Pinstripes over _______?

GCDrummer

Member
Hey everyone, I'm looking for advice and information on what resonant heads to choose for my drums. I've only replaced skins on my snare drums, so reso's have never been that hard to decide on as all I do with them is crank em up!

So I guess my actual question is, is will my resonant skin choice really affect the tone of my drums? I'm looking for a controlled, deep sound, like Patrick Carney is sporting in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZCSGwKOntY# (skip to 3:50)

I have the exact same drums as he does, so hopefully it wont be hard to achieve something similar!

Thanks ahead of time for the consistently awesome advice :)
 
I have the exact same drums as he does, so hopefully it wont be hard to achieve something similar!

Thanks ahead of time for the consistently awesome advice :)

Look at the rack tom into the video at 0:46, the reso head look like a coated ambassador, he also sticked some gaffer tape...

The drums is mic'up, therefore it also depends on the mics being used and the possible effect applied to the kit by the sound engineer, it's probably been EQ'ed as well, chances are it sounds different than an unmic'ed kit.

Having the same kit and the same head combo certainely help if you want a similar sound, lol, however, tuning, the sticks, the drummer and in this case, the PA system, these factors will all affect the sound one way or another, so it's not guaranteed that you'll achieve the very same sound, your best bet is to experiment with tuning, muffling until you find the sound you're looking for.

Sorry, I can't be more helpful than this :)
 
The vast majority of people use clear Ambassadors, or equivalent, for their resonant tom heads. Those are definitely the standard. Its easy to assume Carney is part of the vast majority. Youtube is blocked at my work, so I can't watch it and verify what he's using.

Other common resonant head options are clear diplomats or coated ambassadors. The thinner your resonant head, the brighter and shorter you note will be. Diplomats give you shorter brighter tones compared to the clear Ambs. Coated Ambs give you a warmer, fuller response.

really you can use anything for a resonant head, but practically speaking, as long as the resonant head isn't thicker, or more muffed, than your batter head, you're good. For example, I won't use Ambs over Pinstripes, Ambs over Emps, Clear amb over Coated Amb, etc. Any of those combonations will choke the sound of your drum. Reverse the config however, and your drums will sing.
 
Looks like coated pinstripes over coated ambassadors plus some moon jell as well. Although sounding decent miked, eq'd and more than likely reverb and or delay added, in a non miked situation will sound more like wet cardboard.
 
Yup, Remo guys tend to use Ambassador's reso, a lot. Clear, smooth, and coated. Almost the "default setting" for Remo users.​
I rather like black dots as reso heads ;)
And indeed, that's a great reso head, too. An Ambassador.....with a dot. Adds just a tad of focus.​
 
Yup, Remo guys tend to use Ambassador's reso, a lot. Clear, smooth, and coated. Almost the "default setting" for Remo users.​
And indeed, that's a great reso head, too. An Ambassador.....with a dot. Adds just a tad of focus.​

Yeah, I wasn't kidding either ;) I currently have a black dot on my front bass drum, with a Evans EQ4 as the batter with nothing inside the drum and it sounds great. I'm debating putting black dots top and bottom on all of my toms too. There's a reason Tony Williams had that sound - I'm convinced it was the dots!
 
I'm debating putting black dots top and bottom on all of my toms too. There's a reason Tony Williams had that sound - I'm convinced it was the dots!
My new (to me) Tama Superstars just showed up today and I'm debating the same thing. I think they'd sound cool on that thick birch and I think that's what they used to ship with back in the '80s, but I can't remember. Decisions, decisions...
 
My new (to me) Tama Superstars just showed up today and I'm debating the same thing. I think they'd sound cool on that thick birch and I think that's what they used to ship with back in the '80s, but I can't remember. Decisions, decisions...

Yep - they did! When I got my Superstars back in '84, they shipped with black dots top and bottom, and a CHROME front logo head. I was stylin' ;)
 
Yep - they did! When I got my Superstars back in '84, they shipped with black dots top and bottom, and a CHROME front logo head. I was stylin' ;)
I had myself convinced I would do dots over dots (because of that distinct Tony Williams sound) but then saw my friend's band play last night and he was using coated G2s over stock Ludwig resos. I thought they sounded great. so now I'm on the fence. Reheading 4 large toms (13,14,16,18) won't be cheap and I may chicken out and play it safe with coated G2s over clear G1s (I have Ambassadors top and bottom on my Keller kit), but that's not very adventurous, is it?
 
I had myself convinced I would do dots over dots (because of that distinct Tony Williams sound) but then saw my friend's band play last night and he was using coated G2s over stock Ludwig resos. I thought they sounded great. so now I'm on the fence. Reheading 4 large toms (13,14,16,18) won't be cheap and I may chicken out and play it safe with coated G2s over clear G1s (I have Ambassadors top and bottom on my Keller kit), but that's not very adventurous, is it?

Be bold. You'd be the only guy in a 100 miles using black dots, ya' know! You would be the talk of the town ;)
 
Be bold. You'd be the only guy in a 100 miles using black dots, ya' know! You would be the talk of the town ;)
You know, it's almost perfect doing black dots on toms this big and old. You're right, I'd probably be the only dinosaur in 100s of miles using them. People would be like, "Whoa! Did this dude just come out of a time warp?"

Something oddly authentic and attractive about that. I'm feeling bold! I'm gonna do it!!

(unless I chicken out...)
 
I'm debating putting black dots top and bottom on all of my toms too. There's a reason Tony Williams had that sound - I'm convinced it was the dots!
That's a great combo, too. Tony's sound, sure, in part, was the heads ..... but those Gretsch tubs he was banging had something to do with it, too! I was just over at a buddy drummers crib, today .... and he had his Gretsch Stop Sign Badge kit out (he has 10 kits). 24, 12, 14, 16 (one rack, two floors). Great sounding drums. That Jasper shell .... no one else was doing that. For a while, Fibes owned Jasper, but that's no more. I can get my Ludwig 6 ply kit to sound "close" to my Gretsch RB kit. I could get my Rogers XP-8 shells to sound "closer". My Yamaha RC's and my RMV's, not even. Whole nuther thang going on, with those.​
But hey, that's why I own seven acoustic kits. They all sound different. I love the variety.​
Something oddly authentic and attractive about that. I'm feeling bold! I'm gonna do it!!
Be bold. Go for it.​
 
Thanks for the info guys! I'm starting to lean towards Pinstripes over Coated Ambassadors to get a really warm thuddy tone. I might post a video of how it sounds when I get them all re-skinned!
 
You know, it's almost perfect doing black dots on toms this big and old. You're right, I'd probably be the only dinosaur in 100s of miles using them. People would be like, "Whoa! Did this dude just come out of a time warp?"

Something oddly authentic and attractive about that. I'm feeling bold! I'm gonna do it!!

(unless I chicken out...)

If you do it, in your honor, I'll put my 22" black dot on the front of my kit as a reso ;)

Anything black or chrome looks good on my black oysters.
 
If you do it, in your honor, I'll put my 22" black dot on the front of my kit as a reso ;)

Anything black or chrome looks good on my black oysters.
Okay, I only half chickened out. I got dots for the batters and Ambs for resos. Does that count?
 
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