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Thread: Aquarian vs Remo

  1. #1

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    Default Aquarian vs Remo

    I have played Remo heads forever. I like their sound but am thinking about trying Aquarian heads (Im not a fan of Evans heads by the way).

    I have clear ambassadors on the tops and bottoms of my toms. Coated ambassador on my snare, and I used a powerstroke 3 clear batter head for years and a powerstroke 3 ebony front head.

    How do the Aquarian equivalents to these remo heads compare sound, feel, etc, wise?

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    I recommend outfitting a snare or a tom with aquarian heads and see how you like them. It's all how you feel. I, for one, love aquarian heads and have them on everything. I think that they sound warmer and more natural (especially the coated and vintage models).
    Tama Swingstar 3 piece 1993 (refinished wine red)
    Ludwig Breakbeats (Azure Sparkle)
    1964 Ludwig Supra
    Old no-name Luan 12x8 tom/snare (refinished wine red)
    Mapex MPX 14"x5.5" snare (refinished in gloss black)
    Pearl Vision 14"x14" ft/snare (refinished wine red)
    Aquarian heads
    14" Sabian HHX Stage Hats
    15" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Hats
    18" Meinl Vintage Trash Crash
    18" Wuhan China
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash with rivets
    19" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Crash
    22" Istanbul Mehmet Legend Dark Ride
    23" Matt Bettis Dry Ride


  3. #3

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    I can't provide advice on single-ply tom heads (I use 2-ply of both brands).

    However on the bass batter head, you have options for consideration :

    The Super Kick Series.................very good bass drum batter heads.
    I have personally tried the SK II and the SK 10.
    I like them both with the SK 10 clear being my current favorite.
    I am also using the Aquarian Regulator (gloss black) on the reso side.
    My signature photo shows the artwork.............

    Here is the Aquarian description of each option..............

    [removed. Per forum rules, please do not post commercial links. Thx. - Tom]
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  4. #4

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    Have Aquarian Performance on all my drums, love em.....


    Jim
    Premier XPK Drums
    10, 12, 13, 14, 16 Suspended toms
    22 bass drum
    5 x 14 snare
    Premier Hardware
    Offset Double Pedal
    Sabian, Meniel cymbals
    Tama Metalworks 6.5 x 14" Black Nickel snare
    Ahead Drum Cases

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    I love both companies, but Aquarian is probably my favorite, and the coating lasts virtually forever compared to Remo's. For Ambassador style heads, go with the Texture Coated or Classic Clear. The Texture Coated is very nice. They have a few other single-ply heads as well, some muffled or slightly thicker (the DeJohnette line is awesome, still open but with less ring).

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    I have Aquarian coated Classic/Clear classic heads on my Pork Pie Little Squealer birch kit and they sound great. I use Remo and Evans heads on several other kits I own so I can draw upon the comparison between all three head manufacturers when choosing heads for my kits.

    Coated Classics on top:



    Aquarian Classic Clear heads on the bottom. The Classic Clears are open channeled with epoxy holding the head to the flesh hoop:



    Clear SKII on the batter:




    Force 2 coated on the kick reso:


  7. #7

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    continued....

    Aquarian's flesh hoops are spot welded which provides a bit more reinforcement compared to a crimped hoop. The seam where the two sides meet is where most head failures occur due to the pressure from the tuning lug.

    In my opinion, the Aquarian Coated Classic batters feel thicker than the Remo coated Ambassadors and the coating on the Aquarian heads seem to hold up better than coated Remo heads. Remo coated Ambassadors in my opinion, have more of an open sound compared to the Aquarian Coated Classics. I use no dampening on the Aquarian Coated Classics and may use some dampening on the Ambassadors.


  8. #8

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    How do Aquarian heads feel compared to Remo? Are they softer feeling or stiffer feeling?

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    I haven't noticed a difference, honestly I would think that's more dependent on your tuning preference.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Midnightmadness View Post
    How do Aquarian heads feel compared to Remo? Are they softer feeling or stiffer feeling?
    In my opinion, Aquarian coated Classic heads have a stiffer feeling than Remo coated Ambassadors. I get more stick rebound from the Remo head, which to me, is a softer feeling.

