.

I'd suggest a dotted one-ply head like a Remo Control Sound or Evans Power Dot head. You'll get more attack, with some control, but also should get better sustain as well.

If you want to project and have a balanced volume with the rest of the kit you don't want to cut sustain, it's that sustain that is helping your toms project through the louder band sound.

Cool, thanks that's a different way of looking at it. I've usually just gone with 2-ply heads because that's the "done thing" for heavier music. I guess I'll go for a single ply with dot and then tune the drums to shorten the sustain. Is there any major difference between the Remo and Evans?

Actually just earlier, I pulled the Emperor of the 13" tom and gave it a whack with a stick, then did the same with a well used Aquarian Response 2. the Remo gave a thin clicky sound with no low end. The Aquarian however gave a nice thoaty THWACK. Not sure where I was going with this.....:)
 
I highly suggest Remo Vintage Emperors. They are two 7.5 mil plys so, overall, they are 1 mil thicker than regular Emperors. They sound a bit more focused, have more punch and are more durable as well.

Before using them I was a regular Emperor guy for life, I thought. After trying a Vintage Emperor on my snare, I was hooked and put them on the entire kit. By the way, I have 14, 16, & 18 inch toms, so I know Vintage Emperors work well for larger drums.

I would not suggest the single ply with a dot unless you are extremely precise in your strokes. The area of the head without the dot will dent very easily when struck.

Hope this helps.
 
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