Replacing heads

W

Wholelottalovin

Member
So I bought my kit off craigslist a little over a month ago. I got a Pearl Export Series kit and the guy I bought it from said he was the original owner and had owned it for 7 years, only played for three. The kit came with Paiste 400 hats and ride, which were only made until 1992 so I'm suspecting the kit is older than he says it is or the music store gave him older cymbals when he bought it. Idk.

Anyways. The heads didn't have much sign of wear at all. I had our drummer come over (I am primarily a bassist) and tune the kit when I got it and he claims its as good as its getting. He plays snare in his school's marching band and his kit sounds awesome so I'm going to take his word on it. The snare and bass sound fine, but the toms remind me of those paddle ball paddles that are plastic instead of wood...

I was thinking replacing the heads would help but wanted to come here for some opinions. I have moongels on all of the drums and it helps a little bit but doesn't sound nearly as good as other kits I've played. I was thinking of getting the Remo Rock Pro Pack but I'm looking for some suggestions. Sizes are 14 snare, 12, 13, 16 toms, and 22 bass. I was also looking into Remo Suede Emperor on the toms, suede Ambassador on the snare but I couldn't find em on Musician's Friend.

Thanks for any advice! =]
 
I bought the very same pack of heads for my kit and after I finally got tuned up I am liking them for myself.
 
Hey ya'll Pros...... I bought a "Gretch Catalina Club" Snare. It has a see thru head on the Bottom and a Aquarian High energy Head on top. I sounds like a tin can when played, very loud and echoing. I need some suggestions to replace the heads, Both if needed. I would like to got a duller, Quieter Head and More bounce for Practice only. Also how can I quiet it down if new heads are not needed. Also is leaving my e-Mail address on here a good thing. Many thanks.. Curly
 
Curly said:
Hey ya'll Pros...... I bought a "Gretch Catalina Club" Snare. It has a see thru head on the Bottom and a Aquarian High energy Head on top. I sounds like a tin can when played, very loud and echoing. I need some suggestions to replace the heads, Both if needed. I would like to got a duller, Quieter Head and More bounce for Practice only. Also how can I quiet it down if new heads are not needed. Also is leaving my e-Mail address on here a good thing. Many thanks.. Curly
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Primarily by your description it sound to me like you have a tuning problem. When you get that sorted out then you can choose heads to your liking. Off the bat I would recommend a coated amb. batter and a clear amb snare for reso.
 
Wholelottalovin said:
So I bought my kit off craigslist a little over a month ago. I got a Pearl Export Series kit and the guy I bought it from said he was the original owner and had owned it for 7 years, only played for three. The kit came with Paiste 400 hats and ride, which were only made until 1992 so I'm suspecting the kit is older than he says it is or the music store gave him older cymbals when he bought it. Idk.

Anyways. The heads didn't have much sign of wear at all. I had our drummer come over (I am primarily a bassist) and tune the kit when I got it and he claims its as good as its getting. He plays snare in his school's marching band and his kit sounds awesome so I'm going to take his word on it. The snare and bass sound fine, but the toms remind me of those paddle ball paddles that are plastic instead of wood...

I was thinking replacing the heads would help but wanted to come here for some opinions. I have moongels on all of the drums and it helps a little bit but doesn't sound nearly as good as other kits I've played. I was thinking of getting the Remo Rock Pro Pack but I'm looking for some suggestions. Sizes are 14 snare, 12, 13, 16 toms, and 22 bass. I was also looking into Remo Suede Emperor on the toms, suede Ambassador on the snare but I couldn't find em on Musician's Friend.

Thanks for any advice! =]
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I really don't think you can go wrong with the emperors over ambassadors. That's a really good set of heads to start out with in my opinion. Seeing as how you've got a bunch of moongels you can dampen the heads if they sound to open (or adjust the tuning). Or if they're not open enough you can tune the heads to really open them up. Good all around setup of heads to figure out what'll sound good for your kit. And the suede heads sound damn nice, in my opinion they've got a better sound when it comes to the initial stick attack.
 
RollingStone000 said:
I really don't think you can go wrong with the emperors over ambassadors. That's a really good set of heads to start out with in my opinion. Seeing as how you've got a bunch of moongels you can dampen the heads if they sound to open (or adjust the tuning). Or if they're not open enough you can tune the heads to really open them up. Good all around setup of heads to figure out what'll sound good for your kit. And the suede heads sound damn nice, in my opinion they've got a better sound when it comes to the initial stick attack.
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Ahhh thanks so much for your help! I'm going to be ordering the heads tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for everything (heads/cymbals help) =]
 
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