  11. #11

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    I have a bass drum head question. I like my bass to have a good amount of definition but with some boom to the sound as well. But I don't want so much boom that It loses its definition when I'm doing fast double bass. As is I have a Tama kick pillow inside the bass drum. But I was looking into some Aquarian bass drum head combinations to see if I could get the sound that I want without any internal muffling in the bass.

    Would a superkick 1 batter head paired with a regulator front head give me that sound? Or how about an impact batter head paired with a regulator front head? The batter head would be clear with th regulator being black on both pairings.

  12. #12

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    In my opinion, Aquarian coated Classic heads have a stiffer feeling than Remo coated Ambassadors. I get more stick rebound from the Remo head, which to me, is a softer feeling.
    ^
    I agree 100%.

    The Aquarian Performance II's that I got were much stiffer and less pliable for me, and seemed to get untunable sooner than other heads. They felt "spent" much sooner than I'd hoped.
    "The problem with information on the Internet is that you can not validate it's authenticity. " -Abraham Lincoln

    SILVERFOX DRUMSTICKS & SOULTONE CYMBALS Endorsing Artist.

  13. #13

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    I can say that I like the Aquarian performance 2's on 14 and 16 fl. toms, super 2's on 10 and 12 racks, and SK1 on 20 and 22 kicks. All of them are clear. I've had them on there at least a yr. and haven't noticed any tuning issues.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lefty View Post
    I can say that I like the Aquarian performance 2's on 14 and 16 fl. toms, super 2's on 10 and 12 racks, and SK1 on 20 and 22 kicks. All of them are clear. I've had them on there at least a yr. and haven't noticed any tuning issues.
    Sometimes I wonder if it's just the batch of MYLAR that they use. (For each company).

    I change my toms heads probably 3 times a year. I currently have a set of PINSTRIPES that I got a while back. They got stiff about 2 months in. I've usually had good results with them. Same with the G2's. But lately - it seems that all of the companies have had weird mylar over the last few years.

    (They probably all get it from the same place too! lol)
    "The problem with information on the Internet is that you can not validate it's authenticity. " -Abraham Lincoln

    SILVERFOX DRUMSTICKS & SOULTONE CYMBALS Endorsing Artist.

  15. #15

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    Quote Originally Posted by EddieV View Post
    Sometimes I wonder if it's just the batch of MYLAR that they use. (For each company).

    I change my toms heads probably 3 times a year. I currently have a set of PINSTRIPES that I got a while back. They got stiff about 2 months in. I've usually had good results with them. Same with the G2's. But lately - it seems that all of the companies have had weird mylar over the last few years.

    (They probably all get it from the same place too! lol)
    I know what you mean . A few weeks back I put Remo coated Emps on my Pearl Maple Session Customs that I got from one of the local mom and pop stores . They were the older stock...but brand new . Then I had to order the same thing for the Yamaha Custom Birch Absolutes from "that web site" cause I couldn't find a complete set here . They came in and they are the newer ones with the big Remo logos on them (what's up with that too ?) . Right out of the box they felt ..different . I put them on and they sounded dull compared to the other ones I got . Having nothing better to do I switched the heads on the two kits and got the same results on the Pearls ...dull sounding drums ! And all three are dull , not just one .
    I put the old heads back on the Yamahas !
    Rudy .

  16. #16

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    Quote Originally Posted by EddieV View Post
    Sometimes I wonder if it's just the batch of MYLAR that they use. (For each company).

    I change my toms heads probably 3 times a year. I currently have a set of PINSTRIPES that I got a while back. They got stiff about 2 months in. I've usually had good results with them. Same with the G2's. But lately - it seems that all of the companies have had weird mylar over the last few years.

    (They probably all get it from the same place too! lol)
    I've always heard that DuPont was the prime manufacturer of Mylar.

    all the best...

  17. #17

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    Maybe they should put BORN ON DATES the heads.

    Why not?
    Seriously. I believe it DOES make a difference.

