Thank you for your honest, unpretentious style, Cody. I get so sick and tired of some individuals with they're over the top presentation. If you have something to say, just say it, without all the stupid attention - getting behavior. Thanks again for all the great information.
This guy is just cool.. Only guy I watch after a year of watching drumming you tubers.. He’s like the Paul Davids of drums.. He sticks to the subject.. doesn’t bash other styles👍🏼👍🏼
Been watching a lot of videos on YT about drums, heads, tuning, etc. This has been the channel that provides the kind of information that I want to consume. Thank you.
I really appreciate everything you guys are doing for the drum community. There’s nobody out there doing what ya’ll are with this amount quality and respect for drums. Thanks!
I like to experiment with heads. That does create collateral damage though. Like having a garage full of barely used heads and a perpetually light checking account.
I got a pair of coated reso heads for my kit awhile back, and honestly I love how it not only warms up the tone of the drum, but it also acts as a low-end boost. With clear 2-ply heads on top I get a crisp, snappy attack with a warm and beefy tone. Absolute game changer.
This is crazy! I literally just tried this concept a few days before you released this video for myself, and I was astounded by the results. After playing drums for 7 years, I'm finally getting that "subtle control" out of the toms I've been trying so hard to achieve. Then of course, seeing this video soon after just gave me a big slice of validation, so no complaints there. You guys are doing awesome drum work, I hope more people, drummers and producers especially, find this channel!!!
Hello boys. I love your videos. It is incredible not only the quality and professionalism with which you teach, but you can see the passion for the instrument. These days I was looking for ways to muffing the toms and both this video and the cotton balls are exactly what I was looking for. On the video, the difference between drumheads is incredible. While one is more current, the other has a beautiful vintage sound. Thank you very much for your work. Greetings from Argentina.
Love your channel! As a non-drummer producer, I find this channel so helpful for understanding drums and communicating well with drummers. Thank you so much!
You guys are the only channel whose made videos about reso heads. I feel resonant heads can make or break the sound of a kit. I use single ply live or when not mic’d properly but studio and mic’d up I use 2 ply ebony and I prefer the ebony over the clear or white coated. It effects the sound to me. Thanks for the attention reso heads deserve!
Cody I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your channel and I love your attention to detail and just how you talk in general on the subject of drums. It is so refreshing to watch you! Keep up the great work man!
I think it's funny how companies have spent two or three decades figuring it out how to give us more sustain in drums---suspension mounts, thin shells, no re-rings, fancy floor tom legs, better bearing edges, better collar shapes, electronic processing, blah, blah, blah--and now that we have it all, we are trying to figure out how to get rid of it again! 🙄😜
It's an interesting cycle as the industry tries to figure out what to iterate upon for new models when there are so many untouched elements that could benefit from greater attention. -Ben
Perhaps (probably), I'm missing something, but all that sustain on tom drums just makes,me want to mute them with my hand, like with timpani so they don't clash with the next chord. Each their own obviously, i just can't really,dig that sound for whatever reason
Having more than necessary is better. First, if the drum can provide you with more sustain than you need, you can quite easily control that, but there's no way of getting more sustain than drum is able to provide. Also, the desired amount of sustain will vary from player to player, so what seems excessive to you, may not be enough for the next guy.
John Sayre, In this video, they present the idea of using a coated reso head as but one of many possible tricks for focussing your sound a bit more (alters brightness and feel too). In my comment, I was just pointing out that drum and hardware manufacturing has advanced to the point where we can, as you are experiencing yourself, get so much sustain that it can be excessive. I just happen to be slightly amused by the irony of having so much sustain available to us that we are often wrestling with how to contain it in a way that is pleasing to us. That's where head-selection, tuning, and muffling tricks come into play. You have stumbled upon the right channel for that!
I used to always use coated rezo heads. I started playing when I was 12, and didn't know any better. I bought a new set a few years ago, and it came with clear heads on both sides. I loved the tone I get from them now.
I bought a G1 coated 13 inch when I meant to buy a G2 once and got the idea to do this then. I also ended replacing my floor tom reso's with coated G2's and haven't looked back. Absolutely love the tone I get!
I’ve done this for a long time as well! It all comes down to preference. Coated resos make the drum sound a little tubby which is perfect for that vintage sound. Very 60s and 70s to my ears. Maybe not the best choice to cut through the mix, but always fun to have in your back pocket. I’m glad you mentioned the feeling being different as well! I actually prefer the feel of clear heads on the bottom, but sometimes the sound just can’t be beat. Great vid as always, guys
I use clear pinstripe for both the reso and batter sides. It gives me a very focused sound, short sustain and a lot of attack. Also I can get lower pitches compared to single ply heads. Using double ply head as reso increases the volume too, just what I need as a metal drummer 🤘🏼
OMG OMG....thank u so much.. I have a set of Gretsch drums i love love love.....toms 10, 12 and 16 are a joy to tune....but the 14" floor tom absolutely refused to be tuned. Tried every 14" batter head on the market and: NO. DrumDial: NO. Tunebot: NO. Original reso head: NO. Every clear 1 ply reso head: NO. Was ready to put them up for sale. And then i saw this. For whatever reason, a 1ply coated Evans head on the bottom fixed everything. Would never have thought of this. Keep those ideas coming and thanks again.....
Just finished fixing up a '65 Club Date and put calftones on the batters with coated g1 on the to tom reso and (thanks to the store not having any g1s in the right size) a uv1 on the floor tom reso. Vintage sound for days.
I found that whatever the coated were doing to the resonance added to the attack on the batter side. I snugged everything up a tad & got a sound that I hadn't heard my old Gretsch produce before. Loved the new sound & it inspired me to play a little differently. Great video, man!
Your videos/tutorials are so helpful. Cody, you have great way of explaining things and your open mindedness about drum styles and tuning sounds is refreshing. I wish that I could tune drums like you can. It's tricky. I've watched six or eight of your videos and learned something every time . Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.I'm subscribing now.
