Advice needed for controlled sounding drumheads ?

aaronalwines

Junior Member
My first post here :) Anyway im a newbie to drum heads cause i live in a country where drums isnt big at all, as a matter of fact its extremely difficult to get a proper selection of heads at all and u cant try them on. That country is brunei. Im currently studying in the UK so I have a golden chance to get good gear here and bring it back during the holidays, unfortunately im at loughborough where there are completely no drum shops. So im planning on buying these online

I play pop,rock,metal and I want a controlled clean sound without much resonance, overtones or ringing, i guess im looking for more control and attack but obviously not to the point of being extreme. Any recommodations for snare, toms and bass heads ? I own a pearl vision (which i paid an insane amount for even though its not a pro kit) back home, its 14, 10, 12 and 16 with 22kick

I understand that twin ply heads give that attack and controlled sound, but im unsure what to put as a resonant head for all of my drums if i choose to put twin plys on top (snare,toms)

my current rough idea from reading reviews and magazines are

coated emperor top, hazy emperor bottom on snare
emperor on toms (coated or clear no idea) and resonant head for toms no idea as well
bass drum (just want a batter head not sure what either im reading superkick has that punchy sound, dont want boomy sound)

any advice would be gladly taken :D
 
I use coated Emperors on top with clear Ambassadors on the bottom of my toms. If you need more muffling or control then go with Powerstroke 3 or Pinstripe on top.

For your bass drum - Powerstroke 3 or 4 or Pinstripe. Aquarian Superkick is also a great pre-muffled head.
 
thanks mate, do u always go one lower (ply) on the resonant ? i understand the emperors are twin and ambassadors are single ply. stupid question but what happens if ya put both of the same heads for bottom and top for toms ? say clear emps. if u have advice on the diff between coated and clear that wud help as well
 
Emperors will still have some resonance to them and overtones. I'd say go with either Pinstripes, or better yet, Evans EC2 SST. They will give you that low end controlled sound you're looking for.
 
I just put Aquarian Studio-X coated heads on one of my kits a few weeks ago. It is my first time using these heads. I hove tried many types of control heads over the years. I'm really liking these X's. I think that you may want to invest in one and sample it on your kit.
On my snares, I use coated PS 3's. On my bass drums I use SK II's and SK I's.
One of my kits is outfitted with clear Remo Emp's over Amb's. This set up offers some ring control but not a lot.
 
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do u always go one lower (ply) on the resonant ? i understand the emperors are twin and ambassadors are single ply. stupid question but what happens if ya put both of the same heads for bottom and top for toms ? say clear emps. if u have advice on the diff between coated and clear that wud help as well

Generally it's preferable to use a thinner ply head for the bottom to promote resonance. Hence, why it's referred to as the resonant or reso head. They don't always have to be thinner than the batter head. Many guys use ambassadors as a batter and reso combination for example. But it's more common to at least be a thin ply like an amb or diplomat.

You could use emps on both sides (you can do whatever pleases your ear), but I think it would be too much overkill personally. You'll get a better tone out of the drum by sticking to the thinner heads on the underside.
 
I just put Aquarian Studio-X coated heads on one of my kits a few weeks ago. It is my first time using these heads. I hove tried many types of control heads over the years. I'm really liking these X's. I think that you may want to invest in one and sample it on your kit.

At the music store where I used to teach, one of the "house kits" was an old Yamaha Power-V from the 80's. The toms had clear Studio X heads on the batter sides and single-ply clear heads on the resonant sides. Even though the batter heads had obviously seen some wear and tear, they still sounded really good. I was pleasantly surprised!
 
I use coated Emperors on top with clear Ambassadors on the bottom of my toms. If you need more muffling or control then go with Powerstroke 3 or Pinstripe on top.

For your bass drum - Powerstroke 3 or 4 or Pinstripe. Aquarian Superkick is also a great pre-muffled head.

I agree on most of this except for the Aquarian; they don't sound all that good to me and they tend to feel like stepping in gum.


