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Tech
Speak is a regular segment of the Pearl News and features articles pertaining
to Pearl drums and (sometimes) drumming in general. It is written by Gene Okamoto,
Pearl's resident nuts and bolts guy and head gopher.
Drumheads
If
this is your first visit to Tech Speak, welcome! If youâre a return visitor,
welcome back!
Before
I get started with this installment of Tech Speak, I want to thank everyone
who e-mailed me regarding the tuning article·thanks for your many favorable comments!
OK,
letâs get started!
Drumheads
Todayâs
subject, drumheads, is a continuation of the tuning article. I originally
planned to include drumheads in the tuning article, however, knowing that I had
to write another Tech Speak article eventually, I decided to save drumheads
for another day. Today is the day. But first·a story.
A
True Story
When
I got my first set of drums, my knowledge about the instrument was zip, nada,
zero. One of the things I assumed was that drumheads lasted forever. Of course
they donât, so when they wore out, I went to the local drum store totally unprepared
for what would happen next. It went something like this:
Me:
"I need to buy new heads for my drums."
Salesman: "What sizes do you want?"
Me:
"I donât know. Theyâre about this big." I made circles of different
sizes with my hands.
I
learned my first lesson: 1) drumheads come in different sizes; and 2) my set
wasnât the only configuration that drums come in.
I
went home and measured my drums then returned to the store. I was ready, but I
was wrong.
Me:
"Here are the sizes of my drums. 13¸" and 16¸" toms, 21¸"
bass and 13¸" snare."
Salesman: "I think you mean 13", 16", 22" and 14"."
(Lesson 1.5: I learned how to measure my drums correctly).
Me: "Whatever."
Salesman: "OK. Do you want Diplomats, Ambassadors, or Emperors?"
Me:
"?????"
I
learned my second lesson: drumheads come in different styles.
I
took the salesmanâs suggestion and bought a set of Remo coated Ambassadors.
So
Many Choices, So Little Time
Thinking
back, I was fortunate because there werenât very many choices back then. You had
your basic coated heads in three thicknesses and that was pretty much it!
How
times have changed! Today you have clear heads, coated heads, thin heads, medium
heads, heavy heads, blue heads, black heads, heads with dots, heads with rings,
heads with rings and dots, heads with oil, woven heads, woven heads with
dots, and everything in between. You also have heads by Remo, heads by Evans,
heads by Aquarian, heads by Attack, heads by Ludwig, and others. The choices are
mind-boggling.
So
what do you do? If you have deep pockets, you can buy them all. Or you can educate
yourself about how drumheads "work" and narrow your search before you
buy. In the following, Iâll attempt to explain the basics of drumheads to help
you choose wisely.
Drumhead
Construction
Today
practically all heads are made of polyester film, commonly known as plastic.
However, prior to plastic, calfskin heads were common. The problem with calfskin
was stability (or the lack thereof), they changed tension as temperature and humidity
changed thus had to be constantly tuned and re-tuned. With the advent of plastic
heads, drummers could tune their drums once and play to their hearts content in
any weather condition.
During
the late 70âs, a company called Duraline offered drumheads made of Kevlar®,
the same material used to make bulletproof vests. As youâd expect, these heads
were extremely strong and were advertised as being playable even with a hole in
them. They were made of porous cloth thus air was able to pass through them. This
made (early) Duraline heads sound very dry (the same principle as taking the front
heads off of bass drums). Later resin was applied to the bottom of the heads to
plug the holes in an effort to make them sound more "normal." Although
Duraline is long gone, Kevlar® is still used today on marching and pipe drum
heads.
Duraline Drumheads
Thickness
Drumheads
are basically available in three thicknesses: thin, medium, and thick. Years ago,
Remo gave these thicknesses names: Diplomat, Ambassador, and Emperor respectively.
These names are so prevalent that if you go to any drum store and ask for, for
example, an Ambassador weight head÷be it Evans, Ludwig, Attack, Aquarian, or whatever÷youâll
get their equivalent thickness head.
