Tom heads

[search64]

I have a Pearl Export, and I don't know what heads to put on the toms. I'm thinking about remo Pinstripes, Evans clear G2, Evansglass hydraulic, but any suggestions are welcome. Preferably twinply because I don't have the best kit around :) .

[Bart Elliott]

Any of those heads would be good ... except for the hydraulics (IMO). Also check out the AQUARIAN Double Thins which sound very close to a single-ply head, the closest I've ever heard ... and yet have the strength of a two-ply. Aquarian also has the Performance II (designed for loose tuning) or the Response 2 (which is the like the Pinstripe or G2).

I obviously prefer the Aquarian heads, but Evans is a good head as well. To me, the Remo heads are NOT consistent, especially when it comes to the Pinstripes.

The Aquarian drumheads will last you MUCH longer!

[BAnimalG]

To me, the Remo heads are NOT consistent, especially when it comes to the Pinstripes.

Bartman.  Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that the pinstripes are not consistent?  Not trying to start any heated arguments here, just curious.

[Bart Elliott]

Bartman.  Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that the pinstripes are not consistent?  Not trying to start any heated arguments here, just curious.

No heat here man ... we need to talk about this stuff ... even if we disagree ... it's all opinions anyway ... right?

To me, REMO drumheads in general are inconsistent. I think they sound just fine ... and so do countless drummers ... professionals to novice. My only beef with REMO is how inconsistent they are; sound, quality, fit, etc. Actually there are some other things that bug me about REMO, but I don't need to go there since it's even more subjective than what I've already mentioned.

As just one example, Pinstripe heads, by nature, are a two-ply drumhead with the discolored band around the side being where the two pieces of Mylar are glued together. This is what gives the Pinstripes their unique sound. REMO, I feel, is very careless with how these heads are made. When they glue the two plies together they don't make sure that free flowing middle sections lay properly. If you use a loose tuning, or even a medium tension (sometimes), you get REALLY bad wrinkles and a unpleasant sound. This is just one example mind you; there's plenty more.

Being a former owner of a drum shop and a professional player since 1980, I've seen and gone through a LOT of drumheads. I can say, coincidentally, that REMO drumheads are good only 40% of the time. For those that are bad with math (actually I'm just wanting to drive the point home a little more), that's less than half the time!!! When you get a good REMO head, they sound great ... no doubt about it. But man, after time goes by, you start noticing the inconsistencies of the product ... and it gets very frustrating. Since 1990 I've been using AQUARIAN drumheads exclusively ... but prior to that ... I was using REMO ... with a short transition time between the two in which I used EVANS (which makes some very nice drumheads).

Many customers used to bring back defective REMO heads to my shop. For a number of years ... up until I closed my drumshop, I was changing out drumheads EVERY DAY ... for my own drums as well as drums of clients who hired me to tune or maintain their instruments. All of this to say ... I've had an ear-full and feel like I have enough comparative research to make some sort of an educated assessment. Of course, it's still my opinion ... but I wanted you to know that it's not personal or without some factual (long term) experience to back up my claims.

I don't expect everyone to agree with my conclusions, and that's fine of course. If you only change out drumheads once or twice a year ... it's unlikely that you will hear the difference from head to head. The old heads sound terrible ... the new heads sound better; that's all that matters. But if you change out heads on a regular basis ... or perhaps put 5 brand new batter heads on your snare drum collection (as an example), you would find that only 2 or 3 sound good ... forcing you to make strange adjustments (perhaps even use a hairdryer?  ;D ) ... or simply replace the head with yet another drumhead. This was common place for me ... and I know of a number household name pros who feel the same way, but they continue to use REMO because they like the sound.  

Don't get me wrong ... REMO heads sound great ... IF you get a good drumhead. How many of you can afford to by a case of drumheads and only have 40% of them sound worth a darn? It's a rhetorical question: Not Many Of You! Young players or drummers who have entry level drumkits more than likely will not hear a difference. You'll think I'm totally out of my gourd and need to give it a rest. But for many of you, it's time to take the red pill andawaken from your fairy-tale dream.  ;) (just a little Matrix humor).

I can count on one hand the times I ever had to return a defective drumhead made by EVANS or AQUARIAN.

EVANS drumheads cost a little more, AQUARIAN drumheads even more! But ... remember back when your daddy told you that you always get what you pay for? Well ... he was right!

