Head Advice (swingstar)

riddle

Member
Hi guys, i have a swingstar kit and im wondering about the heads i should have for my entry level drum
I'm not exactly experienced with this, so guys who do, (esp if you've had it with swingstars) help?

Remo Coated Ambassadors for snare and pinstripes clear for toms?
or stuff from the evans line, i heard a metal snare with ec1 snare and it sounds lovely
and what about the reverse dots its best to keep the range within evans and remo its easier to get them here

i want a more fat, shorter and an average bright sound for the snare, full of bass and ploppy soundlike,
and singing bassy tones for the toms as well so could you guys help me out? :) thankss
 
I have had 2 Swingstar sets in my past. They were great sets and I never really looked at them as beginner sets although I guess they were. They were tough and always sounded great. I'm sorry I sold them..

To answer your question, for the sound you like or want.. I'd suggest the following..

From Remo:

Pinstripes on toms, Ambassadors on the bottoms. You could also try the ebony Pinstripes.. They are slightly heavier and have a shorter sound than the clears. Ebony Ambassadors wrk well on the bottoms too and don't sound any different than the clears. Emperors would also be a good choice and they will be louder than the Pinstripes. The Pinstripes will have a muffled sound when compared to an Emperor.

Powerstoke on the bassdrum front and back. There is a black version for the front.

A C.S Blackdot was always a favorite of mine for the snare since I do not like coated heads. I'd use an O ring depending on the situation to control any overtones. A Coated Ambassador is standard on snares. I just prefer the Black Dot.

I don't know a lot about Evans heads but here is what I do Know... The EC 2's sound great on the toms. My son had the coated ones on his set and they were great. It seems that most people favor the clear ones.

The G1's are comparable to Remo Ambassadors, The G 2's are comparable to Remo Emperors.. both great heads from what I hear on the forum.

The EQ series bass drum heads are also popular as well as the Emads.. I haven't tried them but someday I will. I'm an Aquarian guy..

If you like your snare head, keep it . You can always try new stuff another time.

From Aquarian.

For the toms,Studio X with the Power dot will sound good on those drums. Classic Clears for the bottoms or and single ply head from Evans or Remo will do..

Hi Energy is a great snare head and will last a long long time..

I'd say the Super Kick 1 is the better choice for the bass.. The Super Kick 2 is a bit too heavy IMO for a 22 kick.. Whichever head you choose, try a Remo Falams patch. It will extend the life of the head big time..

I don't know what your tuning skills are but try watching these videos for some easy to understand tips. Look under all videos, there are several there specifically for tuning drums.
http://www.youtube.com/user/bobgatzen

As always, look at the major head companies for more options..

http://www.remo.com/

http://www.evansdrumheads.com/EvansHome.Page?ActiveID=1194

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/
 
thank you so much

the way you describe aquarians make me wanna get them but i dont think its available much here so you'd suggest coated ambassador for my batter snare and ebony stripes for toms? i dont think ill get the resonant heads yet as my stock heads are still okay thank you once again
 
Anything Aquarian on my Swingstar sound great ! (not always my taste though).

I prefer open tone so I've opted for Aquarian Texture Coated for batter and Classic clear as reso. I have also coated Response II batter over my floor tom and still it sound great. Next time I'll replace the Response II, I'll try the Coated Super-2.
 
thank you so much

the way you describe aquarians make me wanna get them but i dont think its available much here so you'd suggest coated ambassador for my batter snare and ebony stripes for toms? i dont think ill get the resonant heads yet as my stock heads are still okay thank you once again

I kinda figured Aquarians may be hard to get.. The Ambassador is a common snare head. If you want something more durable, you could go with an Emperor or even the Emperor X which I have tried and liked. The Ebony Pins are a decent head and will sound lower than the clears. I have used them many times.
 
If you want something more durable, you could go with an Emperor or even the Emperor X which I have tried and liked
aren't emperor's thinner than ambassadors? I've seen the emperor X page on remo, even travis barker uses them so i think i know what you mean, but wont it be too low? i didn't like travis's snare much
 
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