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Thread: Effects of a tight reso head?

  1. #1

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    Default Effects of a tight reso head?

    Will a tighter reso head make a tom resonate more or less? I'm just looking for a general rule here.

    What I'm trying to accomplish is this. I like my toms tuned low/deep/not high. And I would like to minimize how long they resonate. I've added rings and that certainly helps, but the room I have them in is very small and I'm thinking (to my ear) they would sound better with a little more thud and a little less thoooooong.

    Thanks friends and Happy Friday!

    Randy

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    A tighter reso should result in more sustain.
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  3. #3

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    To a certain point, the tighter the reso head, the more resonance the drum will have. But after that certain point, the drum becomes choked and doesn't sound too good. If you want to minimize sustain, detune your reso head until you find the sound you want.
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  4. #4

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    I just switched to coated reso heads and actually find they achieve exactly what you are looking for - Less 'ring'. But I also found a tighter reso chokes the drum, and I lose a nice rich resonance. Have you ever recorded your drums and played it back? Try it. You'd be surprised sometimes how well, or how different, your toms sound 'out there' compared to where you sit at the kit.

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Excellent advice Dropdtune, beyond a doubt the drums sound entirely different out front. If you can get someone to hit them while your outfront zeroing them in would be the best thing.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    I cannot stand the sound of tight head I don't care which head it is. I like my heads loose for a nice deep warm sound not a boing plasticky sound like tight heads.

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I cannot stand the sound of tight head I don't care which head it is. I like my heads loose for a nice deep warm sound not a boing plasticky sound like tight heads.

    yep

  8. #8
    Larrysperf Guest

    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    EC2 heads and you will love your toms. Nuff said

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by Larrysperf View Post
    EC2 heads and you will love your toms. Nuff said
    Not necessarily.

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    "EC2 heads and you will love your toms. Nuff said"....hmmm, never enough said with tuning and heads, they're all so different.

  11. #11
    Larrysperf Guest

    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by dropdtune View Post
    "EC2 heads and you will love your toms. Nuff said"....hmmm, never enough said with tuning and heads, they're all so different.
    If you read what sound he wants EC2 will help him get it

  12. #12

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    When you are dealing with a instrument that can change sound going from a 10x10 room to a 12x12 room, I think that learning to tune drums is as important , if not more important, than the heads you choose.

    When I started playing out, you didn't have many choices head wise. I did most of my drumming over the years with Ambassadors on my set. I could tune them to get that "Topsy" sound, and that deep "Let There Be Drums" sound.

    When you go from a small club with wood floors and hard walls to a big club with carpeting and drapes, you set sounds different, sometimes drastically. When you go from indoors to outdoors, the sound will be different.

    From what I see, the younger guys (and this isn't a knock) change heads quicker than older drummers do because the older drummers, not having the large selection of heads available today, had to learn to tune their set faster with what they had.

    In over 3000+ gigs, I used Ambassadors 99.9% of the time. The only thing I did different was that I carried 5 snares, all tuned different for different venues. 3 Black Beauty SS's and 2 Supras. I carried them because the snare can be the biggest pain to tune quickly. I liked to keep as consistent a sound as I could, and being able to tune played a big part of that.

  13. #13

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    I am still trying to get a better sound out of my coated pins but I have the stock Remo UTs that I am sure are affecting the sound to the negative. The thin resos only cooperate with a piece or two of moongel. I just loosened them up some to give more resonance and a little ring to them, that seems to be helping some. Also I loosened the coated pin batters a little too, because they were sounding too plasticy for me. I might have had them a little too tight. I am trying to get a nice warm fat sound, kinda like a thud with a little sustain and resonance but not the evil ringing. I am probably not going to get that until I replace the UT asia resos. That will be my next project soon. Thanks


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  14. #14

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Essentially the reso head controls half of the tone of a drum, on it's resonance/projection side. It isn't exactly sustain or no sustain, there are factors attached to that. If you bring the tuning up on the bottom, naturally the drum will sustain more, but at the cost of raised pitch. The opposite is also true, less sustain but with a darker overall tone to the head. Factors that limit how dark or bright you can get it include what lugs, shell, and drumhead you're using. They work together to give you the overall tuning range for each said drum.
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  15. #15

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    Thumbs up Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by Texdrumr View Post
    yep
    Sound to me like you are after that same sound that I have. The trick is to finger tight then give the lugs 1/2 and do the same to the reso but give it an extra 1/4 to 1/2 and you get a nice low pitch of the drum and a loud response. My kit is in a 12x8 bunkie and they sound just great. No matter what head combo you have the tuning that I have mention works. Try it and see what happens.

  16. #16

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    Sound to me like you are after that same sound that I have. The trick is to finger tight then give the lugs 1/2 and do the same to the reso but give it an extra 1/4 to 1/2 and you get a nice low pitch of the drum and a loud response. My kit is in a 12x8 bunkie and they sound just great. No matter what head combo you have the tuning that I have mention works. Try it and see what happens.
    This is approximately how tight my heads are, as well. But I've found the birch drums have a drastically higher pitch at this tuning than my Swingstars do.

  17. #17

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    Thumbs up Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by marko138 View Post
    This is approximately how tight my heads are, as well. But I've found the birch drums have a drastically higher pitch at this tuning than my Swingstars do.
    I agree with you marko138 with the birch. My kit is all Maple 6 ply and that tuning works great. Thanks for you input.

  18. #18

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    I like all my drum heads tight enough to get good rolls on but I like my snare super tight on the batter side.Rolls seem effortless with that much rebound.Its kinda funny but right now my snare reso is all crumpled from taking it off and putting it back on loose,(all stretched out),and the wires are all bent but I keep them super tight and it sounds better than ever!I get a nice "pang" when I hit halfway from center to rim and a nice "snap" when I hit dead center(G2 coated power dot).Its like owning two snares.I love it! It doesnt matter how you get your sound as long as you find it.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    T.C.

  19. #19

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    Thumbs up Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Quote Originally Posted by LudwigLifer View Post
    I like all my drum heads tight enough to get good rolls on but I like my snare super tight on the batter side.Rolls seem effortless with that much rebound.Its kinda funny but right now my snare reso is all crumpled from taking it off and putting it back on loose,(all stretched out),and the wires are all bent but I keep them super tight and it sounds better than ever!I get a nice "pang" when I hit halfway from center to rim and a nice "snap" when I hit dead center(G2 coated power dot).Its like owning two snares.I love it! It doesnt matter how you get your sound as long as you find it.
    I have the Evan's EC frosted with reverse dot and it sounds amazing at different areas you hit on the snare. This head is the newer version of the G2 coated power dot and the only difference would be the Edge Contol.


  20. #20

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    Default Re: Effects of a tight reso head?

    Nice looking head.Maybe with the edge control,I could go without the Moon Gel.Ill try this head next time around.Thanks for the "heads up" Pearl man.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    T.C.

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