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Thread: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

  1. #1

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    Question First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    Hello everyone. I posted at Christmas when I got my new drum kit as a beginner and have been happily playing it since. My Kit is a Natal Arcadia 22’’ Am Fusion 5 piece in Black sparkle sunburst. I have upgraded to Zildjian A Custom cymbals and was amazed at the difference in sound.

    It’s now time to turn my attention to the drum heads. The kit still has the basic heads on that came with it. The snare sounds nice but the others, to my untrained ear could be improved upon. I am totally baffled by the amount of drum heads available. I know nothing about them at all and wondered if anyone could help me choose.

    I thought I might begin by getting a set of heads for my 3 toms which are 10, 12 and 16. I Thought I would buy the floor tom heads first as this is the worst sounding drum on my kit. (It has a flabby sound). If I like the heads I choose I can buy the same ones for the other toms. I’m only playing by myself for a hobby. I play mainly pop/ indie/ 80s stuff. The sound I like is a tight, higher, short, snappy, bright, dryish sound. Not too boomy or ringing. I like funk drumming but with warmth too. I do not hit the drums very hard (although I am free to play as loud as I like.) When I get better at drumming I would like to record, as I write my own songs.

    I made these choices based on descriptions, reviews, and sound clips:

    The batter head I’m considering is an Evans hydraulic black 16” drum head.

    The resonant head I am considering is an Evans Reso 7 16’’ coated tom head.

    Do these sound like good choices?

  2. #2

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    I have that combo on my Ddrum kit. The hydraulic heads have a deep rich sound. They aren't very bright and are great for rock.
    I like the quick deep tones they produce.

    I did have Hydraulics on my PDP X7 but didn't like them as much on that kit. But I was wanting something brighter so I just went with G2s and am happy.


    I'm sure you will be happy as they are great heads and on a 16" the hydraulic head has a great fat sound!

  3. #3

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    For a generic tried and true combination plus the fact you have 10, 12, and 16" diameters, most brands make packages that include all 3 sizes and could save a buck or two.

    I would suggest getting Evans Coated G2 batters and clear G1s for the resos. You can't lose with that combo.

    If you aren't a real hard hitter and want more attack go with Coated G1's on top.

    If you want to open them up, go G1 clears all around.
    Signature here

  4. #4

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    For a generic tried and true combination plus the fact you have 10, 12, and 16" diameters, most brands make packages that include all 3 sizes and could save a buck or two.

    I would suggest getting Evans Coated G2 batters and clear G1s for the resos. You can't lose with that combo.

    If you aren't a real hard hitter and want more attack go with Coated G1's on top.

    If you want to open them up, go G1 clears all around.
    I second the G2 over G1 combo. I have them on my Pearl kit and love the sound.
    Gretsch USA Custom 22x18, 12x9, 13x10, 14x14, 16x16, 14x5.5 Rosewood Zildjian 14" New Beats, Zildjian 20" A Medium Ride, Sabian 18" Paragon Crash, Zildjian 16" Medium Thin Crash Tama Iron Cobra Single Pedal

    Pearl Masters Studio Birch (MBX) 22x16, 10x10, 12x10, 13x11, 16x16, 14x6.5 in White Mist. Zildjian A Custom Hats, Sabian 22 AA with Rivets, Stagg 20" Ghengis Ride, Dream Contact Crashes 16" & 17" Pearl P2002B Double Bass Pedal

  5. #5

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    Thank you for those great replies. They will help me decide. I will report back when I get the new drum heads and let you know how they sound.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    I've just swapped the Remo pinstripes on my Premier Resonator to Evans EC2's including ec resos. 12,13,16,24 and I love the change in sound.

  7. #7

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    Default Re: First Time Choosing New Drums Heads

    As promised, I am reporting back about my first change of drum heads.
    I agonised over this for ages! I have to admit I was completely swayed by how good I thought the black hydraulic heads would look on my silver sparkle kit so I bought 3 of those for the tom batter heads and went with the reso 7s for the bottoms.
    I put just the floor tom head on to start with. I was right about one thing - it did look amazing! However, when I played it in my little pitty-pat style (not very hard) it sounded like I was hitting a cardboard box.
    I played with this head on for about an hour before deciding it had to go. I also decided there was no point in putting the hydraulic heads on the rack toms either. It was an experiment that had been worth trying but the hydraulics were not for me after all. They probably sound good if you are a hard hitter though.
    So this time I went purely on sound. The Evans G2 coated batters sounded good on samples I had heard and also seem popular with forum members so I went with them.
    Today I got the G2s all tuned up and had a fabulous session of drumming along to my favourite songs.
    They sound brilliant! The whole kit seems to have come to life. To my amateur ear the sound from the toms now is alive, slightly dry and not at all boomy.
    It sure is a big improvement on the heads the kit came with.
    It was educational, experimenting with different drum heads and now I have the right ones I feel I played just that little bit better.

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