Convert Batter heads to Resos??

I am fairly new to drumming, so i know hardly anything about what heads are best and such..

I am in a hardcore band, and my guitarist told me that the old drummer would just swap out the resos with his old batters (which were clear pinstripes), and that i should just buy a new set of batters (most likely clear pinstripes, because they sound best with my style).

My question is, would putting a clear pin on the reso side totally kill the sound of my toms? Also i need a new snare head, one that doesnt ring so much and just has that crack sound to it (hopefully you know what im talking about haha), And if anyone has a better idea for heads i am open for suggestions. Thanks!

I think using old batters as resonant heads is a bad idea.

First, the wear from being used as a better will totally kill the tone required of a good resonant head.

Second, Pinstripes don't really make a good resonant head, even when brand new. Two-ply heads are designed to control and reduce overtones to a pretty significant degree, which isn't ideal for a head intended to resonate.

I'd recommend an EC2 batter and a G1 resonant, or a Pinstripe batter and Ambassador resonant if you wanted to stick with Remo.

For the snare, I'd try something pretty heavy-duty like an HD Dry or ST Dry for the snare. It'll cut a significant amount of ring and be plenty tough.

LetsBurnItDownDrummer said:

I am fairly new to drumming, so i know hardly anything about what heads are best and such..

I am in a hardcore band, and my guitarist told me that the old drummer would just swap out the resos with his old batters (which were clear pinstripes), and that i should just buy a new set of batters (most likely clear pinstripes, because they sound best with my style).

My question is, would putting a clear pin on the reso side totally kill the sound of my toms? Also i need a new snare head, one that doesnt ring so much and just has that crack sound to it (hopefully you know what im talking about haha), And if anyone has a better idea for heads i am open for suggestions. Thanks!

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Don't use pinstripes as resonant heads, because pinstripes don't resonate! Pinstripes are designed to kill resonance in the batter head, giving lots of attack, but not a lot of ring. A lot of the tone of your drums comes from the resonant heads (*way* more than you would think!). The resonant heads are the ones that actually project out to the audience, and you need some resonance to make the drums sound "real" to the audience, especially in a loud band.

Try this: Pick one of your rack toms and your floor tom (the higher floor tom if you have 2), and experiment with a couple of different resonant heads. Sell the heads you don't like on craiglist. This way you're only out a few bucks if you don't like the combination.

Pinstripe batter over Ambassador clears as resonant heads usually works ok for rack toms for most cases, and some people put clear Emperors as resonants for their floor toms. I prefer the Vintage Emperor over clear Ambassador, but that's just my preference.

Also, pick up a DrumDial. I just got one recently and was amazed at how much better my drums sound as opposed to doing it by ear. I did a scratch recording at our practice last night and was blown away by how much fuller my toms sounded without even close mic'ing -- just with a couple of overheads!

If you want your drums to sound good over time, replace your resos from time to time, once a year at least. It's expensive, but remember that this is your instrument and you want it to sound the best that it can at all times. Also, don't take advice on drum gear from a guitarist.

LetsBurnItDownDrummer said:

I am fairly new to drumming, so i know hardly anything about what heads are best and such..

I am in a hardcore band, and my guitarist told me that the old drummer would just swap out the resos with his old batters (which were clear pinstripes), and that i should just buy a new set of batters (most likely clear pinstripes, because they sound best with my style).

My question is, would putting a clear pin on the reso side totally kill the sound of my toms? Also i need a new snare head, one that doesnt ring so much and just has that crack sound to it (hopefully you know what im talking about haha), And if anyone has a better idea for heads i am open for suggestions. Thanks!

Click to expand...

If you want to stick to Remo, the Powerstroke 3 head with the dot is the snare head you want for a loud, dry crack. The Evans HD Dry is really the best one for that, though...

LetsBurnItDownDrummer said:

I am fairly new to drumming, so i know hardly anything about what heads are best and such..

I am in a hardcore band, and my guitarist told me that the old drummer would just swap out the resos with his old batters (which were clear pinstripes), and that i should just buy a new set of batters (most likely clear pinstripes, because they sound best with my style).

My question is, would putting a clear pin on the reso side totally kill the sound of my toms? Also i need a new snare head, one that doesnt ring so much and just has that crack sound to it (hopefully you know what im talking about haha), And if anyone has a better idea for heads i am open for suggestions. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Please don't listen to a guitarist when it comes to drums, unless they themselves are actually a drummer.

Every reply given up until this one is pretty much right. Pinstripes were designed for rock drummers, because they were detuning and dampening heads anyway, so Remo caught onto the new market. Pinstripes are plenty good heads for their price, and there isn't anything stopping you from using them as reso's. However, you'll certainly get a very un-reso-like sound from them.

Do not- I repeat, do not - use previously used batter heads as reso heads, unless you're looking for some new sound. Again, there's nothing stopping you from doing it, it just hasn't been suggested.

In terms of snare heads, I don't have too many suggestions, but there is a relatively new head out there called Ambassador X, that's thicker than it's regular Ambassador sibling and thus more durable. It still has the nice tone, and I think it sounds like a good idea to look into for your toms and snare.