Problems tuning my Supraphonic

LM201

Senior Member
After two years of having the same heads on my Supra, I finally bought some new heads. A Coated Emperor batter and a Snare Side Ambassador.

The heads seemed fine out of the box. Since people complain about the heads being dead I did the little tap test to see if it produced a pitch, which it did. So I assumed they were good heads.

I seated them, tuned them evenly all the way around and while the snares off; had a nice tone. But as soon as I raised the snares it sounded deader than before. And when I take the snares off, the snare detunes completely. I thought my dead two year old heads were bad but these new ones are just crap. I can't figure out what's wrong.

When I got the old heads two years ago it tuned up nice and sounded beautiful but now I hate it.

Any ideas how to actually get a nice tone and snare sound out of it? I'm not looking for a particular sound right now, I just want it to resonate while the snares are on.
 
I'm not sure if a 2 ply head is the best for a Supraphonic. I would try a coated ambassador and let it sing with no muffling.
 
I'm not sure if a 2 ply head is the best for a Supraphonic. I would try a coated ambassador and let it sing with no muffling.

I've always ran the Supra with Coated Emperor batter and it always rang beautifully. I don't know why it's going dead on me now
 
It sounds like a bad head. Take it back and try to get a new one. I've had a couple of two ply Remo heads that were totally dead.

Good luck!
 
Yeah man,
I've used coated emperors over ambassadors alot on my supra (6.5x14) and they sound great. Although I did have some coated emp head issues where they didn't sound so good. It was the head. Remo isn't as consistent as Evans has been. I slapped a coated G2 on my supra recently and wow, what a sound. For the record, I have my resonant ambassador snare side head cranked up pretty tight, top head about1 full turn of the key at each lug, then fine tuned to even the pitches out and it sounds gereat. For what it's worth....
 
Okay thanks for the replies. I guess the head is just dead. I'm going to Guitar Center later and I guess I'll be adding a new dead to my list.


Thanks again
 
After two years of having the same heads on my Supra, I finally bought some new heads. A Coated Emperor batter and a Snare Side Ambassador.

The heads seemed fine out of the box. Since people complain about the heads being dead I did the little tap test to see if it produced a pitch, which it did. So I assumed they were good heads.

I seated them, tuned them evenly all the way around and while the snares off; had a nice tone. But as soon as I raised the snares it sounded deader than before. And when I take the snares off, the snare detunes completely. I thought my dead two year old heads were bad but these new ones are just crap. I can't figure out what's wrong.

When I got the old heads two years ago it tuned up nice and sounded beautiful but now I hate it.

Any ideas how to actually get a nice tone and snare sound out of it? I'm not looking for a particular sound right now, I just want it to resonate while the snares are on.

Make sure to crack the skin after tuning by pushing on the center. Some skins can be difficult to get just right. New guitar strings behave like this too and some worse then others for going out of tune. Try cracking and tuning a few times and tune it up to where you think it sounds right. Now use a hair dryer and on hot go around the skin a few times. This should help tighten up the plys.

Good luck.
 
you shouldn't tune to the same pitch on a snare
your batter should be tuned a little higher then your snare side
have you tried that?
 
you shouldn't tune to the same pitch on a snare
your batter should be tuned a little higher then your snare side
have you tried that?

I have to disagree with the latter part of this post. Most guys I know who want that "pop" and great snare response tune their snare side heads tighter than the batter. Just as in tuning toms with bottom head tighter, it makes the drum punchier and livelier IMO.
 
Okay, so I replaced the heads and all is well. Dang Remo should have better quality control.

Thanks for the replies guys
 
I'm glad to hear the Supra's feeling better now. :)

Next time you change heads, try an Aquarian head. Their single-ply Satin Texture Coated heads are great and are just a bit warmer than a Remo Ambassador. Although no company is perfect, I've never had a bad Texture Coated head from Aquarian.

The big bonus for me is that on the very small percentage of heads I bought that did have some problems (due to a bad run or something), I got great customer service. Roy Burns the man himself personally took care of it and I had a brand spanking new head in no time to replace the clunker. And that's normal for Aquarian - not for Remo.


Have fun with the Supra!

Jim
 
I'm glad to hear the Supra's feeling better now. :)

Next time you change heads, try an Aquarian head. Their single-ply Satin Texture Coated heads are great and are just a bit warmer than a Remo Ambassador. Although no company is perfect, I've never had a bad Texture Coated head from Aquarian.

The big bonus for me is that on the very small percentage of heads I bought that did have some problems (due to a bad run or something), I got great customer service. Roy Burns the man himself personally took care of it and I had a brand spanking new head in no time to replace the clunker. And that's normal for Aquarian - not for Remo.


Have fun with the Supra!

Jim

I have to agree with Jim here on all counts. An Aquarian texture Coated on the snare is a great sound... like an ambassador, but a little thicker sounding.

Also on the customer service... I had a dead 13" response 2 coated and called up and talked to Roy himself, and they had me a new head within a week. Excellent company by which all shoud be judged.
 
1. Don't "seat" heads. It isn't necessary, and in fact recommended against by several head manufacturers. "Seating" ultra-thin snare side heads is lunacy.

2. Be sure the heads go on evenly. Don't count turns, measure the top of the rim to the head all around. Once you've got some tension on then you can count turns.
 
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