What drum head would you suggest for a 16 inch floor tom?

BigDinSD

Gold Member
I'm trying to create a short sustain, and minimize the "boing" from my little 16 in monster.
It is part of my DW Collector's series in maple.

I have Coated G2's on my other toms (12, 14), and an Aquarian Coated Super 2 on my 10" Tom.
Those sound cool, and I may further reduce their sustain later.

I want a warm tone, with short sustain (coated head?). When I drum roll around the set, that last one (16") just keeps going. Oh...I WANT TO AVOID using moongel and Studio Muffling Rings. I've heard some great 16 inch TOMs on Youtube, so I know it's possible (assuming no mixing/engineering was done).

Am considering at this time; Evans Coated EC2's, Aquarian Coated Super 2's and ANYTHING ELSE you fine people can suggest for my sanity!
 
I'd use a warm med-heavy weight head on the batter side, like a coater emperor, or coated pinstripe, or even a PS3 as suggested... Also, the lighter weight reso head you use, the shorter the sustain will be, so I'd go for a Diplomat weight if you want to shorten that up, nothing thicker than a Ambassador weight.
 
Well, I love Coated Emperors.. and if you tune them low they shoulnd't ring ("boiiing"). They have sustain though, which I like.

If your tuning your G2's low and still can't get there I guess you could try a Pinstripe. They're good ol' proven heads.

Cheers
 
Evans Ec2 clear batter with Evans Ec resonant

killer combo for exactly what you describe

although you can get a similar sound with an emperor over an ambassador
and a spot of moongel....

tune your floor tom to the lowest possible note both top and bottom..
then slowly tune them each up a tiny bit higher = BOOM! perfect sound

I have found that Ec2's can be tuned lower than most heads and still have resonance
they are a very good head for floor toms.
 
I'm trying to create a short sustain, and minimize the "boing" from my little 16 in monster.
It is part of my DW Collector's series in maple.

I have Coated G2's on my other toms (12, 14), and an Aquarian Coated Super 2 on my 10" Tom.
Those sound cool, and I may further reduce their sustain later.

I want a warm tone, with short sustain (coated head?). When I drum roll around the set, that last one (16") just keeps going. Oh...I WANT TO AVOID using moongel and Studio Muffling Rings. I've heard some great 16 inch TOMs on Youtube, so I know it's possible (assuming no mixing/engineering was done).

Am considering at this time; Evans Coated EC2's, Aquarian Coated Super 2's and ANYTHING ELSE you fine people can suggest for my sanity!

Within Aquarian, you may look at the Response 2. It's their regular 2-ply head. Their more muffled 2-ply is the Performance II. It's sealed around the perimeter and has a very deep, muffled thud to it. Some folks find it to be a bit too much though. Try one, you might like it.
 
I'd use a warm med-heavy weight head on the batter side, like a coater emperor, or coated pinstripe, or even a PS3 as suggested... Also, the lighter weight reso head you use, the shorter the sustain will be, so I'd go for a Diplomat weight if you want to shorten that up, nothing thicker than a Ambassador weight.

Right! Forgot to mention the single ply remo ambassador reso's (DW stock issued
 
Within Aquarian, you may look at the Response 2. It's their regular 2-ply head. Their more muffled 2-ply is the Performance II. It's sealed around the perimeter and has a very deep, muffled thud to it. Some folks find it to be a bit too much though. Try one, you might like it.

Cool - I'll throw that into the mix. I actually did try the Response 2 on my DW snare. I just coudn't get it to sound like Mike Johnston's, since he uses that one. I put it on the 14" floor tom, and does sound "NICE" IMO. I'm wanting more thud than long boing at this point.
 
Evans Ec2 clear batter with Evans Ec resonant

killer combo for exactly what you describe

although you can get a similar sound with an emperor over an ambassador
and a spot of moongel....

tune your floor tom to the lowest possible note both top and bottom..
then slowly tune them each up a tiny bit higher = BOOM! perfect sound

I have found that Ec2's can be tuned lower than most heads and still have resonance
they are a very good head for floor toms.

Perhaps EC2's - coated though. Seems a popular choice.
 
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I would try using a single ply 10 mil coated head for the resonant head. This might be the only change you need for the sound you're looking for. This works great for the toms on my DW Classic drums. The shell composition is different from the Collectors, but the end result might be what you're after.

Dennis
 
I would try using a single ply 10 mil coated head for the resonant head. This might be the only change you need for the sound you're looking for. This works great for the toms on my DW Classic drums. The shell composition is different from the Collectors, but the end result might be what you're after.

Dennis

oh...hadn't even considered a "coated" reso - makes sense. Less ring, sustain?

Any particular brands?
 