Thickness
is commonly measured in mils. One mil is equal to .001" or one thousandths
of an inch. As a reference, Diplomat batter heads are 7.5 mil thick; Ambassador
batters are 10 mil thick; and Emperor batters are 14 mil thick (two plies, 7 mil
+ 7 mil). Sometimes youâll see these written as 750, 1000, and 1400: they mean
the same thing.
As
youâd expect, variations exist between brands and models. For example, Ludwigâs
medium is 7.5 mil thick and their heavy is 10 mil thick. In comparison, Remoâs
thin is 7.5 mil thick and their medium is 10 mil thick. Moral: go
by thickness and not by description.
Batter
and Snare Heads
Heads
come in two types: batter heads and snare heads.
Batter
heads are the ones that you hit hence the name "batter" (as in batter-up
in baseball or assault and battery·just kidding). Batter heads are also
used on the bottoms of toms and the fronts of bass drums. When used in this manner
theyâre called resonator heads. Iâll discuss resonator heads in more detail later.
Snare
heads are much thinner and are used on the bottoms of snare drums. Diplomat,
Ambassador, and Emperor snare heads are 2, 3, and 5 mil thick respectively.
To put this in perspective, typical plastic kitchen wrap is also 2 to 3 mil thick.
Another
true story: Not long ago, we (Pearl) received a snare drum from a drummer who
claimed that it sounded "bad." Upon inspection, we discovered that he
put an Ambassador batter head on the snare side. It turned out that the
store guy (probably a guitar player*) sold him the wrong type of Ambassador. *Guitar
players arenât the only ones who make this type of mistake, violin players are
especially notorious.
Durability
and Sensitivity
Drumhead
durability and sensitivity are inversely proportional to thickness. Thus, as heads
get thinner, they get less durable but more sensitive; and as they get thicker,
they get more durable and less sensitive.
Durability
is a straight-ahead concept: itâs the drumheadâs capability to withstand punishment.
One way to make heads more durable is to make them from strong stuff like Kevlar®.
Plastic heads, on the other hand, can be made stronger by adding plies and/or
by adding reinforcements. Emperor heads get their strength from two plies (7 mil
+ 7 mil). Heads, such as Remoâs Controlled Sound and Ludwigâs Silver Dot achieve
added durability by a reinforcement "dot" in the center of the heads.
There are even heads with two plies and dots for extreme durability.
Sensitivity
is the ability of the drumhead to translate the nuances of your performance into
sound. Thickness has a profound effect on sensitivity.
Thin
heads have low mass which enables them to respond to very light hits. You
have to know what youâre doing to play these heads, however: one hard hit and
its hasta la vista, baby.
Medium
heads offer improved durability with good overall sensitivity thus making
them ideal for most applications. As most drums are equipped with medium heads
from the factory, youâre probably familiar with these already.
Thick
Heads
Thick
heads sound thick·"wet" is another description of how they sound. Itâs
like the difference between hitting a single sheet of paper (thin sound) and a
pad of paper (thick sound).
In
general, thick heads are more "forgiving" than thinner heads thus allowing
them to sound good with less effort. For example, they can be out of tune with
themselves and still sound good.
With
thick heads, you give up sensitivity (theyâre not too good on brush gigs) but
you gain durability. They also dampen overtones thus making drums sound less ringy.
Coated,
Clear, and Textured Heads
Since
the invention of plastic heads, manufacturers have tried to make them imitate
the feel and sound of calfskin heads. As plastic is smooth, the first thing they
did was to spray a rough texture coat on the heads to emulate the "swish,
swish" sound with brushes. Coated heads were "standard issue" for
years but as interest in brush playing waned, transparent heads became the norm.
Recently, coated heads have had a resurgence of sorts as drummers have rediscovered
the slightly muted sound that the coating provides. Within the last ten years,
however, new laminates such as those employed on Remoâs FiberSkyn and Renaissance
heads have finally allowed plastic to achieve the sound and tactile response of
real calfskin heads.
Tinted
Heads
Most
drummers use tinted heads for looks but due to the different formulation in the
plastic, blue and black tinted heads tend to sound darker (no pun intended) than
clear heads of equal thickness.
