Emad reso vs. regulator

lefty2

Platinum Member
Any thoughts on the Evans emad reso head ported, compared to Aquarian regulator ported? I have a 22in emad batter with a Aquarian resonator on the front and the kick sounds great. I'm wanting to replace the heads on my 20 inch kick and was wondering about the emad reso head that's ported. Have any of you drummers tried both of those reso heads I'm wondering what your opinions are of the two.
 
my 2¢

We port drums so that we may mic the batter head from the front. Its benefits include isolation (from other sound sources and microphonic feedback), a bit of low end resonance, and a consistent note duration/profile (makes setting gate thresholds easier).

The effect of a port on a resonant head tends to be a reduction in note duration and far less low end.

It appears that the sound of your unamplified kit is what currently matters to you, if this is the case, don't port.

If I am incorrect, add a port and don't stress about the reso head and get whatever looks good, like a fyberskin or something.

If you deeply care about both, you can either use two different heads and swap them (ie: live head and a recording head), or use two mics and flip phase.
 
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my 2¢

We port drums so that we may mic the batter head from the front. Its benefits include isolation (from other sound sources and microphonic feedback), a bit of low end resonance, and a consistent note duration/profile (makes setting gate thresholds easier).

The effect of a port on a resonant head tends to be a reduction in note duration and far less low end.

It appears that the sound of your unamplified kit is what currently matters to you, if this is the case, don't port.

If I am incorrect, add a port and don't stress about the reso head and get whatever looks good, like a fyberskin or something.

If you deeply care about both, you can either use two different heads and swap them (ie: live head and a recording head), or use two mics and flip phase.
Thanks for your reply. I mentioned in the original post that my reso is ported and I use it live miced with a B-52 about an inch and a half in front of the port. I'm wanting to know how the emad ported reso Compares with the regulator ported reso. I currently have a regulator with a emad 1 batter head on a different drum and I really like it. I'm wondering if the emad reso maybe even better
 
Thanks for your reply. I mentioned in the original post that my reso is ported and I use it live miced with a B-52 about an inch and a half in front of the port. I'm wanting to know how the emad ported reso Compares with the regulator ported reso. I currently have a regulator with a emad 1 batter head on a different drum and I really like it. I'm wondering if the emad reso maybe even better

I'm having trouble finding any EMAD Reso's on youtube except for this guy, which doesn't really give me any idea of what's going on sonically.

IIRC, the Aquarian is a "dot" muffler that works by adding mass to the center of the head. These are said to "bring the low end into focus" by means of a high-cut via the added mass. (A small ring in the center of the head is effectively a dot)

The EMAD is a ring muffler, and I have no reason to believe it sounds any different than any other ring muffled single ply, like a PS3. The only difference being that the foam ring is removable. Rings tend to shorten a note's duration and mute overtones.

Last note: The mic position you are using, and this guy...

The point of the mic is to pick up the sound of the BD. In this configuration/position, the mic is not so much delivering the sound as it is reacting to a wind gust. You want to mic the reso head outside, or the batter head inside. To do both you need two mics. You don't want to mic "the gust of wind coming out of the port". Put the mic in the drum and out of the way of the turbulence.
 
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I'm very happy with the sound of my 22in and the B-52 microphone set in that position. I'm looking to buy new heads for my 20-inch drum. I'm very familiar with the regulator head. But I'm not familiar with the emad reso head. It has a dampening ring of mylar around the perimeter and it also has two foam rings that insert into a collar around the port that's what makes it an emad head. Externally mounted adjustable dampening emad. So the regulator and the emad heads are dampened in different fashions. The regulator uses felt 10in round in the middle of the head. The emad uses mylar ring around the perimeter and foam rubber around the port.
 
The Aquarian does low and punchy well, but little else due to the extra mass in the center.
The Emad is more flexible in terms of sound, which would be beneficial on a 20".
 
Perhaps try neither emad or Aquarian reso for your 20 BD. The emad sounds like it has far too much damping/ring/foam for a resonant head, whose job is to resonate. I look at it like this - are we using emad style technology on tom resos?
The real b*lls out of a smaller 20 or 18 bass drum are revealed with a single ply resonant head (Amb or G1) with no dampening ring. If its too much for you try a felt strip. The dampening ring thing (PS3, Emad) is fine for batter side, but to my ears it just kills most resonant sides.
 
Perhaps try neither emad or Aquarian reso for your 20 BD. The emad sounds like it has far too much damping/ring/foam for a resonant head, whose job is to resonate. I look at it like this - are we using emad style technology on tom resos?
The real b*lls out of a smaller 20 or 18 bass drum are revealed with a single ply resonant head (Amb or G1) with no dampening ring. If its too much for you try a felt strip. The dampening ring thing (PS3, Emad) is fine for batter side, but to my ears it just kills most resonant sides.
You might be on to something there. Maybe I should buy the new batter and see how it sounds with the stock Ludwig reso before I
buy the reso. I'm going to get a new reso and put our band logo on it.
 
The real b*lls out of a smaller 20 or 18 bass drum are revealed with a single ply resonant head (Amb or G1) with no dampening ring. If its too much for you try a felt strip.

The only issue is that a "resonant head" becomes a "resonant side head" the moment you cut a mic port in it... Restated, the instant you cut a mic port, the head becomes a billboard and its dampening attributes become sonically inconsequential because there's little to dampen.

What is confounding in this case is that the OP cuts a mic port, but doesn't utilize it in the prescribed manner. This makes the choice of resonant side head dampening irrelevant, and aesthetics should take priority. Rushing air will always sound like rushing air.
 
The only issue is that a "resonant head" becomes a "resonant side head" the moment you cut a mic port in it... Restated, the instant you cut a mic port, the head becomes a billboard and its dampening attributes become sonically inconsequential because there's little to dampen.

What is confounding in this case is that the OP cuts a mic port, but doesn't utilize it in the prescribed manner. This makes the choice of resonant side head dampening irrelevant, and aesthetics should take priority. Rushing air will always sound like rushing air.
. I’m not here to argue whether you should or should not cut a hole in the Reso head. It’s a matter of preference and I prefer a ported reso head. That’s what this whole post is about. I’m looking for people who have used both the resonator and the Emad ported Reso head, And asking for their opinions. Not whether or not we should have a hole in the kick.
 
In the past I've used both and they are very similar, they're both single ply 10 mil heads with a foam ring. I never noticed a difference between the two sound wise, I prefer the Evans because it was a ring around the port hole and I like the look of it, now I use Remo heads and stick with the Power Stroke 3.
Thanks for your reply. I’m leaning towards the emad for it’s options. there are a ton of people liking PS3 ‘s. I’m pretty sure that’s what’s on my Ludwig kick now. I think those were the same heads that were on my Yamaha Birch customs when I bought them too. I like the emad and sk1 a lot more. It’s probably personal preference and tuning because like I said, there are lots of people using PS3s and swear by them.
 
I prefer a little more overtone than the EMAD or SK provide and the PS3 gives me that while still giving me a lot of attack, when I was playing more punk and metal the EMAD was my #1 choice but I'm starting to get into a little more country. It's all personal preference, I've heard of people using marching bass drum heads on their kick drums, if it sounds good that's all that matters!
 
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