Remo Colortone Snare Head. Opinions please.

dirtyclinic

dirtyclinic

Member
I am going to buy a new batter head for my snare drum. I was going to buy a coated Remo head but then was thinking that one of these would look cool.

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It's a Remo Powerstroke 77 Colortone. Has anyone had any experience with these or at least the clear version? The main reason I would get this one is purely aesthetic. I would assume it has the good quality of a Remo head. The Remo Controlled Sound Reverse Dot Coated head on Musician's Friend has a ton of reviews and they are all positive. That is probably what I would normally get, the Colortone has zero reviews.
 
dirtyclinic said:
I am going to buy a new batter head for my snare drum. I was going to buy a coated Remo head but then was thinking that one of these would look cool.

mBRn4hY.png


It's a Remo Powerstroke 77 Colortone. Has anyone had any experience with these or at least the clear version? The main reason I would get this one is purely aesthetic. I would assume it has the good quality of a Remo head. The Remo Controlled Sound Reverse Dot Coated head on Musician's Friend has a ton of reviews and they are all positive. That is probably what I would normally get, the Colortone has zero reviews.
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Colortones are undeniably cool - if I didn't need a coated head (or played Remo haha) - I would have a set of these all jelly bean colors on some clear drums haha.

Such a fun head.
 
If you use brushes it wont really work because of no coating. If not it should be fine. I've not used one per se, but have been using Remo heads for the better part of 30 years and wouldnt hesitate to try one.

NouveauCliche said:
Colortones are undeniably cool - if I didn't need a coated head (or played Remo haha) - I would have a set of these all jelly bean colors on some clear drums haha.

Such a fun head.
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Dont forget the Paiste Colorsound cymbals to round out the bag o beans!
 
I purposely put one of these on my first build. I was planning on tuning it lower and having a nice "fat" sound. IT DOES THAT! I honestly haven't tuned it high yet, so I can't speak to that, but they're great heads.
 
The Powerstroke 77 is an awful lot of drumhead. Two 7-mil plies, a 5-mil dot and a 7-mil control ring.

If you don't want that much going on I'd consider a Colortone Emperor instead.

I have a red Colortone on the front of my bass drum. It's such a vivid and saturated color it is really striking to look at.
 
They look cool on some sets and really bad on others, It you have a red kit and put red heads on it meh, There was guy on here who did the same in blue, over kill but what ever. They originally came out in the 60s but with a sparkle finish. Took Remo 60 years to get over it. LOL You can see them on the rack tom reso heads,
 

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Though I'm unfamiliar with your preferred snare sound, I fall in with the previously stated view that the Powerstroke 77 gives new meaning to tone control. You might as well place a bathrobe on your snare. I use a straight-up Coated Ambassador for maximum crispness, but that might not be the result you're after.
 
Coatings impart a warmth to the head that add depth to the high-end crack of a snare. So the lack of coating may yield a brighter or even a slightly more brittle sound. That's why I'll only use coated heads on a snare. Just keep that in mind.

If you do get that PS77 Colortone and are okay with the non-coated sound but find it too controlled for your taste, you can always use an exacto knife to cut out the tone control ring. I've done it on bass drum heads, it's not very difficult.
 
Steady Freddy said:
They look cool on some sets and really bad on others, It you have a red kit and put red heads on it meh, There was guy on here who did the same in blue, over kill but what ever. They originally came out in the 60s but with a sparkle finish. Took Remo 60 years to get over it. LOL You can see them on the rack tom reso heads,
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That was me ;)- (Nobody see's them but me and I think they look cool) They sound good - they're really just a clear (albeit coloured) two ply - but I couldn't get on with the PS 77 on snare - very boxy sounding on my particular drum (aluminium) and a very thick 'feel' to it - but then I'm used to single ply coated (UV1)
 
Okay. Thanks for all of the replies. I ordered the new head just now and I didn't go with the Colortone. I just went with the Remo Controlled Sound Coated with the black dot. I have that head on another snare of mine and I really like it. I guess the comments about how dampened it is made me choose the other head. I actually like some dampening on my snare but I like to control it, I don't want it to be too dampened and I can't take any away. Thanks again guys!!!!
 
dirtyclinic said:
Okay. Thanks for all of the replies. I ordered the new head just now and I didn't go with the Colortone. I just went with the Remo Controlled Sound Coated with the black dot. I have that head on another snare of mine and I really like it. I guess the comments about how dampened it is made me choose the other head. I actually like some dampening on my snare but I like to control it, I don't want it to be too dampened and I can't take any away. Thanks again guys!!!!
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The coated CS is my favorite snare head for the exact same reason; just enough dampening of overtones. Especially when you turn it really tight. Tried the clear CS also for a while, but i found i missed the warm feel and sound of the coated version. Might slap the clear CS on a piccolo snare i have lying around so i have another 'voice' in my setup.
 
C.M. Jones said:
Though I'm unfamiliar with your preferred snare sound, I fall in with the previously stated view that the Powerstroke 77 gives new meaning to tone control. You might as well place a bathrobe on your snare. I use a straight-up Coated Ambassador for maximum crispness, but that might not be the result you're after.
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Agreed! Remo have certainly had the marketing in overdrive on the Powerstroke 77, when it's miced up and eq'd to death it sounds great on the vids I've seen but any head like that feel and sound like cardboard. Is the head named so because it makes your snare sound like a 1977 dead cardboard Don Henley special snare?

The good thing with bog standard single or double play heads (insert brand) is that you can choose the level of dampening you need (if any) and gives you a far more versatile drum.
 
mikyok said:
The good thing with bog standard single or double play heads (insert brand) is that you can choose the level of dampening you need (if any) and gives you a far more versatile drum.
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No question. When it comes to snare drums, my philosophy is that it's always better to dampen as needed than to condemn yourself to built-in dampening that can't be adjusted. I play my snare wide-open as a rule. The only time I dampen is for lower tunings, which I avoid whenever I can, as I like a tight, cracking sound a lot more than a flat, thuddy one.
 
C.M. Jones said:
No question. When it comes to snare drums, my philosophy is that it's always better to dampen as needed than to condemn yourself to built-in dampening that can't be adjusted. I play my snare wide-open as a rule. The only time I dampen is for lower tunings, which I avoid whenever I can, as I like a tight, cracking sound a lot more than a flat, thuddy one.
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Ditto on snare sound.

I keep my snare wide open too, unless I'm in a really crappy room which isn't suited to live music. I never really get to mess with snare tunings these days.
 
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