1-Ply Snare Heads

Beam Me Up Scotty

Silver Member
Feeling adventurous yesterday, I went out to my local Long & McQuade's and bought an Evans Power Centre Reverse Dot single ply snare batter head. For as long as I can remember, I have always used a two-ply head and my head of choice has been the Evans EC Power Dot.
With that being said, I had been wanting a more open sounding head - no premuffled heads. I guess you could say I'd just become bored with my snare sound, and with my change in style to playing with more dynamics, I felt it was time to try out a single ply head. I got home, threw the head on, tuned up the drum, and played.

Wow.

This honestly made a world of difference regarding the sonic capabilities of the head. Playing primarily heavy music for the majority of my drumming life has made me... ignorant to the values of having a head which will respond to the lightest of touches. At first I was worried, as this new head was 10/17ths the thickness of the EC2, but the more I played, the more comfortable I felt with it.
I guess this is all common sense really, but it has been years since I'd used a single ply on my snare, it was just nice to have my snare feel more "alive" and "open" as compared to focused and poppy sounding. All in all, I am extremely happy with this switch - I won't be looking back at a two-ply head any time soon, I can tell you that much!
 
Try a coated G1 or Ambassador and see what your snare is really like, every other head is based off of that one and it will show you your drum at its most open and dynamic. Doubt you will bust through it unless you keep super low tension, they're quite tough. Anyways welcome back to the tone. Have fun, keep drumming!
 
I have 3 snare heads right now- the Clear Controlled Sound ( basically the same construction as your evans ), the Coated Ambassador (10mil), and the Vintage A (7.5mil and 3mil, very close to single-ply). I agree with your assessment, after using the same one you used to use the Coated Ambassador (my favorite of the three) is so much more sensitive than the EC.

Heads up- if you ever want to get that oh-so-popular djent-style snare tone, a clear Controlled Sound medium-high and a cranked reso are the heads for it. Especially on my stave snare.
 
I have a story very similar to yours - 2-ply since forever and recently went to single ply. I put an Ambassador X on one of my snares (12 mil) and really liked the feel and tone, but after just a couple of months, my stick went right through it. I went from, "Hey, this sounds great," to, "Where'd my snare go?" in just one hit. I went back to 2-plies after that little surprise.

Don't have that potential 'gotcha' always hanging out there with a two ply, but you probably won't run into that with a reverse dot, either (I'm guessing ... ). The dot is acting as a muffler, though, so if you really want an open head you'll need to ditch that.
 
I went from, "Hey, this sounds great," to, "Where'd my snare go?" in just one hit.

Yep...I switched to Ambassadors for a bit. Liked the sound but they didn't hold up to my caveman antics. I hadn't broken a head since I was a kid. Back to 2-ply or CS heads for me.
 
Try a coated G1 or Ambassador and see what your snare is really like, every other head is based off of that one and it will show you your drum at its most open and dynamic. Doubt you will bust through it unless you keep super low tension, they're quite tough. Anyways welcome back to the tone. Have fun, keep drumming!

When I selected this snare, it actually came with a coated G1. I remember hating the open sound of it - but this was when I was used to a focused 'pop' from my snare. So with the change of music style, I've grown to like that more open sound.

I am aware the power dot does muffle the head a little bit, but it does so to create just the right balance, to my ear, of focus (in the centre) and openness (everywhere else). Plus the sensitivity of this head just blows the EC out of the water. I'm really not worried about going through the head though, and even if I do, I have a couple spare heads lying around specifically for that situation.
 
I have a story very similar to yours - 2-ply since forever and recently went to single ply. I put an Ambassador X on one of my snares (12 mil) and really liked the feel and tone, but after just a couple of months, my stick went right through it. I went from, "Hey, this sounds great," to, "Where'd my snare go?" in just one hit. I went back to 2-plies after that little surprise.

Don't have that potential 'gotcha' always hanging out there with a two ply, but you probably won't run into that with a reverse dot, either (I'm guessing ... ). The dot is acting as a muffler, though, so if you really want an open head you'll need to ditch that.

You should give the Remo X14 a shot. It has the benefits of both a single ply head and of a 2 ply head... 14mil thick like an Emperor, but 1 ply like an Ambassador. I find it to be just about perfect on every snare that I use it on. I currently have it on 4 of my 8 snares. The other 4 snares have Coated Ambassdors on them and will be switched to X14s when they become worn out.
 
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