2 ply coated heads sounding deader lately

Larry

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
For at least 2 years now, it could be close to 3 years, it seems that any new 2 ply coated head I buy, be it coated G2 or a coated Emp...they seem to sound thicker and deader than I recall. I recall changing the head on my snare in late 2010 and my wife asking me...what's with your snare tonight? Not in a good way. I told her it's a brand new head.

It seems like with a new head, I have to play it for a few months before it starts to really sing. Has anyone else thought their new 2 ply heads sound deader than 2 ply heads of 2009 and back? I sure do. To the point where I took steel wool and rubbed some of the coating off. This helped a little, but it still never got the tone I was used to.

In fact I thought my 14 x 6.5 BB was a dud. For 2 years, I tried everything I could to get that drum to open up and it just wouldn't. Very frustrating for me because of all the praise the BB gets here. Then just last week as a last ditch effort to get this drum to wake up, I put a 3 year old used batter head on it, a coated emp. OMG, shut the front door, I love that drum now. The old head TOTALLY woke the drum up. Night and day. I'm so glad I didn't sell it. Now I understand why people rave about this drum, what a tone. In the 2 years I had it, I tried all kinds of combinations, with dismal results, but the one common factor is I always used brand new coated 2 ply heads on it. 3 different ones.

Does anyone have similar experiences with newer 2 ply coated heads?

I ordered an Aquarian Super 2 coated head. That's a 2 ply coated head, made up with a 7 mil layer and a 5 mil layer. (G2's and Emps are 2 layers of 7 mil). I will be reviewing it in a week or so. I have high expectations for this. I will be putting it on my BB, to see if it retains the amazing tone of the 3 year old coated emp it has on it now. I hope so, because new coated G2's and Emps sound so dead to me when they're brand new. I am not willing to play a dead sounding snare for a few months until the coating gets beaten down, and I don't feel I should have to abrade the coating off on a brand new head.

I'm hoping Aquarian can save me here. I also ordered a Response 2, which is Aquarian's version of a coated Emp or G2. I will be reviewing that too. I may even do a recording comparing the Aquarians to a brand new coated G2 I have.
 
No, but if the Aquarians don't do it for me, I will.
 
I have always disliked new heads. I think it takes, as you said, a few months to get the heads to tune to my satisfaction. When I change out snare heads I will actually take the old head off my backup snare and use that on my primary. This is something I noticed years ago, so not a new development for me.
 
No problems with the Evans ST (SuperTough), they're lively and articulate, and the quality is extremely consistent... I've never encountered a bad one. I use them almost exclusively on my snares, except where I need more delicate work like orchestral or brushes, which is seldom these days.

Bermuda
 
I like a single ply head on my BB. It might just be in my mind but it seems to have a bit more depth and sensitivity.

I use a thin control ring/moon gel to kill some of the ring.

Re: response 2's, I put some on my sonor toms, I think I like them better than g2's/emperors.
 
I have never used a 2 ply head on a snare drum in my entire 40 years of playing.
The thickest head that I use is an Ambassador-X. I only use the thicker Amb-X head when I am gigging with no mic on the snare, and playing Rock and Country style music where I know that I will be hitting hard.
I recently bought a used BB 5x14. It came with a PS3 on it. I hit it once and I took it off :) YUCK!!! A wonderful drum was ruined by the wrong head. No wonder why the previous owner sold it.
I have used a PS3 on my Gretsch COB and it was OK. Ludwig snare drums are fussy.
 
bobdadruma said:
I have never used a 2 ply head on a snare drum in my entire 40 years of playing.
The thickest head that I use is an Ambassador-X. I only use the thicker Amb-X head when I am gigging with no mic on the snare, and playing Rock and Country style music where I know that I will be hitting hard.
I recently bought a used BB 5x14. It came with a PS3 on it. I hit it once and I took it off :) YUCK!!! A wonderful drum was ruined by the wrong head. No wonder why the previous owner sold it.
I have used a PS3 on my Gretsch COB and it was OK. Ludwig snare drums are fussy.
Click to expand...

