i have an old ludwig 24" kick, and i've been really happy with the evans head that comes with two different foam muffling rings and the plastic apparatus to hold them in place built into the head(dunno the model number). and depending on the application, i've either used the thicker ring or no ring at all. i also have messed around with different beaters, and found that they make way more of a difference in tone (attack in particular) than the heads seem to.

as far as toms, remo pinstripes work great for me. after having several drummers i admire recommend the same heads, i figured they're the way to go. nothing but happy with them.

i have a few different snares, though i finally settled on a ludwig marching snare with no carrying hardware on it (14x11 i think it is, i forget). it came with a fibreskyn head on it (fake organic or some shit) and it actually sounds incredible, though the head's worn rather quickly. i'm probably gonna go with an ambassador next.

toomanyhelicopters wrote:it came with a fibreskyn head on it (fake organic or some shit) and it actually sounds incredible, though the head's worn rather quickly. i'm probably gonna go with an ambassador next.

Just so you know, Remo makes the Fiberskyns in a few different weights. If the head on the drum was a Fiberskyn 2 (with the round logo), those older heads did tend to wear a little faster than the current Fiberskyn 3s. The Fiberskyn 3s are available in the same weights as the Weather King heads: Diplomat (thinnest), Ambassador (medium), and Emperor (thickest--two ply in Weather King series--not so sure if "plys" are applicable in the manufacturing process of the Fiberskyns). You may have to special order a Fiberskyn 3 Emperor head, but you may like the sound enough for it to be worth the effort to experiment. Hope this helps.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I've got Aquarian Performance 2's with the "power dot's" all around my Sonor - love 'em. I don't know if I'd ever buy anything else. I haven't found anything better so far.

I use an Evans EQ3 on the kick of my pearl set. And I have a remo coated pinstripe head on the kick of my gretsch. both kits have fiberskyn 3s on all the toms. a fibersky 3 on the mapex snare (13x 3.5) and a Emporer coated on the Gretsch (14 x 7)

Good luck,
Chris

I also use an Evans EQ3 on the kick, I didn't like the EMAD that much at all, contrary to toomanyhelicopters' results. For toms I've been using Evans G2 Clears on the tops and Genera Resonants on the bottoms. These sound great but they wear out quite quickly, Remo Pinstripes last longer but don't sound as good, IMO. For snare I love the Genera HD Dry. I've got a Tama Starclassic Performer EFX set, 18x22 kick, 5.5x14 snare, and 10x8, 12x9 and 14x11 toms.

Sounds like you just got a great kit, post back with your results!

Coated Remo Ambassadors all the way around...BANG!

bbblank wrote:I would like to achieve a good round, fat, and deep tone (like everyone else in the fucking world) with minimal resonance.

Those fiberskyn heads are the shit for deep tones w/minimal resonance. Coated ambassadors are resonant & sound great, but if you want a solid THUD that still sounds musical, use fiberskyns. I use them on this ancient Slingerland set for recording, & even though it's impossible (for me) to tune the thing accurately, the toms & kick sound like someone's socking you in the gut: BOOMPH. Very nice.

I wouldn't put one on the snare though, it'll fall apart in a second.

i just switched from the EQ3 to EMAD the other day and so far have been pretty happy (but that's from literally just playing 1 show on it so far). maybe i'm just attributing the better sound to the fact that the top ply doesn't have a 12" rip in it.

otherwise, currently it's coated diplomats (i think) on the toms - the toms are the most wiley for me, i'm never really happy with whatever i use. i've done clear ambassadors, coated ambassadors, pinstripes, evans 2ply clear.

maybe fiberskins are the new route?

but coated ambassador always is perfect on snare for me.

Well, if it was me, I'd use Evans all the way round with Coated G2's on top, and Coated G1's on the bottom of both toms. The coatings dry out the resonance a little and they'll still tune up nicely for maximum tone.

On the kick, I'd definately go for an EQ3 Coated on the batter side. They're quite durable, and shave enough resonance without sacrificing tone or depth. For the resonant side, probably an EQ3 Coated Resonant. This has a hole in the front, so the resonance is quite short and controlled, and allows you to mike it from the inside (if you must). And you don't need to mess around with tone-sucking blankets(!!) or pillows(!!!!) either.

Just my two cents.

Brendon