Selecting the Perfect Drum Head
It can be overwhelming when you stand in front of a wall of drumheads from Remo, Aquarian or Evans and try to work out their mysterious names, codes, sizes, and material thicknesses. Which should you choose and what will make your kit sound awesome!
No worries, I got your back, I will walk you through everything you need to know.
Coated Heads - These are clear heads that have been over-sprayed with a white coating that has a bit of “Tooth” or roughness to the coating. These heads where developed to give drummers something feeling more like calf skin and allowed drummers to use brushes to get that sweeping sound. Coated heads add warmth and a bit of dampening to your sound. Coated heads too come in all sizes and multiple plies of mylar. They can be used on any drum of any size.
Ebony or Suede Heads - these heads are black or charcoal coloured providing a different more aggressive look to your kit. They sound very similar to a coated head and come in single or double ply.
Snare Side Heads - These heads are extremely thin to allow the snares the maximum amount of movement. You could not play on a snare side head, as it would puncture or quickly dent and become useless. These skins are always single ply although the thickness of the mylar does change slightly between lines and suppliers. The thinner the head the more the snares will respond to the slightest touch.
Dotted Heads - These heads add a clear, black, silver or white glued on dot or circle of material in the centre of each head either glued to the bottom or top of the head. These dots add durability and deaden overtones that can tame an irritating ring or temperamental drum.
Ringed Heads - These heads add a ring of material around the outside of the drum head to tame those annoying overtones. Evans also punches tiny holes around the edge of some of their Genera heads to prevent the snare from “Choking” when played hard.
Mesh Heads - These heads have no mylar and substitute a thin mesh material. These heads are used as quiet practice heads or when converting an acoustic kit to a triggered electronic kit.
Sizes - the major lines from each supplier will be available in sizes from 6 inches to 26 inches.
Applications - some types are universal and can be used on any drum. Others are very specific to a snare or kick drum.
Drumming legend Dave Weckl uses only Remo Ambassador Coated Heads on all his drums from snares to rack and floor toms to his kick drums. A well tuned head should need little to no additional muffling according to Dave. Most of us mere mortals who don't have a drum tech slaving over our drum tuning, may need a wider selection of heads to reach our ideal sound.
Kick drum - these heads are generally thicker and modern versions come with dampening foam rings. The Evans EMAD and GMAD heads sound great on even the most inexpensive drums.
I had a customer walk in one day with a small kick he'd rescued from the dump. He'd hosed it off with water, yup water, let it dry in the sun (no longer round) and brought it in for me to tune. Dubious about the possibility of this drum ever sounding good, I chose a Evans EMAD 20" coated head for the batter and a Remo put it on his rescued drum and tuned it up. It sounded great, rich, full and deep with no crazy overtones. He was thrilled and I was shocked. If you want to upgrade a head on your new kit this is the drum to begin with.
Snare drum - heads are usually a single ply and coated for a batter head. Some add a dot or ring to help eliminate overtones. Double ply heads can be used too, but try a single ply first to get the full-throated tone of the drum, then if it is too wild, try the double ply. Thin resonant heads are required for the snare side of a snare drum the thinner the better in most cases.
Rack Toms - coated or clear single or double ply with dots or without, it’s all fine. Single ply will be very open and clear with all the drum's natural overtones. Double ply will tame some overtones and have a slightly lower fundamental tone. They will be more durable than single ply heads. The dots add a further layer of protection.
Floor Toms - same as rack toms, you can use whatever suits your purpose.
Musical styles - Rock, Metal and Pop drummers usually opt for clear skins on rack and floor toms and kick drums. They are looking to cut through a loud band and want to add those overtones looking for the penetrating tones clear heads provide.
Snare heads are almost always coated. Most players like the dampening that you get with a coated head on a snare. I have seem more aggressive players use a textured Hazy head with a centre dot looking for more crack.
Coated skins are used on rack and floor toms and kick drums by blues, jazz, country and R&B players. Coated skins control over tones better and are warmer sounding.
Jazz guys love the calf skin types like Remo Fiberskyn, Evans Calftone or Aquarian Vintage. These skins offer a vintage vibe and tone you just can't get with clear or coated heads.
