Remo Fiberskyn

Back to the brushes issue. I used to use the original Fibreskyns and loved them for jazz playing. The brush sound was nice and subllte and didn't have the "scratchiness" of a new head like an standard Ambassador for example. Also I didn't have to worry about the sound changing as the texture coating wore down.
Fast forward to the newer generation of Fibreskyns and I found that the surface of the head was shredding (sorry I don't know any other word for it) after only one or two gigs. I hadn't changed brand or style of brushes at all and was playing with the same band so nothing else appeared to change. I figured maybe I got ahold of a bad head and went and bought another one with the same results.
Needless to say I stopped using them for my snare that I use for most brushwork. Too bad because I really liked the overall sound and feel of those heads. My solution was to change to the Evans etched head which gives me similar brush characteristics and the durability has been fine. Any of you other guys who play jazz experience this?
 
I use a 22" FA as the resonant head for my bass drum (with a 6" mic port), and it sounds great - it's so heavy an dull sounding it really gives a great low tone and acts la lot like an emad resonant (as in quite dead and muffle sounding). It's great because it doesn't wrinkle so you can tune it really really slack to get a really phat sound, and still get a tone from it because it's so thick an solid. Plus it looks amazing!

Martin
 
Sesh said:
IPlus it looks amazing!

Martin


That's one of the big selling points for me of Fiberskyn. The plastic fibers interlace and criss-cross just like real hide. No one else makes heads with that kind of textured appearance. I think Fiberskyns are the most beautiful heads, even if their sound isn't suitable for lots of applications.
 
Considering that the type of kit determines what heads work best as well, I have included my acoustic kit specs. I have a cheapo kit ( Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage ).

My kit specs are as follows:
24x17 bass drum
13x11 tom
14x14 floor tom
1980 Ludwig Black Beauty snare.

I love to play jazz as well as blues and rock. I love the warmer tones, but do not want to give up any ring. I prefer some attack, but not too much. I don't want muted either. I must have loads of ring ( I can dampen these myself when playing more rock/pop tunes ). For the bass drum, I like looser tuning and want to feel the beef when I load up the soft felt beater. When I put the plastic beater on, I want to hear some phatness.

Please note, I am not a hard hitter - even when playing rock.

I looked at the Fiberskin specs, and - off the cuff - I would have chosen the thinnest model, but being that I do not have a way of checking these out live, I'm asking for your assistance.

Does this look like the job for Fiberskins? If so, which line would you recommend.
 
Considering that the type of kit determines what heads work best as well, I have included my acoustic kit specs. I have a cheapo kit ( Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage ).

My kit specs are as follows:
24x17 bass drum
13x11 tom
14x14 floor tom
1980 Ludwig Black Beauty snare.

I love to play jazz as well as blues and rock. I love the warmer tones, but do not want to give up any ring. I prefer some attack, but not too much. I don't want muted either. I must have loads of ring ( I can dampen these myself when playing more rock/pop tunes ). For the bass drum, I like looser tuning and want to feel the beef when I load up the soft felt beater. When I put the plastic beater on, I want to hear some phatness.

Please note, I am not a hard hitter - even when playing rock.

I looked at the Fiberskin specs, and - off the cuff - I would have chosen the thinnest model, but being that I do not have a way of checking these out live, I'm asking for your assistance.

Does this look like the job for Fiberskins? If so, which line would you recommend.

Fiberskyns would sound great for what you are doing, although it would be a different sound that what people would expect from these genres.

However, if you really want lots of ring, don't get the Fiberskyns. They kill excessive ring, so you don't need to put hideous duct tape on the drums. That's why me and other peopel like them.

But if you actually want lots of ring, go with plain Ambassadors or the equivalent from another manufacturer. Some of it depends on the thickness and depth of your drums. Thin, deep shells will ring more than thick, shallow ones.
 
I have used the old Fiberskyns for many years. I play everything from Metal to jazz. The heads work great in every area. I have always said this is the most over looked head of all time. The are so dark and warm they are almost spooky! The last forever and also are very easy to tune. The only trouble is when playing in bands that my play a harder style of music, the guys always say those heads are for old drummers. Then they hear the thunder of the skyns and bow... I must admit that after using Remo since 1975 I have left my old friends and found a new love with Evans. There heads seem to be the future in this old drummers opinion...
 
Oh boy... I love dark. But, I love ring as well. I agree that taping these heads would be grotesque at best. My bass drum is 24x17. Thats pretty deep. My high tom is 13x11. Thats pretty deep for tom of this size. My floor tom is 14x14. My high tom has some standard issue Remo's that came with the tom and man that baby rings. So, the toms sound like they are setup to produce a nice ring and that the Fibers would probably only enhance it with their inherent warmth.

Because the reviews are all over the board, I would speculate these guys are just going to hit the nail on the head for me.

I'm just going to have to try'em out.

Thanks so much for the input. I will let you know how it goes.
 
Go to the video section of drummersworld here and check out Jeff Hamilton playing brushes on these heads....

These are DEFINITELY great for JAZZ and for BRUSHES....

don't agree here. last year, when thru a complete kit fitment of Fiberskyns on my 20, 12, 14, 14 jazz kit. used the thinner FDs on the snare & toms. PS3 coated batter / FA reso wide-open on the BD (this combo is INSANELY good!). after playing them for 6-7 months, i did NOT like them on the snare, toms...too muted, thuddy & dark for me. i like real ringy, open tones for my jazz kit. i also thought that brush sound and response was horrible / non-intuitive vs. a remo coated head or evans etched J1. went back to coated Dips (great!) & about to do a complete kit re-fit w/ evans etched J1s when they wear out in a few more months.

however, the FA on the BD resonant side is friggin' unbelievably good, the perfect amount of "muffling" & muting paired w/ a coated PS3 & no muffling. seriously the sound i was looking for for years...tunes up just like a big tom-tom but w/ a bit more control.
 
And they aren't very good if you ever use brushes.

Are you kidding me ? These sound great with brushes. Check out YouTube videos of Jeff Hamilton and tell me these don't sound great. I prefer the sound of Aquarians Modern Vintage heads for brush work, but there is nothing wrong with the Fiberskyn heads for use with brushes. The thinner FD head is more responsive than the thicker FA model.
 
Where can I get real skin heads then?

Stern Tanning makes beautiful calfskin heads and you can purchase them direct.

Rob Cook at repeats.com sells calf skin heads from both Stern Tanning and vellum and Parchment in Ireland , who arguably makes the best calf skin heads.
 
Oh, I don't know. I think about a lot of things.
Lately it seems that I'm always pondering over how to do things more efficiently, on a grand scale, like a production/manufacturing thing.
Alternate power sources, stuff like that.
I also used to be a mechanic, so sometimes I'll mentally put together some kind of hot rod. Then figure out shift points and 1/4 mile times.
Fun!
Back when I worked graves, I came up with a character one night - Johnny Risotto (yes, like the Italian dish). His occupation? Head Chef for The Mob.
It just popped into my head, so I went with it!
I came up with a whole family tree, going back to Ellis Island. There were brothers and uncles, some wives even.
Of course, when I'm at the drum boards, like this one, I'm thinkin' about....what else!
It's like I said, I think about a lot of things.
Oh btw, that was a nice little youtube performance you posted.
Very subdued and on an even keel.
"Late night blues". Very fitting title.
Thanks for sharing that. =)




Elvis
 
I use a Fiberskyn Ambassador on my 14x5,5" birch snare. It sounds great, has a great and versatile tuning range, and it seems pretty durable. Sounds great for jazz but I think it's a pretty bad-ass rock head too.
 
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