Pearl Vision VBX heads???

alex19 · #1 09-17-2011, 02:56 PM

hi guys and girls. i have the kit stated in the title, and if im honest, it sounds terrible now. ive tuned the toms the best i can, and although the sound has improved, i know they could sound even better.
the reso heads sounded ok once tuned, but the batter heads are sounding dead. no life what so ever
stock heads are pearl protone batter, pearl reso.

what heads would benefit these drums? a warm tone with little overtone/resonancy is probably what im after.

thanks for any help given, im clueless at heads

uniin · #2 09-17-2011, 03:02 PM

how long have you had your resos? might have to change them too.

if you want the fullest open tone go for 2x ambassadors. both sides tuned to the same note. you wont get that with a dead reso head... just warning you.

burn-4 · #3 09-17-2011, 03:10 PM

i'd go for the standard; emperor's for batters (2 ply) and ambassadors on the reso's (single ply)
Absolutely love this sound for toms!

joshthedrumkid97 · #4 09-17-2011, 03:26 PM

Id try and get coated emperors on batter and ambassadors on reso for the sound you want. If not emperors, try any coated heads for less overtones and more warmth

DFL · #5 09-17-2011, 06:36 PM

On the VBX, which I believe is six-ply? These are fairly thick drums, so you should try single plys batter and resonant. Use a coated head for a warmer sound. G1 Coated over G1 clear should be a good combo. Or you can try the GPlus which are 2mm thicker than the G1's for a more focused sound.

I would advise not putting 2ply drumheads on these drums. They will end up a little dead sounding.

alex19 · #6 09-17-2011, 06:45 PM

first off, they are the same heads that came with the kit. i will have had this kit 2 years come christmas time. although it hasnt seen much playing at home, ive gigged with it and recorded with it.

ive been doing a bit of research and what i can gather, is a singl ply would be better, as some of you have mentioned.

i was debating going for some coated batters as these do seem slightly warmer when ive played them. will look into G1's and Ambassadors. cheers guys.

alex19 · #7 09-17-2011, 07:40 PM

another thought. ive tuned both reso and batter head to the same tone. if i tune the reso head a lot higher, will this reduce sustain? if it will sound poor then i wont give it a go.

DFL · #8 09-17-2011, 08:10 PM

Yes, you will lose some sustain if you tune one head differently from the other. However, plenty of drummers tune their resonant higher than their batters. Make sure when you tune the drums that you isolate each head so their isn't any sympathetic resonance from the other head. Then try to tune the resonant head so it is 3 or 4 notes higher than the batter.

PeteN · #9 09-17-2011, 08:14 PM

I have a set of VBX's, I have Aquarian classic clear's on batter and reso for 10 and 12 inch toms and Aquarian Response 2 on 14 and 16 floor tom batters with classic clears on resos.

Basically single ply on top and bottom for rack toms and double and single ply for floor toms.

I did have double ply initially on racks and thought the drums were a bit too dull.

PeteN · #10 09-17-2011, 08:24 PM

I will also agree that these shells sound and project better with single ply head because of the shell thickness.

burn-4 · #11 09-17-2011, 09:47 PM

Is that the case for the majority of smaller birch toms? I mean would an emperor on a Yamaha birch custom absolute choke it slightly as well? Or is it just personal preference?
and of those of you that prefer single ply, are you in the same frame of mind when it comes to maple shells of the same thickness?

DFL · #12 09-18-2011, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn-4

Is that the case for the majority of smaller birch toms? I mean would an emperor on a Yamaha birch custom absolute choke it slightly as well? Or is it just personal preference?
and of those of you that prefer single ply, are you in the same frame of mind when it comes to maple shells of the same thickness?

It really dependent on the thickness of the drum and its diameter. The Birch Custom Absolutes are on the thick side so, yes, I would recommend single ply for those drums too. I personally think smaller Birch Customs would be a little choked with double-ply heads, but they will still sound phenomal with the right tuning. Thicker drums with thicker heads will have to be hit harder to get the full sound out of them.

I think in any case you want to follow this philosophy to achieve the most dynamic drum sound out your drum. With different wood types you with the same thickness, head selection, and tuning, you will have a similar acting drum, but not exactly the same sounding.

burn-4 · #13 09-18-2011, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFL

It really dependent on the thickness of the drum and its diameter. The Birch Custom Absolutes are on the thick side so, yes, I would recommend single ply for those drums too. I personally think smaller Birch Customs would be a little choked with double-ply heads, but they will still sound phenomal with the right tuning. Thicker drums with thicker heads will have to be hit harder to get the full sound out of them.

I think in any case you want to follow this philosophy to achieve the most dynamic drum sound out your drum. With different wood types you with the same thickness, head selection, and tuning, you will have a similar acting drum, but not exactly the same sounding.

I didn't think 6 ply was particualrly thick? but i get your point
Will have to try out different heads when I get my Yamaha kit :)

Drumolator · #14 09-18-2011, 08:42 PM

On my Pearl Export kit I have Evans EC2 over EC Resonants on the toms and EC1 Reverse Dot over Hazy 300 on the snare. The bass drum batter is an Evans EQ3. The stock Pearl head is still on the front, but I will eventually replace it. I really like the way these drums sound. Peace and goodwill.

alex19 · #15 09-21-2011, 07:54 PM

bit of an update here. i went into my local shop today. ive bought everything i own from there pretty much, and i like supporting a local business if i can. they only have EC2's coated/clear and G2's coated/clear.

will none of these heads do? if not then no problems i will go online. i just wanted to give my money to a shop rather than online.

Drumolator · #16 09-22-2011, 12:43 AM

I respect that you stand by your local shop. My Pearl set has EC2 clear heads on the tom batters, and my Gretsch set (and most of my past Mapex kits) has G2 clear heads on the tom batters. They both sound good, just a little different. The G2 heads will have more resonance than the EC2 heads. Good luck.

alex19 · #17 09-22-2011, 05:38 PM

well i popped into my local store today to have a chat. i came out with some EC2 clears. if i didnt like them i could take them back and he will sort me something out. they sound very meaty, and a huge improvment over what was on there. although im happy to gig with the drums now, its fairly clear to me that i need my reso heads upgrading.

alex19 · #18 09-28-2011, 07:46 PM

played a gig last night and everyone, even the sound guy said my kit sounded wicked. so i suppose the point of this post is that i recommend these heads for this kit for sure. im using the EC2 with pearl reso heads. so should see an improvement when they are done. cheers for all the help guys.