It's pretty nuts that you guys uploaded this video right after I switched my clear Ambassador reso heads to coated Ambassador reso heads this past weekend. I ended up having to change all the heads on my kit before church & I've been watching a lot of Bonham & Benny Greb videos & how they tune their kits, only to find out that they use(d) coated reso heads. I ended up trying it out & I noticed how much more warmth & control I had just by making the switch. Drums are buckwild, my dudes.
Thanks for this. Reso heads have always been an enigma to me. Growing up a huge Phil Collins fan and never having formal training, I took the bottom heads off my first kit and never really learned the relationship between heads. Years later, when I purchased my first (and still) quality kit, I kinda just left the reso heads it came with as-is and just fiddled with the reso if I was having a real issue with the batter. I kept those heads through the years I was actively gigging and then the band broke up and the drums got practice mute heads placed on top so I never had to touch the heads. Little bit ago, I had the chance to play with some guys again and was working towards a wedding gig for one of their kids' reception so I finally got all new heads, top and bottom. Wish I found your channel sooner because I'm not super thrilled with my choices (Remo coated vintage emperors on top and Remo clear diplomats on bottom). Wish it wasn't so pricey to experiment when you have a 7-piece kit. That all said, I really get a lot out of your channel - so thank you again.
Best resohead i ever played have been Evans Black gold a very thin hea, i played at a poremier signia with Remo Emperor, when i changed the topo head to ambassador it also worked perfect, good controll and nice overtones
Back in the day drum kits had a smoothie on the bottom now it’s a clear drum head I keeped the originals on the bottom my Ludwig kit accent I’ve had for fourteen years now & still looks great 👍
How do I like this video twice? I've been playing coated reso heads on my toms for a while now, and I get some people genuinely shocked that anyone would consider such a thing.
Shared! And no, thank you guys for putting this stuff out. There's so much out there with people's opinions and paid reviews, but you guys just say here's a thing and this is what it sounds like, and leave us to make up our own mind about what we're trying to do.
I think it's a really big struggle for newer drummers especially, getting caught up in what's the best head or what's the best brand when they could be doing so much more and growing so much more by working with what they have and can afford.
Single ply coated batter & reso is my favorite combination. The coated resos give the toms a tiny bit more focus while still providing all the sustain and tone I could ever want.
In the 80s Drum companies put Clear reso heads on their drums simply because they are a bit cheaper to make without the coating. And so we got used to that sound and it became the norm. But ALL pre 70s drum kits had coated reso heads. My 60s Ludwigs have coated Ambassadors. They became the industry standard in Canada. Evans not so much. My 80s Gretch kit has the original coated reso heads. Jazz drummers tuned their drums quite high BUT use lite sticks w a soft touch. Also we use brushes.
I'm using coated on the bottom. As a go up on the sizes I add them a little thicker, especially on the 16''. For example, remo amb coated on the 12'', remo emperor coated on the 16'''. Great video guys!
Thank You not only for sound clips and sound comparison but also for Your comment. I just put coated reso on my Pearl Decade and it sounds really nice (sorry but I can't describe the sound - its bit different but still very nice)
I switched to coated a little over a year ago and haven't looked back, but after watching this, I want to try clear again... ya know, just to be sure. As always, great video, guys!
I have coated bottom heads on my Camco which is currently my main studio kit. I use coated Aquarian Modern Vintage 2 (2 ply) on the tops, and coated Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium (1 ply) on the bottoms. They sound so FANTASTIC!! I agree with your comment about the floor toms having a more meaty tone, especially when played harder. It's like there's an attack, and then there's a little extra "swell" of low end from the floor tom with the coated on the bottom. It's definitely a more vintage-y, vibey sound, which I absolutely love.
I use the combo of clear ec2s for my batter and reso 7s for the reso. I’ve used this combo for awhile now and have not had to use any muffling and get some awesome tones from my toms
It be awesome if you cover next: How your tom angle might affect your sound; attack, tone, note length etc... Also how the type of tip from your stick of choice might affect your sound. BUT FIRST. Where does my damned tunning key go when it touches da damned CARPET!?!?!?
I remember puting duckt tape in a plus sign shape on the bottom of my toms that went from one side of the hoop to the other. That was on a clear single ply head. I stoped using reso heads because I hated the basket ball sound I got from them. Now that I have seen this video I may try coated resos with my clear batter heads. Thanks for the info!
My first non rental kit was a used Pearl World Series. I believe I put the stock coated batters on the resort side when the batters were replaced with remo coated. I was just screwing around, but looking back I was able to get a sound I loved and this video has me wanting to try it out again.
I couldn’t help but chuckle with the slow-mo head change out. Looked more like a sexy commercial! On a serious note, I’m intrigued. I’ve never been opposed to using a costed on the bottom (I actually think my first kit came that way), just never used it. Love the ideas that differ from the standard norm.
Ha! Thanks, that was definitely done for fun and not commercial purposes. Glad to hear that the episode got you thinking about stepping outside the box! -Ben
I used Remo diplomat coated for years beneath on one of my kits, but I first saw Gavin Harrison using them and in the past jazzdrummers would use ambassador coated a lot...Thanks man!!!
Love it! Lots to think about here, dudes! It's an interesting observation you made about muti-tom kits running coated heads because I have always sort of thought coated are better for two-tom kits and clear for anything more than that. I guess thinking that clear heads make each tom's fundamental pitch more distinct. I did run coated Ambassadors top and bottom for a year or so after Benny Greb's first DVD came out and to me my toms just lost definition. I find I keep gravitating to the sound of Todd Sucherman, Steve Smith, Simon Philips, Billy Cobham (I think?), Virgil Donati, and other "big kit" players who all play clear Ambassadors top and bottom. So now, by contrast, I look forward to the your deep-dive into that. Thanks again guys!
