Dear Abby

drstrangefunk

drstrangefunk

Senior Member
Dear Abby,

i like heavy drumsticks, but they dent my snare heads. they work fine for toms, but my snare heads are regularly the recipients of palm sized craters. this happens with Coated Ambassadors and Clear Aquarian Studio X. i love the Studio X, but may need a heavier head. i will definitely try a little bit lighter stick, but i don't want to give up heavier sticks in general, because i like when it goes BOOM !!!!

can you suggest something Abby ? i'm at my wit's end.

- At Wit's End
 
Abby suggests a Controlled Sound or other similar "black dot" head.

She does warn that there could well be a trade off in your desired snare sound due to the added focus the dot provides though. But she remians confident enough in your tuning ability to overcome this for the sake of the added durability.
 
Or buy some Evans G14 heads. Single ply, 14 mil that are made to take a beating.
 
drstrangefunk said:
Dear Abby,

i like heavy drumsticks, but they dent my snare heads. they work fine for toms, but my snare heads are regularly the recipients of palm sized craters. this happens with Coated Ambassadors and Clear Aquarian Studio X. i love the Studio X, but may need a heavier head. i will definitely try a little bit lighter stick, but i don't want to give up heavier sticks in general, because i like when it goes BOOM !!!!

can you suggest something Abby ? i'm at my wit's end.

- At Wit's End
Click to expand...

Abby's not home!

What size(s) sticks are you using? If you're not denting the toms then you're not hitting them hard enough. A backbeat on the snare in most music is typically hit harder ...is it the backbeat that's denting the head? I'd try a reinforced cs/black dot head on the snare and expect the trade-off in nuance when playing other patterns on the snare.
 
Doc, Abby doesn't know squat about heads so she instead suggests playing your backbeats at a slightly flatter angle and not hitting quite as hard. In fact, with the level of power you're using it's possible that you're losing volume through choking.

I've seen so many top players get their snare sounding strong without smacking super hard, eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS6nhP5pX74.

Refining your stroke a little might not only spare your heads but also add some extra tastiness to your playing.

// Abby
 
Thank you Abby,

i knew i could count on you. i have indeed been considering the CS Black Dot as my next purchase. i have been thinking that since it is the sound of the 70's that i may as well go straight to the source. i appreciate your faith in my tuning abilities. i have gotten better over the years (as one does), but i must admit that the snare drum still baffles me.

the Evans Power Center also sounded very good on the snares at Sam Ash. there was a bank of about 15 snares, about half of which were covered in Power Centers. they all sounded good. tuned loose, high and medium...even untuned to any degree they sounded good. i may have to revisit them. i had an Evans HD on the snare at the time, which i was pretty pleased with. then i tried the Aquarian.

i may have to try the G14 as well.

my sticks are Ahead XL Rock Concerts. XL Rock Concert (SST) 16.75" w/.620" Diameter (79 grams).

they are a little too long and a little too heavy not very balanced. i think next time i will try either the XL Rock Studio which are XL Rock Studio (SST) 16.25" w/.620" Diameter (77 grams) or the 5AB Hybrid Concerts which are 5ABC HYBRID-CONCERT 5B-Handle 5A-Shaft (MT) 16.25" (54 grams).

my last stick was the 5ABS, HYBRID-STUDIO 5B-Handle 5A-Shaft (MT) 16.00" (53 grams) which i loved. they were very well balanced, but i wanted something a little longer and a little fatter.

all Ahead Sticks are .595 except the XL Rocks. so i'll keep going until i zero in on what i need.

regarding my stroke...i've never had any complaints....but seriously. very good advice Abby, one can always improve on stroke. and the Jeff Beck clip was right on time. i'm building a Strat now and that particular JB Strat was one of the ones i studied (amongst about 30 other of my favorite Strats). it was an apt time to revisit that one. side note: when i was 15, i had a poster on my wall of that particular session.
side note two: the vocalist Bob Tench is also an accomplished guitarist and played one of my favorite solos: on Van Morrison's "Wavelength".

THANKS ABBY !!!!

YOU ARE STILL SHE !!!!!!

- Witless
 
side note 3: yes, i did notice the "pssshhp pssshhp pssshhp" at the beginning of the song.

: )
 
Update:

i haven't gotten around to the Black Dot yet, but i do fully intend to.

my drummer gave me an old G1 that he had no use for, and i put it on as a quick fix when the Aquarian Studio X finally split.

the heavens opened. it is the snare sound i have been looking for...and it only took 4 Years to find it. i may go with the G2 when i go a-purchasing for i feel i do need a heavier head, but that old G1 has surely taken a pounding from me and it has indeed developed a crater, but it still sounds great.

Thanks Abby !!!!!!!!!
 
The White dot head sounds good. A Clear dot has a slightly different sound. A little fatter. It's the Clear dot. They all sound fatter than Black or White dots.

The Ambassador Top Dot or Emp Top Dot are great heads, and very sensitive, while being sturdy.
Regular CS Black Dots are kinda funny to me. They sound cool, and last, but they have a certain spot that sounds great and beyond a certain tension (going up) they can sound tinny if you hit harder.

Evan's Top dot sounded cooler to me than the bottom dot, but if people don't like the feel of a top dot...

inneedofgrace said:
I heard congress is drawing up legislation for stick control.
Click to expand...

It won't be new ideas for stick control, they've had that stuff ready and waiting for just the right opportunity.
 
all duly noted.

i haven't had any problems with the Evans HD or any other two ply head that i've used.
 
Is it possible the dented heads are due to the heads not being tuned tight enough? I do not believe the tension of the head was mentioned. A loose head can produce a welcome sound, but the head does need some tension.
 
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