When to replace reso heads....

[holycow77]

I was reading a drum magazine a little while ago and found this interesting.

They asked the president of Remo when reso heads should be replaced:

Head of Remo. "I think the resonant head, for the general consumer, should be changed every 3 months."


Then they asked some of Remo's endorsees the same question...


Flo Mounier "The bottom resonant tom heads don't suffer, So I rarely change them."

Derek Roddy "I change the bottom resonant tom heads about every 6 months to a year."

Dave Weckl "I probably change these once or twice a year."

Simon Phillips "I rarely change the bottom heads - only if they get damaged."

Kenny Aronoff "I change the bottom tom heads maybe twice a year."

Cindy Blackman "I change them as close to never as possible! The resonant side is the side that retains the overall sound so once I have that I want to keep those heads on for as long as possible!!


The answer is obviously different for every drummer, but the moral of the story is to be wary of advice that results in more profit for the advice giver.

[audiotech]

It all depends on how often and situations the kit is used. I tend to pay as much attention to the tuning of the reso heads as I do the batter heads. Aside from actual physical damage to the reso head, because of the air percussion against the reso head from hitting the batter, they do need attention and can stretch a bit from normal playing. To see this happening have someone hit the batter of your bass drum and then watch your reso head. The air percussions have a definite affect on the opposite head.

I usually change my reso heads on my toms and snares about twice a year. If for some reason I don't use a particular kit very often, then they get changed once a year. Resonant heads are just as important to the sound of your drums as is the batter heads, particularly if your after that open resonant sound that clear heads can deliver.

Another rule of thumb is to change your reso head every third change of your batter head. I never really knew the meaning of the statement "rule of thumbs"..

This is what I do, hope it helps.
Dennis

[fiacovaz]

+1

[Mysterious Stan]

Has it occurred to anyone the president of remo has a reason to lie, so we, the consumer, buy more of his heads!

[holycow77]

That was my point...

He's saying the general consumer should change the reso heads every 3 months, whereas the people using his heads (most likely for free, or maybe he's paying them) who would be much more demanding on these heads than the general consumer have much different ideas.

But as I said before, it's different for every drummer.