I use reso 7s ever since I heard of them and I don't know how else to say this but they make toms sound woody (think Mark Guiliana) at higher tunings as tall have mentioned and it sounds absolutely amazing. As for low tunings they can soften up the over tones (besides at quiet volumes) which I find very appealing since I don't use any muffling on any of my drums
Yeah man I noticed right away the wavey or shimmery sustain especially on the floor tom tightened up! My experience with reso heads goes back to the mid 60's cause I'm old! I started out with coated mylar heads and some calf skin but as a kid of 7, Remo Weather kings were cheap and easy to use and my ear wasn't quite developed enough to discern calf from mylar. But if you look at some pictures of drum kits on album covers or convert footage or stills, you'll see how batter heads were used on both sides of the drum and many drummers played both sides of the rack toms! It wasn't as critical then as it is now that the batter is the batter and reso side is reso side. One side could be and was hit just as easily as the other! No doubt things changed as recording technologies advanced and the quest for he most realistic renditions of recorded live music was the end game. So now we have a plethora of options to achieve our musical goals and at a considerable cost! Music stopped being affordable sometime ago but the past 20 years or so it has gone on a greedy feeding frenzy! How I long for the "old days"! But I digress..... I like a pronounced attack, but not an overpowering click sound of the stick, with a rich, full,even tone and a short sustain. I use wooden tipped sticks, Evens EC 2 clear heads on toms (batter and reso) and Genra dry coated on all snares, a clear EMAD batter and coated reso with a 5" sound hole and my own version of an EQ pad for all bass drums. For extra volume and clarity I have microphones and a mixer and amps if need be. I have several kits and have found this combination to suite all "my" musical needs so far. After a while of playing, I think one finds their wheelhouse and builds their arsenal accordingly. Not everyone plays everything and therefore doesn't really need a Mike Mangini or Neal Peart drum kit, " just in case!" but boy the drum manufacturers love it when we think we do! I love this channel! You guys get to try things I couldn't but thought to and do alot of what I've experimented with and it makes feel good to see others search for themselves. Of course you get to share with the world on the web. Our phones had a wire and a rotary dial. That's it! 😉 Keep up the great work!
Very good points, especially the monetary aspect of the "must have" or "you have to spend X amount or it's not worth doing" mentality. A good solid, well tuned drum played well will sound better than a poorly tuned top of range drum hit badly/sloppily.
I just put Remo coded emperors on my drum kit and have clear rasos on the bottoms period by watching this video and listening I'm thinking about putting coated ambassadors on the bottom to see if I get a more warmer sound. Thanks for the vid
I love how you guys, when comparing the sounds side by side, rather than doing by reso head comparison (ie. rack and floor tom with clear and then batter head) you went by the reso head (doing the rack tom clear and coated reso, then floor tom clear and coated reso). In a lot of your more recent videos, you compare by the whole kit, and it’s not as easy to hear the side by side of each individual part of the drum pertaining to the subject matter of the video
Great video as always on an often overlooked subject. I have been using coated ambassadors over coated emperors for a few years on my old 70s Luddy kits and love the very slight change to the overtone control and tone. I've been tuning a lot higher than I would usually (due to your guidance ina previous video) and feel coated resos work great at super low as well as high tunings.
My favorite resonant side head for a snare drum is Remo 'hazy' Ambassador..just seems to round out the tone and take a bit of excessive 'ring' out of a snare drum but still have good snare response.
I've been using coated resos for years (math rock/progressive/alternative/funk) originally because I saw a promo shot of Vinnie Col with it and initially did it for aesthetic - but now, I prefer the rounded, punchy tones. (Remo coated vintage emps batter / remo coated amb reso). Great channel btw!
Rather inconclusive, but interesting post. It's really nice to see the differences presented in the context of the whole kit, which I don't think you used to do before.
Calf skin heads. Dad was a jazz drummer and did a fair amount of brush work playing small clubs in 3 piece groups. Typically, Bass, Piano and drums with a female singer. He always used calf skin heads. When they would get so thin they might wear through, he could make them last a little longer with some nail polish.
Nice.... I use 2 floor Tom's, 16in each... One has a clear reso and the other has a coated. It helps change the tone just enough so the tuning and notes are different! Really like the Evans Deep Vintage II line a lot,they sound incredible
I had coated G2 batter and Genera Resonants on my Tom’s for years while I was gigging, then I thought that they were just a little too bright so I tried Reso 7s to try and tone it down a little…bad mistake I went too far the other way! I swung back toward the middle and put some coated G1s that I had tried for batter heads, on the reso side, and once I got them tuned up, they seem to be sounding the best. Time will tell…
If, like me, you're stuck with far too much ringing overtone from your steel snare and you're dampening the hell out of it to compensate, just stick a coated reso on it and the problem will drastically reduce, requiring far less dampening if any! Can't say I've noticed any loss in attack from the change either. Great video, guys!
That's quite a thick head (assuming a 10mil) to use as a snare side! At this time, it doesn't seem like anyone makes a coated snare side head in a traditional thickness, though Remo does offer some textured heads (these don't have the same effect though, as there isn't any added mass from coating). Having experimented with a coated 10mil snare side (gotta know this stuff from first hand experience rather than just theorizing!) I can say that you end up having to tension the head quite high to accommodate certain snare beds. This tends to limit the overall tuning range of the drum quite a bit and creates a very dry/choked sort of sound. That being said, this can totally work for some people so it's all about experimentation! -Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum Now that I think about it it might work well with a Remo m5 orchestral snare batter since it's the same thickness as an emperor snare side.
@@DarthCiliatus Remo make some coated heads intended especially as snare side heads, as they call them. I have a black suede snare side on my Ludwig Black Magic, still sounds good and in the right studio it needed no dampening at all to sound balanced and open like I wanted. I should have clarified in my first comment, I didn't mean any old coated head haha. Just had a quick google and currently Remo offer what they say are Ambassador and Emperor snare side heads, the former being single-ply 3 mil, the latter single-ply 5 mil.
@@GuitarHeroIsShit The Remo Black Sued is not a coated head but rather a drumhead where the film has been roughed up through an abrasive process (similar to sanding a surface). The M5 orchestral batter head would be an interesting option to experiment with though.
I play coted top and bottom on my Bop kits, I really like the warm sound I get out of them. And for backbeat oriented music I play coated tops, and clear bottoms which give me a little more attack (punch) at the initial strike of the drum. It fits backbeat styles better. In both situations I don't use any muffling on the drums. Bottom line: there is no right or wrong way, there just options we have to chose from.
