what the heck kind of head is this?

my yamaha stage custom kit came with some seriously beat-to-hell-and-back heads on both of the toms. however, they actually sound pretty good. I'm looking to replace them, and would like to be able to use my opinion on these as a starting point for making a decision about the heads to put on there... but what the heck ARE these?

it's a fairly thick 1-ply (10 mil?) with muffling - the muffling is a really thick, soft foam ring with an adhesive backing. i like the fact that they have a good amount of resonance and depth without having the "boingy" overtones, although the attack is a bit mellow for me. i like a bit more of the "thwack" i associate with 2-ply heads, but a buddy gave me an ebony pinstripe to put on my 16" tom and i think it sucks, it's all thwack and no resonance... the old head that came on it sounded way better.

i'm not in a band right now, but judging by the bands i played with as a bassist, i will be playing heavy rock (NOT metal) and will usually be without mics. my toms are 14" and 16", so i don't have to tune "loose" in order to find a pitch i like, i'm able to tune to a nice resonant note for the shells (which is why i bought a kit with a big rack tom in the first place).

if i pick up something like an aquarian response 2 or another unmuffled 2-ply head, will i be disappointed with the amount of overtones? am i better off with a single ply muffled head like a PS3? would something like these heads have more overtones or a punchier attack when they haven't been pounded into oblivion already?

i seek the advice of the drum forum!

PS - no i'm not the one who put those stick marks there. that's right, the previous owner had so little stick control that he wore the logo right off a 14" tom head! it's a miracle the bearing edges are okay. i've been playing drums for about 5 days and i have better aim than that.

If you are only going to ever play your drums for yourself, and only yourself, never in a band, never in a performance... Then yes. Those heads would be fine.

BUT... If this is not the case,

STAND IN FRONT OF A MIRROR AND REPEAT AFTER ME.

OVERTONES ARE NOT THE BOOGEY MAN.

Once you have repeated this many many times, and your mouth is comfortable with the words... They don't trip over your lips anymore... We can go on.

Overtones is really just a lousy term for high frequencies. The high frequencies your drums emit when you strike them. By muffling them with such torturous devices like the heads pictured above, then what you are really doing is robbing your drums of tone and the ability to carry their basic note beyond the distance of the stage. Because by muffling the high frequencies out the them, much past the stage the drums begin to sound like cardboard boxes. Oh, they might sound like Phil Collins up their on the stage Buckaroo, but they'll sound like fake doggie doo in the crowd. So leave them mufflers to your 1979 Chevette, and Put the Aquarian Response 2's on them. The fans will thank you for it.

hahaha, i didn't actually do the mirror thing, but point taken. i'm trying to not do the typical "new drummer" thing and buy an ultra-muffled 2 ply head with a ham sandwich duct taped to the top. i'm definitely not learning drums so i can bonk on them in the living room.

i guess really what i was trying to ask is, am i better off with a slightly muffled 1 ply (like a remo powerstroke 3 or aquarian studio X) or a completely unmuffled 2 ply (like a remo emperor or aquarian response 2)?

you gonna eat that ham sandwich?

nah, i'm a vegetarian. plus, wonderbread is cheaper than moongel.

go back to that mirror....and repeat after me.

meat is not the boogey man.

nah, meat definitely IS the boogeyman. but this still doesn't answer my question as to thinly muffled 1-ply vs unmuffled 2-ply. Powerstroke 3 or Response 2 for my 14"x12" and 16"x14" mounted toms?

Get the response II's. Beautiful heads.

I'll be back later.....i'm gonna drive to Mcdonalds and get a Big Mac.

Depends on which kind of "meat" we're talkin about. I've seen Ron Jeremy in porn movies.

ok that's 2 for the response 2s... the not-GC music store down the street from me actually keeps these in stock, which is awesome.

order a double, but don't eat the second beef patty - they make great slam pads for your kick drum

The Big Mac IS a double.

Have you noticed a decrease in the size of your testicles, since switching to veggies?

Visions of grease flowing down the head and onto you nice new drum carpet...

I gotta get that vision out of my head!

LOL

the kind that comes from a once alive animal, I.E. beef, turkey, ham, lenguiza, kielbasa, etc.

WTF is lenguiza? Sounds like a new car from Hyundai?

Lingui

yeah, the Hyundai Lenguiza, that's the one with all wheel drive. apparently it's also edible.

The hybrid is made out of carrots.

Originally posted by RockBass

Indeed!

Originally posted by aqualung211 The hybrid is made out of carrots.

hahaha, this is what happens when i ask for help identifying and replacing the freaking heads on my drum kit!

seriously though, i'm going to give those response 2s a shot. and i've been vegetarian for 10 years so i'm used to this other crap!

Don't try anything but the response II's. Some people here will suggest a lame Remo head, don't listen.

i've been lurking for a while and searching most of the discussions, so i'd already pretty much settled on the Aquarians if i go with a 2-ply. trust me, someone just needs to read this board for a week or two to figure out that you like Sonor and Aquarian!

RESULTS OF THIS THREAD:

Resonance = Yes

Meat = No

Resonance=yes

meat=definitely!

I know you won't listen, but the remo PTS heads are pretty lame. try some of those.

What is the difference between say a Remo Emperor and an Aquarian Response II? Seem to have similar specs to me...