Clear vs Coated

[stevo]

The sound quality of a drumhead is very important,
but even more important is the ability of the head to make
the shell sing as much as possible.
I personally love very open, full bodied tones from my toms.
So what does it for you and why?

[biodrumr]

I've always gone for coated. I look for the low end, punchy power of the toms, no matter what size they are, I try to get the lowest decent sound I can out of them. It allows me to use smaller toms for my purposes. giving me a nice tight kit.

[PADman]

stevo, I agree with Wook on the coated heads...especially in the studio. They give an added sibilance to the stick attack on the head without requiring EQ and helps the drum cut through better in the mix. Of course for brush work, they're a must. 2-ply heads will give the deepest tone but you do sacrifice some stick response with them. Coated PowerStroke 3 batters give you the depth of 2-ply with the feel of a single-ply head.

To get the most resonance and sustain from a drumshell, a clear thin bottom head does help. I use Remo Diplomats (7.5mm) but Evans and others make similar types.

[PADman]

Originally posted by PADman
I use Remo Diplomats (7.5mm) but Evans and others make similar types. Sorry folks, that's 7.5mil, not mm! :o

[Carl Peterson]

I went to Aquarian coated double thins and think they are GRRRRRRRRRReat..

[GrooveMaster]

Carl....are those the white ones with the dots in the middle?

[Carl Peterson]

No...They're just a coated white head..Not real thin..They hold up to a great pounding yet sound smokin'...

[PADman]

The Aquarian double-thins are 2-ply 12mil thick (7mil + 5mil) as opposed to Remo Emperor & Evans G2 14mil (7mil + 7mil).

They also don't have any air or adhesive between the plies.

[Carl Peterson]

Correct..and get this..They dont dent as easy as the Remo's..

[lastperfection]

i never have tried out coated yet. i use to only use clear pinstrips, until i tried out the aquarium double thins... and i love'em. too bad the store didnt have coated tho, im definitely getting double thin in coated soon tho :D :D

[Carl Peterson]

Smart move..I know will like them..

[Coop]

Carl
Do you also use the double thins on the reso side or just the batter. If not, what do you use on the reso side? Also, what about your bass drum? I have an 18 x 22 BRX and currently have the original heads on them with no muffling. My bass drum ROCKS like thunder but was just curious.

Coop

[Carl Peterson]

Clear thins on bottom..Kick has stock Masterworks front head,Evans EQ3 on back..(16x24),finger tight,then half a turn..BOOM...:D

[Coop]

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccc cccccce!!!!!!!!:D

[MRX1824SHOW]

i play coated on the batter side and clear on the resonant side. coated is better for the more agressive player in my opinion. for a fuller, wide range of sound, go with the clear.

[HardHitter]

To me coated heads seem to have a warmer, deeper sound while clear heads have a more resonant, articulate sound. I keep a set of each around and change out from time to time. And as for those double-thins...they're real nice. I actually use them as reso heads, and they really add to the punch of my BRX when I crank rhem up. I am currently using ambassadors as batters with zero-rings for muffling over the double-thins, and the sound is killer...just between big resonance and straight low-end punch. It gives me that elusive combo of melodic tone with percussive capabilities!!!

[Flipkid]

Evans coated G2 batters all the way. Great sound, and a "natural EQ" on my poplar Exports.

[Action Jackson]

I am using Remo pinstripes on the bater side and Remo coated
ambassader on the reso side. I think they sound realy deep and
rich. I'm in the studio and I have a very nice tom sound I could
not belive it I was blown away the ambassaders on the bottom
realy warm up the sound no over tones.


[QUOTE]Jesus is Lord:)

[HardHitter]

Apparently the Lord doesn't teach spelling...Ambassador!

[Kashmir]

I use coated heads. Powerstroke 3 on bass, Emperor on the toms, and clear ambassadors resonant.

I think i will buy Aquarian Double thin next time..

[voodoochylde]

i like coated heads, i think they are warmer than clear ones and the coating makes them resonate less.

[Adrian NoRi]

I like both, I choose clear.

but right now I'm using coated.

:cool:

[AL PERCIVAL]

I use Remo clear emperors or EVAN's G2's clear for live, and Remo coated ambassadors for recording and use the standard clear stock ambassadors on the reso side. I've never tried the Aquarian coated double thins, but have heard nothing but great things about them. Maybe I'll give them a try soon.

[GrooveMaster]

I've been using the coated Evans E-Mad head for the batter side of the kick drum and i've been getting great results...on any type of shell!

-The GrooveMaster

[Monday317]

Darn it; this is why I hate surfing on this friggin' forum... I keep learning too much!

Oh, this morning, I was perfectly happy with the clear Ambassadors supplied on my BRX kit. Just procrastinating, I thought I'd take a look at this thread. BIG MISTAKE!