It's all in the tuning my friend. You should be able to get a killer sound from that 16" floor tom with a coated or clear 2 ply head such as an emperor or G2. Coated heads are a bit warmer. To reduce the "boing" and sustain, tightening the bottom head higher than the top works wonders. Try this, tune the top head to the low end of the sweet spot of the drum, probably somewhere around 1 1/2 to 2 full turns of a drum key. Find the pitch at each lug and even them out so they are equal. Make sure it feels good to you when struck...not too tight and not too floppy. Then, tune the bottom head tighter until you reduce the amount of sustain and boinginess to a tolerable amount. The bottom head is usually significantly tighter, being somewhere around a minor third to a fourth (3 to 5 notes) above the batter head.

If you want more specifics on how this is done, go to the tom tuning thread and start at post #69.
 
It's all in the tuning my friend. You should be able to get a killer sound from that 16" floor tom with a coated or clear 2 ply head such as an emperor or G2. Coated heads are a bit warmer. To reduce the "boing" and sustain, tightening the bottom head higher than the top works wonders. Try this, tune the top head to the low end of the sweet spot of the drum, probably somewhere around 1 1/2 to 2 full turns of a drum key. Find the pitch at each lug and even them out so they are equal. Make sure it feels good to you when struck...not too tight and not too floppy. Then, tune the bottom head tighter until you reduce the amount of sustain and boinginess to a tolerable amount. The bottom head is usually significantly tighter, being somewhere around a minor third to a fourth (3 to 5 notes) above the batter head.

If you want more specifics on how this is done, go to the tom tuning thread and start at post #69.

Great info. Thanks! Yeah, I have eliminated the boing from it, and have the reso head tightened significantly more than the batter. It's now the sustain I want to further reduce.
 
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I usually tune both the batter and resonant heads of my toms to the same pitch and that pitch is where the shell wants to sing. The boing effect is more of a matter of the heads being in-tune with themselves (approximately the same pitch at each tension rod of the batter head and each rod of the resonant head). It's not mandatory that both heads be of the same pitch, but both heads should be in-tune with itself.

Dennis
 
I usually tune both the batter and resonant heads of my toms to the same pitch and that pitch is where the shell wants to sing. The boing effect is more of a matter of the heads being in-tune with themselves (approximately the same pitch at each tension rod of the batter head and each rod of the resonant head). It's not mandatory that both heads be of the same pitch, but both heads should be in-tune with itself.

Dennis

Yeah - boing is gone. Sustain still a little too long.
Probably leaning towards the Aquarian Performance II for batter, and Evans EC for Reso.

I'm thinking that because our church has DW's with Coated EC2's on the 16" toms. BTW, they have even added moongelly to them. I do like how they sound, and think the EC2's need a touch of help for my taste.
 
Usually, having both heads tuned to the same pitch gives you a pure open sound. That can be just right, but alot of times, that type of tuning on the floor toms allows for too much resonance and sustain. If tightening your resonant head up hasn't given you the desired amount of sustain, the only other thing that I know of that works, although I hate to resort to any kind of muffling, is to drop a richie ring inside the drum so it rests on and muffles the resonant head. It's cool because you don't see it and it doesn't rattle or make any noise. Personally, I think you can tune them to get the perfect sound, but it may be difficult for you if you're not used to doing it or have a difficult room. Good luck brother, hope it all works out.
 
Usually, having both heads tuned to the same pitch gives you a pure open sound. That can be just right, but alot of times, that type of tuning on the floor toms allows for too much resonance and sustain. If tightening your resonant head up hasn't given you the desired amount of sustain, the only other thing that I know of that works, although I hate to resort to any kind of muffling, is to drop a richie ring inside the drum so it rests on and muffles the resonant head. It's cool because you don't see it and it doesn't rattle or make any noise. Personally, I think you can tune them to get the perfect sound, but it may be difficult for you if you're not used to doing it or have a difficult room. Good luck brother, hope it all works out.

I think I've got it tuned pretty good, both heads in tune with themselves - with the reso tighter than the batter. Perfect, except for just a little too long sustain...

I like your suggestion on dropping a richie ring inside the reso. The current G2 head is pretty new, so rather than just tossing it - I can still use it until it wears down. I made a ring out of the old DW stock batter head. I guess I'll be getting more tuning practice now when I drop in the ring.
 
I'm just wondering, is the sustain too long to your ears behind the kit or about twenty feet in front of the kit? I usually always tune for wide open and although it seems like the drum is holding the note for a fair amount of time, it doesn't sound nearly that out front. It all adds up to a full sounding set of drums.

I played a set of DW ECO drums a few months ago and never heard sustain like on those toms, but it sounded great in the audience.

Dennis
 
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