Heads of choice

Remo on everything except the batter on the kicks.


Sonor Force3005, Maple kit.

Kick 20x17.5, batter Evens Clear EQ3, resonant Remo Ambassador Black.

Toms mounted 10x9 , 12x10 Floors 14x11, 14x14 Clear Pinstripe batters, reso. Clear Ambassadors.

Snare 14x5-1/2, batter Fiberskyn Powerstroke 3 Ambassador, snare side Emperor Hazy clear.


Sonor Ascent, Beech kit.

Kick 20x18, batter Evens Clear EQ3, resonant Remo Ambassador Black.

Toms mounted 10x8 , 12x9 Floor 14x14 Clear Emperor batters, reso. Clear Ambassadors.

Snare 14x5-1/2, batter Fiberskyn Ambassador, snare side Ambassador Hazy clear.
 
I've always been a Remo guy, but my Legacy kit came with Ludwig heads and I liked them so much I've been using them ever since. Too bad they're being phased out I've got a couple of sets stockpiled, but I'll definitely out of them after that and I'll have to go back to Remo.

Snare: coated Heavy over Ludwig snare-side
Toms: clear Heavy top and bottom
Kick: clear Power Collar front and back (no port)

I'm usually a coated head guy, but on the Legacies, I like the clear heads.
 
Plain Jane here. Clear Vintage Emperors over clear Ambassadors on toms and floors and a coated Ambassador on the snare. Standard deviation here, I have an Evans Emad II for the bass drum batter and a stock DW vintage logo resonant head. EvansSpecialist cajoled me into giving the Emad another chance and I am extremely happy that I did. It is absolutely the best bass drum head for my sound.
 
I really like the clear Emperors on my Live Custom...they sound great and give the added bonus of showing the black stained interior...I think it looks good. I have the stock P3 on my bass drum and it sounds pretty good.

After running the gamut of Remo heads on my snares I have settled on an Evans Power Center for now...I really dig it. I may give Evans a shot on the rest of my kit next time.
 
For toms it really doesn't make that much difference to me, for denser music I go for either pinstripes, G2s, or emperors whereas for lighter music ambassadors, J1s and just vary the amount of dampening which can go all the way from none to a lot of tape n tissue paper.

I synchroniseto the head to stick/bead. For example pinstripes sound great with a 5B they need that minimum weight of impact to get them to their optimal sound. Pinstripes are great heads but must be nearly new to be at their best. Whereas I like ambasadors old, very old 2 years or more.

For kick I like a PS3 and snare batters either ambassador, emperors, or the reverse centre power stroke.
 
For toms, I use clear Pinstripes and clear Ambassadors

For snare, I use a coated Powerstroke 77 and clear ambassadors

For bass, I use a clear Powerstroke 3 with black dot
 
Toms: 10 mil, single ply clear heads top and bottom, usually G1's. Wide open.

Snare: Coated G1 over Remo no collar snare side 3 mil. Wide open.

Bass: Evans EMAD1 with no ring behind a Remo Starfire (10 mil single ply) chromed head, no port. Wide open except for the control ring in the EMAD.
 
Sonor birch kit gets coated Emperor's on top of toms with clear Ambassador's on bottom.
Bass drum has Remo Powerstroke 3 clear on batter and a Fibreskyn front.
Brass snare drums have the Vintage Ambassador with Ambassador clear snare side.
Maple snare drums have the regular coated Ambassador batter with a clear Ambassador snare side.
 
In general I like coated vintage emperor's over coated ambassadors on toms. Vintage emperor over a standard snare side and a coated emad on the kick. In practice I'll use any coated head but that's my preference when I can get them. I like the black suede heads too.
 
Coated G12s over clear G1s on my toms.
 
Depends on the kit.......

Mapex blk panther blk widow (thin shells, North American Maple): Remo suede ambassadors over clear ambassadors (toms) Remo suede PS3's front and back (with 5" port).

Tama Starclassic Performer Birch/Bubinga: Evans clear G2's over clear G1's (toms), Remo clear PS3 batter and Aquarian black regulator (5" port) reso.

Yamaha Stage custom: whatever I have laying around. Currently Aquarian Response 2's over UT clear resos on toms. Stock UT heads on bass drum.

Snares: '04 DW steam bent single ply maple solid 14x5.5, Dunnett R40 strainer. Remo PS3 and Ambassador clear snare side on the bottom, Puresound Customs.

'11 Mapex Black Panther Limited Edition Maple/Walnut 14x5.5. Remo PS3 over Ambassador clear snare side. stock wires.

'11 Yamaha Oak Custom (2nd Gen/Japan) 14x5.5 same as the other two.

New Yamaha Stage Custom ( Birch ) whatever's laying around that I feel like playing around with. Currently a Evans Genera HD Dry. Sounds pretty awful. LOL, but better than the stock head.
 
