Removing Plies

Center Tenors

Junior Member
ok, so everyone knows 2 ply heads have a second life when you cut the top ply off and use it as a single ply, well i have an Ebony Pinstripe and the bottom and top plies are seperating because i think its faulty, anyways Is there a way to cut out teh inner ply instead? because its some horrid silvery color and the pinstripe is sealed to the outter ply, any advice?
 
actually they dont have a second life, sorry to say but even as a 2 ply once a skin is done its done. and i wouldnt recommend cutting em apart they have a heafty dose of mineral oil in between the layers it can get messy. now are you just looking to prolong the life of the skins? or are you looking for a different sound? if its the latter why not just buy single ply skins?
 
actually they dont have a second life, sorry to say but even as a 2 ply once a skin is done its done.

I have to agree. Each ply of a Remo Emperor, for example, is 7 mil thick, as opposed to a single-ply head, which is usually 10 mil thick. If you cut out one of the plies you basically have a Diplomat head, which is the lightest weight that Remo (or any other company) makes. Such a head is unsuitable for high-volume music such as rock because it dents too easily.
 
actually they dont have a second life, sorry to say but even as a 2 ply once a skin is done its done. and i wouldnt recommend cutting em apart they have a heafty dose of mineral oil in between the layers it can get messy. now are you just looking to prolong the life of the skins? or are you looking for a different sound? if its the latter why not just buy single ply skins?

The only heads that have oil in between the ply's are Evans Hydraulic heads... This has been discussed in excruciating detail many many times.

The colored rings you see on an Emperor or Pinstripe head are an effect of the light passing though the 2 layers of film when they touch together.

I would not recommend cutting a ply from any 2 ply head as they simply were not designed for such abuse... they just won't sound good.
 
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ok, so everyone knows 2 ply heads have a second life when you cut the top ply off and use it as a single ply, well i have an Ebony Pinstripe and the bottom and top plies are seperating because i think its faulty, anyways Is there a way to cut out teh inner ply instead? because its some horrid silvery color and the pinstripe is sealed to the outter ply, any advice?

Everyone does not know this.

First of all you don't want to use just one of the double plys as a batter head, though they can be used as bottom heads and work especially well on the snare drum.

Clear Diplomats are 7.5 mil
Emprerors and Pinstripes are 7 mil x 2
Snare side Ambassador is 3 mil (considered 'medium' for snare side) Emperor snare side is 5 mil

You always want to peel the top head off, not the bottom ply for the obvious reason- top head wear and not so obvious reason- bottom head is better positioned on hoop, no untrimmed waste left over when bottom ply is cut. Trust me, the bottom ply is what you want, its sounds best, I've tried both.

Take a pin, ice pick, something sharp and pierce the top ply near the center to make a starter hole, cut head at the hole, next just rip the top head off the hoop like a piece of paper, it'll come off right at the resin. Trim, but don't bother trimming too close to the hoop, no need to risk damage to the bottom ply. Pinstripes BTW are not 'totally' bonded, they'll come right apart.

So with this method you're bumping up to a 7 mil bottom head, but its a stretched 7 mil as in- 'used'

Its position/collar works very well for a snare bottom head.
 
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Where my band practices, some other drummer forgot sticks and (for some stupid reason) improvised a pair by tying some rulers together with string and taping them together. The heads were battered so much the owner of the practice space (which is the music room of a youth club) just decided to tear off the top ply off each of the two tom heads.

This is the second worst thing a drummer could ever do. Behind forgetting sticks...

Please don't do it because after having to use these now '1 ply' heads myself, I'd hate for you to make the same mistake by wasting time, money and energy pulling off the ply.

xoxo

P.S. If you do for some reason take off the top ply, then you wouldn't have taken the heads first life, you would have drastically shortened it's only one.
 
I have to agree with the chorus here mate. When a head is shot, it's time to swap 'em out. Doesn't matter if it's single ply, double ply or pre-muffled. Some things are simply not meant to last forever.......heads are one of those things.

There's plenty of other ways to save a few dollars, scrimping on one of the most fundamental elements of achieving a good drum sound is not one of them....................Fork out the cash, re-head and enjoy the 'new life' they'll breathe into your drums.
 
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