I often find the best deals if I'm buying in "bulk" (ie; "Remo Ambassador Pack" or "5 14" Ambassador Heads.) That said, I also change heads pretty frequently, so it might not make as much sense for you to buy 5 of the same head if you don't plan on changing every few months.

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:30 pm Evans G1 is $20.99 at Sweetwater and my regional shop (drum center NH). I mean, I'm not gonna have to eat ramen for a week if I get new heads, but I was surprised that stuff is up like 40% since I last bought sundries, maybe a year ago.

It seems to be just an Evans price increase, weird. Still seeing plenty of Remos and Aquarians under $20 (maybe some outside of 'the big 3' brands too? I don't often check those) I dunno, I just have a hard time accepting a $20 snare head

penningtron wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 2:50 pm

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:30 pm Evans G1 is $20.99 at Sweetwater and my regional shop (drum center NH). I mean, I'm not gonna have to eat ramen for a week if I get new heads, but I was surprised that stuff is up like 40% since I last bought sundries, maybe a year ago.

It seems to be just an Evans price increase, weird. Still seeing plenty of Remos and Aquarians under $20 (maybe some outside of 'the big 3' brands too? I don't often check those) I dunno, I just have a hard time accepting a $20 snare head

I'm an Evans customer as my drums are older Gretsch and are a bit oversize. The Evans have a slightly wider hoop and fit pretty well, but Remos need to go on with a prybar. I guess I could get Remo for my Ludwig snare but then it wouldn't be consistent across the kit and to would be like having a head that was wider than a cabinet, or some similar gear atrocity!

All of those companies make oversized (not 'vintage' branded ones, that's usually a tonal/aesthetic thing) heads for old drums but I can't remember what they're called off the top of my head.

edit: Remo 'Classic Fits', and I guess the Aquarian Vintage heads are a little wider but they also have a 'warmer' coating.

penningtron wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:42 pm All of those companies make oversized (not 'vintage' branded ones, that's usually a tonal/aesthetic thing) heads for old drums but I can't remember what they're called off the top of my head.

edit: Remo 'Classic Fits', and I guess the Aquarian Vintage heads are a little wider but they also have a 'warmer' coating.

Oh cool. Last I knew it was just Aquarian, whose ones were a little tubby sounding for my taste.

FWIW depending on your era of grestch drums, the Aquarian vintage fit heads can be an extremely difficult fit with the die cast hoops. They fit great over the shells/wrap, but they're just slightly too large to seat easily underneath the hoop.

mdc wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:05 pm FWIW depending on your era of grestch drums, the Aquarian vintage fit heads can be an extremely difficult fit with the die cast hoops. They fit great over the shells/wrap, but they're just slightly too large to seat easily underneath the hoop.

Mine are 60s and do work ok with those special Aquarians, as well as any Evans 360 models

Huh! I just bought a set for my 60s gretsch kit and it was an absolute nightmare getting them under the rims.

'60s Gretsch drums are Fred III era, I think. Shit was deeply weird. You just never know what you're getting into.

I've found that the best solution is to use the Evans 360s and just deal.

A lot of people have wondered what was the secret to the absolutely amazing sounding '90s Premier Genista kits. Turns out it was birch shells that were slightly undersized. This created a more even distribution of pressure around the perimeter of the bearing edge. You could do a lot worse than finding a head that is slightly oversized for your kit, these days. Be that the new Remo Classic Fits, Evans 360s, the Aquarian American Vintage.

I don't love the Aquarians on toms, but some of the best snare sounds I've ever gotten were with the Modern Vintage heads on wooden snares. They dent under noise rock pressure, though.

::ADDED:: Looks like they're still making them slightly undersized.

check out my onlyfans for full video and daily updates