Nothing is set in stone here, you can use which ever type you prefer, this is just a general starting point for your exploration.
If you keep great notes on what you’ve tried you will quickly narrow the search and find your mix of heads that work the best for you.
I have never met a drummer who tells me he’s a light hitter. Everyone tells me the hit so hard. Just because you hit hard does not mean you need double ply heads with reinforcement dots on each drum. Yes, double or triple ply will not dent and pit as easily, but maybe your sound is a great single ply head that let your drums speak or bark. Experiment a bit and try some different combinations you might be surprised and you will definitely become an educated, well-rounded drummer.
Batter heads should be changed as soon as you notice pitting or the drum becomes difficult to tune. Heads are meant to be disposable, it’s part of being a drummer. Buying fresh heads is like a guitar player buying new strings, they make your dull, lifeless drums sing again. Most professional players change heads a couple of days before an important gig.
Changing your resonant (bottom) heads should be done every 4th time you change the batter heads.
I had a seasoned studio pro bring in a vintage top-of-the-line Delite Sonor kit that he said he wanted to trade in as it just was not meeting his expectations anymore. He had purchased new batter heads from me a couple of times and still was unhappy with the sound. I asked him when was the last time he’d changed the resonant heads. He looked at me like I was crazy and said he’d never changed them in the years he’d owned the kit. I asked him to allow me to change only one resonant head on his floor tom. He dubiously agreed and left to find coffee. I chose an Ambassador Clear 16” head put it on and tuned it up. When he returned I saw him across the store and clobbered the floor tom. He almost fainted and came staggering back to the drum department. There was the sound he’d been missing! We changed the remaining heads and he was off to his recording date with a perfect sounding, amazingly cool Sonor kit. I could have chosen a Evan G1 or a Aquarian Clear and both would have accomplished the same thing. Resonant heads stretch out over time and need replacement too.
Remo is the oldest drum head maker of the three major companies. Their key lines are:
Ambassador - Single ply - 10mm - clear, coated, suede, fiberskyn, chrome, gold, hazy, Renaissanc, vintage.
Emperor - double ply -7mm/7mm - clear coated, suede, ebony, hazy Renaissance, smooth white, vintage, X
Diplomat Thin single ply 7.5mm clear, coated, fiberskyn, hazy, smooth white, skyntone
Pinstripe double ply 7mm/7mm Has a overtone reducing agent between the plies. Clear, coated, ebony.
Powersonic double ply 7.5mm/5mm with dampening rings and snap on pad. Clear and Coated. Used on Kick drums.
Powerstroke single ply with ring
- P3 10mm clear, coated, dotted, ebony, suede, double ply with ring
- P4 7mm/7mm renaissance, fiberskyn, smooth, white, hazy.
- P3 and P4 have thicker mylar plies. Used on Kick drums.
Powerstroke Pro single ply with foam ring 10mm clear, coated and ebony. Used on Kick drums
Silent Stroke mesh head
These are the new guys on the block and their new 360 technology really makes their heads fit well.
G1 Single ply 10mm clear, coated, calftone batter/kick
G2 double ply 7mm/7mm clear, coated batter/kick
G14 single ply 14mm coated batter/kick
EQ4 single ply with ring 10mm clear, coated, frosted, calftone kick
EQ3 double ply 6.5mm/6.5mm clear, coated, frosted kick
EMAD single ply with foam rings 10mm clear, coated, frosted kick
EMAD 2 double ply with foam rings 7mm/10mm clear kick
EMAD Heavy double ply with foam rings 10mm/10mm clear kick
GMAD single ply with foam rings 12mm clear, Onyx kick
Hydraulic Red 2 Ply with oil between plies 7mm/7mm red, glass, black, blue
Power Centre single ply with dot 7mm coated batter
Genera single ply with ring 10mm coated batter
Genera HD double ply 5mm/7.5mm coated batter
Genera HD Dry double ply with ring 5mm/7.5mm coated batter
ST double ply 7.5mm/7.5mm coated batter
ST Dry double ply with ring 7.5mm/7.5mm coated batter
HeavyWeight double ply 10mm/10mm coated batter
EC double ply 10mm/7mm coated batter
Onyx double ply 7.5mm/7.5mm black batter
Hybrid kevlar
Hydraulic double ply with oil 7.5mm/7.5mm black, blue batter
EC2S double ply with control ring 7mm/7mm coated, clear, frosted batter
Black Chrome double ply 7mm/7.5mm black batter
EC Resonant single ply 10mm clear, resonant head
Resonant single ply 7.5mm black, clear res heads
200/300/500 single ply 2mm/3mm/5mm clear, resonant heads
Many guys love this line. They are usually a bit less expensive than the other two lines.