_{Who's your daddy? LOL}

[BAnimalG]

You make a very good point, B-Man!  I've always been "loyal" to REMO because it was the first head I ever used.  However, I have experienced the 40% you spoke of, and have wondered if I was the only one with these problems.  I kinda "cheated" on the folks at REMO and went out to buy an Evans EQ3 Batter and EQ1 Resonant w/ the EQ3 Muffling system for my kick, and it has NEVER sounded better!  I'm thinking of looking into the Aquarians for my toms and snare though.  Could you give me a suggestion?  For my toms I want a double-ply head that sounds something like a Pinstripe (I prefer coated for the tonality) and for the snare something coated that is kinda like the Powerstroke III series.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the way the Pwerstroke III sounds on my snare, but right now the coating has completely come off the dot part of the head and not the rest, so it looks like I've got  3" diameter hole in the middle of my snare!  REMO's coatings are becoming cheaper and cheaper (there's the 40%)!!   >:(  I would appreciate some suggestions and a contact name and number in the Houston area if you have one!  Thanks B-man!

[search64]

I just went out and got the G2's and when I put them on my toms, I found out they gave me some killer sustain  :o, great tone and really fatten the tone (I love my export again). Next up is my bass I guess, for which I think I'll get Evans EMAD, but I don't know yet. Evans opened my eyes! I have a powerstroke 3 on my snare and after a week or so, the coating already came off, does Evans or Aquarian have a snare head with internal muffle ring like the powerstroke 3?

[LRLL]

For as far as I know, all the Evans genera snare heads have a muffle ring. The dry models have venting holes as well. The HD models are 2-ply..
Then there's also models like the powercenter with the dots.
My experience with evans coatings is that they last very long.

I don't have any experience with Aquarian snare heads yet (still want to try the Hi-Energy head), but the quality of their heads is supposedly very good.

[BAnimalG]

Just went out last night and bought the Aquarian Hi-Energy Snare Head w/ Power Dot.  WOW!!  This is a GREAT Drum head!!  I really like the sound that I'm getting from my toms with the Clear Pinstripe, but I'd like something with a coating on it, for tonality, and after getting that snare head, I would like to go with Aquarian.  Bart, any suggestions?

[felix]

I didn't care for that snare head on my brass snare.  It istill on there though.  That thing will split your skull in half.

I'm digging the coated studio x's on my toms these days.
For me, they are not bad, warmer than a pin, but with an element of added control/focus to the head.  But you might be a harder player than myself, so you might dig the response two's.  Nothing IMHO sounds like a "good' pinstripe...nothing sounds like a bad one either- YUK.

My toms used to have "pins" on them.  I did not care for the response two's and I did not care for the double thins either after I changed out the pinstripes- nor did I care for Remo's P3's

YMMV

[rlhubley]

What about Evans G2??

[felix]

What about Evans G2??

Those things suk LOL

Just kidding.

[Blake_N]

It all depends on the sound that you are trying to get. I myself use AQuarian Performance II's on my toms because i like the deep fat sound that they give me. I have tried all of the Evans heads and though i must admit they are good heads, they are too high pitched for "my" ear.

[sidereal]

I see a lot of mention of the Aquarian Performance IIs, and I'm sorry to have to say it, but these were by far the worst heads I've ever put on my toms.

I only bought them because the drum shop was out of my first and second choices. I put them on, easy enough to tune, but at the gig it was just horrible. Absolutely no projection and volume whatsoever. I'm talking dead. I tried retuning during breaks and they still sounded awful. My bassist even noticed, asking what happened to my kit!

Don't get me wrong, this is nothing against Aquarian by any means. But that particular model, the PII, are a waste of money and time in my opinion. You'd probably be better off with Pinstripes.

I've been using G2s lately, and I love them.

[felix]

The last time I used PII's was about 3 years ago and well, they were too dead for my taste.

[BAnimalG]

I see a lot of mention of the Aquarian Performance IIs, and I'm sorry to have to say it, but these were by far the worst heads I've ever put on my toms.

The last time I used PII's was about 3 years ago and well, they were too dead for my taste.

Thanks for the tips, guys.  I was leaning towards these for my toms, I'll be sure and re-think my decision, as I am looking for a "lively" tom sound.  Any suggestions on what I might put on my 6", 8" & 10" Roto-Toms.  I'm trying to get away from the Remo Pinstripes.

[felix]

Remo CS dots

[Blake_N]

Well i don't know if you are even wanting a deep fatsound,but if that IS what you want i suggest you buy 1 Pinstripe and 1 Aquarian Performance II and tune them exactly the same and come back and tell me which one gave you that deep fat sound.

[Bart Elliott]

What I would recommend is buy various types of heads for just one drum. This way you can try them out without having to invest into an entire set for your kit ... and then wind up hating them.

Also, you can always make a one-ply head sound darker, but you can't get a two-ply head to sound brighter. It's kind of of like being an engineer; cutting is usually preferred over boosting ... whenever possible.

For two-ply heads, I like the Aquarian Double Thins.

It's all subjective and what our ears like to hear. Descriptions can help you and give some direction, but the only way you'll REALLY know is to try some different heads.

[Blake_N]

Amen!! So true.

[nullify_drummer]

hey i prefer the evans hydraulic for the top and a evans resant for the bottoms. or i like to use a ludwig rocker if u can find em any more its kinda hard.