I need drum heads

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jspartz
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I need drum heads

Post by jspartz » Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:17 am

I have a Pearl set that is need of new drum heads all around. The duct taped heads just don't do it for me. I have not had to buy heads before. Any comments on what to get and where I can buy them at a good price. Cheap but good is what I am after.

Thanks,

Jason

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Re: I need drum heads

Post by FNM » Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:52 am

That's a very vauge question. You really can't go wrong with much from remo or evan's. Depends on the sound you want and the kit you have.

I'm guessing you probably have exports or something in which case I personally would just go with regular 1 ply heads on bottoms of toms, and two ply on top. There's probably hundreds of combinations you could use that would sound fine if you tuned them right. I've had remo emperors on my toms for over a year now and I am dieing to change them, but I can't bring myself to do it because they still sound really good for some reason.

Look around at your music store, heads are generally a little more $ than the size of the drum is in inches if that makes any sense. At least at the big places like GC.

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Re: I need drum heads

Post by jspartz » Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:39 am

Thanks,

Your correct. It is an export series kit. I need a rack tom, floor tom, kick, and snare heads. I didn't know if I could find a good deal online verse a music store in the area.

Thanks,

Jason

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Re: I need drum heads

Post by Coco » Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:58 am

Drum heads are like guitar strings, once they wear out they sound like shit. They lose tone and response over time and the ability to stay in tune, like a guitar string. They are cheap enough that it should not matter. Use Remo coated on the snare and on toms for a more vintage vibe, use clear on the toms for more punch.
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Re: I need drum heads

Post by dynomike » Fri Oct 01, 2004 11:07 am

Heres a good start:

If you can find aquarians, get them, they last a lot longer and are very consistent quality. Remos and evans can be good, but tap them with your finger to test if they are resonant enough.

In any case:

Medium weight, coated single ply heads for tops of toms and snare. (aquarian classic, evans g1, remo ambassador)

Medium weight, clear single ply heads for bottoms of toms.

Snare weight clear or hazy head for bottom of snare.

Heavy 1 or 2 ply head like aquarian force 1, superkick 1, evans eq1 or eq2, remo powerstroke 3 for kick batter head. These all have damping around the edges so you won't have to use as much pillows/duct tape.

Medium or heavy weight head for outside of kick. I use a remo ambassador coated, but it requires some muting usually.

This is what I use.. its very standard, and if you want a more agressive or more open sound, use heavier or lighter heads, respectively. If you don't know what to get, this is a good start.

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Re: I need drum heads

Post by Devlars » Fri Oct 01, 2004 11:28 am

I' partial to Evans hydraulic heads, especially with Genera resonant bottoms on the toms and an Aquarian on kick. Very dark, vary bottom heavy and very durable. In regards to this, "Cheap but good is what i'm after." You would do well to get a better quality drum skin much like Evans or Aquarian which will cost a bit more but, as with guitar strings, the quality is well worth it. you truly get what you pay for when it comes to strings, skins and things of the like.
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Re: I need drum heads

Post by LTA » Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:51 pm

Cheap means durable to me.

I'm just going to use the evans line, but remo and canon make good stuff too. Aqaurian seems to be a bit tough to track down in my area most of the time, but you could convert the suggestions to their lineup too.

On toms, clear G2 on top over clear G1 bottom. You can change the top head around, but the bottom is pretty much the standard middle of the road choice and good for everything.

For kick, an emad with an eq3 batter will get you a pretty decent kick sound without having to play with dampening. It will get you 90% of the way there with 10% of the effort. It won't work for jazz/bop, but does just fine everything else.

Then on to snare. Remo ambassador over ambassador snare side or G1 coated over 300 hazy snareside is the ideal, but if you aren't up to the tuning, a muffled batter such as a ps3 or genera will be a better choice. The power center reverse dot is a nice one (and will last a long time).

If you still have the original bottom heads, i do strongly suggest biting the bullet and buying new ones. Worn out resonants will make new batters sound old right from the get go.

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Re: I need drum heads

Post by LeedyGuy » Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:18 pm

i like aquarians on maple drums. it really depends what the drums are made out of...which depends on what Export you have. is it actually wood or just that fiber crap? the older ones werent solid wood.

anyway, i use aquarian double thin coateds on my pearl masters customs. i use the one with the dot UNDER the head for the snare and i use the aquarian super kick on the bass drum. you can get those in a front back set usually...
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