best tom heads for stage custom maple

hey guys. i have owned a yamaha stage custom maple kit for about 7 years. i bought it as a 22, 12, 13,16 with 14 x 5 snare. added a 14 floor tom later. currently i'm only using the 12 and the 16, sometimes i add the 14 floor tom. never really used the 13, don't care much for it for whatever reason (not even really a sound thing). i upgraded the snare to a copper nouveau 14 x 5.5 and haven't played the stock snare since, except briefly using it as a side snare.

but anyway, this post is all about the toms. i played with the stock heads for a while. then pinstripes. most recently i have been playing with coated ambassadors which i like the best so far. i've got some moon gel on the 16. i'm wondering what you guys would recommend on a lower end maple kit like the stage custom. i'm a bit partial to remo, but i'm not opposed to trying other brands.

as far as the bass drum goes, most recently tried a powersonic bass drum head and i really liked it even though it chokes the sound quite a bit. i think i'll stick to this for a while, but if anyone has suggestions for this i'm always looking to trying to make a cheap kit sound great.

the snare just has a coated amabassador with moon gel to cut the overtones, i'm thinking i want to try a controlled sound reverse dot next.

i play a little of everything, so i'm not looking for a sound specific to any genre, but i tend to tune the toms and bass drum rather low, and crank the snare a bit. quite honestly, i'm not very good at tuning, i just play around with it until i think it sounds decent. i use moon gel but i don't know if i'm killing the sound too much.

anyway, that was a lot of info for a post where i'm just looking for some input on the tom heads. any suggestions on the bass and snare are welcome too. thank you.
 
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First off, welcome to the forum.

Second, and not meant as a nitpick, but I've never been aware of a maple version of the Stage Custom, and certainly not in the timeframe you mention. In the last 7 years Yamaha has had maple shells in their Tour Custom, Absolute Maple, and Maple Custom series.

I have owned Stage Customs from the original birch/falkata line since 1999, and I have gone through several types of heads on them before ending up on what I consider to be the best all-around head combo for them, which is coated G2s over clear G1s. The Remo equivalent would be Emperors over Ambassadors. You're going to get a little more projection and meat to the sound than with the Ambassadors, which as single-ply heads are going to emphasize attack a little more.

You also say you are "not very good at tuning", and tend to "tune the bass and toms rather low". The first is easily remedied, we have numerous threads on this forum about tuning, almost all of which refer you to the Bob Gatzen tuning videos on YouTube (separate videos for toms, bass, and snares). As far as tunign very low, in my experience when you tune so low that the drum head is almost wrinkling, it sounds meaty behind the kit, but in the audience it sounds like cardboard boxes. Don't be afraid to tune them a bit higher and get some overtones going. Those overtones won't reach the crowd, but tons of sweet, sweet sustain and tone will.

Enjoy the videos, try some 2-ply non-muffled heads, and good luck.
 
i could certainly be wrong about them being maple. for whatever reason i've been under that impression since i bought them. the badges read stage custom advantage. they were manufactured in indonesia. i ordered them from musician's friend in 2005.

i'll try out your some of your suggestions on head choice next time i get the opportunity. thanks.

... and man do i feel like an amateur after that reply.
 
Nah, no worries man! We're here to share and have fun.

2005 Stage Custom Advantages were still a mixture of birch and falkata. Nothing wrong with that. I've been playing mine professionally for years and they're often mistaken for higher-end drums.

Hope this was some help to you. Again, welcome!
 
I use clear G2's on my 8 and 10, clear EC2's on my 12, 13 (left side floor tom) and 16"

G1 clears all around. I love it!

I second the tuning high, just don't go too high, these shells tend to choke rather quicky at higher tuning...I seem to always find a ceiling when tuning no matter what heads i use...

I use no external damping, and take your time to get all the pitches in front of the lugs equal, it takes more time with these cheaper drums but I have been playing them for almost 6 1/2 years now and have had many compliments and always gotten fantastic sound out of mine.

Just to inform... mine are the standards instead of the advantage series... Someone could clarify the difference for you, I know the lugs are different, but thats about it.
 
to me, it kind of depends on what kind of music you will be playing the most and what sort of sounds fits what you want the best. if you want more thump for a classic rock type vibe, then go with either a super kick II or an emperor coated and throw a little pillow in there. if you want more attack for a modern rock/metal type sound, go with an emad. more of a punchy/overall kind of tone, go with a PS3 and use just a touch of muffling. there's not really any such thing as a bad head, but different heads work better for different tones. that goes for tom and snare heads too.
 
Remo Powerstroke 3 clear.

Absolutely! Batter and reso and if you want to dampen the sound some use a small strip of felt, 1 1/2" -2" wide and put it between the head and shell. Trick many drummers have used for decades.

Have a stage custom at church, run clear emperors over clear ambassadors on the toms with no damping and they sound great.

When it comes to floor toms many guys think theirs rings too much, but get 10-15 ft away and that resonance dies usually.
 
i feel like an idiot, but i just realized i've got coated emperors on them right now, not ambassadors. i watched a video of the only show i've played with them and i think they actually sound great considering they're just stage customs and i'm no expert on tuning.

so i'll experiment more with heads, i think i might give evans a try, just not sure on whether i want coated or clear g2s though. and i'll spend some time watching the videos on tuning and see if i can pick up anything i'm not already doing, specifically with the resonant heads, to which i don't think i pay enough attention.
 
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