Heads
with Oil
The
big drumhead innovation in the 70âs came from Evans who developed the Evans Hydraulic
heads, two ply heads with a coating of oil between the plies. These heads were
very muffled and, especially when played single-headed, defined the popular 70âs
"cardboard box" sound. Contrary to myth, if you break a hydraulic while
playing you wonât be showered with oil; the oil inside is minimal.
Heads
with Dots
As
mentioned earlier, dots add thickness and durability to heads. However, in addition,
they affect the sound of drums. On snare drums, they enhance low-end frequencies
and produce what I call a "tubby" sound. On toms, they improve "focus,"
the ability to hear each drum and each note clearly. Listen to Tony Williamsâ
trademark single stroke tom-to-tom fills and youâll hear how defined they sound·he
used Controlled Sound (black dot) heads.
Remo Controlled Sound Heads
As
you can see from the photo above, dots can be positioned on either side of the
head. When adhered on the bottom, tone not strength is the primary concern; however,
Iâve heard from many drummers that say they get extended durability from "underside"
dots too.
Heads
with Rings
In
my opinion, rings are the most significant drumhead development since the invention
of plastic heads.
A
picture is worth a thousand words so rather than trying to describe rings, Iâll
show you examples of what they are.
Remo Pinstripe¨ Heads
Aquarian Studio-X
Evans Genera Heads
Hopefully,
you can see from the photos that rings are just that·rings. When placed at the
perimeter of heads, rings very effectively reduce or eliminate unwanted overtones
or "ring" (without significantly affecting the tone of the drum).
Most
rings are made of drumhead material and are adhered to the perimeter of the head
or crimped into the hoop. An exception is the Remo Pinstripe® that is basically
an Emperor (two ply) head with the plies fused together at the perimeter to form
a ring.
These
heads work wonderfully on all drums but really shine on bass drums. Heads such
as the Remo PowerStroke™3, Evans EQ, Aquarian Super-Kick™, and Pearl
ProTone EQ (standard on Export and Export Select) are definitely worth the price
of admission·they sound great and look clean÷no more pillows or blankets!
External
Rings
Rings
donât have to be built-in to be effective; they can also be external. After-market
rings by Noble & Cooley, Remo, Evans, and others allow drummers to control
the overtones of their existing heads. Two types by Remo are shown below.
 Remo
RemOs
 Remo Muff'ls
The
RemOs are typical of the first type. Theyâre made of drumhead material (although
other materials can be used such as neoprene) and come in diameters to fit popular
snare drum and tom sizes. Additionally, most companies offer snare drum rings
in different widths. Wider rings offer more overtone control, narrow ones offer
less.
The
beauty of these rings is how they work. Since they use gravity and static cling÷not
adhesive÷to hold them to the head, they "fly off" the head, minutely
and momentarily, when the head is hit. Then, an instant later, they "fall
back" onto the head. When the ring is "off" the head the drum is
allowed to ring to its full glory and tone. When the ring falls back, the head
is muted. This "off" / "on" / "off" / "on"
action works like a gate in recording and produces a natural yet controlled sound.
In contrast, old-style "push up" internal tone controls* and newer-style
external "push down" tone controls* mute the sound at all times and
donât sound particularly natural. *Additionally, these types of tone controls
apply pressure on one part of the head causing the heads to be out of tune with
themselves. Rings apply even pressure around the head thus donât affect tuning.
The
Remo Muffâls are an adaptation of the foam "ring-on-drumhead" concept
made popular years ago by Dead Ringers·remember them? However, instead of being
glued on with peel-and-stick adhesive like Dead Ringers, Muffâls are held in place
by the head and are thus reusable. For some applications, especially on marching
bass drums, peel-and-stick foam is still popular (and guess what, we sell them!
TS-14 Bass Drum Tone Strips).
Resonator
Heads
Resonator
heads are the bottom heads on toms and the front heads on bass drums.
Theyâre called resonator because they add resonance and give "life"
to the drum sound. Mechanically, resonator heads are exactly the same as batter
heads and, as they arenât hit, they tend to be thin to medium thickness to maximize
sensitivity and resonance.
