Question for Aquarians lovers (experts) :)

stitch

Senior Member
Hi guy, just bought myself a Ludwig Venus, Carl Parlmer signature snare (3,7"X14" beaded brass). I couldn't resist. The guy was asking 220$ (CDN) for it and he let it go for 180$ (CDN). Tried it, loved it, bought it :)

I'm more a Evans guy, but i like to try new things. I got 3 snares now. My Pork Pie Big Black Bob (black brass snare) with Evans Onyx on it. A Tama Straclassic Performer B/B with Remo coated emperor on it.

I've heard good things about Aquarians drum heads and i would like to try them on my new snare. The things is, Aquarian are not distributed anymore in Quebec (don't know if it's the same thing for the rest of Canada), but it's still possible to find some aquarians heads. If it's not possible i'll buy them online.

I know nothing about Aquarian. What would you recommend me for my Ludwig Carl Palmer signature snare?

Thanks guys. Have yourselves a great week-end. Hope my english wasn't to bad...

Ben
 
Well, if you bought that, I'm betting you like a tight & poppy sound. I'd go with an Aquarian "Texture Coated" on top (like a coated ambassador) and a "Hi-Performance" head on bottom. If you want more of a general purpose sound, you could get a Texture Coated with Power Dot or a Coated Super-2.
 
Ditto that. This is a decent reference/comparison to the other companies if that helps- http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison . The Super-2 is an amazing head - Like the Remo Vintage A - a 5 and 7 two ply head. It's a great head if you want the best of both one and two ply heads. The Hi-Performance is not something I've tried - it's the standard Classic Clear Snare Side with some extra film where the wires terminate for durability.
 
I use an Aquarian Hi-Performance beater on my Black Panther Velvetone snare, and it's great. I tune it about medium-high, and it gives me a nice snap with just the right amount of overtone. I pair it with a Remo Ambassador clear reso... It's a winning combo for me!
 
Ditto that. This is a decent reference/comparison to the other companies if that helps- http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison . The Super-2 is an amazing head - Like the Remo Vintage A - a 5 and 7 two ply head. It's a great head if you want the best of both one and two ply heads. The Hi-Performance is not something I've tried - it's the standard Classic Clear Snare Side with some extra film where the wires terminate for durability.

Plus it gives you a little of the crazy articulation you get with a Remo Renaissance Ambassador snare side or Evans Orchestral 300. Those are really great options for dryness & articulation as well (as far as I know, aquarian doesn't make anything like that).

(btw Vintage As are 7.5mil and 3mil. really awesome heads, though. perfect midpoint between my Ambassador and HD Dry.)
 
Texture Coated is probably the best choice for that shallow of a snare.

Another option might be the New Orleans Special head. A clear 10 mil head, just keep in mind that that one is not coated. Really sensitive though.

Plus, it might be harder to find. You really can't go wrong with the regular Texture Coated head though.

I have one on my 13" Pearl Piccolo and it sounds great.
 
Well, if you bought that, I'm betting you like a tight & poppy sound. I'd go with an Aquarian "Texture Coated" on top (like a coated ambassador) and a "Hi-Performance" head on bottom. If you want more of a general purpose sound, you could get a Texture Coated with Power Dot or a Coated Super-2.

I just got a late 90's mapex brass black panther, 14x3.5" and i put a texture coated on it... sounds fantastic. hi-performance snare side with 42" strand. i love it!
 
Salut!

I use Aquarian exclusively and have tried many of their heads now.

I definitely echo sentiments that a standard "Texture Coated" will suit that snare well. I use a Black Beauty and I found that the "Response 2" (equivalent of a coated Emperor) suits that best but it's a 5" deep so a little different. I'm quite heavy hitting on my snare so it tames the ring a tiny bit and has a bit of extra strength.

Aquarians coating lasts forever, the glue on the hoops is faultless and they all tune up extremely easily (and stay tuned!). I really don't know why everyone isn't on them yet as they knock Remo & Evans out of the water as far as I'm concerned!
 
One of my fav Aquarian snare heads is the Focus-X.
Try one for a real cool controlled sound.
I also use the Texture Coated and I really like them.
 
Hey guys,

thank you to all of you for your answers, very appreciated. There seems to be a unanimity over the texture coated. So i think i'm gonna get these and pair it with Hi-performance on the snare side, like abapicaltaenia suggested.

But i might get the Super-2 as well, like jodgey4 mentionned. Cause in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbgAA4JqFY, Carl Palmer suggest to put a vintage emperor on the batter head. So if the super-2 are close to the vintage emperor, i might get this one as well and see wich one i like the most.

So today's gonna be the chase for Aquarians heads (hope i'll find some). If i can't find them i'll get them on line and i'll get back to you guys.

Again thank you for your recommandations, much appreciated.

Have a great day of drumming guys :)

Ben
 
If you want a vintage Emperor sound, the Response-2 might be better for you as that is two 7mil plies as opposed to one 7mil and one 5mil on the Super-2. Let me make a quick reference:

Vintage A: 3mil and 7.5mil (10.5mil total)
Super-2: 5mil and 7mil (12mil total)
Response-2, Evans G2, clear or coated Emperor: 7mil and 7mil (14mil total)
Vintage Emperor/various other types of Emperor: 7.5mil and 7.5mil (15mil total)

Hope this helps.
 
I guess it depends on the sound you are looking for, I have had it on a 5 x 14 Acrolite and was surprised how sensitive it was especially for being a two ply head with reverse dot.
 
Long and mcquade carts aquarian now

Yeah i know i was looking at there website and they have a couple of Aquarians drumheads, Classic Clear, Respond 2 and Texture coated (!!!) Lucky me, two of the heads i'm looking for! So i'll ordered them and i'm gonna look for the Hi-Performance. Thanks for the info.
 
If you want a vintage Emperor sound, the Response-2 might be better for you as that is two 7mil plies as opposed to one 7mil and one 5mil on the Super-2. Let me make a quick reference:

Vintage A: 3mil and 7.5mil (10.5mil total)
Super-2: 5mil and 7mil (12mil total)
Response-2, Evans G2, clear or coated Emperor: 7mil and 7mil (14mil total)
Vintage Emperor/various other types of Emperor: 7.5mil and 7.5mil (15mil total)

Hope this helps.

Extremely helpfull. I'll go for the respond 2. Thanks mate!
 
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Damn it's the Respond 2 they have. And i'm looking for the super-2..... Misread. Well i'll look somewhere else then!!

Ben
 
It's hard to find the Hi-Performance online at smaller places. You can order it from Musician's Friend or Amazon immediately. Any Aquarian dealer should be able to order both that and the Super-2 for you. The product code for the Hi-Performance is

HPSN[and then probably the diameter of the head. so probably HPSN14]

and the coated Super-2 is

TCS2[diameter]

Hope this helps!
 
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