I have played on Remo, Aquarian, and Evans drumheads and have liked them all. They are all a little different and you have to try different ones in order to find what you like. I recommend talking to the staff at your local music store.
For jazz, you would do well to use Remo Ambassadors, which are one-ply coated heads. For rock, you might want to go with a two-ply clear head that is very durable from Evans. On my own drum set, I have one-ply Evans coated heads, and I love them. But in the past, when I was playing more math/prog/alt rock, I loved the thick Aquarian two-ply coated heads. I think they came with a built-in muffling ring as part of the head.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thick Drumheads vs. Thin Drumheads
When choosing a drumhead, you should consider:
—how much you want the overtones to ring out,
—how much stick response you want,
—how sensitive you want the drumhead to be
—and how durable you need the drumhead to be.
Thin drumheads produce more overtones. They ring out more clearly and brightly, and for that reason they can be more expressive. But some drummers find them to be TOO bright and expressive. In some situations, the overtones may cause the sound of the drums to stick out too much in the overall mix. It depends on the style of music. Thick drumheads produce more even tone, which is duller but more focused.
Thin drumheads have a slightly greater stick response than thick drumheads. If you tune them both to the same tension, then the thinner head is going to give a little more rebound because there is less mass to absorb the energy of your stroke. This particular point has more to do with the physical feel of playing than with the sound.
Thin drumheads are more sensitive than thick ones. You have to hit a thick drumhead much harder than a thin drumhead to get the same volume.
Lastly, for obvious reasons thin drumheads are less durable than thick ones. Given the same treatment, the two different types are going to wear out at different rates.
—how much you want the overtones to ring out,
—how much stick response you want,
—how sensitive you want the drumhead to be
—and how durable you need the drumhead to be.
Thin drumheads produce more overtones. They ring out more clearly and brightly, and for that reason they can be more expressive. But some drummers find them to be TOO bright and expressive. In some situations, the overtones may cause the sound of the drums to stick out too much in the overall mix. It depends on the style of music. Thick drumheads produce more even tone, which is duller but more focused.
Thin drumheads have a slightly greater stick response than thick drumheads. If you tune them both to the same tension, then the thinner head is going to give a little more rebound because there is less mass to absorb the energy of your stroke. This particular point has more to do with the physical feel of playing than with the sound.
Thin drumheads are more sensitive than thick ones. You have to hit a thick drumhead much harder than a thin drumhead to get the same volume.
Lastly, for obvious reasons thin drumheads are less durable than thick ones. Given the same treatment, the two different types are going to wear out at different rates.
Coated Drumheads vs. Clear Drumheads
When choosing heads for your drums, you have two features to consider: the thickness of the drumhead and whether it's coated or clear. As compared to clear drumheads, coated drumheads produce more "attack," which is the sound of the contact between the drumstick and the head. So if you're doing a roll, then you're going to hear the individual stick strokes on a coated drumhead, whereas a clear drumhead will simply resonate, making a sort of glowing, rumbling sound. On a (properly tuned) clear drumhead, the drum roll will sound more like one constant sound instead of a series of attacks.
So if you're looking for clear sound definition, where you can hear each attack, then you should go for a coated drumhead. These are favored in jazz drumming because jazz drummers typically play many notes, and they play them at all different dynamic levels. A coated drumhead accentuates the attack even of very light grace notes. The same notes played on a clear drumhead may not be heard.
With clear heads, your drumming is going to blend into the overall sound of the music better. But for that reason, some of what you're playing might not be heard. Rock drumming tends to favor this sound, where the drummer sounds powerful but doesn't stick out too much.
So if you're looking for clear sound definition, where you can hear each attack, then you should go for a coated drumhead. These are favored in jazz drumming because jazz drummers typically play many notes, and they play them at all different dynamic levels. A coated drumhead accentuates the attack even of very light grace notes. The same notes played on a clear drumhead may not be heard.
With clear heads, your drumming is going to blend into the overall sound of the music better. But for that reason, some of what you're playing might not be heard. Rock drumming tends to favor this sound, where the drummer sounds powerful but doesn't stick out too much.
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