Choosing new heads - help!

bp81 · #1 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 10:07 AM

I have had my kit for several years, but am still using the heads that
it came with. I have decided it's high time to do something about
this... but the problem is I have absolutely no idea what sort to go
for. At all. So any help would be very much appreciated

The styles of music I like and aspire to play are mostly
post-rock and psychedelia, with a bit of jazz-influenced stuff (not
full-on jazz, more stuff like Tortoise - plus I have a rock kit not a jazz kit) and droney stuff. I'm not sure whether that goes any way towards
categorising the sound that I want. I guess I want the Toms to sound
warmer, earthier and more resonant than they currently are, and the
snare to sound snappier and less "dead'' (Should I also get a new
snare, or will replacing the skins be enough? Sorry, I really do know
F.A. about this sort of thing...). I don't really know about
the bass drum, I might leave that for a later point perhaps.

I don't know whether the type of heads affects how easy it is to tune
the drums, but if it does I'd prefer heads that are easy to tune and
keep in tune.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

**skinslapper** · #2 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 06:42 PM

My personal opinion would be evans g2 coated. But I advise that you look around a lot of manufacturers sites. Check out their range and find out what your fav artists play. That's what I did when choosing my g2 clear's and I've never been happier.

Good luck.

mouse · #3 (**permalink**) 07-11-2007, 06:50 AM

G2's good choice, coated batters will give the warmth. New heads will find your snare and toms losing that deadness which sounds like you have from munted heads. More resonance gained by tuning resonant head.

You really should take interest in learning to tune your drums, check out the drum bible, or get a copy of T.A. Drums.

With fitting new heads you need to tune them properly to get a decent sound out of your instruments and it will also prolong the head life, and help keep them in tune.

gurlzdrumhard · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2007, 12:30 AM

go to the websites of the major drum head manufactures... remo, evans, aquarian, etc. ---all of these sites provide guides and tips for selecting heads that will produce the sound you want. i found the information invaluable and ended up chosing aquarian, but evans was a close second. the remo website was a little overwhelming. don't be in the dark or just go off what one person says. we all play different styles of music and like certain sounds more than others....go by the facts; one-ply heads sound way different than 2-ply heads, clear vs. coated, etc. these websites provide excellent information and then you can make your choice intelligently.

happy drumming!!

taye drummer · #5 (**permalink**) 01-25-2008, 11:44 AM

Snare depends on what sound are you loking for,toms Evans G-2 Are great.By the way the type of drum/what it is made out of has some play also on how your heads will sound.Right
now at church we got a CB700,IT realy sounded bad at first,but i knew what to do.I changed
all my heads to evans(G-2'S) and it's made some difference,Now what im watting on is for Our
Taye tour pro to get off layaway,then i will realy see what it's saying,Once i buy all new heads
and began to play this set.I cant wait till the end of February.

juan (the ping-pong ref.) · #6 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 12:35 AM

I agree with skinslapper. Evens g2 is the way to go. i have them on my drums, my fellow drummers have them on their drums and when i'm getting new heads i'm gonna get them again.

taye drummer · #7 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 01:00 AM

Guys, Just got our new Taye set for the church.Man it sounds so great.Its got evans G2's coated heads and the taye head on the snare,Latter i want to put A S.t head on the snare
But this Tour Pro kit is really Rocking,Ive played it today for our pastor's special day,it sounded
so good.Everyone says you can tell the difference all ready.Well we got SX 20'S FOR the cymbles There ok for now .

tit4tat44 · #8 (**permalink**) 06-01-2009, 10:01 AM

I have a old piccalo snare-- does anyone know what kinf of skin would be good to lower the sound from a high tension sound to one that is between the piccalo's natural sound toa natural snare,, somewhere in between where i'm looking for. thanks

taye drummer · #9 (**permalink**) 06-12-2009, 11:19 PM

try evans G2 heads there great, or the ST by evans there very strong and gives a great pitch to any snare, pic, snare is not the kind of snare i would play with, to me it's
a beginning snare,Not for advance players, But everyone has his own style?

rycherocker · #10 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 03:33 PM

I have used the Evans G2 heads... they are the most popular stocked heads out there IMO. I sat down one day at a very large drum store and went through the entire gammut of heads. I litlerally spent 8 hours going through them top and bottom heads. Every drummer has a "different" sound that they prefer to hear out of the specific drum. I have actually had a different head on every drum at one time because the size of the drum vs. the head applied makes a huge difference at times. 2 ply,coated,single ply,dampening rings... the list goes on. The best way... again imo... is to have NO added foam, tape ect. on your kit. The drum shells were designed to give the perfect sound without any help. The drumhead is the deciding choice of the final tone you will get... be it overtones or not. I have used marching band heads before also. They are practically bullet proof and they reduce the ringing effect quite a bit. The bottom head is probably one the biggest factor in the sound of your kit... if it has them. You can get some really cool sounds out of a single drum by tuning the top and bottom heads an octave off from each other.
I also use the good Roland triggers on my acoustic drums. Now... this is where it gets really cool! Two different octaves out of one drum! Mic the acoustic and then have the trigger both through the P.A., and you have one REALLY full sounding kit!
I know I'm getting off track here... but the bottom line is ...you just need to experiment and find what best suits your own personal taste.
Like I said... I have gone through MANY changes through the years... and just from gig to gig... depending on what genre of music I happen to be playing.

Sorry for yakkin'!!!
Peace all, and good luck in your search!