Aquarian's new film for heads

KarlCrafton

Platinum Member
Has anyone gotten the NEW heads from Aquarian that have the NuBrite (however they spell it) film?
Specifically, the single ply Texture Coated?

It's supposed to be a little livelier sounding than the previous film (which came into production around late '99-early '00).

I liked their old film (pre-00) , so I am wondering if it is a return to that type of sound/feel.

Thoughts or opinions?

Thanks!!
 
I haven't gotten a texture coated head, Karl, but I believe the Classic Clear bass drum head I recently purchased was the new film. It was perfectly clear, not milky like their early 2000's clear heads, and was made in Mexico. There were no markings on the head surface itself other than the Aquarian logo.

For a kick drum batter head, I found it too bright and brittle sounding. It had no depth and was rather difficult to tune in my particular situation. It definitely is livelier than the last type of head I bought from them, though. It seemed like the cheaper stock heads that come on a lot of kits these days.

I'd be curious about the sound of the Texture Coated head for snare and/or toms, though. I hope someone can fill us in.
 
The film got quite a positive review in Modern Drummer (or Drum!, one of 'em). I have a relatively recent Texture Coated that I'm not a fan of but it might be right up your alley. No complaints about the Super-2s I purchased earlier this year, but I haven't tried any clear Aquarian heads, so- not sure.
 
I've got super 2's on my rack toms. I like them. I bought them about a month ago, so I guess they are the new film.
 
I put texture coated heads on my DW kit last year. It gave the DW's a very warm, vintage type sound.

I've moved on to the Super 2 over classic clears.
 
I am just about to try my first Super 2 coated head on my Black Beauty. That drum is very sensitive to head coatings. Old used coated heads sound amazing. Brand new coated heads sound much deader. I'm talking coated Emps and Evans G2's. I tried an Aquarian Response 2 on it recently. Out of all the brand new heads I put on my BB, the Aquarian was the most lively right out of the box. But to my ear, any brand new coated head on say the snare....the coating has to be beat down for a few weeks before it starts to come alive and reveal all the overtones. New coated heads sound so dead.

As a sidenote, I ordered a response 2 head along with a Super 2 head at the same time. The Response head was fine, but the Super 2 clearly had a manufacturing defect, the underside ply separated to the point where you could see a tubular arch forming from one side of the head to the other. The arch was big enough that a tampon could have fit under it.

Anyway, I called up Aquarian, and the woman put me right through to Roy, who listened to my description of the problem, and said he'd send me out a new head. Which he did. I asked Roy if I should send the defective head back and he said no, he'll take my word for it. THAT was a breath of fresh air to hear. I told him how he has a wonderful reputation among the drumming community, and that he is a really good man. He told me that it's hard to get good mylar. He said that film for drum heads is a very small percentage of the mylar manufactured, and he made it seem like the drum head manufacturers get the bottom of the barrel as far as mylar quality goes.
 
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