how often do you replace your reso heads?

destroya

Member
have had mine for three years now and keep thinking its time to replace them. but when i tune em up they still sound as good as they did when they were new. they are not over stretched and they don't have a dead spot i get when heads are on their last songs. just currious on your thoughts.
 
It all depends on how much use your drums get and how they are tuned. At one time I was changing mine about every three month, now I'm down to about twice a year. You could probably go a full year before you'll hear much of a difference, but it is important to change your resonant heads. They affect the sound of your drums about as much as your batter heads do.

Dennis
 
Maybe try picking up one head and putting on a drum to see if the other resos sound dead.
 
have had mine for three years now and keep thinking its time to replace them. but when i tune em up they still sound as good as they did when they were new.

I'm not going to try and tell you what you're hearing, but if you play your drums even on a semi-regular basis, then the only reason you don't notice a difference is because the changes are minor and take place over a long period of time. I felt the way you do now once upon a time too, and when I finally did change my reso heads, I was surprised by the difference and improvement in the sound of my drums.

If you still like the way your drums sound, then it isn't a true necessity to replace them. Basically, it's up to you to decide if you want to drop a few bucks or not, but I say do it. Three years of service is pretty good for reso heads and they certainly don't owe you anything.

Keep in mind that swapping the old ones out for newer ones doesn't mean you have to throw the old ones away. In the event you don't hear a difference (I'm sure you will, but just in case) then keep them as back-up reso heads or put the old ones back on and keep the new ones for when you do need a change. Heck, you could even return the new ones to get your money back, or trade for some sticks or something if the store doesn't do refunds.

Nothing lost man.

As for my policy on when I change my reso heads, I usually do so every 2nd or 3rd time I change the batter heads, depending on the total time and amount of play they've seen...and of course the sound!
 
I'm also in the camp of replacing the reso head about every 3 or 4th time I change the batter. Exception is the bass reso.. that thing is set it and forget practically!
 
It's about 20 years that I play drums.
I have never changed the resonant heads in all the drums I have had.
 
Hey Virfirjans. Mate, I can honestly say that no-one is slacker than me when it comes to swapping over reso's.....but even I'm getting a good giggle out of 20 years (hell, I found 3 years amusing!!). 2010 seems like a great year for a new set my friend.
 
It all depends on how much use your drums get and how they are tuned. At one time I was changing mine about every three month, now I'm down to about twice a year. You could probably go a full year before you'll hear much of a difference, but it is important to change your resonant heads. They affect the sound of your drums about as much as your batter heads do.

Dennis

Haha I don't worry about the little things, if you beat the crap out of your kit it drowns out any minute sounds haha
 
je je je
I knew it would gonna be polemic ;-)
I have had got 3 drum kits over these years and, with the heart in my hands, I can say that I never have considered it necessary, is not doe to be slacker, I asure you. I have changed a lot of times the batter heads, but in the resonants I've never seen phisical or sound problems with the years.
And I'm not saying this is right, but is a fact :)
 
it depends by the environment that your drumset setted for live gigs (clubs, out at summer or winder, hot or cold situations, tuning tight or loose over those situations in order to have the sound you want... etc etc). The reso head becomes more "dry" and it's a little bit difficult to have a rich tone, sustain without overtones. So i believe every 2 or 3 years (it depends how often you play), 3 changes of the batter heads in general. There is a difference in the sound, believe me! (sorry about my English, I hope that I have helped in some point)
 
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