Help choosing new heads

eddiehimself

Platinum Member
Hi guys I've got a couple of questions about drum heads. Firstly what sort of heads are good if i want them to be as durable as possible as i am quite a hard player. I obviously play loud styles of music such as metal so what would be good for that? Also do i have to buy a specially made head for the reso bass drum side or will any bass drum head do? I was thinking about getting a smooth white remo ambassador as a reso and cutting mic hole(s) in, would this be a good idea?
 
Hi guys I've got a couple of questions about drum heads. Firstly what sort of heads are good if i want them to be as durable as possible as i am quite a hard player. I obviously play loud styles of music such as metal so what would be good for that? Also do i have to buy a specially made head for the reso bass drum side or will any bass drum head do? I was thinking about getting a smooth white remo ambassador as a reso and cutting mic hole(s) in, would this be a good idea?

Performance IIs for the toms, Hi-energy for the snare, and an Aquarian Regulator with 4.5" ported hole.
 
Thanks for that, what about the bass batter head, i was thinking of a PS 3 since a lot of metallers seem to use such a head. But are they actually any good?

Well, since the rest of the heads I mentioned are Aquarian, it would be best to go with the Superkick II, which goes very well with the Regulator (they are practically brothers). It's very durable, focused, and punchy. Perfect for metal. An equivalent of that would be the Evans EMAD, but if you're like me and want all your heads to match brands, go for the Performance IIs, Hi-Energy, Superkick II, Regulator, Classic Clear tom resos, and Classic Clear Snare Side reso for the snare.

Go here for a list of them--it's under Classic Rock, I know it's not metal, but it's what you're looking for:

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/drumhead_tips/default.asp#drumhead
 
Performance IIs for the toms, Hi-energy for the snare, and an Aquarian Regulator with 4.5" ported hole.

Performance II's will kill any natural sound of the drums - so they'll make the old dull 'thud'. Probably ok for metal if you're mic'ed up, but working on the assumption that I've only ever seen a decent mic setup for a local group three times in over two years (and I was fortunate enough to be on the seat for a couple of those) I would say go with something with a bit more natural volume. Evans G2 clears never seem to go amiss in these situations and they have plenty of natural tone and volume.
 
Performance II's will kill any natural sound of the drums - so they'll make the old dull 'thud'. Probably ok for metal if you're mic'ed up, but working on the assumption that I've only ever seen a decent mic setup for a local group three times in over two years (and I was fortunate enough to be on the seat for a couple of those) I would say go with something with a bit more natural volume. Evans G2 clears never seem to go amiss in these situations and they have plenty of natural tone and volume.

Those would work, or Remo Ebony Pinstripes. Lots more volume than the Performance IIs, with waaaay more punch, and some good looks=D
 
Well, since the rest of the heads I mentioned are Aquarian, it would be best to go with the Superkick II, which goes very well with the Regulator (they are practically brothers). It's very durable, focused, and punchy. Perfect for metal. An equivalent of that would be the Evans EMAD, but if you're like me and want all your heads to match brands, go for the Performance IIs, Hi-Energy, Superkick II, Regulator, Classic Clear tom resos, and Classic Clear Snare Side reso for the snare.

Go here for a list of them--it's under Classic Rock, I know it's not metal, but it's what you're looking for:

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/drumhead_tips/default.asp#drumhead

Haha i guess you're a bit of an aquarian officianado (sp?) yeah i'm using an SK II on my kick right now. It's okay i guess. The thing is though is that i'm not really looking for damped heads, i want my drums to sing.

Performance II's will kill any natural sound of the drums - so they'll make the old dull 'thud'. Probably ok for metal if you're mic'ed up, but working on the assumption that I've only ever seen a decent mic setup for a local group three times in over two years (and I was fortunate enough to be on the seat for a couple of those) I would say go with something with a bit more natural volume. Evans G2 clears never seem to go amiss in these situations and they have plenty of natural tone and volume.

I was thinking of getting evans G plus heads, they seem quite good. Obviously as you say i want drums which sound good acoustically as well as recording.
 
Haha i guess you're a bit of an aquarian officianado (sp?) yeah i'm using an SK II on my kick right now. It's okay i guess. The thing is though is that i'm not really looking for damped heads, i want my drums to sing.



I was thinking of getting evans G plus heads, they seem quite good. Obviously as you say i want drums which sound good acoustically as well as recording.

HAHAHAHA are you kidding? I'm totally not sponsored by Aquarian--I'm 14 years old and taking drum lessons. But oh, if you want your drums to sing, then I dunno. Sorry.
 
yeah i'm using an SK II on my kick right now. It's okay i guess. The thing is though is that i'm not really looking for damped heads, i want my drums to sing.

The way to make a Superkick sound great is to have absolutely no other muffling in the drum. The Aquarian Regulator I believe also is a muffled head (I have one ordered and on its way actually) and I have a Superkick I on my bass drums right now. I had a Superkick II on my old kit which I became reacquainted with today.... I had a pillow in there. Bad idea. The drums might've been old and terrible but I took the resonant head off completely and pulled the pillow out and the bass drum sounded GREAT considering the fact it was a piece of crap and the head is just hitting about a year old now.

So if you have your Superkick and the Regulator, it should have nice volume and tone if tuned right.... just remember not to leave anything else in your drum. It'll sing alright.
 
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