If you have been playing drums for any length of time, you know that there are a slew of different drumhead options out there. Drumhead manufacturers are constantly trying to up the ante on the competition and come up with the latest and greatest thing. Here at Sweetwater we sell a lot of great drumheads and hopefully this article will help you make an informed decision as to which drumheads might work well for your kit and playing style.
While drumheads offer different tonal qualities and feel, they also have vibe. “Vibe”? Yes, vibe. This is just my opinion, but all instruments have a vibe that gives inspiration and some players just like a certain manufacturer’s drumhead because that is what they have always used. I’m the same way, but in this day and age there are a lot of great choices, so I would suggest you give a lot of them a try. Also, your drums make a huge difference in the sound. The heads are just the part of the whole sound. The shell, edges, lugs, hoops, and tension rods all have a say in the sound of your drum.
OK, let’s dive in!
A Brief History
It was only back in the 1950s that plastic drumheads first came into being. Before that, drums used calfskin heads. While calfskin gave the drums a very cool sound they were super hard to install. They would come new as a dried round disc that had to be soaked in water first so it would loosen up. Then it had to be stretched over the drum shell and then manually connected to the hoop so it could be tuned up. On top of all that, the drumheads would expand and contract with the weather! The invention of plastic drumheads made life a lot easier for drummers and also gave them us new sounds and textures to try.
Single Ply
Single Ply drumheads are the most basic. Usually they are a single layer of Mylar that is 10-mil thick. In case you wonder about such things, one “mil” is equal to one one-thousandth of an inch. There are other thicknesses, such as three mil for the batter side of the snare drum but in general 10 mil is the most widely used. Single-ply drumheads are bright and bring out the overtones of the drum. They are perfect for jazz and other lighter styles of music, but can also be used for rock. The only limitation is that they are not as durable as two-ply heads so they don’t last as long in a rock setting. Even with that being the case, many players still prefer the sound of a single-ply head on their drums. Remo Ambassador and Evans G1 are industry-standard single-ply drumheads.
Double Ply
Here is where the choices really get big. There are a lot of two-ply heads our there with all kinds of little extras to help you find your ideal drum sound and feel. The most basic two-ply heads are Remo Emperor and Evans G2. Both made with two plies of 7 mil thick mylar. Double-ply heads, while being more durable then single ply, also have more attack, less overtones, and a shorter sustain. Great for rock music and styles where articulate playing is needed.
Double-ply heads are where you are going to have to experiment to find the right ones for you, because a lot of the double-ply drumheads these days have more then just the two plies. They come with rings on the outer edge to help control the sound, such as the Remo Pinstripe or the Evans EC2. They sometimes even have an extra inlay ring of mylar underneath, such as the Remo Powerstroke 4.
Coated or Not Coated, That is the Question
Coating on a drumhead will muffle the sound just a little bit so it comes down to a matter of taste, rather then which is better then the other. Coated heads are great for snare drums especially if you play with brushes. You can’t get that beautiful “sand paper” kind of sound with a clear head and brushes. Coated heads on toms tend to make the drums a bit warmer while clear heads on toms will give you a bit more attack. The same goes for your kick drum. If you play jazz, a great sound is to have your kick drum tuned up high with no muffling or hole in the front head. Add to that a coated batter head and a fluffy beater on the pedal and you can get a very musical sounding kick drum with tone and pitch rather then just a low-end thud.
Other Specialty Heads
I have mentioned a few drumhead options above but there are also a lot of specialty heads out there that get specific in the tone and feel they are trying to achieve. A lot of the specialty heads are great in combination with clear single-ply heads for the bottom (resonant) side of the toms. Some great choices for the resonant side of the drums are Evans EC Resonant, Evans Genera Resonant, and the always-usable Remo Ambassador. Some heads to check out to go in combination with the resonant heads are
Evans Hydraulic Glass, Evans Onyx, and Remo Vintage Emperor.
In Closing
I think it is worth stating again that finding the right drumhead is a matter of taste. If you are not a hard hitter and you want a bright sound with good sustain try a normal single-ply drumhead. If you need a more durable head with more attack and a warmer tone then go for one of the many double-ply heads out there. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You may find that your kit does well with a number of different head combinations. One for pop, Latin, and jazz. One for rock, funk, and metal. It is good to know exactly what your instrument is capable of and how to manipulate it.
Have fun and keep making music!
