anything but industry standards heads?

[yammieoaks]

While I'll admit that I haven't used every head out there, the few I have used always bring me back to still liking the standards, G1s, Ambassadors.

The clear EC2 deadened my Oak Custom 16 floor tom.
I've played other kits with Hydraulics and hated how it killed the sustain.
The Controlled Sound was too thick and lost some sensitivity on my Black Panther Birdseye Maple snare.
The J1 Etched just didn't do it for me on my snare either.
I bought my kit with coated G1s and tried coated G2s and am thinking they G2s are too heavy and may revert to the G1s, just like they were setup on to begin with (my kit was used professionally and apparently the drum tech loved the coated G1s on there).

I'm curious about the Reverse Dot, G Plus Coated, Onyx 2-ply, EC1 on my snares and toms, and just put a Genera on my snare but haven't tried it out yet.

Before I go out and spend lots of cash on trying these all out, has anyone tried any of these 'non-standard' variations and been blown away?

I have Oak Customs so that may make a difference since they're known to be less warm than any other drums, and I am looking for more warmth than harshness. I know this also comes down to a matter of personal preference, but I'd like to get some general feedback rather than just reading the online head descriptions created by marketers.

[alparrott]

Looks to me like a little bit of a quandary... with your Oak Customs being less warm and prone to being deadened with twin-ply heads, I'd stick to a good single-ply head to bring out more of the shell's character and tone. EC1s might be a good tradeoff, being thinner than EC2s (single ply) but still having that integral ring control to bring the projection characteristics of the oak shells under control. You could probably also just use a bit of Moongel on your G1s to get some of the ring off.

I use a EC Reverse Dot on a steel snare and I'm delighted with it. It really chops back the ring and brings out snare response on my drum. If you need a little more high end (ring) you could opt for a Power Center. I have used both a lot. Of course, the safe fallback on any snare drum is an Ambassador - easy to tune, easy to play. Good luck!

[yammieoaks]

Originally Posted by alparrott

Looks to me like a little bit of a quandary... with your Oak Customs being less warm and prone to being deadened with twin-ply heads, I'd stick to a good single-ply head to bring out more of the shell's character and tone. EC1s might be a good tradeoff, being thinner than EC2s (single ply) but still having that integral ring control to bring the projection characteristics of the oak shells under control

thanks, i was just thinking this. i want to maintain articulation but not be too heavy or dark so i'm thinking clears.

what do you think, clear or coated EC1s?

[bobdadruma]

I've tried tons of heads and I keep coming back to clear Diplomats for tom resos and clear Ambassadors for batters. I use an Ambassador for my snare reso and a coated Emperor for batter. I also use an Aquarian Focus X on my snare and I do like that head and the way that it has no ring.
Basics, That works for me! I love the way that my toms sing with the Dip's and the Amb's! My toms are 12,14,16 so I like them to have a higher song.
If I want to muffle my toms for recording I simply toss those plastic rings on them.

[larryace]

Unmuffled single ply heads for me. They let the drums speak with all the frequencies they possess. Sounds great from a distance where 2 ply heads, heads with muffling, heads with dots, rings, gel, wallets, sound like nothing to me but cardboard.

[alparrott]

Originally Posted by yammieoaks

thanks, i was just thinking this. i want to maintain articulation but not be too heavy or dark so i'm thinking clears.

what do you think, clear or coated EC1s?

I'd go with clears. Coateds might muffle it up past where you want, but you can always bring any extra ring a clear might bring you under control more easily than you can brighten up a warmer head.

[Mikey Dangerous]

Originally Posted by yammieoaks

thanks, i was just thinking this. i want to maintain articulation but not be too heavy or dark so i'm thinking clears.

what do you think, clear or coated EC1s?

If you've decided on EC1s, then the question of whether to go clear or coated comes down to this:

If you want to add some warmth to the sound - go coated
If you don't want to add warmth to the sound - go clear

It's as simple as that.

[PureRockFury]

Take it from someone that used to own an Oak Custom kit.

I tried Emperors, Ambassadors, EC2's...

By far the best heads on those drums were Coated Ambassadors. On the 24" kick I ran a Clear Powerstroke 3 on the batter with a Fiberskyn Powerstoke 3 w/5" port on the resonant. Only a small towel inside the drum to remove that awful basketball ping sound upon attack.

Coated Ambassadors over Clear Ambassadors on the toms provided me with a killer warm, pure low end sound.

Oaks aren't as harsh as some people might think. They are like birch on steroids which to me means they have killer low end, rolled off mids and nice snappy highs. Clear heads bring out the snappy nature.

I would suggest coated heads for the bass drum as well. I had way too much attack on the bass drum with the Clear Powerstroke 3 w/falam slam.

[yammieoaks]

Originally Posted by PureRockFury

Take it from someone that used to own an Oak Custom kit.

I tried Emperors, Ambassadors, EC2's...

By far the best heads on those drums were Coated Ambassadors. On the 24" kick I ran a Clear Powerstroke 3 on the batter with a Fiberskyn Powerstoke 3 w/5" port on the resonant. Only a small towel inside the drum to remove that awful basketball ping sound upon attack.

Coated Ambassadors over Clear Ambassadors on the toms provided me with a killer warm, pure low end sound.

Oaks aren't as harsh as some people might think. They are like birch on steroids which to me means they have killer low end, rolled off mids and nice snappy highs. Clear heads bring out the snappy nature.

I would suggest coated heads for the bass drum as well. I had way too much attack on the bass drum with the Clear Powerstroke 3 w/falam slam.

thanks man, that's exactly my conclusion after all of this (except i'm using Evans right now since they're cheaper than Remo surprisingly, always thought it was the other way around). i've got a 20" kick w/ the same heads as yours.

i'm going to forego the clear EC1s for now. i also agree that Oaks aren't as harsh and give exactly the sound you described.

next experiment: maybe clear Ambs just to see if it's too bright and punchy or OK...and also because i love being able to see inside the drums (pure aesthetics, haha).