    But....if the Mylar they are using is old....what difference does it make?
    "The problem with information on the Internet is that you can not validate it's authenticity. " -Abraham Lincoln

    SILVERFOX DRUMSTICKS & SOULTONE CYMBALS Endorsing Artist.

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Midnightmadness View Post
    I have a bass drum head question. I like my bass to have a good amount of definition but with some boom to the sound as well. But I don't want so much boom that It loses its definition when I'm doing fast double bass. As is I have a Tama kick pillow inside the bass drum. But I was looking into some Aquarian bass drum head combinations to see if I could get the sound that I want without any internal muffling in the bass.

    Would a superkick 1 batter head paired with a regulator front head give me that sound? Or how about an impact batter head paired with a regulator front head? The batter head would be clear with th regulator being black on both pairings.
    I emailed Aquarian telling them I wanted a bass combo that allowed a little bit of resonance but not too much. I don't like the dead thud sound for my playing. They recommended the Super Kick 1 and Resonator. I really like it, though sometimes I wish it had a teensy bit more resonance. I can always swap out the reso head for a single ply if I want a little more resonance.
    Life's too short to play the same solo twice. Improvise!

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnnySticks View Post
    I emailed Aquarian telling them I wanted a bass combo that allowed a little bit of resonance but not too much. I don't like the dead thud sound for my playing. They recommended the Super Kick 1 and Resonator. I really like it, though sometimes I wish it had a teensy bit more resonance. I can always swap out the reso head for a single ply if I want a little more resonance.
    I called them and they gave me the same advice.

    Are you a double bass player? If so how much definition do you get when doing double bass with this head combination without internal muffling in the bass drum?

  20. #20

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    So I've tried a sk 1 with a 1 ply non mutted kick with a single ply front head, on 2 kicks one ported one not. I think that even with a regulator on the front with no internal muffling the kick will still be too boomy. So I plan to try the Impact regulator combo with no muffling in the kick.
    Last edited by Midnightmadness; 02-15-2016 at 03:45 AM.

  21. #21

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    I have a friend that is a chronic head swapper, and he gave me a bunch of different heads to play with. I started with a SK2, then Emad2, and finally settled on a PS3---I wanted all black heads, so I bought a Black Suede PS3, and it sounds even better than the clear one---I tried a few different reso heads, (ported, and unported) and ended up liking the center port best---so I bought the flame graphic head in the picture (port was already installed) The drum is 22 x 14 so this combo might not work if you have a deeper shell, but the PS3 was the hands-down winner for this drum!

  22. #22

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    In my opinion 10 MIL is too thick for a bass drum reso. Standard stock logo heads always sound the best (note: I have experience with Premier, Pearl, PDP and DW stock heads, so not extensive). I often use Fiberskyn FA for resos, but I have never loved the sound as much as the look. I'm currently using DW stock coated white reso heads (some standard, some vintage logo) on all my BD's and it's what a bass drum was meant to sound like.

    Collectors Black Ice Finishply
    10x8,12x9,15x12,16x14,20x18,24x16
    14X6 Collectors 10 and 6 snare Natural Satin
    14x8 Collectors Black Nickel over Brass

  23. #23

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    The first time i tryed an aquarian head was when they very first enter the market ,the sales dude at the store said they were the best and was selling em to the guitar player that sells at the store wich also a childhood friend , he tell the guy :well give him one and if it last there great , he said sure ,so he gives me a batter snare head , i install it on a snare and go ra ta ta plac , thats all she wrote it sheered in two pieces , i never used another one to this day , i guess they have gotten better but i dont care , most lasting heads ever i had are ludwig s and premier s (back when they made em in engand), some of the rocker s silver dot s that were on my drums when new in 1984 were still on it in the late 90 s , heavy metal 5 to 7 nights a week with marching sticks , they last .

  24. #24

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    Default Re: Aquarian vs Remo

    Wow squid---I read your post 4 times, and I still can't understand any of it---you might want to study spelling and grammar before you try to communicate with the real world!

  25. #25

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    Well sorry for being foreign and not knowing english all that well , its no problem tho , ill just never post again , vas te faire enculé ostie de trou cul .

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