NEED opinions on good heads for DW performance series!

Y

yesalexyeah

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Hi. I just purchased a five-piece dw performance series kit, in charcoal and they sound amazing! Even with the included stock heads that I'm currently using, you can tell they're quality drums. I'm just searching for a drum head that will bring out the most in my kit because I know these drums have the potential to sing more and sound a lot better. Keep in mind, I havent tuned em at all, so maybe all they require to sound THAT much better is me just tuning the stock heads to my liking. But I'm not sure.

So I was hoping for opinions from past/current owners, or drummers that have had enough experienced playing them, to determine, the best possible head for these specific drums - in your opinion. And maybe it's such a convincing opinion that i might be swayed to try it out. About heads - I would like my drums to "sing" (no choking of the drum, preferably) but i dont want a lot of overtone or for them to sound too "bong"-y sounding. They'll be used to primarily play heavier/metal music, if that helps. Please give me your thoughts. Thanks.
 
Hi! i dont own these drums, but i have played a few different sets. I dont know what sound your going for (if you comment again i can help fine tune it in) but here are some ideas

low pitched sound with a "smacky" attack
aquarian performance II clears over classic clear
tune the top head slightly higher than the bottom and you with get a pitch that starts off high and then drops, very controlled sound. tune them evenly and you will have a controlled "singing" tom with no "bad" overtones. tune the bottom slightly tighter and you will have a drum with resonance and a lot of attack
bass drum: superkick I with a ported regulator as the reso head. tune both loose and your kick drum sounds MASSIVE
snare- this is really a personal sound, i cant help you here unless you give me more to work with

mid-ranged "traditional" metal sound
remo pinstripe clear over remo ambassador clear
same thing as the aquarians, except these heads are a bit brighter
bass drum: powerstroke 3 with your factory reso (should work well enough) same deal, except tune the reso a little higher, its like the super kick but not as "dead"
Snare: same as aquarian, but most metal drummers that play remo use cs coated, i use it and it is a very nice head, gives you 2 separate snare sounds to play with

you can do the same thing with coated heads as the batter, the only difference is that the drum will have a warmer, more full-body sound.
If you can describe the sound you want, this will make it a load easier, especially for the bass and snare drums.
 
Congrats on your new kit YLX! What color did you get, Ebony Stain? I don't think you can go wrong with quality heads. A single ply reso and your favorite flavor batter and I'm sure they will sound great. I'm currently using stock heads on my DWPS kit and I'm not hating them.
 
Aquarian studio x over classic clears for toms, coated studio x on snare also available with power dot if your a heavy hitter and for the bass drum a superkick 1 with a ported regulator front head. Good resonance without being too open but not dead like 2 ply heads.
 
Evans G2 over G1. If you prefer the Remo equivalent, Emperors over Ambassadors. Or Aquarian Resposnse 2 over Classic Clear.

I think these fit your description the best. Good balance between resonance and punch/attack.
 
So i want to dig up this old thread. Looking into new heads for my DWPS kit and am leaning towards G14 clear on the toms and a

I ended up putting a genera hd dry on my snare(up way tight and this thing is sweet) and ec2 clears on the toms. and they are what you would expect but not the open clear/deep tone i had hoped for.

I am looking to get new heads since these have been on for about 12-14 months and are past due IMO.
What have you guys experienced over the last year of playing your DWPS kits?
 
So i want to dig up this old thread. Looking into new heads for my DWPS kit and am leaning towards G14 clear on the toms and a

I ended up putting a genera hd dry on my snare(up way tight and this thing is sweet) and ec2 clears on the toms. and they are what you would expect but not the open clear/deep tone i had hoped for.

I am looking to get new heads since these have been on for about 12-14 months and are past due IMO.
What have you guys experienced over the last year of playing your DWPS kits?

I would go Remo Vintage Emperor Clear or Evan G14 on toms. That should give you an open, deep, punchy sound. You also can't go wrong with Evan G2 clears over G1 clears, or Remo Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassador. They sound great on most drums, but sound killer on that DW maple.
 
I am leaning towards the G14 clear on top of the toms and think i might try the genera resonant clear on the bottom of the toms.

For snare im going to stick with a hazy 300 on the bottom. and go for a genera HD on top of the snare.(replacing the genera HD dry i had been using. just want a bit more tone)

on kick eq3 clear on batter and eq3 black on front.

if i can remember to do it i'll try to post some audio samples once all is said and done. have some new tom mics i've been meaning to try out for the last few months.
 
Well i put my order in today. Ended up using amazon to buy the heads. it was on average 2$ cheaper per head vs musicians friend.

ended up selecting the g14 clear for tom batters (10-12-14-16) and genera resonant clear for tom reso's(10-12-14-16)

hazy 300 snare side w/ genera HD coated for snare batter. (this is the normal head. i previously used the dry and it is indeed DRY).

eq3 clear batter for kick and eq3 black reso w/ 5" port hole on the kick drum.

also ordered an evans clear double kick impact badge for the kick drum head.
 
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