Thanks for uploading this- very informative. What are your thoughts on reso head tension and how it affects the overall tom sound? Have you tried the Evans reso 7 coated heads? -thanks
Under the advice of Jimmy Chamberlain (via a phone conversation which was catalyzed by a friend who knows him personally), I went with Evans Level 360 heads for my 6-pc Crush 5-ply maple kit which I use exclusively for studio work, and I've found they work great for everything I do here. For the record, my work tends to exclude "metal" and other "extreme styles". I've been super-happy with the results. They do almost every job VERY well, and I don't have to fight them with EQ very much, if ever. Whether it's jazz, country, rock, reggae - you name it - I get great tones.
I still only use resos on the snare due to the needed carpet on the basedrum cause this should be muffled on the floor tom cause this is for me the second base ... but I still don't use any resos on the hangingtoms only using well choosed dampning goodies on the top to reduce a bit of the postresos and to let them live the maximum way. The hangtoms for me are on the second place just behind the snare regarding musical song influence.
Recently bought some Evans UV1's intended for use as batters obviously (FYI I have no single brand loyalty whern it comes to heads - my default tom batter has tended to be Emperor Clear for their tone which is a bit less plasticy than G2's, but I use G1's as resos as I find the collar profile on Evans heads easier/quicker to seat). The jury's out on whether the UV1's are a keeper as batters... BUT then it spontaneously occured to me to try them as resos - have just tried on one drum and first impressions are both interesting and positive. I then Googled the use of coated resos and came acoss this video and I must say that Cody's observations are consistent with my initial experience - i.e. in addition to the predictable controlling of overtones there also seems to be less of a choking at increased dynamics and a change to the playing feel that initially seems positive. Definitely worth me now trying this across the whole kit. Anyway, keep up the great work Cody and crew - it's great that you keep us drummers on our toes in terms of encouraging experimentation with an open mind... i.e. not just going with accepted paractices/conventions or what the marketing guys want us to believe - but rather going with what our ears and hands/feet tell us.
I use coated G2 heads over coated Reso 7s on both of my kits, a Gretsch Catalina Maple and a Yamaha Stage Custom Birch, I am amazed with the level of control I get from them, especially on the Catalina which has a much warmer tone with more sustain.. I would like to experiment with what resonant heads I should use next time I change heads, I hope to try the Resonant Glass or the clear EC Resonant head if I put something clear on the top. I kind of miss being able to see the inside of my drums, so I'm going to look around at the rest of your resonant head and batter head combo videos and figure out the benefits of each head before I make my choice. Thank you for making such fantastic discussion videos!!
I like to use coated ambassadors top and bottom and tension the resonance side like a half step lower than the batter side, but often times the room will dictate what I'm going to have to do with tuning. Sometimes I'll have to use muffling too, depending on the room, but muffling is a last resort for me.
+soundslikeadrum *I've a poplarbuilt TAMA®/Hoshino® kit whose toms only want to sound at one frequency each.* For the floor toms, I went with EVANS®/D'Addario® EC2S frost coated top/clear bottom in an attempt to get serious sustain. This worked with the IPF14A floor (φ14"x12", 6-lug/3-leg); but the IMF16A floor (φ16"x14", 6-lug/3-leg) proved so hypersensitive to the stage itself (linoleum-on-concrete kills any shell resonance) that I may have to retrofit a Randall May RIMS reso hoop to isolate the shell from the stage.
Yeah, well, that did the trick, I'm getting rid of those ultrathin clear resos :) My drum teacher even goes so far as to mount coated batter heads as resos, but that's a bit too extreme for my taste.
I actually tried double ply heads on my floor toms. I have a Mapex Saturn V, and I put clear Emperors as resonant heads on both the 14" and 16" floor toms, in an attempt to reduce some of the sustain (I use coated Emperors on the batters). I'd say it definitely shortened the sustain, but it also killed a lot of sensitivity. I'm gonna try single ply coated heads next time, which should hopefully help reduce the overtones and bring back some of the sensitivity.
Michał Bugajski Idea. I started using the remo ambassador X coated heads as batters with coated ambassador on Reso. Awesomeness!!!!!! Using on all my Birch kits- 1980 Tama Superstars & Eamesdrums from Joe 😜👌🏻
Thank you for your honest, unpretentious style, Cody.
I get so sick and tired of some individuals with they're over the top presentation.
If you have something to say, just say it, without all the stupid attention - getting behavior.
Thanks again for all the great information.
Jon Neville that's how i feel also; to much attention seekers on YT, this guy is perfect!
This guy is just cool..
Only guy I watch after a year of watching drumming you tubers..
He’s like the Paul Davids of drums..
He sticks to the subject.. doesn’t bash other styles👍🏼👍🏼
Usually I wind up putting a drum on my credit card rather than a credit card on my drum. Wink.
Been watching a lot of videos on YT about drums, heads, tuning, etc. This has been the channel that provides the kind of information that I want to consume. Thank you.
3:44 clear reso
5:29 coated reso
Thank you!
I really appreciate everything you guys are doing for the drum community. There’s nobody out there doing what ya’ll are with this amount quality and respect for drums. Thanks!
I like to experiment with heads. That does create collateral damage though. Like having a garage full of barely used heads and a perpetually light checking account.
haha too real. i’m the same way.
I got a pair of coated reso heads for my kit awhile back, and honestly I love how it not only warms up the tone of the drum, but it also acts as a low-end boost. With clear 2-ply heads on top I get a crisp, snappy attack with a warm and beefy tone. Absolute game changer.
i could fall asleep listening to this guy, his voice is very relaxing and calm
Absolutely! hahaha
This is crazy! I literally just tried this concept a few days before you released this video for myself, and I was astounded by the results. After playing drums for 7 years, I'm finally getting that "subtle control" out of the toms I've been trying so hard to achieve. Then of course, seeing this video soon after just gave me a big slice of validation, so no complaints there. You guys are doing awesome drum work, I hope more people, drummers and producers especially, find this channel!!!
Thanks so much man! We really appreciate it :) -Cody
Hello boys. I love your videos. It is incredible not only the quality and professionalism with which you teach, but you can see the passion for the instrument.
