Best heads for Rhythm Traveler toms

Right now I'm using coated Ambassadors on mine, tuned JAW or slightly higher, and out in the crowd they almost sound like "real" toms.
 
I recently put a clear emperor on my 14" Traveler tom. It made only a slight difference in the sound for the better over the stock head.
I have a 12" clear ambassador that Im going to try on the other tom today. I'll let you know how it worked out.
 
I put the clear Ambie on the 12" tom. Slightly more sustain. A bit less punch. More latin sounding than the 2 ply. Not bad sounding. Six of one, half a dozen of the other trade of between 1 and 2 ply.
I bet that the Aquarian Coated Studio-X heads that I just put on my Tama kit would work well. I don't want to take them off or the Tama right now to find out.
The next time that I replace the Tama kits heads, I'll try the Tama take off heads in the RT.
I wish that I had thought to try it before I put them on the Tama! I couldn't wait to hear my Tama kit that I just bought with the new heads.
 
I had one YEARS ago. I tried single-ply, double-ply, and pinstripes, and to me, the pinstripes made the toms sound the most like real toms. Back then, I wasn't into coated heads, but I speculate that they would sound good and warm up the sound a bit...
Polly uses brushes a lot so I think that coated single ply with a bit of built in muffling would be the way to go for her. I love the jungle sound of my RT. I have a lot of fun with it. It works well with my conga players drums. Im glade that I have it.
Give one of these heads a shot Polly. Aquarian Studio-X coated. http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/display.asp?id=6
They are listed in a comparison chart on Aquarian's site as being all by themselves to other manufacturers. They have a warm sound and a long sustain. Im liking them on my Tama.
 
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It's looking like a matter of taste and application.

Would I be right in figuring from what's being said that the situation is similar to that of regular toms - hydraulics for rock and coated single ply for jazz?
 
I used to use Evans Hydraulic heads on my concert toms for rock. They packed a powerful punch. No overtones and sustain at all! They are similar to the stock Pearl heads. I can't see you liking them on the RT. Plus for the brushes, you will want something in between like the Studio-X's.
If you twist my arm, I'll put one on my RT tomorrow and send you a sample. Thats just because you're a girl! I wouldn't do this for anyone else!!!!
 
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I used to use Evans Hydraulic heads on my concert toms for rock. They packed a powerful punch. No overtones and sustain at all! They are similar to the stock Pearl heads. I can't see you liking them on the RT. Plus for the brushes, you will want something in between like the Studio-X's.
If you twist my arm, I'll put one on my RT tomorrow and send you a sample. Thats just because you're a girl! I wouldn't do this for anyone else!!!!

Haha, you don't have to put yourself out for me, Bob! I use sticks in about half the set and the percentage of sticks songs seems to be increasing - we'll be playing death metal soon at this rate. Next I'll be asking about the best way to set up quadruple pedals with triggers on a 16" kick drum :)

Um ... yeah ... anyway, I'm still hoping for a more organic sound which would mean a thin, coated head. The RT's unusual sound is a riddle so it's good to know how others' experiments worked out. Have you tried a coated Ambassador on it like Al did?
 
I never tried a coated Amb. Tomorrow, I'll put the Studio-X on the 12" tom and I'll post a sound sample. Just for you!!! With many exclamation marks!!!
 
I never tried a coated Amb. Tomorrow, I'll put the Studio-X on the 12" tom and I'll post a sound sample. Just for you!!! With many exclamation marks!!!

Bob, you're blood's worth bottling!!!!! (there's five bangs - count 'em and weep)

You heard my RT tom with the stock head in Little Wing. To refesh your memory given that it's buried somewhere in the Playing Consolidation Thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LK2XaUWH4Y

I'm hoping for a more sensitive sound than that.
 
Here is the sound test. It sounds pretty good. The Studio-X is the best head that I have put on the RT so far by a long shot!
I recorded this with a Samson usb mic placed about 3 feet away. If you own a usb mic you could record yours the same way to compare.
Not nearly as thunkie as the clear Amb and the Stock 2 ply.
Im going to put them on my RT when I find some cash in an old coat pocket!
 

Attachments

  • Aquarian Studio-x 12" RT tesr.mov
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You are a legend, Bob!!!!! - deserving of five exclamation marks.

The recording is a nice resource, not just for me but anyone Googling and looking to solve the RT Riddle.

The Studio-X sounds less open - a bit like a pinstripe - than the sound I'm after. It would be good for rock. I'll be tuning mine down deeper than that too because it's the only deepish voice I have apart from the kick.
 
Im glad that it helped Polly, I'll record a sample of these heads on my Tama Stagestar Bop kit tomorrow and I'll post it. I'm impressed with these heads on the Tama also. I was looking for a warm sounding Bop kit, and I got it! Aquarian makes some great stuff! You will discover that the Studio-X heads don't like to be loose. The muffle ring hampers loose tuning. Thats why they are good for a dry Jazz, high pitched sound.
 
How did you go with the heads, Bob?

Do you (or anyone else) have a recommendation for a head with a 16" RT kick drum? How do I get closest to a "proper" kick sound with it? An Evans G2 tuned JAW?
 
Can't be of too much help there, Polly... I ended up throwing a standard 22" kick under the RT toms, because where I'm at right now there aren't too many bass drumheads that size (or any size, for that matter).

Since it's a really small, thin kick, I would go with as little muffling as possible, so yeah, a clear G2 with a impact sticker, and if you needed it, maybe a washcloth or bar towel in the very bottom just touching the batter head. Try this: Tune the batter about 3/4 turn to a full turn above JAW and the front head maybe 1/2 turn...? This way that little thing will get some boom in it, as opposed to the cardboard sound that would result from doing normal bass drum things to it.
 
That sounds like good advice, Al.

Wy tuned my vintage snare drum tonight and suddenly it sounds like a worldbeating thing. I feel kind of guilty. I've had it since 1995 and all this time I never gave the por thing a chance to sing the way it should.

No doubt this kick, though a lower quality drum, can sound a lot better. BTW it's the RT Gig Kit which is different to the usual RT kick. This one is 16" diameter x 14" deep.

I've been experimenting and trying to tune both heads just tighter than the the point where the flapping sound comes in. At the moment I have it completely open and was thinking the same thing - that some light dampening on the batter might be best and to get the lower tone from the reso.

So the fittings on your larger kick are compatible with the RT tom fittings or did you have to customise?
 
It's a Pearl as well, one of those Forum Joey Jordison kicks left over from another kit that passed through here. It has the obligatory Pearl double 7/8" mount on it, so I put the RT toms on it. The original RT set's bass drum had been ravaged by a pack of killer weasels, or so it looked from the holes through both front and back. (Very small church in an isolated town in Central Asia, not too many Guitar Centers around...)
 
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