Ludwig Drum heads

drummingman

Gold Member
What do you all think of Ludwig drum heads? How would you describe their sound? Are they thick or thin? Who are some players that use these heads?

Why does Ludwig use Remo heads on some of their kits instead of using their own heads?
 
I don't play Ludwig but we can assume the heads are cheap since most people trade them out right away for what they feel sounds good. I do know that Gretsch put decent G1 Evans heads on their drums, so the Ludwigs' could be comparable. Best way to find out is to play a set of the Ludwig Remo and see how they sound.
 
Usually stock heads are cheap and loud. The best way to find their sound...is trying them out.
 
Can only speak for snare drum sound as that's my only experience with Luddy heads. On snares, I find them a little thin sounding to my ear. I always swap them out for Emperors and snare side Ambs.

I don't think they're necessarily "cheap" in the same way that a cheap Remo UT is often found on budget or intermediate kits. Some guys actively seek out the sound that a Luddy head offers.......but they do seem to have a distinct sound to them that I personally don't like. As stated, I prefer the focus of a 2 ply head on my Ludwig snares anyway, but even if I didn't, I'd still rip 'em off and slap an Ambassador on there.
 
What do you all think of Ludwig drum heads? How would you describe their sound? Are they thick or thin? Who are some players that use these heads?

Why does Ludwig use Remo heads on some of their kits instead of using their own heads?

Ludwig uses their own Monroe-made heads on their top of the line sets, Evans on their Keystone series, and Chinese Remo heads on their Chinese-made drums.

When speaking of their own Ludwig heads, they're generally thinner, with a "Heavy" head being 10-mil and a "Medium" being 7-mil.

I often use their snare-side head as I really like the tone of the clear film, and the low profile crimped collar makes it a lot easier to tune. I like pairing the Ludwig snare side with a coated heavy batter on Ludwig snares; that sound works well for me.

I think some players instinctively reach for a favorite head combo and most drummers are conditioned to immediately replace stock heads. Those two impulses add up to a lot of people not really giving Ludwig heads much of a chance, and their very narrow choices means if you don't like the tone of one particular head there aren't too many more options.

But as far as quality goes, all of the aftermarket Ludwig heads I've ever bought have been high quality and worked well.
 
When I ordered my Classic Maples, I was given the choice of getting Remo or Ludwig Weathermaster heads. I chose the Ludwigs (coated, medium). I like the sound, but they are thin. I love it on the snare, but for the toms, they have a shorter life span than I would like. I am keeping the resonant heads. (They are my all time favorite for reso's). I may try Evans for batter heads eventually, but the Ludwig heads aren't bad at all as far as sound is concerned. On the toms, they sound a lot like what you hear on a lot of the old 50's jazz/bop recordings. I wouldn't recommend them for metal drumming (too thin), but if you play other styles, they are fine.

The kick drum batter head wiht the power collar is outstanding. I have played comparable heads but none better. I have two Ludwig bass drum reso heads (one white w/ pld logo, one black w/ newer logo. both ported) and they are great.
 
Ludwig heads are very inconsistent. My Classic Maples kit came with "medium" weight Ludwig coated heads on the toms and snare batters. The snare, 12" and 14" toms sounded good, but the 13" and 16" drums sounded like an entirely different kit altogether. Except for the Snare, I changed everything out to Evans G1 coated over G1 clear resonant heads. It now sounds like a kit and not a monstrosity. I usually like to play out the factory heads, but with the Ludwig heads, I just couldn't.

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I mentioned this in another thread that a couple friends of mine visited the Ludwig Drum company about a month ago and there was talk about improving their head manufacturing process.

Dennis
 
I recently bought a 2012 Club Date kit that came with Evans/Ludwig heads.
I played the drums for only a few mins before I went out and bought new heads for the tom batters. A week later I replaced the tom resonant heads and the bass drum batter.
The Evans/Ludwig heads are not good at all.
I am totally happy with the kit though.
 
I will use Ludwig snare side heads, they're good. I think the coating on their coated heads kills the tone, it's too thick or something. Their medium weight 7 mil head just doesn't have the sustain I like, plus they dent way too easy. Never tried their heavy heads. I'd try a clear heavy head, but their coateds sound too dead to my ear.

