Pick The Right Head For your Sound
I have always had trouble picking heads for different situations. Granted it does come down to preference, and to know what you like for certain things, you simply have to experiment. There are some heads though, that I always use as my default, and that I know will sound good in pretty much any situation. I am a Remo fan, but used Evans heads for a long time as well, and have some suggestions for both. I believe that the most versatile head that Remo makes is the coated ambassador. These heads always sound great, tune up well, and consistently allow me to achieve a great balance between attack, and warmth/tone. I use coated ambassadors for an alternative/indie band that I play with, and recently did a reggae/rock session with them the other day. They performed great in both situations. I am also a fan of the clear ambassadors, and the clear emperors. A clear head will give you more sustain, and tends to be brighter, as the lack of coating allows the head to vibrate more.
Remo Coated Ambassador
many people underestimate the importance of the resonant head, but it serves a great purpose than some might think. The resonant head is where most of your tone comes from. I prefer to use a clear head on the bottom, and pick which one depending on the situation. Most head companies make resonant heads specifically. I usually use clear ambassadors as my resonant heads, but a clear emperor will work great as well. I like a thin resonant head as it gives me more sustain to play with. Evans also makes a great resonant head called the Evans Resonant.
Clear Ambassador/Clear Emperor
As far as bass drum heads go, I used to use the Evans Emad head which I still consider a great head. It comes with it’s own dampening ring that fits in a plastic casing on the outside of the head and provides a good amount of dampening when paired with an inside dampening. the only bad thing I noticed about this head is it becomes a bit boingy when tuned high. It is definitely meant to deliver a low, rock punch and tone. The other head I have been using quite a bit recently is the Remo smooth white bass drum head. It also delivers a great deep, punchy attack while maintaining a fair amount of tone.
Remo Smooth White/Evans Emad
The bottom line when picking out a head is experimentation. Find a head that best describes you as a player, and helps define your sound. Its all based on preference, so have fun!
