Tribe.net. Local Connections James http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#10236dbf-9090-4317-be62-f7a11291cad7 2009-01-16T21:21:18Z 2009-01-16T21:21:18Z

Your explanation of "ass-backwards" is dead-on. Thanks for that information Rick. I only used the ebony pinstripes because I thought they looked good on my black drum kit. But, they really did sound like shite. The combination of black Emperors on top/Ambassadors on the bottom seemed satisfactory at the time. Nowadays, I think companies like Evans or Aquarian have it right. Remo have gone downhill. That's too bad. They've been around for a long time.

James 2009-01-16T21:21:18Z Rick http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#022acd32-001d-4971-96d6-49b512f79c71 2008-12-23T11:12:03Z 2008-12-23T11:12:03Z

You know it's funny. The Remo Pinstripe was designed ass backwards in terms of the propagation of waves on a drum head. The center of the head provides the strongest fundamental pitch while the sides have more and more high overtones the closer you get to the bearing edge (and the sharper the bearing edge the more the volume of the 'ringiest' of the overtones. So, theoretically, you should (as Evans and others do) put a ring on the outside of the head. the Pinstripe goes against that logic and puts the double layering on the interior of the 'pinstripe' leaving the outer circle just a single ply without dampening. Many people think , that because they can see rainbow interference patterns in the center of the drum, that these are so called 'hydraulic' heads like the original Evans Hydraulics from the late 70's but this is not true. Having cut open several of these drum heads (to make those aforementioned mylar donuts that help control unwanted 'ring' in the drum, I discovered that there is just some kind of lubricant that keeps the heads from binding rather than the oil filling that made the Evan's Hydraulic such a distinctly dull sound in the 70's (the most prominent Evans Hydraulic player was Steve Gadd----think the dull tom sounds of 'Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon) But, for some reason, if you get a really resonant REMO pinstripe it makes a sound that no other drum head on the market makes. It's kind of an archaic sound as so many people are using .7 and 1.0 mil single ply heads. I run Aquarian Satin Finish coated single ply head, top and bottom on my studio recording kit (hand assembled 5 ply unfinished all Maple shells with Leedy hardware from the 50's and 60's----running 10", 10', 10" and a 14"X14" suspended floor tom and an 18"X18" kick drum , raised off the ground for resonance and to accomodate the kick drum beater hitting dead center on the drum). I find that they have a really sweet sound, are easily tuneable but they also last considerably less time than either Evans or Remo of the approximate style. Still , on my teaching drumkits, I'm still running Remo pinstripes as tops and Remo ambassadors as bottoms. One '62 Ludwig kit (technically my wife's drum kit that I've appropriated for teaching and home recording) has had the same pinstripes on the kit for several years now..............they have just been thrashed by students, but they sound remarkably well (thanks to Johnny Craviotto custom beviled edges and RIMS mounting systems). It's time to replace those and I think I'll go out and see if I can find any good Mexican manufactured Black Pinstripes to go on the tops. REMO pinstripes................most sound like dogmeat but the good ones I love dearly.

Rick 2008-12-23T11:12:03Z michael http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#67e69ed2-14b2-4d87-aa34-32e12330ac1b 2008-12-10T21:15:47Z 2008-12-10T21:15:47Z

Nice to see some good advice about head selection. I think it's funny that almost all drummers will try out the sticks and roll them for straightness but assume that the head is ok and don't even check inside the box. Ludwig, Aquarian, Evans, Remo, and Attack all make good products with varying degrees of slop in their quality control and I listed them in order from most consistent to least in my experience. That said, I play Evans; EC2 or G2 on top with G1s on the bottom and Emad on the kick. Id like to try the new thicker mil single ply Remo's and some of their calfskin-like products (Fibreskin & Renaissance) are cool too. The Evans ECs are very easy to tune because the aluminum strips help distribute the tension evenly between lugs and reduce 'flap' at lower tunings. This was the thinking behind pinstripes too but I think the ECs work better.

michael 2008-12-10T21:15:47Z SynerGy http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#6094018e-7ff4-4820-a32f-98927631f22c 2008-12-10T18:25:39Z 2008-12-10T18:25:39Z

evans is the better head overall

SynerGy 2008-12-10T18:25:39Z Laith http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#4d112c17-35c6-4c7e-868c-3e390231ba03 2008-12-10T18:18:01Z 2008-12-10T18:18:01Z

I have some pinstripes. I haven't bought enough drum heads to say which is better or worse. I'm at the stage now where I need a replacement, I bought pinstripes again but I haven't changed the heads. I agree with the statement about Evans though. Quality every time.

Laith 2008-12-10T18:18:01Z Rick http://ilikedrums.tribe.net/thread/28da1b28-1a3d-431f-bd0a-4c30290844d7#92dd288b-faa6-4dda-83b6-f5e6cda498a5 2007-07-14T09:28:16Z 2007-07-14T09:28:16Z

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?

Rick 2007-07-14T09:28:16Z