Robert Smith Of The Cure Hates Remo Heads

this line from the article....

"The evidence that this happens right at the factory is when you tap the head right out of the box, some of the heads won't even produce anything aside from cardboard like resonance."

is complete garbage....heads typically do not give a tone right out of the box. Aquarians supposedly do...but that is about all. Heck Bozzio's Attack heads were the ones they compared with a guitar string...no tone till tensioned on a drum (guitar)....not saying bad heads don't happen becuase they do but alot of this sounds like primadonna behavior to me.
 
I haven't had much experience with Remo except for one time. I bought one of their heads 2 years ago for my snare. Within a day and a half the coating was chipping away on top in big chunks. I was severely ticked off because I don't have $20 to plop down on a head whenever I feel like it. I tried Evans and have never looked back.
 
I never liked the cure anyway.........
 
It doesn't matter what heads sound like OFF of the drum, in my opinion. Just more marketing hype! The only problem I have with Remos is that the coating flakes off eventually. It's usually well after the point of replacing the head, though.

Just for the record, I've never had the coating flake off of an Evans head before.
 
It doesn't matter what heads sound like OFF of the drum, in my opinion. Just more marketing hype! The only problem I have with Remos is that the coating flakes off eventually. It's usually well after the point of replacing the head, though.

Just for the record, I've never had the coating flake off of an Evans head before.
I totally agree! I haven't noticed any change in Remo heads. The coating on Remo's has always worn off faster than some other manufacturers heads. That is the way that they are! Nature of the beast, If you will! I don't use Remo coated heads for this reason. I only use Remo Clear Ambassadors, Diplomats and Emperors. For my coated head needs, I use Aquarian and Evans. I haven't had any problems with tuning Remo Heads. I have never checked the tone of an unmounted Remo head out of the box, I have never tested any head in this manor. That is stupid! Drum Heads are designed to be tensioned on a drum!
 
My Remo's sound just great. Both the coated ambassadors and the clear emperors. Whatever makes you happy :)
 
This seems pretty stupid to me. Even if the heads gave off a tone out of the box, you change that tone while tuning. Yoy can tune the the drum in a broad range so why should the tone of a bare head matter at all?
 
my drum teacher and i had a conversation about this last week. he was comparing aquarian heads to remo heads. he says he doesn't like aquarian heads because they're "too perfect". as a jazz/funk drummer he likes his heads to give off a more complex tone, like a hand hammered cymbal, and he thinks the tone given off by an aquarian head is too pure. he thinks the remo heads are more traditional sounding, with all their imperfections, and that's what he likes. as for me, i use remo heads myself and i think they sound great, but i don't dislike aquarian heads either.
 
Just for yucks and being the skeptic that I am, I took my 14 inch G2 out of the box when it was new and gave it a tap and it did produce a tone(note). Did the same with the Remo that came with my Gretsch snare and it was a thud. Does a test of 2 drum heads become scientific, no. BUt it does point out what the Aquarian ad poses and it does make some sense. I have Remo Fiberskyns on my toms now and they will be replaced with Evans G2 soon. I will keep them for photo shoots, since they look good, but in my limited testing over the last few months, they don't sound as good as G 2's and they cost too much more.
 
My guess is there are two varying trains of though though. Bozzio's Attack heads are the complete opposite end of the spectrum. No tension no tone (like a guitar string) and no preformed nodes where it joins the hoop. His feeling is it is more like a natural skin streched over the shell comforming to that drum. I agree with you the tapping test does not necessarily "prove" anything in terms of how it will sound tightened up or in the hands of someone who knows how to tune really well.
 
This seems pretty stupid to me. Even if the heads gave off a tone out of the box, you change that tone while tuning. Yoy can tune the the drum in a broad range so why should the tone of a bare head matter at all?

The concept is, if you tap a bad head unmounted you will get a thud, instead of hearing some resonance like you would on a good head.

There is something to it. I bought some VIntage A's when they first came out. The 12" resonated nicely in the tap test while the 14/16 gave me a thud.. I got the same result when they were mounted. The 12" drum sang nicely while the 14/16 were completely dead. Replaced all 3 with modern ambassadors that all resonated nicely unmounted. The 12" still sang like mad but now the 14/16 did as well.
 
there is some truth to this "tapping" method. i did this in the past, but don't anymore. just no time. plus i change heads too often. if i record, i check, though.
 
I've used Ambassadors and Vintage Ambassadors with no problems...maybe I'm just lucky

However, I actually prefer the Ludwig Weathermaster Medium to the Remo Ambassador 'cause I think the coatings are nicer and they hold up longer. Next time I switch out my Ambassadors, I'm going back to the Weathermaster. :)
 
I've been telling everyone this for years, and Remo's QC issues (and their denial that they even had issues) were the reasons I stopped using their heads.

As for the tap test, Aquarian didn't invent that. Every savvy drummer - Roy Burns included - had to test plastic heads to make sure they had a tendency to resonate. It meant that the Mylar is evenly glued and is not wrinkled (and in the case of 2-ply heads, it is crucial that the plies lay flat against each other!)

The difference between 'good' and 'bad' heads is most evident on toms, where a nice decay is normally desirable. Snare heads are more forgiving (as they're not intended to resonate the way a tom does,) and bass heads also tend to mount better as there's more area and manufacturing anomalies affect the sound to a lesser degree.

I would say that the article's bad head claims of 2/3 or even half are a bit extreme, but I personally had a failure rate of about 33% with Pinstripes and Emperors. That is, more often than not, at least one of my three toms didn't sound good thanks to a bad Remo head.

Bermuda
 
I never liked The Cure either...but I do love Remo heads. I've had a couple heads have the coating chip off in a day or two...but 99% of them have been fine. Remo heads just sound great...what else can be said? They've got a great feel too...they just feel right when you hit 'em.
 
What's the point of slamming the Cure because Robert Smith was frustrated with a defective product?

What part of "I never liked the cure" is 'slamming' The Cure?
Sure, it wasn't the most constructive post, but I was expressing myself in a non-offensive manner....
 
I've been telling everyone this for years, and Remo's QC issues (and their denial that they even had issues) were the reasons I stopped using their heads.

As for the tap test, Aquarian didn't invent that. Every savvy drummer - Roy Burns included - had to test plastic heads to make sure they had a tendency to resonate. It meant that the Mylar is evenly glued and is not wrinkled (and in the case of 2-ply heads, it is crucial that the plies lay flat against each other!)

The difference between 'good' and 'bad' heads is most evident on toms, where a nice decay is normally desirable. Snare heads are more forgiving (as they're not intended to resonate the way a tom does,) and bass heads also tend to mount better as there's more area and manufacturing anomalies affect the sound to a lesser degree.

I would say that the article's bad head claims of 2/3 or even half are a bit extreme, but I personally had a failure rate of about 33% with Pinstripes and Emperors. That is, more often than not, at least one of my three toms didn't sound good thanks to a bad Remo head.

Bermuda

Berumuda,
How often do you change your heads? Do you start all live shows on brand new heads or do you only change heads when you start to notice they worn past where you like themto be?
 
Back
Top