Personally,
I like my toms wide-open with maximum resonance therefore I prefer thin resonator
heads. I usually follow this rule: whatever the batter head is, I use a resonator
head "one notch" thinner. For example, if Iâm using Ambassador batters
(or equivalent), Iâll use Diplomat resonators (or equivalent). If the batters
are Emperors (or equivalent), Iâll use Ambassador resonators (or equivalent).
There have been times, however, when I used Diplomat resonators with Emperor batters.
This works for me, however, thereâs no right or wrong so experiment* to find what
works best for you.
*Speaking
of experimenting #1: I once thought that if Diplomat batters (7.5 mil) worked
great, then 3 mil heads (Ambassador snare heads) would work even better. So I
ordered a set of these and put them on the bottoms of my toms·yuck, awful, PU.
*Speaking
of experimenting #2: Once (when I was still in retail), a customer came in and
insisted that black Emperor heads on the bottoms of his toms would make them resonate
better. I handed him one but instead of selling it to him I insisted that he install
it right then and there. Another yuck, awful, PU. Thereâs a reason why super-thin
heads (snare heads)** and thick heads (Emperor weight)** arenât used on the resonant
side of toms...they donât work.
**Who
knows, you might like these·again, experiment.
Bass
drum resonator heads are usually medium (Ambassador) thickness -- some are plain
but, these days, many feature built-in rings. The rings work very well to control
overtones thus getting a good sound often without pillows or blankets in the drum.
Also, some have holes and some donât. The holes allow air to escape and give more
"thud." The "thud-factor" is controlled by the size of the
hole: the larger the hole, the greater the "thud;" the smaller the hole,
the greater the "boom."
Final
Thoughts
Hopefully,
if you didnât already, you now have a better knowledge about drumheads. However,
like choosing cymbals or drumsticks, you still have to test a few until you find
the ones you like. So test away and have fun!
Special
thanks to Lloyd McCausland at Remo for teaching me a few things about drumheads
that I just passed on to you today.
Also,
special thanks to Steve Ettleson at Evans for supplying Evans heads on the Masterworks
set that weâre using on the Masterworks Tour·they sound great!
If
you have any questions or comments regarding this article or drums in general,
I can be reached at geneokamoto@pearldrums.com.
Why
do drummers go to drum clinics?
Before
I fade into the sunset, Iâd like to thank all of you who responded to the question,
"What attracts drummers to drum clinics?" Below are some my favorite
responses (printed by permission of the senders).
Chris
A.: Well I think one of the reasons why drummers are so interested in clinics
is wanting to learn more about drumming. Different styles, techniques. I mean
if you have a 5-piece kit (standard) and you take 5 drummers they all will be
different. Maybe some will know how to make the drum talk and others just sit
down and beat them. I know I'm always interested in finding other ways to play:
speed, fills, upbeats, downbeats, accents and just other styles. So maybe they
go there to learn more or maybe it is to get out of the house...
Chris
P.: I want to go to Drum Clinics to learn what someone who has experience
in the field has to say about the career I want to get into. And to be blown away
and inspired to get better by a great performance!
Kent
D.: Drumming is a brotherhood. Thatâs why you see drum clinics showing such
a large and overwhelming following. Itâs due to the fact that when you get a couple
of real drummers together in the same room, the magical bond we all have through
the drums, comes out and we feel that we must share the groove and "one heart
beat" with others of like minds and souls. This cannot be said about guitarists
because they are in such competition all the time "cutting heads" with
their "axes" and not willing to share there knowledge with each other
for fear that the next guy would take there gig, and or chops...tsk tsk we are
all in this together and we need to get the groove out to the masses so we stop
competing and start banging the drum of life to the one beat, and not necessarily
that of the same drummer!
Riddim:
A chance to interact:
-
an opportunity to ask why an artist make such hand such an artistic choice
-
to get a feel for the player as a person, since what we play is who we are
For
some of us, it's a chance to see other than pocket playing. For many more, it's
a chance to see how one physically executes something, which may not be apparent
from listening, particularly if the player is ambidextrous. Hope that helps --
and I like your web site and column. Great work.
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