Drum Head suggestions

[Clark]

I've been looking to replace my stock tom heads recently, but I've had no luck in figuring out what's right for me. To be honest I don't really know what bright, warm, focused, open, etc. really mean.

Anyway, fortunately I have an example of how I want my toms to sound. Hopefully you guys can help me out after you listen...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7ej2ry

I know it's heavily produced and what not, but that's more the sound I'm trying to find. Right now my toms are kind of booming with a long sustain and an annoying ringing sound to them. Anyway, thanks in advance.

[TCA]

I'll tell you dude, Aquarian heads are some of the best heads you can buy.

I reccommend those over anything.

What you need to do is buy those, stretch them out, and then take them to be professionally tuned to YOUR specifications.

[patrickhowell]

Remo really makes the best drum heads in my experience. I think either Fiberskyn 3 or Coated Ambassadors would be your best bet for that sound, but you have to be able to tune your drums well too. If you don't tune your drums right, you will get lots of bad overtones.

[Clark]

I've heard some heads are easier to tune than others. Any idea of what those might be? I really have no luck when it comes to trying to tune my drums.

[patrickhowell]

No heads are easier to tune than others, but some heads are muted, making them more forgiving with high overtones. Evans Hydraulic - they are the most extreme, many Aquarian heads, and Remo Pinstripes are all like this. They dampen the sound of your drum, so you don't get bad overtones, however this sacrifices most of the tone of the drum.

Heads like those will sound better with less work, but will never sound as good as well tuned drums. In the long run, you are much better off learning to tune your drums well.

[patrickhowell]

What you need to do is buy those, stretch them out, and then take them to be professionally tuned to YOUR specifications.

Really? I've never heard of anyone having their drums professionally tuned... Why not just learn how to do it yourself ?

[Clark]

Follow up.

I went with the Evans Hydraulics and I am extremely pleased. They have the exact sound I was looking for and they are powerful. I kept the stock resonant heads on.

I also purchased the Aquarian Super Kick II for my bass drum. It's an improvement, but I'm going to need to mess with it to find a better sound. I also think I'm going to put a hole in the resonant head so the beater doesn't rebound as much and so I can mic it when I need to.

I now believe everyone should learn how to tune their drums, as well. When I got these heads I made myself learn how and it didn't take long, just a little trial and error. Plus, when you tune your own drums you can get the sound that you want.

Anyway, just wanted to share my views and hope that it helps out a fellow drummer.

[dietoseeyoufail]

NO ATTACK HEADS ARE THE BEST!!!
...

there are no best heads in my opinion.

BUT
In my opinion some great tom heads are:
Evans EC2 (COATED OR CLEAR BOTH ARE AWESOME), Remo Emperor Coated
there's nothing like well tuned plain ol 2 ply heads though. even 1 ply, but they don't last as long.
ONLY bad part.

Aquarian makes good snare heads, Evans has the Genera HD Dry which is awesome. and lately I've been using Emperor Coated.

I definately want to try the Aquarian Superkick pack

I've heard good things
I've been using the Emads for a couple of years and hey I love em....

[Clark]

Does anyone know anything about either the Audix F12 (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Audix-F12-Fusion-Drum-Instrument-Microphone-270687-i1126738.gc) or F14 (http://www.guitarcenter.com/Audix-F14-Kick-Drum-Microphone-104606082-i1176655.gc) microphones? I need a cheap bass drum mic.

[Prestonxsmith]

Evans coated.

[Clark]

...Thanks.

[bassdrummer2333]

the clear aquarian heads are the best in my opinion.

[theMATEOlife]

the audix F14, while cheap, is not the best available for the price.

if you're looking for cheap, the shure PG series gets alot of shit, but if used properly and mixed smart, can sound pretty good.

if you can scrounge the cash though, i'd recommend looking at an audix D6, AKG D112, or a shure beta 52. in my opinion it's better to spend more now and get the best, than realize later you want something better and spend even more cash.