Best heads for rock/metal?

[yohin]

Yup, CD is right. Thinner heads vibrate less, thus producing a shorter sustain. And Russ, you gotta listen to the video with good head phones on.

And although I know that thinner heads = less sustain, I still don't get it because it contradicts everything, like Russ said. 2 ply heads have less sustain than 1 ply heads.

[KISSFan300]

Wow this thread has been very informative for me. Makes me want to go buy new drum heads
(I have stock heads)

[xweasel]

Nope.

Thinner material = less mass = less energy = less sustain.

Yes, thinner materials do vibrate faster, but it does not mean that they vibrate more.

Listen for yourselves...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIcUB...ayer_embedded#

Thanks for that video bro.

Yeah I was wrong haha, ah well what I said before seemed to make sense to me

[CycleDude]

Yup, CD is right. Thinner heads vibrate less, thus producing a shorter sustain. And Russ, you gotta listen to the video with good head phones on.

And although I know that thinner heads = less sustain, I still don't get it because it contradicts everything, like Russ said. 2 ply heads have less sustain than 1 ply heads.

The difference is resonance vs. sustain.

[CycleDude]

Thanks for that video bro.

Yeah I was wrong haha, ah well what I said before seemed to make sense to me

Get used to being wrong... you'll be married one day!

Kidding aside, you would think that what you said is right, but the reality is that it's the reverse that is true and seeing and hearing it is the proof in the pudding as the expression goes.

[DantheDrummer]

Aquarians alllll the way. I use Performance II and theyre great,,, as tony the tiger might say :P

[MisterMixelpix]

I have to admit, Aquarians are looking VERY nice. And the custom head I'm looking to buy is an Aquarian, so then I could just go for a full pack of 'em. HmmmMMMmmm.

[Russ]

evans- known as the "plasticky sounding heads", have a great response and balance
remo- kinda overrated, but a realistic sound and original look to them. historical heads.
aquarian- heads that focus the sound, and emphasize attack in most cases, affordable.
attack- not the most durable, but louder heads due to steel collar. also most affordable.

[yohin]

CD, what's the difference between resonance and sustain? I've always used the words interchangeably.

[MisterMixelpix]

evans- known as the "plasticky sounding heads", have a great response and balance
remo- kinda overrated, but a realistic sound and original look to them. historical heads.
aquarian- heads that focus the sound, and emphasize attack in most cases, affordable.
attack- not the most durable, but louder heads due to steel collar. also most affordable.

Elaborate on this one? I'm seeing SO much bump for Aquarians that I'm definitely leaning toward them.

Would, say, a Superkick II for the batter head with a custom designed Aquarian head for the resonant on the bass, The Super2 for the batter head of the toms, maybe a Focus-X on the toms be good? No idea what I'd put under the toms and the snare yet.

[Russ]

Elaborate on this one? I'm seeing SO much bump for Aquarians that I'm definitely leaning toward them.

Would, say, a Superkick II for the batter head with a custom designed Aquarian head for the resonant on the bass, The Super2 for the batter head of the toms, maybe a Focus-X on the toms be good? No idea what I'd put under the toms and the snare yet.

focus-x is a head with an inner dampening ring on the inside of the head(genius invention imo) and most notably they are used on snare, but for toms i can't say. i don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to run them or superII as tom heads, if you are going for less boom and more response out of the drums.

what i meant by aquarian is focused, means they make excellent heads for knocking down bad overtones a bit and decreasing unwanted sustain- but increasing stick response and feel throughout the kit. they seem to be good heads for a balanced and controlled sound, but they also make good open sounding heads if that's your thing too.

CD, what's the difference between resonance and sustain? I've always used the words interchangeably.

resonance generally points to the harmonics of a drum, or the point at which a drum is in it's natural or best state(intended pitch); while sustain generally means the length of the note heard after a drum is struck.

[armyoflarry]

When I was in a metal band back in the 90's, I tried Aquarians out and was very impressed. So much that I still use them today even though I play more rock and blues. I just tune them higher now. I used pinstripes before, but never really cared for them. Just not to my taste.

The great thing about Aquarian heads is that you can tune them very low, and they can take a solid beating before needing to be replaced. They are very punchy, and can ring out more if you tune them just right, but they take a little more work to get that ringing sound. Most people buy them because they don't ring as much. I find that the way I tune them, they have a nice sustain that is really focused. They record very well, and cut nicely in a live mix.

