[icebwoi]

i am new on this forum and not sure if this topic has been posted before but i've been playing drums for more than a couple of years now but never really had much knowledge about the hardware of the drums.

so i play for my church only and dont have my own kit but i want to make my church drums sound better. since its a small church i feel the drums are too loud and ring too much so i dampen them with tape and tissue paper and i think it works quite well having a sound that satisfies all our drummers at our church.

its been a while and the batter heads of our toms, i realized are really worn down and i think they would need to be replaced. well these toms are double headed and i was wondering because the resonant heads are so new if i could switch them to the batter side and change the toms as single headed toms so we dont need to buy a new set of heads (just an idea) i know that simply swapping the 2 heads is bad because a good resonant head plays a role in making the tom sustain and sound better. is there a difference between batter heads and resonant heads?

also, would doing this make the toms louder or quieter? or only not sustain as much? or is the only way of having a quieter drum just to not hit them as hard? how would this make a difference in the toms? i really look forward to trying this but not sure if i should because i dont have much aspect on this topic. any help/advice is appreciated!

[Tainojim]

As a rule of thumb, the snare drum has a coated head on the batter side while the resonance side has a clear head. Even though there are some clear heads on the market for the Batter.

I swiped heads once, but it was only to get out of a bind and the stores were closed.

For resonance, try either Resonator Rings or Gel. They're quite reasonably priced.

Tape and tissue on a drum head doesn't work as well a the above mentioned. In fact it could ruin the heads. By doing that, you shorten the life of the head and improper response on the sound.

Placing a beat up drum head on the bottom, will affect the drum's resonance, but it won't hurt as long as it's a temporary fix.

Also keep in mind that if the drum is tuned too low, they will get many dents from the sticks.

[The-Shark]

You haven't said what make / model the kit is. Some kits are just loud!
I personally would keep the reso. heads where they are. if say you want to replace three tom heads then a tom head pack is not that many dollars and you could get something like the Aquarian performace pack of three (about 50 dollars) which are quieter than most I have tried.
Damping will help reduce the ring and reduce the perception of loudness a bit but as Tainojim said, tape and tissue is not a great solution. MoonGel works well or O rings if you are not a hard hitter.

The other solution would be to use a pair of quieter sticks, the A's or even the dedicated quiet sticks would reduce the volume produce by the hit.

T-S

Originally Posted by icebwoi

i am new on this forum and not sure if this topic has been posted before but i've been playing drums for more than a couple of years now but never really had much knowledge about the hardware of the drums.

so i play for my church only and dont have my own kit but i want to make my church drums sound better. since its a small church i feel the drums are too loud and ring too much so i dampen them with tape and tissue paper and i think it works quite well having a sound that satisfies all our drummers at our church.

its been a while and the batter heads of our toms, i realized are really worn down and i think they would need to be replaced. well these toms are double headed and i was wondering because the resonant heads are so new if i could switch them to the batter side and change the toms as single headed toms so we dont need to buy a new set of heads (just an idea) i know that simply swapping the 2 heads is bad because a good resonant head plays a role in making the tom sustain and sound better. is there a difference between batter heads and resonant heads?

also, would doing this make the toms louder or quieter? or only not sustain as much? or is the only way of having a quieter drum just to not hit them as hard? how would this make a difference in the toms? i really look forward to trying this but not sure if i should because i dont have much aspect on this topic. any help/advice is appreciated!

	Aquarian Drumheads Shop for Aquarian Drumheads at Musician's Friend

[icebwoi]

thanks for all the replies. so i guess the only solution to this is to get a new set of heads. it was already too late when i realized that tape and tissue was not a good idea. and it is some kind of yamaha kit, im not even sure which one but its a pretty decent model.

another question is around how long do your heads last on average? say you play for maybe an hour everyday?

	Yamaha Drums Shop for Yamaha Drums at Musician's Friend

[Buddy]

I like Aquarian Performance-2 Clear Drum Heads. They make the drums much quieter plus they sound great. Check out reviews on musicians friend. they help. And they are very durable.

	Aquarian Drumheads Shop for Aquarian Drumheads at Musician's Friend

[Der Trommler]

Unless heads get dimpled or just won't hold tune they are fine for quite a while. If the kit is played hours and hours a day heads may only last 3 weeks, if it is played an hour a day every couple of days then heads could last a year.

There is a huge difference between batter and resonant heads. Resonants are not designed to be struck so they will dimple or rip easy, not to mention that if you were to use a resonants on both sides of a drum it would most likely ring very badly.

The key to controlling overtone is the batter head used and adding additional dampening if the head does not remove enough ring to suit you, along with tuning.

Sounds like you need new batters on your toms anyway, so I would start there with 2 ply heads (Evans EC2s or Aquarian Performance 2). These heads have built in dampening and most of the time that should be enough to fix the problem. If not Moon Gel or dampening rings can be added to further control the overtone.

	Aquarian Drumheads Shop for Aquarian Drumheads at Musician's Friend

[icebwoi]

Originally Posted by Der Trommler

There is a huge difference between batter and resonant heads. Resonants are not designed to be struck so they will dimple or rip easy, not to mention that if you were to use a resonants on both sides of a drum it would most likely ring very badly.

that was the main answers i was looking from someone to say. thanks for teaching and sharing. i guess we'll get new batter heads and moongels and maybe some rings. thanks a lot for these answers they were really helpful!

[ChrisH]

I will say this, if the head looks worn out it is past due on being changed. However some will say you can play heads for a long time. I change batter heads every 2-3 months or sooner. I change the reso head every year ata minimum. Keep in mind that reso heads are thinner than batter heads and should not be switched to the batter side. reso heads are in the 7-10 mil thickness and may break if they are stuck very hard. As for the volume issue there are a few things you can try. If you are micing the drums a shield would solve the problem. If you are not using any mics you could try playing with Hot Rods from pro mark or a similar product from another company. You can also use 2 ply oil heads to help give some added dampining effect. Moongels work wonders for overtones.