How large is your head collection?

It strikes me how many snares and cymbals some people collect, but how about investing in drum heads?

I have coated single ply, coated two ply, clear single ply, clear two ply, muffled single ply... each with a distinct voice. There's still more to go though. In a whiff I can model a disco sound into a jazz voice or anything inbetween. Instead of chasing new drums, I can get a different tone from the same drum set by changing heads.

Who thinks investing in heads is worth more than new drums or effect cymbals? Pictures of head collections are welcome

Worth more? No.

I used to have a large collection, but I've since narrowed it down. I had, like, 15 different snare heads that I'd experiment with on different drums I'd buy to see what sounded good on what drums. I've come to the conclusion that lots of different heads have different characteristics, but the head that I'M most satisfied with overall is the Coated Ambassador. So, now I have a couple of those as back ups, and most of my snares are equipped with them. I also have a Fibreskyn, Renaissance, and Coated Dot for experimenting with new drums, but I usually end up liking the Coated Ambassador the best, so I go with that.

As for bass drum heads, I still have a few around, but most of my spares have gone to students. I like EMADs and SKIIs on my DW Collector's and 1970 Ludwig Downbeat, so the rest have moved on. I also just got a Fibreskyn for my 22" vintage Ludwig that I REALLY like. I have a few coated Ambs, an SKII and a ported reso for my 18" kick, and some Aquarian Modern Vintages for my 16" Roger's kick drum. I also have a small collection of resos...ported, solid, muffled, etc. in 20" and 22" sizes...

Now...the TOM heads are what I have amassed, due to the variety of groups I'm in and sounds I like. I've narrowed down my collection to a set of Coated G2s, clear Emperors, and clear ambassadors for my DW's 10/12/14/16 toms (for different studio applications). Also, I use Coated Ambassadors exclusively on my Ludwig 12/14 toms. I'm still figuring out what heads I dig on my 12/13/16 Ludwig toms...I have a set of Coated Emperors, Coated Ambassadors, and Renaissance heads that I've switched back and forth between a few times, not quite entirely convinced that one set is better than another. I'm gonna pick up a set of etched heads today for super cheap, which I've gotten favorable opinions on from other Ludwig enthusiasts...

So, yeah...heads are key to your sound. Here's a pic of, roughly, a fifth of my heads, just so you don't think I'm pulling your guys' legs (the rest are deeper in the closet, in other rooms, at the studio, scattered on the floor around my Ludwig kit, etc...). I have them organized by set and new/used.

There are specific heads I like and use regularly, and I keep a supply of them on-hand for regular wear & tear, re-heading a newly-acquired kit or snare, and occasionally changing heads for a different sound from a kit. Typically I have 2-5 of each head in each size - usually more snare batters - and there are about 120 heads in my 'inventory' at the moment.

Here's a recent pic minus 18" & kick heads:



I'll also be ordering about 75 heads for the summer tour.

Bermuda

I have more bass drum heads than anything.

I have 2-3 emad 3's, 2 superkick I, superkick 2 batters
I have 2 regulators, a fyberskin, 2 eq2 white coated, 1 eq2 shiny white resonants.

Plus I have a collection of retired resonant heads with logos of different bands I've been in with 2 18" ambassodor whites, 2 or 3 24" ambassador whites. I just gave this local club one of my 24" regulator video blacks that the band autographed after my bass player put a mic stand through the head!

for batters I have a bunch of 14's
genera hd dry coated, g1 coated, g2 coated, emporer x, gretsch permatone coated, 2-3 gplus coated (my current batter of choice)
For toms I have 2 full sets of gplus coated, g1 coateds on my ludwig set, g2 coated in boxes (slightly used)
all my resonant heads are g1 resonant, and I don't have any spares at the moment. I do have a spare hazy 200, and a diplomat snare side resonant.

I don't have pics but I will try to take some next time I'm at the studio. I usually do not save old heads. I put them next to the trash at the rehearsal studios and they get picked up pretty fast. I change batters at least once a month, before and after every tour (usually 2 week tours) Every recording session. I change my resonant heads every 3rd time I change the batters.

I currently have gplus coateds over g1 resonants on my gretsch kit with aquarian sk1 over regulator video black.
My ludwig kit is running g1 coated over g1 resonants, with emad 3 over fiberskyn resonant.

Here's mine.

Once I find a good one, I keep it for a long time.

-R

I have a couple in my back yard.

Man, my head collection suddenly seems woefully inadequate. I better step it up. It's definitely cheaper than investing in different drums.

I currently have in my 'collection' a couple Aquarian Response 2s, a Focus-X, some Modern Vintage heads, and a few Texture Coated; one with a Power Dot.

BTW, great comments rjvsmb and Mixelpix!! Very clever. Wish I would've thought of that first...