Now I want to try some coated Ambassadors on my toms! Doggone you guys anyway!!

:D

[Sam_S.]

I've been using the Aquarian Doublethins for over a year and tried the coated about 3 months ago. Great low end. However, I can only get them mail (or email) order and the last batch had three bad heads out of four. The second (bottom) ply was separated and wrinkled away from the first and the things just wouldn't tune up properly except at high tensions. You end up with two lugs that need to be cranked and then you get these awful overtones.

Damn shame because when they are good heads they sound great, but I just don't need the hassle. I had the same problem with the clears about a year ago and Roy Burns assured me they had the problem fixed.

Ah well. Time for some coated G2s.

[ROBB283DT]

I like coated G2's on the toms resonants on bottom, ST dry on the snare and 300 hazy on snare side. Also clear EQ3 on bass.

[vanillaCOKE2k2]

coated ps3 and emperors.

[Andy]

yea, coated heads give more attack to toms and snares, so why wouldnt it apply to bass drums? i use a coated aquarian superkick 3 (single ply with muffling ring and dot strengthening dot center) and my bass drum sounds REALLY good.

[PinkSpaceDrummer]

I've always been a clear Remo pinstripe man on the tom batter heads and I'm currently using Remo Ebony Ambassadors on the tom reso side, this combo gives a dark, rich, warm sound....For the snare I love the Remo Coated Controlled Sound with a dot and clear Abassador for the reso!

[Beeresp0nsible]

I prefer coated heads for their added warmth and less resonant sound.

[1ordinary-guy]

Originally posted by Sam_S.
I've been using the Aquarian Doublethins for over a year and tried the coated about 3 months ago. Great low end. However, I can only get them mail (or email) order and the last batch had three bad heads out of four. The second (bottom) ply was separated and wrinkled away from the first and the things just wouldn't tune up properly except at high tensions. You end up with two lugs that need to be cranked and then you get these awful overtones.

Damn shame because when they are good heads they sound great, but I just don't need the hassle. I had the same problem with the clears about a year ago and Roy Burns assured me they had the problem fixed.

Ah well. Time for some coated G2s.

Yeah, I've also been tempted to try some of these other more "exotic" heads by Aquarian, but I'd have to mail-order for them just like you do because my local dealers don't carry them. I don't want that kind of hassle either and I think there is merit in being able to buy replacement heads in my local drum shops.

So for me, I guess I'll remain either with Evans or Remo for simplicity sake. I've currently got coated Ambassadors on my MRX toms and I like them, and I've also used clear Pinstripes with good results. I'm stuck deciding though between replacing my Ambassadors with Evans G1 coated, G2 Coated, or G2 clear heads next.

[Bigdave]

I heard that Long n' Mcuade music carries Aquarian. I havn't gone there personallly to check it out. I'm in Edmonton by the way. Is there a Long n' Mcuade in Calgary.

[1ordinary-guy]

Yes, there is a Long & McQuade in Calgary. I just found out that they carry Aquarian, but a fairly limited selection of them. I don't like the guy who most often works in the drum dept there on Saturdays (the only day I can make it to the store) though because all he ever wants to talk about are electronic kits. If you want to ask about ordering something, lets say a Pearl product, he isn't too enthusiastic to help out. Their main drum guy, Ray, is quite good... but he doesn't work Saturdays!

So, I just prefer to deal with St. John's Music where I get EXCELLENT service, or Mother's Music where the service is decent. But I'm not really a fan of L&M anymore, unless I know exactly what I want and their price is significantly lower. If their price is the same or close, then I'll shop elsewhere.

[treetrunk]

I use both clear g2's and coated g2's w/ a clear emad on bass
with a eQ3 batter on the reso. coated g2's give me the control
and depth I want and the clear's give me that wide open
natural sound I want. The bass drum sounds like Alma Gates
Bronco when she broke the spl record back in the late 90's:D

[HARVplaysPEARL]

Heads are going to be a personal pref. Or depending on what kind of work your doing. In the studio it seems that coated heads are preferred. But i have recorded with both and i like both sounds. I think clears might be more preferred for live situations. I've noticed that I can hear my drums clearly with the clear heads while playing live. It seems like my coated heads would get lost in the mix.

I'm using Evans G2 clears for batter heads on my 10,12,14,16. G1 on the 8" tom. Then the stock Remo's Ambas. for bottoms, i'll change them to some G1 reso. in a few months. On my snares i'm using a Genra Dry head on the 14x6.5 and a Power Center on the 13x3 (both coated, duh). :rolleyes:

[giambatista]

ive got clear pinstripes on my toms and they really sing. i love the look of coated heads, but i hate how fast the coating wears off! the sound of coated has a little more attack thats ideal for studio work, but for live, the pinstripes sound great