Kick Drum and Tom Heads

[Analog]

Just wondering how other rock engineers are thinking... I use an Aquarian Superkick 1 one ply head with another Aquarian front head with a hole to the side. I tune the front head medium tension and the batter head loose but not TOO loose to the point where the kick sounds like a FLAPPPPP...

What kind of kick heads do you use? Does anyone find that changing the front head every few months makes a big difference?

For toms I'm also using one plys, (I find one ply in the studio seems to SING more then two ply which sounds DEADER) they are coated Ambassadors, with clear ambassadors on the bottom. Same questions as above. Thanks.

[Winey]

I use a powerstroke 3 or coated Emperor batter with an ambassador out front (res) on kick.
On toms I like clear Ambassadors or Emperor's top and bottom, or rarely Diplomats on bottom.
Metal guys always like Pinstripes on toms which I personally dislike, but they work good for fast metal playing.
IMO Nothing should go on a snare but an Ambassador or CS Dot, always with a Hazy snare on bottom.
I change them when they start to sound bad.
Sometimes they look like hell before that happens.
Evan's kick heads always sound crap to me. They have a sound to them which I dislike. The Aquairians aren't too bad if you want a modern sound, not as nuetral as Remo though.
I swear so many modern heads and cymbals are made to sound like they've already been recorded and EQ'd aggressively.
It's annoying.

[alphajerk]

thats funny, i went from PS3's to Evans EQ3's and thought the Evans blew away the Remos. i do like ambassadors on the toms. sanre could be anything depending on what im going for.

[Winey]

Originally Posted by alphajerk

thats funny, i went from PS3's to Evans EQ3's and thought the Evans blew away the Remos. i do like ambassadors on the toms. sanre could be anything depending on what im going for.

The EQ3 is the Nickleback of drum heads.

[alphajerk]

i dont know what that means... for me it provides a great fundamental tone and souds as solid as i could hope for. makes me just want to keep listening to what a great kick sound.... the PS3 sounded like ass.

[covert]

Fibreskin III on toms. Next time I change out the bass batter, I'll be trying the Fibreskin powerstroke model. Renaissance on snare batter, with diplomat snare on the bottom.

[Ted Nightshade]

Originally Posted by covert

Fibreskin III on toms. Next time I change out the bass batter, I'll be trying the Fibreskin powerstroke model. Renaissance on snare batter, with diplomat snare on the bottom.

All that fake calf, you oughta try calf sometime.

[Jules]

I dont like any extra 'rings' or dampening gizmoz so I dislike powerstrokes...

Powerstrokes have that odd 2nd skin ring around the outside right?

[brownmouse]

i generally go for remo coated ambassadors on tops of toms (although occassionally i'll use remo fiberskyns) and evans 'hydraulics' on bottoms or clear ambassadors, for the kik i currently am using an evans eq3 (and its working quite well). i will try the powerstroke 3 next on it tho.
joshua

[C/G]

Lots of opinions, lots of choices. I like the EQ3 for a short while. I find they wear out really quick. I have never broke a kick skin but seemed to destroy three EQ3's withing a 4 month period. I now use Power Stroke 3 and really like the sound. In am using a 24" kick so these seem to work best with my kickdrum, plus they last a long time and still sound good (to me) after they wear in. Toms I like coated Emperors or Ambassadors on top, clear ambasadors on the bottom. I was using Evans G2 heads on toms but they sounded way to flappy to me.

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by alphajerk

thats funny, i went from PS3's to Evans EQ3's and thought the Evans blew away the Remos. i do like ambassadors on the toms. sanre could be anything depending on what im going for.

I haven't used the Evans on kick in years. So long, that I can't remember what they sound like. I'm going to try one this week, and see if my taste/mood/whatever has changed over the years. thumbsup
There are so many other things that factor in...
Hard/soft felt, wood/plastic beater. Beater pad?? Reso head, tuning, and dampening. Pillow/felt/blanket? The kick could sound anywhere between waaay open, and hand clap. At what point do I say "It must be the head." Everyone has something that works for them, and I guess this is a case of, head, tuning, beater...etc = nice open kick sound, or = nice solid kick sound...
All that said... I'm still gonna try the Evans this week....

Oh yeah...
Ambassadors on toms, usually emp/ambass/cs dot on snare.

[Musiclab]

I dislike the evans heads, One drummer I recorded had I think an Emad that didnt sound too bad. A guy named Richard Crooks, who is an older guy and really can tune a kit uses the aquarian on the kick and we get a good sound. Overall I dont like heads with dampening built in, they sound too plasticy for me. I prefer the remo ambassadors.

