Remo Pinstripe plastic sound ?

Vinny

Vinny

Member
Hi guys,

I bought a used 16" Percussion Plus floor tom to augment my Stage Customs.

The old batter head was heavily dimpled so I bought a new Remo Pinstripe. Now I'm hearing a distinct "plastic" sound at the moment the stick contacts the head. I hate it.

I've spent hours adjusting tuning rods on both batter and reso but it wont go away. It's a pretty thick head btw.

As a beginner and being inexperienced at tuning, I'm wondering if this is a tuning issue or if the "plastic" sound is a feature of the thicker Remo Pinstripe. (The old reso head is thinner and sounds better.)

I would note that the SC hanging floor tom and the two rack toms still have the old heads on them and there's no plastic sound happening with them.

Oh, one other thing. The PP floor tom only has 5 tuning rods and some tighten much quicker than others. By that I mean, after finger tightening all of them as tight as possible, I switch to the drum key, but some get real tight after a only couple turns while a couple others require numerous turns to feel tight.

Just not sure what to do at this point. The drum will shake the floor, but does it have to have that initial plastic slap?
 
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I don't think this is a tuning issue. I have had heads before that have a plastic sound to them, and yes it drove me crazy. Try some other sticks, without buying them, if you have some laying about, but I had no relief other than buying coated heads. If the bearing edges are much different you may get a different sound than your other toms. Good luck.
 
Why didn't you get a matching Stage Custom floor tom? Different brands will sound different. Usually not drastically different, but different nonetheless. How many air holes does the new floor tom have.
 
Did you seat the head? (press hand in middle after initial tension). And is it tuned high enough? (a sloppy wet box sound is if tuned too low, like wrinkled).
It is afert all a pinstripe, to my ears probably one of the heads with the most slappy sound.
 
I love pins on bass drum batters, but I think these heads need to be tuned at least 1/4 turn more than usual, and they require more time to relax than other heads. When I use Pins I use coated. Good luck with it.
 
Vinny said:
Didn't want to spend $180 for a new SC floor tom and I could not find a used one.
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$180? Is that all they cost? Man, a new Recording Custom floor tom is over $700. If I were you, I would have just waited until I could afford to buy the Yamaha. Mixing brands of toms is kind of bizarre, especially if you want consistency.
 
I don't see pins as being Slappy,but that is subjective.

I think trying one was a good idea,back in the day the pinstripe was the savior as far as entry level drums,and esp toms went,most of the time they would make an inexpensive kit playable.

A 5 lug 16"? man they weren't cutting corners they were eliminating them entirely.

Sounds like some new inserts for the lugs might be a good idea,and if you have another 16 around maybe try the pin on it.

If you are able to tune the drum with the head that is already on there it is possible you got a bad head,it does happen.

I always keep old heads around because certain drums just seem to like certain heads and dislike others.
 
kevinmac said:
I have pinstripes on my Yamaha 8000 series, and love them. No plastic sound,
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Yeah, pinstripes sound good on some drums - Yamaha 8000 and 9000 for sure. Yamaha shipped RC's with them for a reason - they work.

Not plastic sounding at all..no more 'plasticy' than a clear ambassador or clear emperor.
 
Hey guys ... Thanks for your remarks and suggestions.

My lack of experience and a cheap 5 lug floor tom probably not the best combination.

Will focus more on drumming and worry about tone later.

Thanks again,
Vinny
 
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