Drum Head recomendations ?

[wishtheend]

I'm getting ready to cut about 10 songs with my band, and looking for suggestions as to what heads are best suited for recording. He's got a 5-piece Pearl Export (12", 13", 16" toms, 22" kick & 14" snare). He's been using the Aquarian Performance II two-ply on the tom batter and still has the stock one-ply Pearl (I think Remo makes them) resonate heads. Kick is a Super Kick II with the Regulator on the resonate. Snare is utter shit all together - don't even know what heads are on it.

The Super Kick II will be replaced with a new one (I love that head), but I'm at a lost for which tom and snare heads would be best. Would I want to go for single-ply or two-ply? Muffling or not? The kit is going to be mic'ed and triggered so I do want a good acoustic sound.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[flhctroll]

Cant go wrong with the Basic Remo Pinstripe on Toms.

 

[wishtheend]

I've tried them and to be honest, didn't like them one bit. Maybe for some older rock or R 'n B. They were just too mellow with no real attack and projection. I'm looking for just killer metal sound. Doesn't need a lot of low end, but more projection and presence.

 

[Pman]

what about remo emperors?
thick single ply, but not as boring as pinstripe

 

[Where She Wept]

Emperor's are the shit. A local guy i know recomends using thin heads, I don't know why, but his set sounded awesome the last time i mixed him live.

 

[KeithRT99]

remo Controlled sound on the snare, emporers on the toms, super kick on the kick.

 

[ashby]

i tend to stick with evans clear g2's on toms, evans st dry vented or remo coated emporer on snare, clear eq3 or powerstroke on kick. stay way from e-mads if you are using triggers or want any real beater attack.

 

[axeman720]

for metal and rock, emperors on the top toms and ambassadors on the bottom. Superkick II with no falam pad for bass drum and controlled sound for snare.

 

[joeymusicguy]

evans ec2's for toms, they have silver stripes all the way around the edge of the drum head (if i have the name wrong). they sound beautiful with no dampening or moon gel or rings or whatever. you put em on, tune em, and youre golden.

i like coated snare heads, remo power stroke 3's are pretty cool

i like ATTACK heads for the bottoms of every drum.

in my experience, all aquarian heads sound horrible in every situation, avoid them at all costs. if a drum comes in with aquarians, be prepared to drumagog your heart out, and to have zero lows or mids in your overhead tracks (cuz you'll need to cut them).

 

[joeymusicguy]

just read your post all the way through this time...

just wanna mention again, that aquarian sounds horrible in the studio. always has in my experience.

 

[wishtheend]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Even though some warned against Aquarian, I couldn't help my self

Tom Batter: Super-2 Clears
Tom Resonate: Classic Clears (black)
Snare Batter: Hi Energy
Snare Resonate: Hi-Performance
Kick Batter: Super Kick II
Kick Resonate: Regulator (large hole)

These Super-2's are a new head that sound great. They have a great attack and fullness like a single ply, but have the punch and depth of a two-ply. Amazing sustain for a 2-ply head. MUCH different than the RII's (in a better way). You can read a bit about the Super-2's on the following LINK. Seriously though, these bridge the gap between 1-ply and 2-ply heads for me. Best thing is the projection, even tuned low these had some serious cut to them.

I'm going to be recording very shortly and we'll post up some samples. Thanks again for the suggestions. I'm going to try some of these Remo suggestions on my personal kit and see how they compare.