Agreed- single ply is my absolute preference for snares. I have a friend that keeps suggesting I get an Emperor X (two ply plus a power dot!) and I wonder how long it'll be before I just start openly mocking that head in front of him. I used to occasionally use a Vintage A but found that the X14/G14 is basically a single-ply version of that.

(Although the Controlled Sound is also one of my favorite heads- technically, sort of two-ply.)

Anyways, I haven't really noticed this phenomenon with my Super 2s and White Suede Emperors, but I'm eager to hear your results!
 
larryace said:
For at least 2 years now, it could be close to 3 years, it seems that any new 2 ply coated head I buy, be it coated G2 or a coated Emp...they seem to sound thicker and deader than I recall. I recall changing the head on my snare in late 2010 and my wife asking me...what's with your snare tonight? Not in a good way. I told her it's a brand new head.

It seems like with a new head, I have to play it for a few months before it starts to really sing. Has anyone else thought their new 2 ply heads sound deader than 2 ply heads of 2009 and back? I sure do. To the point where I took steel wool and rubbed some of the coating off. This helped a little, but it still never got the tone I was used to.

In fact I thought my 14 x 6.5 BB was a dud. For 2 years, I tried everything I could to get that drum to open up and it just wouldn't. Very frustrating for me because of all the praise the BB gets here. Then just last week as a last ditch effort to get this drum to wake up, I put a 3 year old used batter head on it, a coated emp. OMG, shut the front door, I love that drum now. The old head TOTALLY woke the drum up. Night and day. I'm so glad I didn't sell it. Now I understand why people rave about this drum, what a tone. In the 2 years I had it, I tried all kinds of combinations, with dismal results, but the one common factor is I always used brand new coated 2 ply heads on it. 3 different ones.

Does anyone have similar experiences with newer 2 ply coated heads?

I ordered an Aquarian Super 2 coated head. That's a 2 ply coated head, made up with a 7 mil layer and a 5 mil layer. (G2's and Emps are 2 layers of 7 mil). I will be reviewing it in a week or so. I have high expectations for this. I will be putting it on my BB, to see if it retains the amazing tone of the 3 year old coated emp it has on it now. I hope so, because new coated G2's and Emps sound so dead to me when they're brand new. I am not willing to play a dead sounding snare for a few months until the coating gets beaten down, and I don't feel I should have to abrade the coating off on a brand new head.

I'm hoping Aquarian can save me here. I also ordered a Response 2, which is Aquarian's version of a coated Emp or G2. I will be reviewing that too. I may even do a recording comparing the Aquarians to a brand new coated G2 I have.
Click to expand...

There might be something to this. I put a Response 2 on my Supra a while back and though it sounded dead. Weird, because I used to like that head on the snare. I think I was just used to the plain Texture Coated head on there.

I did buy a Super 2 head for the church kit though and it sounds great.
 
porter said:
...(Although the Controlled Sound is also one of my favorite heads- technically, sort of two-ply.)...
Click to expand...

i just took off a control sound head of my snare. bought it 2 weeks ago and it made my snare sound deep/dead. i did not like it :( so.... i swapped it out an hour ago with an ambassador.
now its got the nice bright tone i was looking for.

my snares a DW bamboo/birch 5.5x14 btw
 
Try the Remo coated controlled sound, BUT, get the one with the clear dot underneath. Big difference from the black dot.

Trust me. It's like a regular Ambassador, with a bit more low end. Feel is identical.
 
drumming sort of person said:
Try the Remo coated controlled sound, BUT, get the one with the clear dot underneath. Big difference from the black dot.

Trust me. It's like a regular Ambassador, with a bit more low end. Feel is identical.
Click to expand...

Seconded! The clear dot is much thinner than the black dot (2mil as opposed to 5mil), and the coated/white dot is 3mil. I usually use the clear head with the black dot for heavier applications- a sort of Superior Drummer, Meshuggah-esque sound.
 
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