Texture Coated single ply 7mm coated
Classic Clear single ply 10mm clear
Studio X single ply with ring 10mm clear, coated, black
Classic Clear snare side single ply 3mm clear
Reflector double ply 7mm/10mm reflective, black
High Impact double ply with dot 10mm/10mm black, coated
High Velocity double ply with dot 7mm/7mm black, coated
Triple Threat 3 ply 7mm x 3 coated
Super 2 double ply 7mm/5mm coated, clear, with dot, with ring
Response 2 double ply 7mm/7mm coated, clear, black, with dot
Performance 2 double ply with ring 10mm clear, coated
Force 10 double ply 10mm/10mm clear
Vintage double ply 10mm calf skin like
Super Kick single ply with foam ring 10mm
Aquarian has a huge variety of specialty heads for resonator side of toms and kick drums and a variety of kick drum heads with different sized and styled muffler systems. Check their website for a full list.
This lists most of the heads you will run into at your favourite drum store, but may not include the manufacturers full line as they add, drop and change heads regularly. Check each companies website for the most up to date lists.
No matter what heads you purchase they need to be properly installed and tuned and that’s a whole new set of challenges we will cover next time.
No worries, I got your back, I will walk you through everything you need to know.
First, let’s look at what each company has in common:
Clear Heads - These heads are just as advertised, clear single or double drum heads of mylar of varying thicknesses. Clear heads are crisp, clean with a long sustain. Clear heads are great on rack toms, floor toms, and kick drums. Usually not used on snare drum batter heads.Coated Heads - These are clear heads that have been over-sprayed with a white coating that has a bit of “Tooth” or roughness to the coating. These heads where developed to give drummers something feeling more like calf skin and allowed drummers to use brushes to get that sweeping sound. Coated heads add warmth and a bit of dampening to your sound. Coated heads too come in all sizes and multiple plies of mylar. They can be used on any drum of any size.
Ebony or Suede Heads - these heads are black or charcoal coloured providing a different more aggressive look to your kit. They sound very similar to a coated head and come in single or double ply.
Snare Side Heads - These heads are extremely thin to allow the snares the maximum amount of movement. You could not play on a snare side head, as it would puncture or quickly dent and become useless. These skins are always single ply although the thickness of the mylar does change slightly between lines and suppliers. The thinner the head the more the snares will respond to the slightest touch.
Dotted Heads - These heads add a clear, black, silver or white glued on dot or circle of material in the centre of each head either glued to the bottom or top of the head. These dots add durability and deaden overtones that can tame an irritating ring or temperamental drum.
Ringed Heads - These heads add a ring of material around the outside of the drum head to tame those annoying overtones. Evans also punches tiny holes around the edge of some of their Genera heads to prevent the snare from “Choking” when played hard.
Mesh Heads - These heads have no mylar and substitute a thin mesh material. These heads are used as quiet practice heads or when converting an acoustic kit to a triggered electronic kit.
Sizes - the major lines from each supplier will be available in sizes from 6 inches to 26 inches.
Applications - some types are universal and can be used on any drum. Others are very specific to a snare or kick drum.
Drumming legend Dave Weckl uses only Remo Ambassador Coated Heads on all his drums from snares to rack and floor toms to his kick drums. A well tuned head should need little to no additional muffling according to Dave. Most of us mere mortals who don't have a drum tech slaving over our drum tuning, may need a wider selection of heads to reach our ideal sound.
Kick drum - these heads are generally thicker and modern versions come with dampening foam rings. The Evans EMAD and GMAD heads sound great on even the most inexpensive drums.
