Fiberskyns

johnquach

Junior Member
I was thinking about getting one for my 13 x 7 birch snare. I'm currently learning how to play jazz and would like a head more resonant than my evans genera dry. Anyone have experience with these heads on their snare?
 
I had a set on my toms and the only problem to me was a plastic sound. Not warm at all.
 
At first the fiberskyns were sounded very good, so I put them on my toms and snare for my Gretsch kit. The coating on the head is unusual, it is like a paper with an adhesive backing like what one uses for their shelves in their kitchen. Remo took a photograph of a calf-skin head and reproduced it on a contact paper. It is not a traditional head coating that is more like a paint.

But after a short time, only a few months, the contact paper that was applied to the heads starts to bubble up and then the heads became very easy to crack, and I would break the heads.

I started using Aquarian Modern Vintage instead, I have them now in place of the fiberskyns and also have them on my Pearl kit for the batters on the snare and the toms.

On Edit, I attached some photos of the bubbling in the early stages.
 
I am trying again to show this photos of the bubbling in the early stages.
 

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Is this any different from fiberskyn II's? I've had one in storage for ages but never got around to putting it on my snare.
 
The Fiberskyn 3's were supposed to be an improvement over all fiberskyn's before them. So if they're still bubbling like that after continued use, I'm not sure if the problem will ever be fixed. I did use a fiberskyn 3/PS3 as a front reso for my bass drum and it looked great. I thought it a little too muffled.

I think if you're looking for responsive heads, you should try the Remo Legacy (?) heads. I believe that's what they're called. They're thin, opaque, and designed for orchestral use.
 
The Fiberskyn 3's were supposed to be an improvement over all fiberskyn's before them. So if they're still bubbling like that after continued use, I'm not sure if the problem will ever be fixed. I did use a fiberskyn 3/PS3 as a front reso for my bass drum and it looked great. I thought it a little too muffled.

I think if you're looking for responsive heads, you should try the Remo Legacy (?) heads. I believe that's what they're called. They're thin, opaque, and designed for orchestral use.

I believe the line you're thinking of is called the Renaissance series. They sound fantastic on my school's ply Pearl Philharmonic snares- very defined, with a really nice punch (especially with lighter sticks like Coopermans). Pleasing overtones, though for most stuff I find that I need to use a small cloth for a little dampening.
 
I believe the line you're thinking of is called the Renaissance series. They sound fantastic on my school's ply Pearl Philharmonic snares- very defined, with a really nice punch (especially with lighter sticks like Coopermans). Pleasing overtones, though for most stuff I find that I need to use a small cloth for a little dampening.

I knew I was wrong on the name. Its so rare when I see them but the few times I've heard them and played them, they were fantastic!
 
I knew I was wrong on the name. Its so rare when I see them but the few times I've heard them and played them, they were fantastic!

I'm going to be trying either the Renaissance snare-side or the Evans Orchestral 300 on my snare sometime soon, heard fantastic things about how the film plays with snare wires... I'll definitely make a thread (or respond here) when that happens.
 
I'm going to be trying either the Renaissance snare-side or the Evans Orchestral 300 on my snare sometime soon, heard fantastic things about how the film plays with snare wires... I'll definitely make a thread (or respond here) when that happens.

Do you have a Lang Percussion Gladstone 7x14 snare to put them on? That would be even awesomer ;)
 
I want to try a Remo Skyntone head on one of my snares.
 
did you look at the Evans J1 Etched heads ? i am in love w/ them right now. last year was coated Diplomats

i actually outfitted Fiberskyn Diplomats on my jazz kit about 2 years ago. the only thing i liked was the 20" Ambassador head as a resonant front head (nice NICE tone w/ a PS3 coated as batter, wide open).

but over-all, as a guy who runs everything extremely wide open for jazz, i hated the Fiberskyns. even the Diplomats seemed to thuddy / thick. i also hated the brush feel / sound. i felt like i was playing on a smooth plastic head. i am just too used a coated head. what Jeff Hamilton does on Fiberskyns is truly amazing. when he plays them, they sound thin / responsive.

i now run the Evans J1 Etched head on my snare & toms. Brush sound on it is just amazing & smooth sounding. easy to play very sensitively & quiet...no "break in" period needed RE a fresh coated head & brushes (sounds like white noise). why i went away from coated Diplomats.
 
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I used Fiberskyn 3 Diplomats on my snare batter only. Loved them with sticks. They took some getting used to with brushes. I've recently switched to Evans and have been wondering about the J1 Etched heads like Double G mentioned above.

BTW Double G: What are you using for reso's with the J1 Etched?
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. evolving_machine, maybe the head had a defect? how do those modern vintages compare to the fiberskyns? I will check out the Renaissance and J1s. Are these heads versatile?
 
Hate to say it but bubbling on Fiberskyn's is common.

It's always happened to me and way too soon after putting the head on a snare.. It doesn't seem to affect the overall stick sound but I find it unbearable for brush playing - which is what FS3's are supposed to excel at.


My guess at why guys like Jeff Hamilton and Steve Smith use them is because as endorsees they get plenty of heads and will change out bubbled batters at first sign of delamination
 
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