T
TwoCables
Guest
I'll try the air vent experiment. I have to change a couple heads anyway.
I'll tape off on the outside on a few too, just to see what happens.
I use Coated Ambassadors (on everything but the snare).
I use double butt end sticks.
I play regularly in a Heavy Rock, and a Hard Blues/Rock band.
Even playing hard in some large venues, I don't dent heads normally at all.
In the life span of the heads, which could be 6-9 months, there might be one small dent in the 16" FT, and maybe 1 in the 12 or 13" tom (depending on what I feel like using during that time period). The 18 will never get a dent (or, hasn't gotten a dent that I can remember, can't say it won't ever haha!). The left side FT hasn't gotten a dent yet (since 93--the heads have been changed since then, yuck, yuck).
I had a head or two get a dent in it early, but that was when I had my kit as the "house kit" for all the drummers to use for a benefit.
The kit was basically not changed at all as far as floor tom heights or angles.
The tom not that I noticed either.
I can only assume it was from the angle that someone would normally come down on a drum at by the way they hold their hands.
Out of all the drummers (6) only maybe 1 of them had any training, or lessons. Not sure about that 1 person really--good player, not a hack, but, I don't know his background.
I had school orchestra and regular private snare drum lessons for about 4 years (stopped because I didn't want to go into competitions, and the teachers were kinda big into it. NOT for me).
MAYBE it's how someone strikes the head?
MAYBE it's the angle of the drums--mine are flat for FT's, almost flat for the tom.
I play heavy, and get a sound with some girth to it, but I play at all dynamic levels, mainly with Moller, and I play OFF the heads, not into them.
THAT may be the real reason for dents. Not EVERY stroke someone played is going to be "off" the head.
I play off the bass drum too, and that may be why I get 5-6 years of great sound and feel from an Ambassador bass drum head. With a single ply bass drum head, you'd think it would be dead sounding after about a year, but, by just changing that patch I use, the head feels new every time I do it--till I think I should probably change it (I had 7 years on one bass drum).
How often do you play per month? I am trying to learn something from you here.
Also, I think it's due to the angle of the stick as it strikes the head. That is, the more parallel the stick is to the head, the lower the chances are of denting the head. I don't remember where I learned it, but I remember learning that the stick should be as parallel to the heads for this very reason. It was on that day that I improved the angles of my drums. At the same time, I stopped denting heads. Although, I was also working on my technique like a madman, so I guess that played a role because I was striving for allowing the stick to do most of the work instead of me doing all of it.
So, my heads last a long time, including my bass drum - and I don't use a patch. However, I don't get to play my drums very often either. Maybe a couple of times per month for a couple of hours at a time. We gig maybe once every other month and we do 3 sets to fill a 4-hour night. I don't mind though because I can't afford new heads and sticks!
Anyway, how often do you play per month?