These days I was looking for ways to muffing the toms and both this video and the cotton balls are exactly what I was looking for.
On the video, the difference between drumheads is incredible. While one is more current, the other has a beautiful vintage sound.
Thank you very much for your work. Greetings from Argentina.
Straight up some of the best drum-centric content on TH-cam - thanks for making this video! Stoked to give it a go.
I really enjoy the way you do you’re tutorials. I always learn something. I have been playing for over 50 years. Keep up the great work👍🏻😎
Love your channel! As a non-drummer producer, I find this channel so helpful for understanding drums and communicating well with drummers. Thank you so much!
Fantastic!! We’ll keep it coming :) -Cody
Three cheers for challenging preconceptions.
That's a big part of this series!
You guys are the only channel whose made videos about reso heads. I feel resonant heads can make or break the sound of a kit. I use single ply live or when not mic’d properly but studio and mic’d up I use 2 ply ebony and I prefer the ebony over the clear or white coated. It effects the sound to me. Thanks for the attention reso heads deserve!
Cody I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your channel and I love your attention to detail and just how you talk in general on the subject of drums. It is so refreshing to watch you! Keep up the great work man!
Thanks for the kind words! We appreciate it. -Ben
I think it's funny how companies have spent two or three decades figuring it out how to give us more sustain in drums---suspension mounts, thin shells, no re-rings, fancy floor tom legs, better bearing edges, better collar shapes, electronic processing, blah, blah, blah--and now that we have it all, we are trying to figure out how to get rid of it again! 🙄😜
It's an interesting cycle as the industry tries to figure out what to iterate upon for new models when there are so many untouched elements that could benefit from greater attention. -Ben
Perhaps (probably), I'm missing something, but all that sustain on tom drums just makes,me want to mute them with my hand, like with timpani so they don't clash with the next chord. Each their own obviously, i just can't really,dig that sound for whatever reason
Having more than necessary is better. First, if the drum can provide you with more sustain than you need, you can quite easily control that, but there's no way of getting more sustain than drum is able to provide. Also, the desired amount of sustain will vary from player to player, so what seems excessive to you, may not be enough for the next guy.
JJ DrumWorks, for the most part I agree with you. 🙂 I still find the irony in my original statement amusing though. 😁
John Sayre, In this video, they present the idea of using a coated reso head as but one of many possible tricks for focussing your sound a bit more (alters brightness and feel too). In my comment, I was just pointing out that drum and hardware manufacturing has advanced to the point where we can, as you are experiencing yourself, get so much sustain that it can be excessive. I just happen to be slightly amused by the irony of having so much sustain available to us that we are often wrestling with how to contain it in a way that is pleasing to us. That's where head-selection, tuning, and muffling tricks come into play. You have stumbled upon the right channel for that!
I used to always use coated rezo heads. I started playing when I was 12, and didn't know any better. I bought a new set a few years ago, and it came with clear heads on both sides. I loved the tone I get from them now.
I bought a G1 coated 13 inch when I meant to buy a G2 once and got the idea to do this then. I also ended replacing my floor tom reso's with coated G2's and haven't looked back. Absolutely love the tone I get!
I’ve done this for a long time as well! It all comes down to preference. Coated resos make the drum sound a little tubby which is perfect for that vintage sound. Very 60s and 70s to my ears. Maybe not the best choice to cut through the mix, but always fun to have in your back pocket. I’m glad you mentioned the feeling being different as well! I actually prefer the feel of clear heads on the bottom, but sometimes the sound just can’t be beat. Great vid as always, guys
I use clear pinstripe for both the reso and batter sides. It gives me a very focused sound, short sustain and a lot of attack. Also I can get lower pitches compared to single ply heads. Using double ply head as reso increases the volume too, just what I need as a metal drummer 🤘🏼
Same
That's a thing I saw in a 2001 SOAD concert with John Dolmayan's kit, and it sounded awesome !!!
OMG OMG....thank u so much.. I have a set of Gretsch drums i love love love.....toms 10, 12 and 16 are a joy to tune....but the 14" floor tom absolutely refused to be tuned. Tried every 14" batter head on the market and: NO.
DrumDial: NO. Tunebot: NO. Original reso head: NO. Every clear 1 ply reso head: NO. Was ready to put them up for sale. And then i saw this. For whatever reason, a 1ply coated Evans head on the bottom fixed everything. Would never have thought of this. Keep those ideas coming and thanks again.....
Just finished fixing up a '65 Club Date and put calftones on the batters with coated g1 on the to tom reso and (thanks to the store not having any g1s in the right size) a uv1 on the floor tom reso. Vintage sound for days.
I found that whatever the coated were doing to the resonance added to the attack on the batter side. I snugged everything up a tad & got a sound that I hadn't heard my old Gretsch produce before. Loved the new sound & it inspired me to play a little differently. Great video, man!
The difference is barely noticeable to all but the most discerning and experienced ears. But yeah, I use coated resos, and I love it. Great video!
I run coated resonant heads on all my toms. They sound warm and fluffy that way.
Yea I'm thinking about doing the same with my rogers kit
This is a really intelligent and well thought-out comparison. Really makes sense.
its decided! emporer clear batters and ambassador coated resos on my renowns! you guys are the best 👌
Did you get around to doing this? I was considering the same on my Ludwig Classic Maples... thanks
Your videos/tutorials are so helpful. Cody, you have great way of explaining things and your open mindedness about drum styles and tuning sounds is refreshing. I wish that I could tune drums like you can. It's tricky. I've watched six or eight of your videos and learned something every time . Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.I'm subscribing now.
It's pretty nuts that you guys uploaded this video right after I switched my clear Ambassador reso heads to coated Ambassador reso heads this past weekend. I ended up having to change all the heads on my kit before church & I've been watching a lot of Bonham & Benny Greb videos & how they tune their kits, only to find out that they use(d) coated reso heads. I ended up trying it out & I noticed how much more warmth & control I had just by making the switch. Drums are buckwild, my dudes.
Good episode. I use Aqauarian Modern Vintage on both reso and batter.... great for jazz and low to moderate volume gigs...