The bass drum heads are really what I come to Aquarians for. They have a huge sound.

[Roo]

The great thing about Aquarian heads is that you can tune them very low, and they can take a solid beating before needing to be replaced. They are very punchy, and can ring out more if you tune them just right, but they take a little more work to get that ringing sound. Most people buy them because they don't ring as much. I find that the way I tune them, they have a nice sustain that is really focused. They record very well, and cut nicely in a live mix.

This sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. My new kit came with g2's so I make them resos and bought Pinstripe's for the tops. They sound good (great actually) but they don't tune as low as I want them. I want a nice wet low punch but with a defined tone. I thought two 2ply heads would do that but I want my 10-12-14 to sound like a 12-13-16. Which Aquarian and what do you use as resos?

Thanks

[MisterMixelpix]

focus-x is a head with an inner dampening ring on the inside of the head(genius invention imo) and most notably they are used on snare, but for toms i can't say. i don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to run them or superII as tom heads, if you are going for less boom and more response out of the drums.

Whoop, I'm an idiot. I meant Focus-X on the snare, not the toms. My bad. Super2 on the toms is what I"m aiming toward.

what i meant by aquarian is focused, means they make excellent heads for knocking down bad overtones a bit and decreasing unwanted sustain- but increasing stick response and feel throughout the kit. they seem to be good heads for a balanced and controlled sound, but they also make good open sounding heads if that's your thing too.

Sounds pretty perfect. The kinda music I listen to (and thus want to play) is a little too chaotic to have all the heads ringing out with long sustains. I need more "thump" and less "bwwoowww", if that makes any sense.

[DantheDrummer]

werhayyy i got a superkick 2. highly recommend it

[Reverend D.]

For hard rock/metal, your toms will be very well suited to Remo Pinstripe batters and Remo Ambassadors as resonant heads.

Your kick would do well with either a Remo Powersonic, Evans Emad or Aquarian SKII.

For a snare, a Remo Coated Ambassador as the batter and a Remo Hazy as resonant heads.

Yup.

[MisterMixelpix]

Well I replaced all the batter heads. After playing around and listening to a few, I decided on the Aquarian Super II's for the toms, the Hi-Energy for the snare, and then I picked up a Super Kick II as well. They sound PHENOMENAL for what I'm using them for. Lots of THUMP, but not nearly as much ring.

Photo evidence:

[Russ]

man i love looking at em! glad to see you are getting along well together, and here's to many happy practices!

[MisterMixelpix]

I can't stop looking at the pictures myself! It's crazy how much different a new set of heads makes the whole kit feel.

[yohin]

Looks great, man!

[brutal juice]

all that aside - when saying I want a "metal" drum sound doesn't really indicate what tone you want for your drums. For example Benediction have massive dark toms fat snare and a thudding kick sound, Mastodon have smaller more bright toms, and tight but warm kick Pantera has a clicky kick sound and big bassy toms, Pungent Stench use a piccolo snare - etc, etc...

your new heads look tasty BTW MrMixel..
for those reading this who are still trying to choose new heads : i think plenty of research at the relevant drum head websites will give you a good indication about the sustain and tone of all their products, use the description and specs for the skins you already own as a bench mark and figure out if you want to go brighter/darker etc..
also if you're a hard hitter like many metal drummers durability is also worth considering as a selection criterea

[SEAN8293]

i play the same music and i use remo power stroke 3 4 da bass, clear pinstripes 4 the toms, and an emeror X for the snare, i really like the snare head, its like the most durable snare head iv ever used, and i hit really hard

[MisterMixelpix]

all that aside - when saying I want a "metal" drum sound doesn't really indicate what tone you want for your drums. For example Benediction have massive dark toms fat snare and a thudding kick sound, Mastodon have smaller more bright toms, and tight but warm kick Pantera has a clicky kick sound and big bassy toms, Pungent Stench use a piccolo snare - etc, etc...

Definitely. I think I said earlier that I could list bands with drums I'd like to replicate, because I am just no good at describing stuff like this.

For me, I like deep toms with little sustain, a fat and thumping kick drum, a sharp snare to cut through, and "water-like" cymbals. Now I just need to start piecing it together.

[Russ]

anything aquarian makes would work especially good for metal in my opinion. they really have the deepness and dampness covered as well as decent prices.

[MisterMixelpix]

Definitely. $120 for four toms, kick, and a snare ain't bad at all.

Now I just need to replace all the reso heads...