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STXBob said:
I'm with you. I was a coated Remo/Evans user for years - single ply on snare and high toms, two-ply on floors. Then I tried a MV1 on my BoB snare on a whim and DAYUM. So I decided to try MV2s on my toms. Sold. The tone I've been searching for. I still use a coated EMAD on my kick, because I'm not impressed with the Aquarian kick heads. But I'm totes in <3 with the Modern Vintage heads.

Now if I could only convince Dale's to stock Aquarian. I have a gig tonight and needed a snare head, and they only had the various Evans flavors. So I just got a G1. Ah, well. I'll live.
Click to expand...

Aquarian makes a super kick version of the Modern Vintage.
and they make coated super kicks
 
I just got a Stage Custom kit and the Floor tom had a stock head on it. I switched it out with a G14, and now it sounds great. I may just keep a G14 on that Floor Tom. It's like it's made for it. I have Pinstripes on the 10 & 12 because it came with them, but I prefer 1-ply. Maybe I'll go G1, G12, & G14.
 
I used black suede emperors for 1 year... then switched to Aquarian response 2's.. i will never use REMO again! been over a month of playing nightly and they have stayed in tune perfectly.. the remo's yeah.. enjoy tuning every other day.

Thanks for posting though :)
 
AQUARIAN! they have the most ridged hoop and the most durable coating.
all of their heads are very consistent. All 3 head companies I have heard sound good and bad,,, It just depends on your personal taste, how you tune type of drums etc. but I do notice that many are stuck on Remo and Evans but have never tried Aquarian and I know would be surprised.
 
I prefer Evans over Remo and haven't tried Aquarian because they cost too much.
 
drummerstix_au said:
Hey everyone,

I am a Remo endorser, and I just recently switched heads on my kit. I put Black Suede Emps on my toms and a Powerstroke 777 on snare.... it really sounds amazing.

My kit is a Pearl Reference series...12 rack, 14 floor with a 14x5 sensitone snare.

What do you guys all use?
Click to expand...

Depends ,I like the sound of the Evans Staccato 700,but the coating is a joke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIJysBXmkkU
Sticks,scrapes off ,just an all around high maintenance drum head.
I like Remo Renaissance as they are almost the same (dry,articulate) as the Evans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd5NJAULMTw
The Attack drum heads single ply and non coated with tone ridge are nice if you are looking for an open ringy sound with just a little bit of the overtones tamed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnnlO-XWIsE
 
My main kit is a 1968 Ludwig with a 402 Supraphonic. Right now I'm playing:

Kick: Evans EMAD2 clear/Remo Coated Ambassador
Toms: Remo Vintage Ambassador Coated/Evans G1 Clear
Snare: Remo Vintage Emperor Coated/Ambassador snare side.

Love the EMAD/Amb combo, the only thing I'd really do is switch to a coated EMAD2 (if anyone would stock them). The Vintage As sound nice and warm on this kit. When they wear out, I may try standard Ambassadors. Jury is still out on the Vintage Emperor.
 
I play predominantly hard rock and use Vater 5B sticks. For live playing with microphones, I use the following on my Ludwig classic maple drum kit, 24x14, 13x9, 16x16, 16x18....

Clear Remo PS3 on kick, smooth white ambassador on front, 5" hole at 4 o'clock position, small pillow barely touching both heads.
Clear Remo emperors or vintage emperors on tops of toms, clear ambassadors on the bottom, no muffling.
Coated Remo emperor on batter of my '76 Ludwig 402, hazy snare side ambassador bottom. Coated Emperor X on black beauty, hazy ambassador bottom, no muffling on them either. Never have a problem with sound guys.

Unmic'ed or studio work that I do would change a bit, mostly thinner snare heads, possibly coated ambassador tom batter heads....depends on the room sound and recording.
 
I'm going back and forth between brands and heads. Last couple of years it's Remo and Evans (also used Aquarian in the past). Except for the snare (clear CS Black Dot over Ambassador snare side) it's all Evans at the moment, but i find that I'm more leaning towards Remo and probably going to change heads soon. Brands disregarded; always 2 ply clear batters on the toms and floor toms with 1 ply clear reso's. Used coated batters in the past and love how they sound, they don't fit my music or playing style. Snare drum always either 1 ply coated head, preferably with power dot. Bass drum i haven't settled on yet. Since 2012 I've used the clear EMAD for a while and around 2014 coated EMAD. Also used a clear G2 as batter, had an Aquarian Full Force in the past as well... listening to bassdrum heads comparison videos lately and more leaning towards a double ply head again. So i guess within a month or so my kit will be rocking;

Coated CS Black Dot on the snare - Ambassador snare side (using the clear CS now, but it's not my cup of tea)
Clear Pinstripes on Toms, Floor toms and yes... the bass drums as well (with clear Ambassadors on the (floor) toms reso)
 
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