Medium or Thin?
Thank you. Finally a video that provides the info I have been seeking. Going to switch my clear G2 batters for coated G2.
Thanks for this. Reso heads have always been an enigma to me. Growing up a huge Phil Collins fan and never having formal training, I took the bottom heads off my first kit and never really learned the relationship between heads. Years later, when I purchased my first (and still) quality kit, I kinda just left the reso heads it came with as-is and just fiddled with the reso if I was having a real issue with the batter. I kept those heads through the years I was actively gigging and then the band broke up and the drums got practice mute heads placed on top so I never had to touch the heads.
Little bit ago, I had the chance to play with some guys again and was working towards a wedding gig for one of their kids' reception so I finally got all new heads, top and bottom. Wish I found your channel sooner because I'm not super thrilled with my choices (Remo coated vintage emperors on top and Remo clear diplomats on bottom). Wish it wasn't so pricey to experiment when you have a 7-piece kit. That all said, I really get a lot out of your channel - so thank you again.
Best resohead i ever played have been Evans Black gold a very thin hea, i played at a poremier signia with Remo Emperor, when i changed the topo head to ambassador it also worked perfect, good controll and nice overtones
Back in the day drum kits had a smoothie on the bottom now it’s a clear drum head I keeped the originals on the bottom my Ludwig kit accent I’ve had for fourteen years now & still looks great 👍
How do I like this video twice? I've been playing coated reso heads on my toms for a while now, and I get some people genuinely shocked that anyone would consider such a thing.
Thanks so much! The second like button is the "share" button 😉 Thanks for your support! -Ben
Shared!
And no, thank you guys for putting this stuff out. There's so much out there with people's opinions and paid reviews, but you guys just say here's a thing and this is what it sounds like, and leave us to make up our own mind about what we're trying to do.
I think it's a really big struggle for newer drummers especially,
getting caught up in what's the best head or what's the best brand when
they could be doing so much more and growing so much more by working
with what they have and can afford.
Single ply coated batter & reso is my favorite combination. The coated resos give the toms a tiny bit more focus while still providing all the sustain and tone I could ever want.
Nobody ever talks about this. Thank you
I'll have to watch the video again when I have time to focus. The idea reminds me, I've played G2 resos on my toms for years.
In the 80s Drum companies put Clear reso heads on their drums simply because they are a bit cheaper to make without the coating. And so we got used to that sound and it became the norm. But ALL pre 70s drum kits had coated reso heads. My 60s Ludwigs have coated Ambassadors. They became the industry standard in Canada. Evans not so much. My 80s Gretch kit has the original coated reso heads. Jazz drummers tuned their drums quite high BUT use lite sticks w a soft touch. Also we use brushes.
3:17 HiTom Clear Reso
5:01 HiTom Coated Reso
3:30 LoTom Clear Reso
5:14 LoTom Coated Reso
3:46 Crescendo Hitom Clear Reso
5:29 Crescendo HiTom Coated Reso
3:50 Crescendo LoTom Clear Reso
5:35 Crescendo Lo Tom Coated Reso
3:55 Performance Clear Reso Heads (Snare Wires Disengaged?)
5:40 Performance Coated Reso Heads (Snare Wires Engaged?)
I'm using coated on the bottom. As a go up on the sizes I add them a little thicker, especially on the 16''. For example, remo amb coated on the 12'', remo emperor coated on the 16'''. Great video guys!
Thank You not only for sound clips and sound comparison but also for Your comment.
I just put coated reso on my Pearl Decade and it sounds really nice (sorry but I can't describe the sound - its bit different but still very nice)
I switched to coated a little over a year ago and haven't looked back, but after watching this, I want to try clear again... ya know, just to be sure. As always, great video, guys!
I have coated bottom heads on my Camco which is currently my main studio kit. I use coated Aquarian Modern Vintage 2 (2 ply) on the tops, and coated Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium (1 ply) on the bottoms. They sound so FANTASTIC!! I agree with your comment about the floor toms having a more meaty tone, especially when played harder. It's like there's an attack, and then there's a little extra "swell" of low end from the floor tom with the coated on the bottom. It's definitely a more vintage-y, vibey sound, which I absolutely love.
I use the combo of clear ec2s for my batter and reso 7s for the reso. I’ve used this combo for awhile now and have not had to use any muffling and get some awesome tones from my toms
It be awesome if you cover next: How your tom angle might affect your sound; attack, tone, note length etc... Also how the type of tip from your stick of choice might affect your sound. BUT FIRST. Where does my damned tunning key go when it touches da damned CARPET!?!?!?
Carpets eat tuning keys!
HidefVince It usually ends up next to your wing nut from the cymbal stand.
#4thdimension
I remember puting duckt tape in a plus sign shape on the bottom of my toms that went from one side of the hoop to the other. That was on a clear single ply head. I stoped using reso heads because I hated the basket ball sound I got from them. Now that I have seen this video I may try coated resos with my clear batter heads. Thanks for the info!
This channel is soo usefull. Greeettings from Perú, guys.
My first non rental kit was a used Pearl World Series. I believe I put the stock coated batters on the resort side when the batters were replaced with remo coated. I was just screwing around, but looking back I was able to get a sound I loved and this video has me wanting to try it out again.
I couldn’t help but chuckle with the slow-mo head change out. Looked more like a sexy commercial!
On a serious note, I’m intrigued. I’ve never been opposed to using a costed on the bottom (I actually think my first kit came that way), just never used it. Love the ideas that differ from the standard norm.
Ha! Thanks, that was definitely done for fun and not commercial purposes. Glad to hear that the episode got you thinking about stepping outside the box! -Ben
Yes I did and I a still am!
Clear Emperor top and Vintage Coated Ambassadors bottom.
Great dynamic indeed!
I just can’t thank you enough for these videos! If I was rich I would give you money to keep making these.
Thanks for your support! Help spread the word by sharing the channel with your fellow drummers. -Ben
Wow, I've never thought of that would make a big of difference as I heard! Thanks for a great video
I used Remo diplomat coated for years beneath on one of my kits, but I first saw Gavin Harrison using them and in the past jazzdrummers would use ambassador coated a lot...Thanks man!!!
