Drum heads to take the 90's vibe out of my 90's kit.

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:14 am

Yup, that pretty much explains it. I'm not up to date on what kind of vibe which drum heads will give you.

I have a 1990 Ludwig maple kit, and I want to try and get more of a 60's vibe out of it. Can you guys give me some suggestions of heads to try?

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:20 am

check this link out:

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/id5.html

i think its got the info you seek..it will be a great start to understanding at least..

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:24 am

Depends on which 60s vibe you are looking for, because I could hear that at thin & bouncy heads or dark and tubby.
Common heads back then would be single-ply mylar with or without the textured coating like an Evans G1 with or without coating, or a Remo Ambassador again with or without coating. The coating will make the head slightly darker sounding, and a tiny bit drier than the clear single ply.
Or you might be thinking of a calf-skin sound which is generally darker, drier, and fuller. In a synthetic head, you can get close with a 2-ply head with oil between the plies (pretty much all of them use at least a tiny bit of oil). Remo Pinstripes, Evans G2 or G2 coated, or the most extreme example, the Evans Hydraulic but those take some very careful tuning.

-Jeremy

Coco · Post by **Coco** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:40 am

As far as I know newer drums have a sharper bearing edge cut into them. I think older ones were more round and a sharper edge would give the drum more attack.But I have a new set of Ludwig classic maples and the bearing edges are not that aggressive on them. Not like my Ayotte's. Maybe the skin might have less of an impact on the sound than the drum itself, depending on size and bearing edge.What size are your drums anyway?

djimbe · Post by **djimbe** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:09 pm

I've been digging the Aquarian Vintage American series heads for batter side on my '71 Ludwigs. The mediums are single ply coated, but they sound more like a cross between the traditional Ambassador coateds and the Remo Fyberskins. Not a new kit like yours, I know, but they really brought some sound back to my old drums. Just enough ring to sound good (Ambassadors had too much) and not dull and thunky like 2 plys or pinstripes. My Ludwigs have thin shells with the reinforced hoops at the rims of the shells. The bearing edges are kinda more rounded than modern drums. I had to order from West Coast Drums, but the slight wait was totally worth it....

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:13 pm

another good option for an 'old school' sound is to use coated heads on the bottom of the drums as well... Emperor coated on top, Diplomat coated on bottom... i dunno... just a throught. tuning is a big part, too.

john

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:19 pm

Thanks guys,

Here's the actual drums, FWIW:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26fvi%3D1

I havn't had much of a chance to play around with them, as they arrived a few days
ago.

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:42 pm

Wow,
I was just checking out that link. B.O.B. Very informative.

In response to which 60's vibe, well, I should say more Ringo than Ginger Baker, for example.

I realize my bass drum is huge, but I might not be using that much. I have a pretty cool Gretsch 20/18 kick so one of my reasons for buying that Ludwig kit is because I felt like it might be a good way to fill in my toms.

JASIII · Post by **JASIII** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:18 pm

I'm never disappointed with Remo coated ambassadors on top for that type of vibe.

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:27 pm

Agreed, I would generally try to achieve that sound with wider-diameter, shallower-depth drums with single-ply, coated heads like Ambassadors or Evans G1s. You might also consider looking into the Remo Emperor Suede heads which have two thin plies, and a textured surface that isn't quite coated - a nice happy medium. Our percussion teacher put them on a lot of sets around the school, and I was impressed with their sound on the Yamaha Maple Custom kit I've played and recorded a lot in the past year or so.
But, those Ludwig toms in the picture seem pretty deep which may change up the heads you'll want. Shallower drums tend to have a faster attack, so if you want the sound of the shallow drums of the 60s from deep drums of the 90s you may need a head that tends towards very fast attacks. Check out that link Beard of Bees put up for suggestions on fast heads.

-Jeremy

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:46 pm

<<In response to which 60's vibe, well, I should say more Ringo than Ginger Baker, for example. >>

Hmm... "The End" Ringo and "Ticket to Ride" Ringo had kinda different sounds. TTR was more of that "open" Remo Ambassador (single-ply coated head) sound, where as I hear "The End" and "Come Together" as more of the period where Ringo started laying towels on all his drums for that dead sound.

90's Ludwig shells should have the sharper 45 deg. edges. Ringo's 60's kits most likely had rounded bearing edges.

LeedyGuy · Post by **LeedyGuy** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 1:55 pm

wellllll

those are ginormous drums. i think those older drums tended to be flatter and not so power tom-y and deep

right?

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Drum heads to take the 90's vibe out of my 90's kit.

Drum heads to take the 90's vibe out of my 90's kit.

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