I recently got my first full set of Aquarian 10 mil classic clears for my DW's.

I was an Evans guy, but there's something about the recorded unmiced tone of the toms lately that isn't cutting it for me so I'm giving the Aquarians a whirl.

Tonight will be the first night with them.
 
You all convinced me to try some new heads over my Ludwig medium coated reso's. I like the thinner Ludwig heads for reso's, but I thought I would give Evans G Plus coated heads a try for batters. On Amazon, they came to less than $10 a head with a 12/13/16 pack which fits my kit.

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that I had a choice between Ludwigs and Remos when I ordered my CM's and I chose Ludwigs. I am 51 and I played Remos for years and years. It seemed that as time went on. I liked Remos less and less. There have been some posts elsewhere here that have talked about a decline in Remo quality. I really didn't notice defects or other quality issues as much as I just didn't like the sound as much. Maybe other heads got better, but I like Evans and Aquarians (at least the variants I have played) so I pulled the trigger. I tried the G plus because it is 1-ply with a little more beef than a 10 mil but not quite as much as a G14. I will post a review when I try them. They should be here in a week or so. Thanks to all for getting me motivated.
 
Ludwig heads aren't "cheap", but they do have their own sound.

On my 16x26 I love the Heavy coated. It sounds great.
The Silver Dot sounds great on a snare, and the snare side head is super.

Other than that...eh.

I had coated Medium tops and clear mediums on bottom that sounded pretty good, but they didn't stick around all that long.
Using the clear mediums as bottom heads with Evans or Remo tops doesn't sound so hot.

I had to use a clear Med on the bottom of my 8x12 recently, and the sound was...kinda "clangy". I was glad to replace the head with a Remo.
 
I couldn't achieve the sound I wanted with Ludwig medium heads, so they were replaced. When I ordered my seconded kit I got Ludwig's heavy clears top and bottom then I traded out the batter for a Remo Emperor's and put the other heads away for future Res head replacement. The heavy clears work for me on the res side but mediums made the drum sing to long for my tastes.
 
I recently bought a 2012 Club Date kit that came with Evans/Ludwig heads.
I played the drums for only a few mins before I went out and bought new heads for the tom batters. A week later I replaced the tom resonant heads and the bass drum batter.
The Evans/Ludwig heads are not good at all.
I am totally happy with the kit though.

Yeah, I was a bit puzzled when i saw the Evans on the new club date I played at GC. Why not Weathermaster if Ludwig is going for the new vintage look and feel?
 
Hey Guys, I'm now using a Ludwig Weathermaster medium drum head as my resonant head on my Supraphonic with a Remo Emperor as a batter. But it sounds a little weird, I've never used a coated head as resonant head. I tuned it medium tight, but it sounds really funky. The snare wires are nice and tight like they always are. Does anybody have advice on how to tune it so it will sound fine again?
 
Hey Guys, I'm now using a Ludwig Weathermaster medium drum head as my resonant head on my Supraphonic with a Remo Emperor as a batter. But it sounds a little weird, I've never used a coated head as resonant head. I tuned it medium tight, but it sounds really funky. The snare wires are nice and tight like they always are. Does anybody have advice on how to tune it so it will sound fine again?

What sound were you searching for that took you down the road of using a coated batter head on the bottom of the snare?

The stock Ludwig reso for that drum is a C1114 (Snare Resonant Head Clear XThin).
 
I was looking for a Bonham snare sound (of course). The stock clear reso head that came on the snare ripped and I remembered I still had the stock batter head that I replaced with a Remo Emperor. So I put the stock Ludwig Coated Medium head as a reso to see if it would work. But so far I can't get it to sound quite right.
 
But so far I can't get it to sound quite right.

And you won't.

It is far too thick, and it's coated. That medium batter head is about 7 mils thick, while a heavy snare side head is 5 mils. Add in the coating and you've got a head that just isn't going to give you the sound you want.
 
Get an Evans Hazy 300 or Remo Ambassador snare-side head (NOT a regular Remo Ambassador). This WILL clear up any problems you are having.
 
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