Drum heads

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:03 am

Hey,
I plan on tracking drums soon and I was wondering what people like for drum heads. I've got Evans G2 Coated on my toms and snare. for my kick I'm using an Aquarian Super Kick II for my beater side and a Remo Weatherking Coated Amb.

Also
How will my kick sound change if I take off the resonant side head off?

BTW the style of music is rock n' roll, soul, pop.

Thanks

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:56 am

Drewslum wrote:

...How will my kick sound change if I take off the resonant side head off?...

It takes the fundamental resonant frequency of the chamber down an octave. Since the drum sound depends on the interaction of the head and the chamber, the overall effect on sound isn't that simple. Anyway, this is free and takes all of five minutes to try for yourself. You should try it before you get a lot of answers that will influence your reactions.

Oh, and the best drum recording tip I've gotten on this forum in six months was Ben(t) (or someone?)turning me on to the Evans Bass Drum Muffler. So much easier to adjust the amount of damping on the bass drum than the usual foam and pillows. And it stays in place when you move the drums around or poke mics inside. If you can use a sewing machine (or know someone who does) this would be easy to make up yourself out of material, batting, and velcro. But if your in-house-seamstress charges the same amount (and in the same ways) that mine does, the Evans unit is pretty cheap.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:20 am

Just another thought - try different tunings for your resonant heads. First try tuning in unison with your top heads, then down and up a half step...at the very least, it will give you some significantly different sounds.

Bob's right - try the heads off and then on again. It's a free mod that costs only the time required to do it...(which actually can be a good hour for 3 toms...)

Personally, for BD, I've been using an Evans EMAD beater and resonant head. The included damping rings help a LOT for different styles.

For my snare, I went with an Evans ST due to the fact that I knew I'd have the evolutionary equivalent of red-assed baboons banging on my drums. Plus, they sound halfway decent.

For toms - Evans G2s or Remo Pinstripes. In both cases here, I went for a compromise of quality sound, durability and affordability.

One thing that's EXTREMELY important is finding a set of heads that work with YOUR drums. Take your drums into the store and see if they'll let you put the heads on and try them out. Some stores keep some demo heads in the traditional sizes for you to try. Get to know your shop keeper, he/she will be your best friend!

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:53 am

Bravo for being someone who actually realizes that drumheads wear out and need to be replaced once in a while.

Now if I could only get guitarists to change their strings the night before they come in...

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:37 pm

Quote:

I knew I'd have the evolutionary equivalent of red-assed baboons banging on my drums.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:28 pm

I've heard the EMad heads are good. The Super Kick has a foam ring around the beater side which helps a lot. I'll give some of these things a try.

Thanks
Drewslum

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:17 pm

My drums are Yamaha Recording Custom....

This head combo sounds really nice:

Evans G2 clears on all my toms...10, 12, 15... (they sound amazing)

Remo PowerStroke on kick

Snare -Emperor on batter/Diplomat on reso

Nice big fat sounds all the way 'round

7 mics plugged into a Firepod, then through to Nuendo.....

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:42 pm

The SuperKick II is the SHIZITS... We've been getting some extreme kik drum lately with this head on the wack-it side and the evans two-ply on the resonant. Two air holes...one small and placed at the beater heighth off center and the bigger one lower and opposite for the mic. Theres nothing but control with this setup. We use a dampening ring on the resonant head also.

Toms are gonna be chosen by the style of music. Rock needs to be deeper and a little dead....not dead as in DEAD but quick as in out of the way pronto.

We usually have at least three snares and all are treated differently.

My personal favorite for a lot of things is a coated Evans Generra Dry. Its able to be streched nice and tight while still delivering the thud as well as a nice pop. The coating lets us use any type of brush, stick, hot rods etc...

One thing that helps . When you change the heads , spend some time checking out the bead on the batter side of the drum. They do get knocked down after a few years and also they collect dust. You'd be amazed at how different a drum sounds when the bead is done up right. Plus the drum simply tunes up better and holds its pitch.

We have not gotten a chance yet to record the new drumkit. Its a Gretsch Custom size set with Mahogany shells. Its very sweet and low live The kik is 26X22. Its like a velvet cannon. They all sound fantastic and are proof that like most things, the frikin expensive stuff really really works.

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:40 pm

Drewslum,

I have a kick drum that's 5" x 22" -- 5 inches deep -- that I fit with an Evans EMAD 2 for the batter side with an open front side. It can be just the ticket for recording certain rock bands, where you want more of a "tick" wrapped in a "thump" without all the mess.

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:13 pm

PLS,
5 inches deep? Interesting.
The kik on my practice kit is about that deep.

Dave, et. al.,
+1 on Evans heads. They really don't get the respect they deserve.
Remo's got the market flooded, but Evans is top quality!

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:03 am

Thanks! I plan on spending a day getting our drum sound dialed in before we start tracking. I'll have my hands full Laughing

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:42 pm

No Internal Head Mufflers for us.
They restrict the head too much and result in a somewhat dull sound.
I know there's a zillion other factors to consider,so I always do tests with and without and it's a rare day that the internal head muffler beats a small pillow. (sometimes a large pillow) The pillow absorbs the ringing inside the shell. The mufflers attempt to do the same thing by restricting the resonation of the heads. But it's not quite the same and reduces the depth and richness of the sound.
The only time the internal head muffler consistantly rates slightly higher is with larger kik drums over 22" and where the style is more , shall we say busy, or jazzy.

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:12 am

natural wrote:

No Internal Head Mufflers for us.
They restrict the head too much and result in a somewhat dull sound.
I know there's a zillion other factors to consider,so I always do tests with and without and it's a rare day that the internal head muffler beats a small pillow. (sometimes a large pillow) The pillow absorbs the ringing inside the shell. The mufflers attempt to do the same thing by restricting the resonation of the heads. But it's not quite the same and reduces the depth and richness of the sound.
The only time the internal head muffler consistantly rates slightly higher is with larger kik drums over 22" and where the style is more , shall we say busy, or jazzy.

If I've got some extra money to spend on another beater head I'll buy one w/o a muffler and compare them. What would be one you would recommend (rock/pop)? I do really like the sound of the Aquarian Super Kick II though!

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:10 am

That's what's great about the EMAD. It has the ability to run with dampers (light or heavy) and without.

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:31 am

The Aqaurian heads are a little better because the the muffler floats and doesn't restrict the attack too much. So if it works for you, great.
(they probably work best with heavy hitters)

You might be able to get a 2nd aquarian head and rip the ring off. Aren't they just glued on? I don't remember. We've had good results with most heads over the years. Remo Ebony Pinstripe gives a good sound if you're a hard player.
Like most things, you need to experiment a little.
What Cucco said about EMAD can give you lots of options.

Drewslum wrote:

natural wrote:

No Internal Head Mufflers for us.
They restrict the head too much and result in a somewhat dull sound.
I know there's a zillion other factors to consider,so I always do tests with and without and it's a rare day that the internal head muffler beats a small pillow. (sometimes a large pillow) The pillow absorbs the ringing inside the shell. The mufflers attempt to do the same thing by restricting the resonation of the heads. But it's not quite the same and reduces the depth and richness of the sound.
The only time the internal head muffler consistantly rates slightly higher is with larger kik drums over 22" and where the style is more , shall we say busy, or jazzy.

If I've got some extra money to spend on another beater head I'll buy one w/o a muffler and compare them. What would be one you would recommend (rock/pop)? I do really like the sound of the Aquarian Super Kick II though!

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