2 ply resonant heads?

Liaztraht

Silver Member
Any one else find that 2 ply over 2 ply heads sounds wonderful?
Or am I a loner on this one?
 
I have heard of it but I cant even use 2ply over 1ply, I just find any 2 ply heads to controlled. Singly ply aquarian studio x for me and even find the single ply focus x too controlled as well.
 
I for one like it. If I'm using 2-ply emperors (or G2's) as my batters, I like having the same weight head on the other side for balance. Every time I've tried a lighter head on the reso side (especially for toms) I felt I got too much of a higher pitched ring I didn't like. My bass drum currently uses a PS3 on the batter side and an emperor on the front, and I think a heavier 2-ply head contributes to a lower pitch in this instance.
 
I have experimented with 2 ply reso's.
I would rather use a coated single ply reso instead for a warm sound.
The 2 ply reso's didn't sound bad though.
I just didn't get enough sustain from them.
Recently I tried the Evans EC Clear reso on my Sonar Safari 12x14 floor tom. I love it!
What a nice warm tone with good sustain and little ring or overtones.
 
Just wondering if anyone has done PS4's over Emperors?

I am currently playing every Sunday morning in a Gymnasium-to-Sanctuary convert (outgrew the old sanctuary very quickly) and am needing to cut down on sustain and overtones as much as possible.

I have been toying with the idea and am almost set on doing clear Powerstroke 4's over Black Suede Emperors for all my toms.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Two over two will give you sustain for days unless tuned jaw on both sides. At least for me.
 
Can go 70's and no "Reso" heads on toms or kick which will reduce sustain quite a bit…Batters can have a couple of "tuning ranges" (JAW to Just Below point where overtones start)…I used zero reso's back then and worked well for low end thump with no overtones…Also the matter of aesthetics...Hope you are able to "key" in on situation…Heh...
 
Two over two will give you sustain for days unless tuned jaw on both sides. At least for me.

It's funny, I keep getting conflicting accounts on this. Some say that a 2-ply reso increases sustain, some say that it shortens. Just about every other person I ask says the exact opposite of the person before.

I'm using Remo clear Vintage Emperors over Remo coated Pinstripes right now and I love the combination, I tune my drums pretty low and the coated Pinstripe as a resonant head kills the overtones just like I like.

I'm going to try coated Vintage Emperors on the batter side the next time I replace my heads

That was kind of my reasoning behind the Black Suede Emps as reso's. I spoke to a Remo Rep who said that they were kind of a mix of a coated and non coated head, that it is the head itself that is black and textured.

Can go 70's and no "Reso" heads on toms or kick which will reduce sustain quite a bit…Batters can have a couple of "tuning ranges" (JAW to Just Below point where overtones start)…I used zero reso's back then and worked well for low end thump with no overtones…Also the matter of aesthetics...Hope you are able to "key" in on situation…Heh...

I have tried not using reso's, and I cannot pinpoint what it is, but I just do not like the sound. It may have something to do with they sound too much like marching tenors. That is strictly my opinion on it, and I do appreciate the input.
 
It's funny, I keep getting conflicting accounts on this. Some say that a 2-ply reso increases sustain, some say that it shortens. Just about every other person I ask says the exact opposite of the person before.

I basically said both. Depends on the tuning. Jaw Will be pretty much dead, a little higher on the reso or both increase sustain. Or so it did with performance 2 over emperors for me.
When i rocked that combo, I tuned the batters a little higher than jaw and the resos a little higher than that. My toms sounded like thunder. Tuned jaw, it was just a super wet slap.
 
I basically said both. Depends on the tuning. Jaw Will be pretty much dead, a little higher on the reso or both increase sustain. Or so it did with performance 2 over emperors for me.
When i rocked that combo, I tuned the batters a little higher than jaw and the resos a little higher than that. My toms sounded like thunder. Tuned jaw, it was just a super wet slap.

Thanks for the advice!! And when you say "super wet slap" I can't help but think of someone playing with a couple of tuna for drumsticks... I know I'm odd...
 
Superb wet slap would probably pinstripes over emperors all tuned jaw. Muffle as needed.
Pinstripes in general tuned low are like playing with sacks of pudding instead of drums. More cut than Evans hydraulics.
 