[alphajerk]

Originally Posted by drmmrboy

There are so many other things that factor in...

felt head, no stuffing in the drum, 5" hole on the reso head [more for internal micing than anything else.

i can tune it down to almost an 808 sound or tighten it up a bit for a nice solid hit... not a flappy sound but just solid. 22" kick.

i went from PS3's to Evans EQ3's and thought the Evans blew away the Remos.

I tried the same thing however, I had different results.
The PS3 made it back on the kick in quick time.
The evans got another shot on the toms w/coating.
They stuck.
The EQ3 wasn't bad on kick it just didn't last. I was through it in less then 30 hours play time.

Still looking for the perfect snare head.


Good luck!!

David

[7rojo7]

Many different ways for many different styles.
Newspaper cut into strips and used judiciously (1 or 2 strips) for bottom heads (Diplomats clear or coated) and inside the kik, KIK with a Kevlar button works for Emperors, I have one on a fiberskin (real skin would never survive a modern drummer, the only drummer I've seen have success with the real thing is Steve Arguelles) Richard Crooks is the shit, I recorded him way back at BM in NY.
Clears give you a more transparent sound (no Walters intended) coated have a muted top which makes them sound "richer".
I've never had any luck with anything but REMO.
I don't like holes for the studio, it's either 2 heads or the front comes off hoop and lugs and the lugnuts get taped down. I have a softcase which I slip over the front which keeps the kik out of the room and the room out of the kik (tunnel theory)
Zero rings with a piece cut out of them for toms and a whole one with some newspaper attached to it for SN.
It's the actual tuning that makes the sound though. When you get mics that close to something so loud it had better be perfect.
Style has a lot to do with how you tune a kit, genre may be a better word. not too many drummers or gtr players know how to tune their instruments, sad to say.

[DirkB]

ambassadors, coated or clear on toms, clears on bottom.

On kick I went form PS3 to EQ3 and now back to PS3 (or PS4?). Somehow on the kick I'm using (Pearl Masters maple) the PS3 goes deeper and higher then the scooped sounding EQ3.

Greetings,
Dirk

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by alphajerk

felt head, no stuffing in the drum, 5" hole on the reso head [more for internal micing than anything else.

i can tune it down to almost an 808 sound or tighten it up a bit for a nice solid hit... not a flappy sound but just solid. 22" kick.

AJ, what do you use for the reso head? I've always used Ambassadors.
I tried the Aquarian with the felt circle around the center... Didn't do it for me...
I've been running it more open, but find I still like a thin, loose pillow just touching one or both heads. One of these guys, loose, not fastened down.
I also tend to like the drum tuned up a bit. I'll see if that changes with the Evans...

Andrew

[Sarsgaard]

Try Evans emad for the bd. Awesome head. The emad got the sound - ps3 got the volume.

I have clear emad on the BD, and coated G2's on the toms. These heads are the best i've tried. The oneply will be too singing if you not use some kind of muffles.

[Sarsgaard]

Originally Posted by drmmrboy

AJ, what do you use for the reso head? I've always used Ambassadors.
I tried the Aquarian with the felt circle around the center... Didn't do it for me...
I've been running it more open, but find I still like a thin, loose pillow just touching one or both heads. One of these guys, loose, not fastened down.
I also tend to like the drum tuned up a bit. I'll see if that changes with the Evans...

Andrew

Hey Andrew,

Try EQ3 or PS3 Fiberskyn. The Fiberskyn works for me! a bit more dead and focused - very dry.

[alphajerk]

i actually had to look... EQ3 on both.

i will say tho, i just pulled up a session i did years ago with a 20" and a fiberskin [i believe] and good lord is the kick huge.

this thread just goes to show how different people hear things. my conception of a kick sound changes often and style dependant.

but i havent taped a quarter to the head in about 12 years i do miss that... lol

[covert]

Originally Posted by Ted Nightshade

All that fake calf, you oughta try calf sometime.

If I played drums as a primary instrument, I might just. Since it's the studio kit, and I just fool with them, I don't think the expense is justifiable. Especially not in teh variable humidity of the room they sit in. But the fake ones do make drums sound the way I think they should. Lots of clear low pitch sustain, and relatively little higher ringing.

[Ted Nightshade]

Originally Posted by covert

If I played drums as a primary instrument, I might just. Since it's the studio kit, and I just fool with them, I don't think the expense is justifiable. Especially not in teh variable humidity of the room they sit in. But the fake ones do make drums sound the way I think they should. Lots of clear low pitch sustain, and relatively little higher ringing.

Yeah, it's not quite a casual thing to stretch someone's skin over your drums... plus you don't want people playing calf that don't understand about it- they're not disposable!