Aquarian Tom Head Help

matthewordie

Junior Member
I'm looking for a change in heads. Normally I play Evans EC2's but I've been having issues with them lately. I have a triple threat head on my snare and I love it so I was curious as to what to do for tom heads.

I know I want 2 ply heads because I play pretty hard. I'm just having trouble deciding between a few Aquarian heads. Super 2's with Studio-X Ring, Deep Vintage 2, and Force 10 coated.

I want a round full warm sound with not a ton of sustain. Tuned super low of course. Any suggestions which head might be best for this?

Also, Aquarian doesn't really say but what reso heads would match that sound as well?
 
I wanted a warmer sound so i just replaced all my Remo Clear Emperors with Aquarian Response 2 coated. I also replaced my bass drum's Remo Powerstroke 3 with an Aquarian Super Kick 10. The (tom) resonant heads are all Remo Clear Ambassadors. I've used Aquarian Snare heads (currently using Hi-Velocity) for as long as i can remember,

I could not be happier with the way they all sound. Full and rich. I found the comparison page http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison to be very helpful in my decision on what to use.

Hope this helps
 
I wanted a warmer sound so i just replaced all my Remo Clear Emperors with Aquarian Response 2 coated. I also replaced my bass drum's Remo Powerstroke 3 with an Aquarian Super Kick 10. The (tom) resonant heads are all Remo Clear Ambassadors. I've used Aquarian Snare heads (currently using Hi-Velocity) for as long as i can remember,

I could not be happier with the way they all sound. Full and rich. I found the comparison page http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison to be very helpful in my decision on what to use.

Hope this helps

Ah now you're throwing another one into the mix! I've looked at that comparison chart while helpful the heads I was looking at didn't really have equivalents to compare them too. I did notice the Performance 2's though, those just by description are what I'm looking for I think. They claim better for "loose" tunings and controls all the overtones. Seem kind of hard to find though. Did they replace them with the Force 10's?
 
They were in stock where i bought my heads (this week at one of Aquarian's featured dealers listed on Aquarian's web page). Make sure you call around as prices are all over the place. The Performance IIs (I think) are big sellers for Aquarian so i doubt they are replaced. The categories listed on the compare page are pretty representative.

Aquarian has samples on their homepage under "hear the heads". That could help you as well. ;-)
 
I'd recommend coated response2.
Super 2 and response 2 are pretty much the same. My local GC guy told me that the aquarian rep told him that. They used super 2 for the name "super" trying to link the heads to the successfull super kick series.

Anyway. The coated response 2 two will give you that warmer sound you are looking for.
 
I'd recommend coated response2.
Super 2 and response 2 are pretty much the same. My local GC guy told me that the aquarian rep told him that. They used super 2 for the name "super" trying to link the heads to the successfull super kick series.

Anyway. The coated response 2 two will give you that warmer sound you are looking for.

It sounds like one (or both) of those guys are full of it. The Super 2 is a 2-ply head; a 7 mil and 5 mil. Where the Response 2 is 7 mil layers; giving a slightly warmer sound, but mostly a little more durability. If Aquarian really wanted to link that "super" name to the heads, they should have changed the logo on that particular head so it was similar the SK heads. I don't think that's really the case though...

The Super 2 is sort of similar to the Evans HD which has a 5 mil layer and a 7.5 mil layer or the Remo Vintage A with 7.5 mil and 3 mil layer.
 
I've got clear Super 2's on my 10 &12 I think they sound real good. Not too bright, and some sustain, not too much. Clear G1's on the bottom. I play kind of hard, and they seem to be holding up well.
 
Here's another +1 for the Performance IIs. I used to play them, and in fact just tuned my brother's set up with them; they're perfect for metal. They really do take a low tuning really well, giving a nice warm, full-bodied sound that's quick, and focused.
 
Response 2's are Aquarian's version of Emperors or G2's. I would start with those.

If you want a something a little thicker, try a Force 10, I've been using those on all my kits and I really really like them. All I have is a Classic Clear's as reso heads (single ply).
Fantastic heads, and they last WAY longer than any other head I've tried.
 
I've got clear Super 2's on my 10 &12 I think they sound real good. Not too bright, and some sustain, not too much. Clear G1's on the bottom. I play kind of hard, and they seem to be holding up well.

I like the Super 2's. I've been a Response2 guy for years but the Supers are pretty darn cool. Almost feel like a single ply. Real clear sounding, even the coateds (which I'm currently running on my Stone Custom MPM kit)
 
I just switched from using the Studio-X Clear single ply on my toms for years to the Super 2 Clear with the Studio-X ring. Primary reason for the switch was to cooperate with a FOH engineer to get great drum tone without him gating or adding hardly any EQ or compression. I really like the Super 2's but still plan on trying out some of the Deep Vintage heads as well.
 
I often use EC2's and I think the Performance 2's are a pretty close substitute. Similar to Pinstripes as well.

I just got a couple of Deep Vintage heads that I'm trying out on a snare and a floor tom (otherwise I'm using 1-ply Modern Vintage right now) and I like them overall. On the floor tom it's sustain is just a bit more controlled but it has a lot more centered tone, which is a big improvement for me. I'm going to get another Deep Vintage for my other floor tom but I think a Modern Vintage 2 is about as thick as I want to go for my mounted tom.

On snares it's a mixed bag. It sounded good on one (COB Supra) not as much on another (walnut, with really rounded bearing edges) I think some snares take to heavier heads better than others, and Deep Vintage is a heavy head...
 
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