I finally settled on Black Suede Emperors over Black Suede Ambassadors for my studio kit---12x10, 13x11, 16x16 toms, 14X6.5 wood snare has a Black X over Black Suede snare side (4 mil), 22x14 kick has a Black Suede PS3 with center ported reso (flame graphic) I keep everything tuned low but the snare, and these bad boys are serious THUMPERS!
1860_zpsriq3wgaw.jpg


This pic was before I added the Ambassador resos---guess I need to take some new pics!
 
I finally settled on Black Suede Emperors over Black Suede Ambassadors for my studio kit---12x10, 13x11, 16x16 toms, 14X6.5 wood snare has a Black X over Black Suede snare side (4 mil), 22x14 kick has a Black Suede PS3 with center ported reso (flame graphic) I keep everything tuned low but the snare, and these bad boys are serious THUMPERS!
1860_zpsriq3wgaw.jpg


This pic was before I added the Ambassador resos---guess I need to take some new pics!

Good choices!
I need to go back to coated vintage emperors.Wide open they were deep and rumbly, put a muffle ring on they got darker and thumpy
 
I'm not certain the number of plys is the determining factor, but the mass of the head is.

I've always been a coated ambassadors on both sides guy. But I just switched over to Evans G12s top and bottom and I'm lovin it. Lots of sustain but with no nasty overtones that need to be damped out with tape or moongel.
 
On my practice kit I have two 16x16 floor toms tuned high and low. On the "high" floor I have an EC2 batter over a Genera resonant, but on the "low" one I have a Pinstripe batter with a G2 as a resonant and tuned low it sounds absolutely thunderous! If I close my eyes I swear it sounds like I have a 16-18 combo :-D
 
It depends on the kit for me. I've played on big drums or even small drums with acrylic shells and loved having two-ply heads (Always Evans G2 clears) on the bottoms. Still, my go-to heads will always be a varied range of single-ply heads.
 
Superb wet slap would probably pinstripes over emperors all tuned jaw. Muffle as needed.
Pinstripes in general tuned low are like playing with sacks of pudding instead of drums. More cut than Evans hydraulics.

I have heard some recordings of the hydraulics, but never anything live. I like the sound that I have heard, almost a sampled sound, but that could also been some of the audio processing. I've never run into anyone, personally, that uses them, so I am a bit hesitant.

I finally settled on Black Suede Emperors over Black Suede Ambassadors for my studio kit---12x10, 13x11, 16x16 toms, 14X6.5 wood snare has a Black X over Black Suede snare side (4 mil), 22x14 kick has a Black Suede PS3 with center ported reso (flame graphic) I keep everything tuned low but the snare, and these bad boys are serious THUMPERS!
1860_zpsriq3wgaw.jpg


This pic was before I added the Ambassador resos---guess I need to take some new pics!

Beauty of a kit! I bet it looks even nicer with the Ebony Ambasadors. I am with you on the sound of the ebonys, the drummer for a nearby church uses ebony ambassador top and bottom, and they sound amazing.

I'm not certain the number of plys is the determining factor, but the mass of the head is.

I've always been a coated ambassadors on both sides guy. But I just switched over to Evans G12s top and bottom and I'm lovin it. Lots of sustain but with no nasty overtones that need to be damped out with tape or moongel.

I think I can live with sustain as long as I can get rid of overtones. Sustain, I have come to realize, can be tuned down considerably. Tune the batter JAW and the reso a major third higer than batter pitch...

On my practice kit I have two 16x16 floor toms tuned high and low. On the "high" floor I have an EC2 batter over a Genera resonant, but on the "low" one I have a Pinstripe batter with a G2 as a resonant and tuned low it sounds absolutely thunderous! If I close my eyes I swear it sounds like I have a 16-18 combo :-D

G2 being a 2-ply? (Never really used Evans, never saw a need. Remo has always been good to me so why fix what isn't broken, right? Plus, unless times have changed, I can get comparable Remo heads $5 cheaper than Evans heads.)

If so, then that is exactly the sound I am looking for.

It depends on the kit for me. I've played on big drums or even small drums with acrylic shells and loved having two-ply heads (Always Evans G2 clears) on the bottoms. Still, my go-to heads will always be a varied range of single-ply heads.

Understood, another example of don't fix what isn't broken.


Thanks to everyone for their inputs, I greatly appreciate it. I think I am going to pull the trigger and go with the ebony emps for resos. Not going to be able to get them until the first of the year, but I will update everyone once I do and let you know how it goes.
 
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