which heads for maple kit?

That depends on...everything! What do you want it to sound like? What style of music are you playing?
 
Maple or mahogany? Why two threads? Do you have two kits? Have you read any of the other threads on this sub-forum?
 
i like the drums to sing i dont want a dead sound

I'm using good old ambassadors on my maples (top and bottom).

It's a personal choice at the end of the day, but single ply and no muffling pretty much guarantees they'll sing assuming they're good drums and if tuned correctly.

I'll probably try Evans G1's next, or Aquarian Satin.. variety is good. I don't think you can go wrong with any decent single ply if tuned correctly. 2 ply can sing just fine too.

Tuning is the key here...
 
1 ply heads wont last me very long ... im probably think clear emps over clear ambassadors?

They don't? Mine seem to last ages, and that's playing rock. You could try Ambassador X - that's what Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) uses. They are 20% thicker than Ambassadors.

Anyhoo.. yeah Emporer over Ambassador, that combo is pretty classic and currently I use that on my old XPK kit, I just prefer the feel and sound of 1 ply though at the moment so that'll be changing soon.

I can't guarantee you'll like it, you need to just try it... trial and error, it's a bit of a personal journey really.

You need to find a compromise: a thicker head is obviously going to sing less at the end of the day...
 
well i dont want them to ring alot ... just like some ring not dead like pinstripes or something. my kit is gretsch ... coated heads look nice on gretsch kits so maybe i will try coated ambassadors
 
well i dont want them to ring alot ... just like some ring not dead like pinstripes or something. my kit is gretsch ... coated heads look nice on gretsch kits so maybe i will try coated ambassadors

Yes pinstripes are pretty dead sounding. If sticking with Remo, it sounds like your choices are (in order of thickness):

Ambassador
Ambassador X
Emporer
Emporer X

If you do choose Ambassadors please don't blame me if you dent the hell out of them first time you use them (though I'd check your technique if that happens). I tend to find the thinner the head, the more critical the tuning too, but I still prefer them (at the moment).

Anyway, to see your choices in full (for Remo at least) : -

http://remo.com/portal/products/3/8/50/ds_coated.html

Have fun experimenting.
 
which heads would be best for maple kit ? suggestions ?

This is def a personal preference question. I currently play coated Emps over clear Ambs on the toms, with a coated Emp X over a clear Amb on the snare. Yes, I am a hard hitter, so I want durability, but my selection also goes for sound of coarse.

I find that since I'm a hard hitter, and I like low, resonant drums, I tune my toms very low. I hit them hard enough that I get full resonance from them, and they sing all day.

So I would just study up on the diff heads and find one that you think suits your personal playing.
 
It really doesn't matter on the composition of the shells, it matters much more with what you want to hear and your ability to tune. This afternoon I was playing a DW Collectors kit (maple), the batter heads were Remo Pinstripes and the resonant heads were Remo Ambassadors. These drums were not even close to sounding dead because they were tuned to their shells. This is very unusual finding a stage kit that someone knows how to tune and sounds this nice. I for one for the most part really dislike muffled or controlled heads on toms.

Dennis
 
... it matters much more with what you want to hear and your ability to tune. This afternoon I was playing a DW Collectors kit (maple), the batter heads were Remo Pinstripes and the resonant heads were Remo Ambassadors. These drums were not even close to sounding dead because they were tuned to their shells....

Dennis

+1

I don't get it why people always say that pinstripes equal a dead sounding drum. I mean sure they have a more controlled sound then say 1 ply heads but with the right tuning they certainly aren't dead. I was born and bread on pinstripes and seriously those babies can sing. They just have more prominent sustain and ring in the the lower frequencies rather than the highs.
 
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