Love it! Lots to think about here, dudes! It's an interesting observation you made about muti-tom kits running coated heads because I have always sort of thought coated are better for two-tom kits and clear for anything more than that. I guess thinking that clear heads make each tom's fundamental pitch more distinct. I did run coated Ambassadors top and bottom for a year or so after Benny Greb's first DVD came out and to me my toms just lost definition. I find I keep gravitating to the sound of Todd Sucherman, Steve Smith, Simon Philips, Billy Cobham (I think?), Virgil Donati, and other "big kit" players who all play clear Ambassadors top and bottom. So now, by contrast, I look forward to the your deep-dive into that. Thanks again guys!
I use g2 coated on top and g2 clear on the reso side. Makes tuning very easy and I love the modern sound a lot.
Way cool! We'll get into 2-ply reso heads in the near future. -Ben
Right on!...I like the coated head on the resident side...Sounds tight
G 513 : As opposed to the visitor side? ;)
I can also remember using clear powerstroke 3's as a reso. It controlled the over tone like a coated head but still had the high end attack.
I seem to say this often, but.....another well done, and well presented video. keep up the good work.
Thanks so much for the kind words. We appreciate it! -Ben
I use reso 7s ever since I heard of them and I don't know how else to say this but they make toms sound woody (think Mark Guiliana) at higher tunings as tall have mentioned and it sounds absolutely amazing. As for low tunings they can soften up the over tones (besides at quiet volumes) which I find very appealing since I don't use any muffling on any of my drums
Yeah man I noticed right away the wavey or shimmery sustain especially on the floor tom tightened up! My experience with reso heads goes back to the mid 60's cause I'm old! I started out with coated mylar heads and some calf skin but as a kid of 7, Remo Weather kings were cheap and easy to use and my ear wasn't quite developed enough to discern calf from mylar.
But if you look at some pictures of drum kits on album covers or convert footage or stills, you'll see how batter heads were used on both sides of the drum and many drummers played both sides of the rack toms! It wasn't as critical then as it is now that the batter is the batter and reso side is reso side. One side could be and was hit just as easily as the other!
No doubt things changed as recording technologies advanced and the quest for he most realistic renditions of recorded live music was the end game. So now we have a plethora of options to achieve our musical goals and at a considerable cost! Music stopped being affordable sometime ago but the past 20 years or so it has gone on a greedy feeding frenzy!
How I long for the "old days"! But I digress.....
I like a pronounced attack, but not an overpowering click sound of the stick, with a rich, full,even tone and a short sustain. I use wooden tipped sticks, Evens EC 2 clear heads on toms (batter and reso) and Genra dry coated on all snares, a clear EMAD batter and coated reso with a 5" sound hole and my own version of an EQ pad for all bass drums. For extra volume and clarity I have microphones and a mixer and amps if need be. I have several kits and have found this combination to suite all "my" musical needs so far. After a while of playing, I think one finds their wheelhouse and builds their arsenal accordingly. Not everyone plays everything and therefore doesn't really need a Mike Mangini or Neal Peart drum kit, " just in case!" but boy the drum manufacturers love it when we think we do!
I love this channel! You guys get to try things I couldn't but thought to and do alot of what I've experimented with and it makes feel good to see others search for themselves. Of course you get to share with the world on the web. Our phones had a wire and a rotary dial. That's it! 😉
Keep up the great work!
Very good points, especially the monetary aspect of the "must have" or "you have to spend X amount or it's not worth doing" mentality. A good solid, well tuned drum played well will sound better than a poorly tuned top of range drum hit badly/sloppily.
Very informative video. Smooth playing examples. Appreciate your analysis of the Physics behind the sonics.
This is super informational. I love being able to hear the comparison. Thank you.
Thank you so much, I'm about to change my heads, this helped me a lot to decide on the resonants. I like your style too. Keep doing the good work.
I love that snare sound
I just put Remo coded emperors on my drum kit and have clear rasos on the bottoms period by watching this video and listening I'm thinking about putting coated ambassadors on the bottom to see if I get a more warmer sound. Thanks for the vid
Thank you for demonstrating these comparisons.
I love using this option with different top heads. I have the evans reso 7 heads i use occasionally. Great option
I love how you guys, when comparing the sounds side by side, rather than doing by reso head comparison (ie. rack and floor tom with clear and then batter head) you went by the reso head (doing the rack tom clear and coated reso, then floor tom clear and coated reso). In a lot of your more recent videos, you compare by the whole kit, and it’s not as easy to hear the side by side of each individual part of the drum pertaining to the subject matter of the video
Great video as always on an often overlooked subject. I have been using coated ambassadors over coated emperors for a few years on my old 70s Luddy kits and love the very slight change to the overtone control and tone. I've been tuning a lot higher than I would usually (due to your guidance ina previous video) and feel coated resos work great at super low as well as high tunings.
My favorite resonant side head for a snare drum is Remo 'hazy' Ambassador..just seems to round out the tone and take a bit of excessive 'ring' out of a snare drum but still have good snare response.
I've been using coated resos for years (math rock/progressive/alternative/funk) originally because I saw a promo shot of Vinnie Col with it and initially did it for aesthetic - but now, I prefer the rounded, punchy tones. (Remo coated vintage emps batter / remo coated amb reso). Great channel btw!
Rather inconclusive, but interesting post. It's really nice to see the differences presented in the context of the whole kit, which I don't think you used to do before.
Calf skin heads. Dad was a jazz drummer and did a fair amount of brush work playing small clubs in 3 piece groups.
Typically, Bass, Piano and drums with a female singer.
He always used calf skin heads. When they would get so thin they might wear through, he could make them last a little longer with some nail polish.
Fantastic video, thank you!