I had a customer walk in one day with a small kick he'd rescued from the dump. He'd hosed it off with water, yup water, let it dry in the sun (no longer round) and brought it in for me to tune. Dubious about the possibility of this drum ever sounding good, I chose a Evans EMAD 20" coated head for the batter and a Remo put it on his rescued drum and tuned it up. It sounded great, rich, full and deep with no crazy overtones. He was thrilled and I was shocked. If you want to upgrade a head on your new kit this is the drum to begin with.
Snare drum - heads are usually a single ply and coated for a batter head. Some add a dot or ring to help eliminate overtones. Double ply heads can be used too, but try a single ply first to get the full-throated tone of the drum, then if it is too wild, try the double ply. Thin resonant heads are required for the snare side of a snare drum the thinner the better in most cases.
Rack Toms - coated or clear single or double ply with dots or without, it’s all fine. Single ply will be very open and clear with all the drum's natural overtones. Double ply will tame some overtones and have a slightly lower fundamental tone. They will be more durable than single ply heads. The dots add a further layer of protection.
Floor Toms - same as rack toms, you can use whatever suits your purpose.
Musical styles - Rock, Metal and Pop drummers usually opt for clear skins on rack and floor toms and kick drums. They are looking to cut through a loud band and want to add those overtones looking for the penetrating tones clear heads provide.
Snare heads are almost always coated. Most players like the dampening that you get with a coated head on a snare. I have seem more aggressive players use a textured Hazy head with a centre dot looking for more crack.
Coated skins are used on rack and floor toms and kick drums by blues, jazz, country and R&B players. Coated skins control over tones better and are warmer sounding.
Jazz guys love the calf skin types like Remo Fiberskyn, Evans Calftone or Aquarian Vintage. These skins offer a vintage vibe and tone you just can't get with clear or coated heads.
Nothing is set in stone here, you can use which ever type you prefer, this is just a general starting point for your exploration.
Changing Skins
The first time you change skins on a new kit, I suggest you try single ply skins (Remo Ambassador, Evans G1, or Aquarian Classic Clear to fully grasp what your kit really sounds like. I realize your kit probably shipped with single ply heads but most are not heads from one of the big three makers and are often placeholder heads made by the drum company. Pearl makes fine drums but their drumheads leave a lot to be desired. Then, if you find the overtones too much for your liking, you can try a double ply head the next time. If you move straight to double ply heads, you are missing out on how great your drums can truly sound with a quality head. Listen to Dave Weckl, the man has been there and done that.If you keep great notes on what you’ve tried you will quickly narrow the search and find your mix of heads that work the best for you.
I have never met a drummer who tells me he’s a light hitter. Everyone tells me the hit so hard. Just because you hit hard does not mean you need double ply heads with reinforcement dots on each drum. Yes, double or triple ply will not dent and pit as easily, but maybe your sound is a great single ply head that let your drums speak or bark. Experiment a bit and try some different combinations you might be surprised and you will definitely become an educated, well-rounded drummer.
Batter heads should be changed as soon as you notice pitting or the drum becomes difficult to tune. Heads are meant to be disposable, it’s part of being a drummer. Buying fresh heads is like a guitar player buying new strings, they make your dull, lifeless drums sing again. Most professional players change heads a couple of days before an important gig.
Changing your resonant (bottom) heads should be done every 4th time you change the batter heads.
I had a seasoned studio pro bring in a vintage top-of-the-line Delite Sonor kit that he said he wanted to trade in as it just was not meeting his expectations anymore. He had purchased new batter heads from me a couple of times and still was unhappy with the sound. I asked him when was the last time he’d changed the resonant heads. He looked at me like I was crazy and said he’d never changed them in the years he’d owned the kit. I asked him to allow me to change only one resonant head on his floor tom. He dubiously agreed and left to find coffee. I chose an Ambassador Clear 16” head put it on and tuned it up. When he returned I saw him across the store and clobbered the floor tom. He almost fainted and came staggering back to the drum department. There was the sound he’d been missing! We changed the remaining heads and he was off to his recording date with a perfect sounding, amazingly cool Sonor kit. I could have chosen a Evan G1 or a Aquarian Clear and both would have accomplished the same thing. Resonant heads stretch out over time and need replacement too.
