What Drum Heads to use
Drum heads are the most important part of your drum kit to achieving a great sound from your drums. Without proper drum skins, your kit may sound terrible. So how do we make sure our drums sound the best they can? By selecting the best drum heads for your style of playing and genre of music. The market for drum heads is very competitive and can easily confuse you with complex descriptions and words you don’t understand. In this article, I will explain the terms and styles of drum heads so you will be able to select the best one.
Variety of Drum Heads
With drum heads, there isn’t one that is better than the other. Most brands, be it, Evans or Remo, all create high-quality drum heads. It’s a very personal choice, one that you may want to experiment around with. Two-ply, One-ply, Coated, and non-coated are just some of the examples of the different variety of skins you can get.
If you are a rock drummer, you may want a more durable skin with a louder brighter sound. Or, if you are a jazz drummer you may want a warmer sound. For the brighter sound, you will want to stick with single-ply drum heads. These offer maxima sustain and bring out the natural tone of your kit. If you are looking for more of a warm tone, two-ply may be for you. These offer excellent durability and have a great blend of depth and attack.
Some drum heads may include a ring or dot in the middle. These skins are great for tonal focusing. Usually costing you more, they are great for strengthening up the middle of the skin, increasing its life of it. These are more common in snare drum heads to get the most out of their sound.
Remo and Evans Drum Heads
The two most common manufacturers of drum heads are Remo and Evans. They both provide excellent quality heads and competitive prices. Unfortunately, there are too many varieties to explain to everyone in detail, so you will have to try them out and decide which ones work for you. Evans has a chart to help you compare their skins. This is very handy if you are trying to find a specific tone or a skin for a certain style of playing.
Coated Drum Heads
The differences between coated drum heads and non-coated drum heads are-
- Non-coated drum heads give you more of a bright, clear sound.
- Coated drum heads give you more of a warm sound.
Non-coated drum heads are more commonly used over coated heads. A coated drum head will give you a bit more texture and grip your drum stick. All in all, it comes down to what you are looking for in a drum head.
Drum Heads
There are too many varieties to explain to everyone in detail, so you will have to try them out and decide which ones work for you. Evans has a chart to help you compare their skins. This is very handy if you are trying to find a specific tone or a skin for a certain style of playing.
Tuning
Before playing your drums, in practice or in performance, be sure that your drums are all in tune. When making adjustments to the tension of the drum head, be sure always to tune up to the desired tension, rather than tuning down. If you wish to lower the tension of a head, de-tension the rods below the desired amount, and then tune up to pitch.
Practice; Anytime; Anywhere
Sometimes it’s just not practical to be playing a loud instrument like drums. There are a variety of practice pads and drum mutes that allow you to practice at just about any time or place with less noticeable volume. You could go so far as to cover your entire kit with practice mutes.
Never Get Caught Without
There are several items that a drummer should never be caught without:
- A Drum Key – A Drum Key should be kept easily.
- A Spare Snare Head – No one likes to break a drum head during a performance, but it can still happen. Always keep a spare snare head in your drum case.
- A Bass Drum Patch – Not everyone uses patches on their bass drums but, in a pinch, a patch may help you get that bass head through a gig if the head is heavily worn from beater contact.
