Been a long time. Remo CS Black Dots

Frosticles

Silver Member
The last time I used these would have been over 30 years ago on my old Premier Royal knacker.
They are still, to me, the coolest looking heads available :) Tuned up & they sound fantastic. Looking forward to gigging with them in a couple of weeks.

fullsizeoutput_e69 by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
 
I’ve been thinking of revisiting these heads too, when I need a change. Nice to hear it’s not just nostalgia, but that they actually did sound as good as I remember.
 
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Kind of nostalgia to me on my Yamaha Rock Tour Custom's but I was very pleasantly surprised at how good they sound once tuned. :)
 
I did the same thing a few years ago but went back to Evans G2's. Peace and goodwill.
 
I did the same thing a few years ago but went back to Evans G2's. Peace and goodwill.
Have come from G2's to these. Tried both Clear & Coated but Remo heads just seem to suit this kit better for some reason.
 
I pulled out a set of these yesterday myself!
I did one tom and liked the sound (13), but still deciding if I want to go all the way with it.
I might do it because I have a recording session in a couple weeks, so it'd be a good chance to really hear them nicely.
 
So surprised at all the good memories of these heads. I had no idea they were so beloved-30 years ago or today.

Other than on my bass drum I couldn't wait to change them out. But I was using them without resos so....maybe that contributed to the hate?
 
So surprised at all the good memories of these heads. I had no idea they were so beloved-30 years ago or today.

Other than on my bass drum I couldn't wait to change them out. But I was using them without resos so....maybe that contributed to the hate?

Still haven't had chance to try them out live yet as my other kit is still getting used. I also used to use them as single heads in the 80's (as you did.....) & they were ok. Sound far better now I know how to tune them.........
 
I wanted them in the mid 70s, but they weren't readily available in my country and ended up with Ludwig Silver Dots which I hated. I eventually got them in 1978 and the difference was like night and day.
 
I just picked up a full set for my DW acrylics. Always liked the sound of CS heads on acrylic drums. While Im not normally one to worry about the aesthetics of drum heads, the look of the black dot through the clear drums is awesome.
 
Awhile back when I was in a rock band I put some black dots on my '66 Ludwig club dates. They sounded great! But hey, Tony Williams sounded great playing jazz with em on his Gretsch's too!
 
Still haven't had chance to try them out live yet as my other kit is still getting used. I also used to use them as single heads in the 80's (as you did.....) & they were ok. Sound far better now I know how to tune them.........

So, that happned.... there always a first time, usually it's the bass drum :)
and i just saw this thread before opening one new exactly on the same issue...

I always kept my eyes on those CS black dot. but never tried them. they are not so common and when you find them, usually there are only one or two. never a whole set. Anyway, i see that you keep mentioning about tuning issue of those CS. why? what would be so different tuning them relatively to others?

i use to work with EC2, pinstripe and emperor. how different would they be? I have a chance to grab a whole set of 10,12,14,16 and i am thinking if it will suits my "masters mmx".
My first thinking is whether it will choke the sound because of the black dot?!

I'll appropriate your thoughts
 

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I switched my tom heads to Aquarian classic clear white dots last week after you bringing up this thread. I was feeling nostalgic, after reading the thread, but realized that I’ve had really good success with Aquarian. They seemed to tune up pretty easy, but I didn’t have time to play them much.

Then I spent all last week sick, and didn’t play at all. Now I’m back to work, and looking foreword to fully recovering so I have enough energy to get some playing in after the 11-12 hour workdays.
 
Going to give these their first outing on Saturday in Aalst (Belgium) when we play with UK Subs. Very much looking forward to it. :)
 
Hey Frosti....
So how were they??? Good gig??

Played & loved them. Great comments afterwards as well. Definitely going to stick with them. Love the way they look on older "Period" kits as well :) 10/10 from me :)
 
I have these on my old Ludwig carbon fiber shell kit. The toms are 14x10 and 15x12 and they sound real meaty. I like the look too
 
i use to work with EC2, pinstripe and emperor. how different would they be?

Drastically different. The CS heads (especially black dots, less so with clear dots) tend to focus and accentuate the mid-range frequencies, and cut out a bit of highs and lows. You get a certain "knock" that you don't get from other heads, but it's a sound you will either love or hate.

Keep in mind that Tony Williams and John Bonham used them with larger diameter drums, with the tension quite tight. They really work great on snare drums, as long as you don't need the coated thing for brush work.
 
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