Tight snare sound, which head?

B

brutalslam

Junior Member
I'm wanting a very high ringy snare sound for brutal death metal.

Examples.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBP8imm03Mo (goregrind band, but i love the snare in this song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ga3o8z0yA&feature=related (Awesome song, with pretty much the exact snare sound i'm wanting)

I have a Mapex V series 14 inch snare. I tuned both the batter and resonant, about as tight as possible. I'm getting the nice high sound i want towards the outer edges of the snare, but the middle sounds totally different, the stock head is pretty worn. Will a new batter snare head help me get that sound i'm looking for even in the center of the snare? What head would you recommend?

Thanks!
 
Yep....a new head should be just what the doctor ordered.

I'm thinking a coated single ply head like a Remo Ambassador or an Evans G1 (I have no idea what the Aquarian single ply head is called), will give you what you're looking for.

Cranking the batter nice and tight is a great idea for the sound you're after, but if you're hearing little tone when striking the centre of the head, it's possible you've cranked just a little too tight and have choked the drum. Just something to watch out for.
 
EDIT: I see you said ambassador which is the weatherking. I tried to edit the other post , but couldn't get it to work.
 
I thought all the top quality Remo heads are Weatherkings?? Could be wrong there though.

I think what you are asking is the diff. between an Ambassador and an Emperor? If so, an Emp will work for your purposes too. The diff is that the Emps are a two ply head as opposed to the single ply of the Amb. Two plys are great for added durability....which you'll notice if you're a hard hitter....but being two ply, the sound will be slightly more focused. We're not talking a monumental difference here, but noticeable nontheless.

That said, I think either will work for what you want to do with it. You'll just need to figure out the trade off between the 2 ply being a little more durable or the 1 ply being ever so slightly more "open' sounding.
 
On the musicians friend website they call the ambassadors weatherking, but not the emperors. I'll go with the single ply ambassador coated though. Thanks for the help.
 
What resonant head would be good for me? I just noticed today mine has a hole in it. I was thinking a thin non coated resonant head, for the high sound i'm wanting?
 
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brutalslam said:
On the musicians friend website they call the ambassadors weatherking, but not the emperors. I'll go with the single ply ambassador coated though. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

The term Weatherking is just a word they used back in the day. Back when Remo got started, calf skin was the only way to go, and consequently, calfskin suffered from all kinds of weather conditions. That's why when you see an old snare, it might have a lightbulb fixture in it to keep the heads warm and hopefully impervious from condensation. Players always had to keep tuning their drums. When Remo developed the plastic head with the coating, they found it impervious to weather - hence the term Weatherking, which is pretty much applicable to all of their heads. Great marketing, eh?

That concludes today's lesson ;)
 
uniin said:
the difference between the two is the thickness - diplomat is 7.5mil, ambassador snare side is 10mil.

go for the ambassador snare side, diplomat would probably die from the tension you're giving it.
Click to expand...

You probably just typed it incorrectly, but the Remo Hazy Ambassador snare side head is only 3 mils in thickness. The other Ambassador batter and resonant heads are all 10 mil. Just so no one gets this wrong and buys the wrong head for their snare.

Dennis
 
Alright guys, I put the Remo ambassador on top and the Evans hazy 300 on bottom. Now, after changing both heads i'm getting a buzzing sound from the bottom on the snare? Both heads are tuned tight, and the strainer is as tight as possible as well.

I think I may have damaged the strainer. Would one of these Gilbraltar's be a good replacement?

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibraltar-Snare-Drum-Strainer?sku=446032

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfr...nd-Strainer-for-14-inch-Snare-Drum?sku=446160
 
brutalslam said:
Alright guys, I put the Remo ambassador on top and the Evans hazy 300 on bottom. Now, after changing both heads i'm getting a buzzing sound from the bottom on the snare? Both heads are tuned tight, and the strainer is as tight as possible as well. I think I may have damaged the strainer. Would one of these Gilbraltar's be a good replacement?

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibraltar-Snare-Drum-Strainer?sku=446032

http://drums-percussion.musiciansfr...nd-Strainer-for-14-inch-Snare-Drum?sku=446160
Click to expand...

Easy on those wires! They will choke the drum if you overtighten.
 
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