REMO
Remo is the oldest drum head maker of the three major companies. Their key lines are:
Ambassador - Single ply - 10mm - clear, coated, suede, fiberskyn, chrome, gold, hazy, Renaissanc, vintage.
Emperor - double ply -7mm/7mm - clear coated, suede, ebony, hazy Renaissance, smooth white, vintage, X
Diplomat Thin single ply 7.5mm clear, coated, fiberskyn, hazy, smooth white, skyntone
Pinstripe double ply 7mm/7mm Has a overtone reducing agent between the plies. Clear, coated, ebony.
Powersonic double ply 7.5mm/5mm with dampening rings and snap on pad. Clear and Coated. Used on Kick drums.
Powerstroke single ply with ring
- P3 10mm clear, coated, dotted, ebony, suede, double ply with ring
- P4 7mm/7mm renaissance, fiberskyn, smooth, white, hazy.
- P3 and P4 have thicker mylar plies. Used on Kick drums.
Powerstroke Pro single ply with foam ring 10mm clear, coated and ebony. Used on Kick drums
Silent Stroke mesh head
EVANS
These are the new guys on the block and their new 360 technology really makes their heads fit well.
G1 Single ply 10mm clear, coated, calftone batter/kick
G2 double ply 7mm/7mm clear, coated batter/kick
G14 single ply 14mm coated batter/kick
EQ4 single ply with ring 10mm clear, coated, frosted, calftone kick
EQ3 double ply 6.5mm/6.5mm clear, coated, frosted kick
EMAD single ply with foam rings 10mm clear, coated, frosted kick
EMAD 2 double ply with foam rings 7mm/10mm clear kick
EMAD Heavy double ply with foam rings 10mm/10mm clear kick
GMAD single ply with foam rings 12mm clear, Onyx kick
Hydraulic Red 2 Ply with oil between plies 7mm/7mm red, glass, black, blue
Power Centre single ply with dot 7mm coated batter
Genera single ply with ring 10mm coated batter
Genera HD double ply 5mm/7.5mm coated batter
Genera HD Dry double ply with ring 5mm/7.5mm coated batter
ST double ply 7.5mm/7.5mm coated batter
ST Dry double ply with ring 7.5mm/7.5mm coated batter
HeavyWeight double ply 10mm/10mm coated batter
EC double ply 10mm/7mm coated batter
Onyx double ply 7.5mm/7.5mm black batter
Hybrid kevlar
Hydraulic double ply with oil 7.5mm/7.5mm black, blue batter
EC2S double ply with control ring 7mm/7mm coated, clear, frosted batter
Black Chrome double ply 7mm/7.5mm black batter
EC Resonant single ply 10mm clear, resonant head
Resonant single ply 7.5mm black, clear res heads
200/300/500 single ply 2mm/3mm/5mm clear, resonant heads
AQUARIAN
Many guys love this line. They are usually a bit less expensive than the other two lines.
Texture Coated single ply 7mm coated
Classic Clear single ply 10mm clear
Studio X single ply with ring 10mm clear, coated, black
Classic Clear snare side single ply 3mm clear
Reflector double ply 7mm/10mm reflective, black
High Impact double ply with dot 10mm/10mm black, coated
High Velocity double ply with dot 7mm/7mm black, coated
Triple Threat 3 ply 7mm x 3 coated
Super 2 double ply 7mm/5mm coated, clear, with dot, with ring
Response 2 double ply 7mm/7mm coated, clear, black, with dot
Performance 2 double ply with ring 10mm clear, coated
Force 10 double ply 10mm/10mm clear
Vintage double ply 10mm calf skin like
Super Kick single ply with foam ring 10mm
Aquarian has a huge variety of specialty heads for resonator side of toms and kick drums and a variety of kick drum heads with different sized and styled muffler systems. Check their website for a full list.
This lists most of the heads you will run into at your favourite drum store, but may not include the manufacturers full line as they add, drop and change heads regularly. Check each companies website for the most up to date lists.
No matter what heads you purchase they need to be properly installed and tuned and that’s a whole new set of challenges we will cover next time.
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