Mike

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My first post here :) Anyway im a newbie to drum heads cause i live in a country where drums isnt big at all, as a matter of fact its extremely difficult to get a proper selection of heads at all and u cant try them on. That country is brunei. Im currently studying in the UK so I have a golden chance to get good gear here and bring it back during the holidays, unfortunately im at loughborough where there are completely no drum shops. So im planning on buying these online

I play pop,rock,metal and I want a controlled clean sound without much resonance, overtones or ringing, i guess im looking for more control and attack but obviously not to the point of being extreme. Any recommodations for snare, toms and bass heads ? I own a pearl vision (which i paid an insane amount for even though its not a pro kit) back home, its 14, 10, 12 and 16 with 22kick

I understand that twin ply heads give that attack and controlled sound, but im unsure what to put as a resonant head for all of my drums if i choose to put twin plys on top (snare,toms)

my current rough idea from reading reviews and magazines are

coated emperor top, hazy emperor bottom on snare
emperor on toms (coated or clear no idea) and resonant head for toms no idea as well
bass drum (just want a batter head not sure what either im reading superkick has that punchy sound, dont want boomy sound)

any advice would be gladly taken :D
What I'd recommend:

Snare: Genera Dry over Hazy 300
Toms: EC2's over Genera resonants (7 mil, so they're less resonant and thinner sounding)
Kick: EQ3 over EQ3 with AF Patches and EQ Pad

Emperors/G2's are somewhat open heads, so that's not what you're looking for. Another good snare head for a dry sound is the Remo Black X, but the Genera dry is more sensitive.
 
I agree on most of this except for the Aquarian; they don't sound all that good to me and they tend to feel like stepping in gum.

LOL! That's a pretty good description. Aquarians have a rubbery feel to them. I've used two sets of Studio X heads in the past and they are the only heads I've dented.

The sounded good, but durability was a problem. I haven't dented any of the Remo or Evans heads that I've used.
 
LOL! That's a pretty good description. Aquarians have a rubbery feel to them. I've used two sets of Studio X heads in the past and they are the only heads I've dented.

The sounded good, but durability was a problem. I haven't dented any of the Remo or Evans heads that I've used.
Any single ply head that I have ever used will dent if you hit it kind of hard. I have also dented single ply heads, Ambassadors included. I keep this in mind when I am playing single ply's. They will not last as long as double ply's!
I use Emperor's and G2's, etc for hard hitting play. I'm using the Studio-X's on a kit that I use for light music with a Cocktail Band that I play with. They are wonderful for that type of music and Jazz! Great for recording! That is what they were designed for.
 
Any single ply head that I have ever used will dent if you hit it kind of hard. I have also dented single ply heads, Ambassadors included. I keep this in mind when I am playing single ply's. They will not last as long as double ply's!
I use Emperor's and G2's, etc for hard hitting play. I'm using the Studio-X's on a kit that I use for light music with a Cocktail Band that I play with. They are wonderful for that type of music and Jazz! Great for recording! That is what they were designed for.

I've used a few sets of DW stock heads, clear and coated Ambassadors, G Plus, G1s,
EC1s and none of those heads dented.

When I was using the Studio X heads I was playing with Steve Gadd sticks. The other heads stood up to 5A and 5B use without denting.

Maybe they just didn't like me. Both sets of Studio X heads were clear. One set had Power Dots.

The two ply Aquarians held up fine. Performance 2s, Response 2s, and Super 2s.

I'm not hating on Aquarian. The Studio X heads just didn't work for me.
 
My post was just reinforcing your post about thin heads. I know that you weren't down on Aquarian.
It is important that the OP understands that some single ply heads will not stand up like others. Never use single heads for hard play!
 
Any single ply head that I have ever used will dent if you hit it kind of hard. I have also dented single ply heads, Ambassadors included. I keep this in mind when I am playing single ply's. They will not last as long as double ply's!
I use Emperor's and G2's, etc for hard hitting play. I'm using the Studio-X's on a kit that I use for light music with a Cocktail Band that I play with. They are wonderful for that type of music and Jazz! Great for recording! That is what they were designed for.
I dent Ambassadors instantly, but I had trouble denting an EC1. I had it on my snare tuned pretty tight and really laid into it, but it lasted longer than the Power Centers I normally use. They're 14-mil single ply and they had the durability of 2 ply head, if not more. You might want to try them out.
 
I've been meaning to try the EC1's. Thank you Polymetrx for the advice. Do they sound kind of in between an Amb and an Emp?
 
Any single ply head that I have ever used will dent if you hit it kind of hard. I have also dented single ply heads, Ambassadors included. I keep this in mind when I am playing single ply's. They will not last as long as double ply's!
I use Emperor's and G2's, etc for hard hitting play. I'm using the Studio-X's on a kit that I use for light music with a Cocktail Band that I play with. They are wonderful for that type of music and Jazz! Great for recording! That is what they were designed for.

I really don't dent the heads as much as I wear them out. I hit fairly hard and use clear Ambassadors.

Mike

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The Aquarian Super II's are pretty perfect for that. A nice heavy THUMP that doesn't ring out afterwards. High Energy for the snare and a Super Kick II on the bass.

No idea about resonant heads.
 
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