New w/questions

[Dean from Co]

Hello all, loads of info here and needing some advice. Recently purchased my first kit, a used Tama Rockstar. Right now it has a mix and match of heads on the toms. Heads are Remo clear and coated ambassadors, Remo clear emperor, Remo coated power stroke 3 The current set up is 14x5.5 snare, toms are 10x10, 12x11, 13x12, 16x16 & 17x22 bass. (first drum kit so not exatly sure Iam measuring them correctly) I like the bass and snare sounds so I'm not worried about those right now. The toms I can't get to sound the way I want. One sounds dead no matter what, others ring forever. I have a relatively small room - 12x12 or so to play in. Looking for something that has a nice deep sound without too much ring. I have looked at multiple threads and see just as many thoughts on tuning/heads, just looking for a starting place as I think the biggest problem is they all have different heads so none of the sounds seem to blend (if that is the right way to state it) Not exactly sure where to begin. Appreciate your thoughts.

[itchie]

because its a used kit mostly likely the heads will be thrashed out ...get new heads i say pinstripes they are very easy to tune and have a thud

[atomcorr2]

because its a used kit mostly likely the heads will be thrashed out ...get new heads i say pinstripes they are very easy to tune and have a thud

+1 get new heads

[3DCreation]

I have a few Rockstars. I use clear pinstripes on the batter and classic clears on the reso.

[Digital]

You could try some Evans EC2. They're two-ply clear heads with pin stripe.

[Zeta]

The most common head combos are

Coated Emperors over Clear Ambassadors

Coated G2's over Clear G1's


I would say as a new drummer to start out with one of these combos because they are so versatile that you can develop and idea of the sound you want.

[pastor_bob]

Welcome to Drum Chat Dean!

In general, I would agree with Zeta. You did mention a small room, though, so a little dampening would be beneficial in that room. For now, I would agree with the advice on the Remo Pinstripes or the Evans EC2 heads. For resonant heads the clear Remo Ambassadors, or clear Evans G1 heads would be good.

Again, welcome!

[SpatzST]

new heads. If hou want something not ringy I'd go with either Evans EC2s or Remo Pinstripes and any type of single ply clear on the bottom.

[slinky]

hey Dean welcome to the club. I'd try the remo clear pinstripes on top and a single ply head on the bottom sides. I use mainly Aquarian but all the manufacturers have great heads. as far as tom measurments go, it sounds like you got it right but to be sure measure the toms and kick without the rims. Some people will measure a drum from rim to rim and that gives you a false measurment. See it on ebay a lot. I'm thinking your kick is either 16x22 or 18x22.

What color is your kit? as always pics are more then welcome for everything. Batz

[late8]

I second the EC2clear/G1 clear head combo. I love the tone and timbre of this combo.

[Dean from Co]

Thanks for all of the replies. Remeasured and I believe it is a 16x22 kick, wasn't real sure how to measure them.

Is there a particular reason you don't use the same heads for batter and resonant?

Will get some pictures and figure out how to post them. It is a blue kit and looks really nice. Also came with Zildjian HH, ride, china and crash cymbals, all ZBT series and all the hardware for it. Really pleased with it and will be happier once I get it sounding good to me.

Pastor Bob mentioned dampening due to the room size. There is a small blanket in the kick, would you put something in the toms as well? Kind sounds somewhat ignorant, but I guess its better to ask than not ask.

Thanks again for all the input.

[Zeta]

The rule of thumb is that the batter head is thicker or equal to the resonant head.

I'll use evans as an example:

G1/G1=good
G2/G1=good
G1/G2=not so good
G2/G2=good

[late8]

Is there a particular reason you don't use the same heads for batter and resonant?

You can use any head combination you desire. There is no rule on what's 'right' or 'wrong' when it comes to how you want your kit to sound. It's comes down to personal preference and that's done through experimenting and finding what works for you and what doesn't.

Here's an example: Charlie Watts uses the Remo Black Control Dot for batter and reso. If you listen to his the drums at :06-:12 before the song starts on this youtube video, you can hear how the overtones are controlled by this head combination.

[Dean from Co]

Thank you all, one more question, is there a difference between coated and clear. Looks like I can get either in single and 2 ply heads. I would prefer clear just to see the wood of the shells but can go either way. I don't have much of a budget just trying to get as much info before spending what I do have so the trial and error will have to come over time.

Reread my last post and want to make sure it was clear the ignorant part was pointed at me and in no way was pointed towards Pastor Bob.

[pastor_bob]

Reread my last post and want to make sure it was clear the ignorant part was pointed at me and in no way was pointed towards Pastor Bob.

Dean, I understood what you meant, and just for the record, I can be just as ignorant as the next guy, although I do try to keep it to a minimum.

As to your question on the muffling, I don't think you need to worry about dampening the toms, aside from using the EC2, or Pinstripe heads (if that is the sound you want). I would suggest buying 1 of each of the batter heads that you are considering, and try them on a tom. That way you can figure out what you like before you buy a set of heads.

As to coated, or clear, the coated heads will "warm" up the sound just a little, so it's all personal preference. If you like seeing the wood of your drums, I would just go with clear for now. Later on you will get a better feel for where you want to go with your sound.

[drumsetsnide]

I agree with the 2 ply batter head and G1 or Remo Ambassador reso head. I use the Evans EC2 clear on top (2 ply batter head) and Remo Ambassadors on the bottom (single ply reso).

[Rain]

If you have any concerns about tuning, I'd go with the Pinstripes. Amazingly easy to tune and have a nice sharp tone.