Someone in the Middle Eastern drumming tribe said that they loved using
Remo Ebony Pin Stripe Heads on their darbukkas. Someone else wrote in
and said that he remembered those heads as sounding boxy and cardboardy.
I replied with this post and thought it might be a cool way to start a discussion
about favorite head combinations and favorite tuning tricks:
Here 'tis"
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Since REMO moved their manufacturing to Mexico, their quality control has been
absolutely terrible. in my experience.
Honestly, If I can't pick an Ebony or normal PinStripe head out of about 5 or 10 of them, I
won't even bother trying to buy them.
From my experience, 8 out 10 Pinstripes are very dead and cardboard sounding right out of the box and most unkowledgeable
drummers just buy them and put them on their drums, which lends creedence to the people who criticize them as being
'boxy' and 'cardboardy' sounding.
Here's how you pick a Pinstripe out:
Holding the untentioned head by the rim , strike it a glancing blow with the side of your thumb.
If you can hear a distinct ringing pitch from the drum, untentioned, BUY IT!!!!!!!
If it sounds dead and pitchless, don't even dream about it. It will never sound good tensioned up
(unless you like a duller, pitchless sound which sometimes can be appropriate)
It will be a rich, warm sound with a distinct melodically discernable pitch if you tune it well (equal tensioning at ever lug
within the natural range of the drum).
Lately, however, on trapset, I am using Aquarian Single Ply Coated heads, top and bottom. They used to be called Satin Finish but
I don't think they are anymore. The brush head is a little smoother than an Ambassador so they sound better for brush playing right out of the box.
I tune them wide open with no muffling, pitched to unisons top and bottom so they have a very distinct and discernable pitch.
I tend to tune to the song I'm recording and usually down in intervals of a fourth in the key of E or A for live
(statistically, they'll sound better in more songs this way but occasionally I'll play a song and hear that the
toms are dissonant, melodically, in which case I just stay off them in the tune.
They really tune up nicely; have a more overtone filled sound but really sound good at low tunings (I use small sized toms
tuned down by and large and they sound huge through a P.A. or miced in a recording studio).
They also do not last as long as Remo Ambassadors (their nearest equivalent), but they have a much nicer brush head
and their consistency is vastly better than Remo, imho.
In a pinch, I'll also use an Ambassador or an Evans single ply (also an excellent drum head).
I still love Pinstripes, however, and use them for more pop things (they're terrible for jazz) and have them on
both of the kits that my students warm up on in my studio.
I wish to hell, just for the sake of image, that someone made a coated single ply black drum head (I know about the
Jack DeJohnette heads but they are too dry sounding and possibly even not made any more).
I'm so into brushes these days that I won't consider using a non coated head.
What do you folks use, head wise? tuning tricks? head picking tricks?
Remo Ebony Pin Stripe Heads on their darbukkas. Someone else wrote in
and said that he remembered those heads as sounding boxy and cardboardy.
I replied with this post and thought it might be a cool way to start a discussion
about favorite head combinations and favorite tuning tricks:
Here 'tis"
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Since REMO moved their manufacturing to Mexico, their quality control has been
absolutely terrible. in my experience.
Honestly, If I can't pick an Ebony or normal PinStripe head out of about 5 or 10 of them, I
won't even bother trying to buy them.
From my experience, 8 out 10 Pinstripes are very dead and cardboard sounding right out of the box and most unkowledgeable
drummers just buy them and put them on their drums, which lends creedence to the people who criticize them as being
'boxy' and 'cardboardy' sounding.
Here's how you pick a Pinstripe out:
Holding the untentioned head by the rim , strike it a glancing blow with the side of your thumb.
If you can hear a distinct ringing pitch from the drum, untentioned, BUY IT!!!!!!!
If it sounds dead and pitchless, don't even dream about it. It will never sound good tensioned up
(unless you like a duller, pitchless sound which sometimes can be appropriate)
It will be a rich, warm sound with a distinct melodically discernable pitch if you tune it well (equal tensioning at ever lug
within the natural range of the drum).
Lately, however, on trapset, I am using Aquarian Single Ply Coated heads, top and bottom. They used to be called Satin Finish but
I don't think they are anymore. The brush head is a little smoother than an Ambassador so they sound better for brush playing right out of the box.
I tune them wide open with no muffling, pitched to unisons top and bottom so they have a very distinct and discernable pitch.
I tend to tune to the song I'm recording and usually down in intervals of a fourth in the key of E or A for live
(statistically, they'll sound better in more songs this way but occasionally I'll play a song and hear that the
toms are dissonant, melodically, in which case I just stay off them in the tune.
They really tune up nicely; have a more overtone filled sound but really sound good at low tunings (I use small sized toms
tuned down by and large and they sound huge through a P.A. or miced in a recording studio).
They also do not last as long as Remo Ambassadors (their nearest equivalent), but they have a much nicer brush head
and their consistency is vastly better than Remo, imho.
In a pinch, I'll also use an Ambassador or an Evans single ply (also an excellent drum head).
I still love Pinstripes, however, and use them for more pop things (they're terrible for jazz) and have them on
both of the kits that my students warm up on in my studio.
I wish to hell, just for the sake of image, that someone made a coated single ply black drum head (I know about the
Jack DeJohnette heads but they are too dry sounding and possibly even not made any more).
I'm so into brushes these days that I won't consider using a non coated head.
What do you folks use, head wise? tuning tricks? head picking tricks?
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