Tom/snare heads

[kanedrummer]

Edit: I play metal (not death metal, just normal non screamo like metallica)/hard rock (avenged sevenfold/SOiL)/rock/funk (Red hot chilli peppers)

Toms - I'm looking for a short, deep tone, good for recording and mic'd situations. I have read about a few different heads, such as pinstripe and emperor, but i've had no experience with these types of heads - coated or clear? moongel? i just don't know and it's not like i can pull the heads out the boxes and give them a try :rolleyes:

I want to get a short, punchy sound from the toms, like Avenged Sevenfold
(Bat country has alot of tom hits - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=VTqgKEErjOg)

or Breaking Benjamin (intro of Firefly - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SCqlbRqFMSQ)

What resonant head would be a good match for this kind of sound? I realise these sounds have been EQ'd and fixed up in-studio but what is the closest combo?

Snare - A7X snare! massive pop

I currently use a Powerstroke 3 batter and Hazy 300 Reso on my steel sensitone, and i can't get a pop sound at a pitch i like. I aim for a snare sound like in Bat country (a7x - link to youtube vid above).

Thanks for at least reading this, i tried to give as close an explanation of the sounds i wanted as i could :)

[drumtechdad]

Originally Posted by kanedrummer:
i just don't know and it's not like i can pull the heads out the boxes and give them a try :rolleyes:

Others can give you specific recommendations to try (I'm personally looking for a different sound) but one thing you can do is buy a couple of likely candidates for just one drum, say a 12" tom. Try them out one after the other and you'll get a pretty good idea of what a kit full of them will sound like without having to lay out a ton of money.

What resonant head would be a good match for this kind of sound? I realise these sounds have been EQ'd and fixed up in-studio but what is the closest combo?

95% of guys use clear 10mil single-ply resos, in all genres of music and with all kinds of batters. 7.5mil resos will shorten the sustain if you need that, but will also brighten up the sound somewhat.

I currently use a Powerstroke 3 batter and Hazy 300 Reso on my steel sensitone, and i can't get a pop sound at a pitch i like.

I've never been able to make a PS3 sound good on a snare. It removes the upper overtones but leaves a prominent midrange overtone that I've never been able to get rid of.

The most-recorded snare batter in the world--including recordings by artists who publicly endorse another brand--is the coated Ambassador.

[kanedrummer]

Thanks for the info drumtechdad. I will try a coated amb snare head, is the hazy 300 a good snare side match?

Any recommendations between ec2/emperor/pinstripe/powerstoke 3 tom heads and their sounds/durability? Ive looked at the websites but they can only tell me so much, and i want a sound description more than an item description

[drumtechdad]

Thanks for the info drumtechdad. I will try a coated amb snare head, is the hazy 300 a good snare side match?

Yes. Equivalent of a hazy snare side ambassador. You may find the coated Amb rings a bit more than you'd like. To me, ring is good, so long as it's well-tuned ring. You can always experiment with moongel or studio rings, but a coated amb is the place to start with any snare, before you go fooling with 2-plies, dots, and rings and such. Many recordings are made with coated ambs plus some undisclosed amount of external muffling, anything from a wallet laid on the snare to half a roll of gaffer's tape.

Any recommendations between ec2/emperor/pinstripe/powerstoke 3 tom heads and their sounds/durability? Ive looked at the websites but they can only tell me so much, and i want a sound description more than an item description

First: durability has more to do with your stick angles, tip shape, and your relative sanity than the heads you use. My kid is the heaviest hitter I've ever seen--no foolin'--and he never dents single-ply heads.

You say you want deep, short, punchy tom heads. Of those you list, I would say the pinstripes are closest to what you want, EC2s will be slightly brighter and be slightly more open, while the Emperors will be brightest and most open of the three. (Remember, this is all relative; Emperors aren't really "bright" sounding heads.) I haven't tried PS3s on toms; while they're my favorite bass drum heads, my experience of them on snares was so poor I never tried them. They are single-ply with a ring, so I would assume they'd be more open than even the Emperors, but that's a guess on my part.

You might try getting a pin and an EC2 for one tom, try them out and see what you like. I'd say clears, especially the EC2, which only comes with the Evans frosty "coating," which just can't suck enough.

[drums32]

I experimented with the pinstripe and ec2, the pinstripe had more of a thud as the ec2 had a more brighter tone.

[FiliptheNickel]

I think Pinstripes are next to impossible to tune. My vote goes for the Emperors. They'll give you the most bottom-end out of your toms, but are anything but short (which can be fixed with Moongel). And if you want punchy stick with clear heads.

Remember, you can always add or remove muffling, so I'd get the most open heads you can get and then muffle them with Moongel until you get the sound you want. That way if your tastes change later, you just remove the Moongel instead of spending $50 putting new heads on your kit.

And yes, like Drumtechdad said, durability of anything in drumming is determined first by technique. If you're just hammering away at your drums like they owe you money, your heads are going to break and your sticks are going to shatter. You can play with good technique and still be a powerful drummer. Your arm movements should be 95% for show.