Snare batter and resonant head suggestions?

rpt50

Member
My son has a Tama Rockstar (Taiwan vintage) steel snare laying around that never gets used. I would like to fix it up to give him a good contrasting sound to the Mapex wood snare he usually uses. What would be a good choice for a batter and resonant heads? Please be specific. I think you drummers have even more variations in drum heads than us guitar players have in strings!
 
Re: snare batter and resonant head suggestions???

My son has a Tama Rockstar (Taiwan vintage) steel snare laying around that never gets used. I would like to fix it up to give him a good contrasting sound to the Mapex wood snare he usually uses. What would be a good choice for a batter and resonant heads? Please be specific. I think you drummers have even more variations in drum heads than us guitar players have in strings!

I'll tell you what I ALWAYS use, and it never lets me down.

Remo Hazy Ambassador snare side, and Remo Coated Ambassador batter side. They're both thin heads, but they give a great open sound, with a great crack. It's a steel snare, so you'll probably get more ring out of it than the Mapex, but don't be afraid of that. If you tune it up well, that ring can work to your advantage. It really helps the snare cut through in a live playing situation, as well. If the ring ends up being too much, you can look into two ply batter heads like Emperors, or dampened heads like Pinstripes and Evans' EC2s. I would ALWAYS go coated for snare batter heads, though.

Might I also add that you may want to look into upgrading the snare wires, as well. It can make a HUGE difference. Right now, I am using Puresound Customs, and they sound GREAT.
 
Re: snare batter and resonant head suggestions???

I'll tell you what I ALWAYS use, and it never lets me down.

Remo Hazy Ambassador snare side, and Remo Coated Ambassador batter side. They're both thin heads, but they give a great open sound, with a great crack. It's a steel snare, so you'll probably get more ring out of it than the Mapex, but don't be afraid of that. If you tune it up well, that ring can work to your advantage. It really helps the snare cut through in a live playing situation, as well. If the ring ends up being too much, you can look into two ply batter heads like Emperors, or dampened heads like Pinstripes and Evans' EC2s. I would ALWAYS go coated for snare batter heads, though.

Might I also add that you may want to look into upgrading the snare wires, as well. It can make a HUGE difference. Right now, I am using Puresound Customs, and they sound GREAT.

I agree with that you said, but I would go with a Remo X14. It's single ply like the ambassador, but it is a thick as an emperor. It cuts a tad bit of ring, but still gives a nice open sound, it's more durable, and it is one of the loudest snare heads on the market.

I would also go with an ambassador hazy for the bottom, with puresound blasters.
 
For a metal snare I would suggest Remo coated Emperor top and Remo ambassador (hazy) snare side. I love this combination on any metal snare. The emperor just takes a little of the ring off but still leaves lots of lovely resonance.
 
The general rule for a good starting place is a 10 mil coated batter head (like the Remo coated Ambassador) and a 3mil hazy or clear snare side ( Remo hazy 300). evans aquarian, and Remoall make these sstandards. As you play, you discover what suits you best. You can adjust the tone a bit with tone controls like moon gel.
 
The steel shell will definitely provide a nice inherent contrast to the wood shell. A head like the Evans Genera Dry would be a good option, since it us a thin overtone control ring and vents to allow air to escape, thus controlling some of the potentially annoying resonance of a metal shell. As far as a snare side head (reso), you can't go wrong with the Snare Side Hazy 300.

Cheers!
 
I use an Aquarian Hi Velocity batter over an Aquarian Hi Performance snare side on my Tama Rockstar snare. I don't normally use 2-ply heads on metal snares but this particular head on this particular drum tames down the ring just enough so that it's still lively but under control and gives the tone a little more meat.

I've also used an Aquarian Modern Vintage medium and an Evans ST on this drum and liked them both as well. The Rockstar snare is no frills but it's a solid all-around drum, and it responds to a lot of different heads and tunings pretty well.
 
Well, I took my son to Guitar Center with the intention of buying heads suggested here, and they had a really nice sounding Yamaha steel (14 x 6.5) snare for peanuts. Ended up buying that instead of new heads. It really cuts and provides a nice contrast to his Black Panther. It also offered the opportunity to discuss the merits of putting some of the money he is making gigging back into his equipment.
 
I use an Evans Genera Dry on the batter side and a Snare Side 300 Hazy on the reso for my 13x4 steel snare. Sounds amazing to say the least.
 
I use an Aquarian Hi Velocity batter over an Aquarian Hi Performance snare side

I use the same combo on all my snares. For recording, practice, in small rooms and a home I also use an Aquarian studio ring.

Evans, Remo and Aquarian all make good heads. Brand is really a personal preference. I prefer the construction of the Aquarian heads and the unique types they have. For the actual type that a drummer will want to use will depend on what is being played and the sound they are after. Here is a good reference guide: http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison
 
A great combination that I've found on metal snares is Aquarian Hi Energy batter with a Hi Performance on the snare. The Hi Energy is a coated head with some dampening but it's still responsive as all get out. The Hi Performance has become my favorite snae side head after years of using Ambassadors. Steel is the liveliest of the metal snares so they take a little more care8^).
 
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