Newb drum head question...

[Dark Ice]

Hi guys. Dont think I've ever posted here before cos...well...I've only recently got into drumming, so be patient

Anyway, I've recently built up a drumkit from second hand stuff and I should be happy with it...as with all second hand gear though theres always something that needs a bit of fixing up though and I'm not familar enough to know the what and why...I just know what I like.

 

My problem lies in the heads I think. My kit is a Pearl Export 2002 with Remo pinstripes batter side and Ambassadors resonant side on the toms, Ambassador coated on the snare with original Pearl skin on resonant side and original heads on the bass drum, I havn't played it much though because it feels different enough for there to be something *wrong* if you understand.

 

The kits I'm using as a reference are the Premier Artist Birch kits at my local practice studio. They use aquarian heads, hi-energy on the snare batter, performance2 on the toms I think. Thing is when I play those kits and try and play a fill for example, I get a lovely bounce off the skins, they're tight and responsive and sound good. Getting bounce off the skins just feels great. The snare I especially like, its such a tight focused snappy sound feels like you could roll off on it for days...

The bass feels good too, when the batters in contact with the skin it feels solid...their bass drums aren't ported btw if that makes a difference.

 

My kits not like that. For a start, the snare...sounds really really ...snarey... excuse my terminology. Its like no matter how hard or soft I hit the snares are buzzing away. The skin feels a lot looser than the other ones. Is this a tuning thing? I'm not sure how tight I should tune a snare drum cos I have no experience with these things...that particular section in the 'drum tuning bible' was a little vauge..."tune the skin up a few tones" I think it said...whats a tone???

While the toms sound great (to my inexperienced ears mind) when I hit them once to test, I cant play them nearly as fast as I can the ones in the practice studio, a lot of the energy seems to get absorbed by the skins rather than bouncing the stick off them...they also seem looser than the toms in the practice space.

The bass drum...well its the stock pearl drum pedal so I realise theres going to be differences there but once again doesn't seem to feel as nice.

 

Also...I'm trying to drum on an office chair right now...for some reason...I just CANT get a good position to play, either I get a good feel for the bass drum and I'm a mile away from the mounted toms (and they're as close to me as I can get them!) or I cant control the pedal...I never have this problem in the practice space...does a drum stool really make that much difference? I dont think I'm high enough up on the office chair...

 

Anyway, it seems like I think I know whats wrong but I hope one of you guys can read this and give me some advice...tips...anything that would help would be greatly appreciated!! I've avoided buying cheap crap (even managed to score myself a sabian AA on ebay! hats and ride are pro sonix) so far, so I think thats a good start but, thats all it is, a start. And I'm getting myself annoyed that I cant play my own kit like I can the others. Please help!

 

Steve.

[the DW]

It sounds like the kit in the rehearsal space is using single ply, medium weight batters on the toms, whereas you're using double ply Pinstripes. If the toms in the rehearsal space are tuned higher than yours (and it sounds like this could be the case) the combination would contribute greatly to the difference in "feel" between the two sets.

 

When you're ready to change the heads, try using the same brand and type being used at the rehearsal space, and try to tune your drums to the same pitch as the other drums. This will at least start you in the right direction. From there, experiment with different tunings to see what effect it has on stick rebound. Diameter will also play a role. If the rehearsal space kit has (for example) 10", 12" and 14" toms and your kit has 12", 13" and 16" toms, there will be a noticable difference in stick rebound. These are some things to think about when you're ready to experiment.

 

With regards to the seat, it really shouldn't matter. Does the kit in the rehearsal space have the toms mounted on the bass drum or are the toms suspended from the cymbal stands (or on a rack)? I have a little trouble playing on kits that have the toms mounted on the bass drum, as I like my bass drum to be a little farther away, but doing this causes the toms to be farther away than I like. Maybe this is what's going on?