New tom heads

jak · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:29 pm Post subject: New tom heads

Im gonna be getting some new heads for my snare and toms since the factory heads suck, but Im wanting to know about coated tom heads.
how do they sound/feel?

The reason why im asking about coated heads is because my sticks slip around when I try to do rolls on my toms I dont know if this is the culprit but I usually use nylon tip sticks plus My drums have the factory heads and they are like plastic or something

If I dont get coated heads im thinking of getting a set of Remo Pinstripes does anybody use them and how do you like them?

Also I'm a begginer and this will be my first head change, so should I also replace the resonant heads with a set that matches the batters or just leave on the crappy factory heads.

Snake · Big Lion Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 989 Location: DFW

Coated heads generally sound "warmer" than clear heads, meaning the coating reduces some of the high pitched overtones. It's a subtle difference, not a big one. In my experience, coated heads also seem to have a little more attack to their sound - they kind of "snap" when struck.
I'm not sure what you mean by your sticks slipping around, but stock heads are often made of cheaper grade mylar than regular heads.
Pinstripes might work well for you. They will give you a more muffled tone than single ply heads (clear or coated) and are pretty easy to tune.
If your kit is new, you can get by with the stock reso heads for a while. If you can afford to replace batters and resos all at once, definitely do it - new resos will positively effect the tone. But again the difference is subtle - a beginner may not notice it as much as an experienced drummer. If you decide to do it, Pinstripes over Ambassadors is a good combo.
_________________
"If I didn't make a living beating things with a stick, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble!" - Alex Van Halen

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5260 Location: Kansas

Just gotta throw in my two cents here.

If you can afford it, definitely change the batter and resonant heads at the same time. I agree with Snake on how a coating will affect a head's sound. I must recommend Aquarian heads, though. I would go with coated Studio-X heads on the tom batters (they make the same heads with power dots on the underneath side if you're a heavier hitter) and Classic Clears on the tom bottoms. They have many texture-coated options, however, for snare or toms. Check out their website:

www.aquariandrumheads.com

jak · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 10:36 pm Post subject:

Its hard to describe what I mean when I say my stick slips around but heres a shot at it.

Its like when I hit my snare (coated head) my sticks just bounce back up but when I hit a tom my stick slides about an inch or so from the point of impact.

Ive thought about what might be causing it and I think maybe its my technique, see my snare is pretty close to me and my arms are way more relaxed than when I have them streched out to hit my toms.

But either way im still planning on changing my heads before long, I think I will try the pinstripes I like the way the little stripe looks, I think it makes the head look more dressed up and expensive Wink

jak · Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 11:04 pm Post subject:

Well I went to guitar center today luckily the guy I bought my drums from was working and he remember me, so I got a good deal on a set of pinstripes (27 bucks for the snare and tom heads).

Man I cant beleive the difference in the sound, I love the way my floor tom sounds now.

And I know this isnt important but they also look a heck of a lot better than the ugly clearish white stock heads.

Now I want to get a clear batter side bass head (it has a ugly clearish white head as well) I was looking at those blue hydrolics are they any good?

Snake · Big Lion Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 989 Location: DFW

NOOOOOOOOO! Don't use Hydraulics as reso heads. Usually single ply heads are best suited for reso heads, especially with muffled 2 ply heads like Pinstripes. Hydos are 2 ply heads with oil between the layers for muffling. Pinstipes over Hyros will sound like hitting a cardboard box - no tone at all. If that's the sound you want then go for it, but I would highly reccommend Remo Ambassadors, Evans G1s, Aquarian Classic Clears, etc.
_________________
"If I didn't make a living beating things with a stick, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble!" - Alex Van Halen

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5260 Location: Kansas

I believe he is asking asking about the batter side of his bass drum. Even still, I highly recommend NOT getting a hydraulic for it. The Aquarian Superkick bass drum heads are very possibly the best bass drum batter heads available today. Check them out.

jak · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 9:57 am Post subject:

Yeah I was meaning the batter side.

And thanks for that tip on using an aquarian Ill have to check one out.

The only thing im having a problem with now is that my small tom sounds too low pitch even after I have tuned it higher a couple of times, but if I mute the bottom head it sounds too high, should I downtune the top head and start messing around with the reso. head or just keep on working with the batter head. Thanks in advance

jak · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 10:01 am Post subject:

Yeah I was meaning the batter side.

And thanks for that tip on using an aquarian Ill have to check one out.

The only thing im having a problem with now is that my small tom sounds too low pitch even after I have tuned it higher a couple of times, but if I mute the bottom head it sounds too high, should I downtune the top head and start messing around with the reso. head or just keep on working with the batter head. Thanks in advance

Snake · Big Lion Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 989 Location: DFW

LOL! What the hell was I reading? It says "batter side bass head" right there, plain as day. How funny - I must not have been awake yet! Embarassed

Well, not only do I definitely not recommend Hyros as resos, I don't recommend them in general. I just don't like them, but that doesn't mean you won't. Nothing wrong with a little experimenting. But I agree with bytor - Super Kicks are the sh*t. I have a SK II and a Regulator reso and my kick just KILLS. Highly recommended.

And don't forget to avoid those Hydro resos. Wink

_________________
"If I didn't make a living beating things with a stick, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble!" - Alex Van Halen

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5260 Location: Kansas

Heh, funny stuff, Snake. Smile

To answer the question about your high tom, jak, I'm curious as to how you are muffling the bottom head when you say that doing so increases the pitch of the drum too much. Are you putting a finger or two on it while you tap the batter head? If so, what is likely happening that causes the pitch to increase is that you are inadvertently pressing into the reso head with your finger(s) to muffle it, thereby making it tighter and increasing it's pitch.

It sounds to me like all you really need to do is tighten the resonant head slightly. Depending on how tight your batter head is, you might want to loosen it a bit at the same time you tighten the bottom head to even out their pitches a little more. If the top head isn't overly tight, though, you should be able to get the sound you need simply by tweeking the resonant. Good luck.

jak · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:30 pm Post subject:

When the tom is mounted I just lightly place my whole hand on the bottom head, or if the tom isn't mounted I place it on carpeted floor but either way I think the batter head is too high pitched. its already after 1 am so I need to get to bed but I will mess around with some different tunings tommorow.

Also on the plus side my snare doesn't rattle as much as it did before I changed heads, it used to sound like I had a snare strapped to the bottom of my small tom Laughing

Also thanks for the tips on bass heads if both of you agree that hydros suck thats enough for me to not want to waste 30 bucks on one.