Nice.... I use 2 floor Tom's, 16in each... One has a clear reso and the other has a coated. It helps change the tone just enough so the tuning and notes are different! Really like the Evans Deep Vintage II line a lot,they sound incredible
I had coated G2 batter and Genera Resonants on my Tom’s for years while I was gigging, then I thought that they were just a little too bright so I tried Reso 7s to try and tone it down a little…bad mistake I went too far the other way! I swung back toward the middle and put some coated G1s that I had tried for batter heads, on the reso side, and once I got them tuned up, they seem to be sounding the best. Time will tell…
If, like me, you're stuck with far too much ringing overtone from your steel snare and you're dampening the hell out of it to compensate, just stick a coated reso on it and the problem will drastically reduce, requiring far less dampening if any! Can't say I've noticed any loss in attack from the change either.
Great video, guys!
On a snare? Where would you find a thin enough coated head?
That's quite a thick head (assuming a 10mil) to use as a snare side! At this time, it doesn't seem like anyone makes a coated snare side head in a traditional thickness, though Remo does offer some textured heads (these don't have the same effect though, as there isn't any added mass from coating). Having experimented with a coated 10mil snare side (gotta know this stuff from first hand experience rather than just theorizing!) I can say that you end up having to tension the head quite high to accommodate certain snare beds. This tends to limit the overall tuning range of the drum quite a bit and creates a very dry/choked sort of sound. That being said, this can totally work for some people so it's all about experimentation! -Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum Now that I think about it it might work well with a Remo m5 orchestral snare batter since it's the same thickness as an emperor snare side.
@@DarthCiliatus Remo make some coated heads intended especially as snare side heads, as they call them. I have a black suede snare side on my Ludwig Black Magic, still sounds good and in the right studio it needed no dampening at all to sound balanced and open like I wanted.
I should have clarified in my first comment, I didn't mean any old coated head haha. Just had a quick google and currently Remo offer what they say are Ambassador and Emperor snare side heads, the former being single-ply 3 mil, the latter single-ply 5 mil.
@@GuitarHeroIsShit The Remo Black Sued is not a coated head but rather a drumhead where the film has been roughed up through an abrasive process (similar to sanding a surface). The M5 orchestral batter head would be an interesting option to experiment with though.
I play coted top and bottom on my Bop kits, I really like the warm sound I get out of them. And for backbeat oriented music I play coated tops, and clear bottoms which give me a little more attack (punch) at the initial strike of the drum. It fits backbeat styles better. In both situations I don't use any muffling on the drums. Bottom line: there is no right or wrong way, there just options we have to chose from.
Amazing! I actually never thought of putting the coated on my reso sides! My next head purchase will include coated reso heads)
I love your content guys..I am always changing things up and you always have great ideas/fixes etc...keep up the great job
Thanks for uploading this- very informative. What are your thoughts on reso head tension and how it affects the overall tom sound?
Have you tried the Evans reso 7 coated heads?
-thanks
Very interesting and great content delivery...instant sub!
Under the advice of Jimmy Chamberlain (via a phone conversation which was catalyzed by a friend who knows him personally), I went with Evans Level 360 heads for my 6-pc Crush 5-ply maple kit which I use exclusively for studio work, and I've found they work great for everything I do here. For the record, my work tends to exclude "metal" and other "extreme styles". I've been super-happy with the results. They do almost every job VERY well, and I don't have to fight them with EQ very much, if ever. Whether it's jazz, country, rock, reggae - you name it - I get great tones.
Good stuff! Which models of heads?
Ok i will try this! I think in a very small recording cabin this will work great for controlling overtones as well. Awesome video as always guy's!!!
wow..that clear head made a big difference...much more resonant!!
I still only use resos
on the snare due to the needed carpet
on the basedrum cause this should be muffled
on the floor tom cause this is for me the second base
... but
I still don't use any resos on the hangingtoms
only using well choosed dampning goodies on the top
to reduce a bit of the postresos and
to let them live the maximum way.
The hangtoms for me are on the second place just behind the snare regarding musical song influence.
Might try coated resos on the rack toms and clear on the floor toms. Been a clear reso user my whole life (genera resonant FTW)
Love that Pearl Masters!
Me too! -Ben
Recently bought some Evans UV1's intended for use as batters obviously (FYI I have no single brand loyalty whern it comes to heads - my default tom batter has tended to be Emperor Clear for their tone which is a bit less plasticy than G2's, but I use G1's as resos as I find the collar profile on Evans heads easier/quicker to seat). The jury's out on whether the UV1's are a keeper as batters... BUT then it spontaneously occured to me to try them as resos - have just tried on one drum and first impressions are both interesting and positive. I then Googled the use of coated resos and came acoss this video and I must say that Cody's observations are consistent with my initial experience - i.e. in addition to the predictable controlling of overtones there also seems to be less of a choking at increased dynamics and a change to the playing feel that initially seems positive. Definitely worth me now trying this across the whole kit.
Anyway, keep up the great work Cody and crew - it's great that you keep us drummers on our toes in terms of encouraging experimentation with an open mind... i.e. not just going with accepted paractices/conventions or what the marketing guys want us to believe - but rather going with what our ears and hands/feet tell us.
Props. You guys make great vids.
Thanks so much! We really appreciate it. -Ben
Nice job!
I use coated G2 heads over coated Reso 7s on both of my kits, a Gretsch Catalina Maple and a Yamaha Stage Custom Birch, I am amazed with the level of control I get from them, especially on the Catalina which has a much warmer tone with more sustain.. I would like to experiment with what resonant heads I should use next time I change heads, I hope to try the Resonant Glass or the clear EC Resonant head if I put something clear on the top. I kind of miss being able to see the inside of my drums, so I'm going to look around at the rest of your resonant head and batter head combo videos and figure out the benefits of each head before I make my choice. Thank you for making such fantastic discussion videos!!
I like to use coated ambassadors top and bottom and tension the resonance side like a half step lower than the batter side, but often times the room will dictate what I'm going to have to do with tuning. Sometimes I'll have to use muffling too, depending on the room, but muffling is a last resort for me.
you're just a genius! Ideas! wow!
love from europe!
+soundslikeadrum *I've a poplarbuilt TAMA®/Hoshino® kit whose toms only want to sound at one frequency each.* For the floor toms, I went with EVANS®/D'Addario® EC2S frost coated top/clear bottom in an attempt to get serious sustain. This worked with the IPF14A floor (φ14"x12", 6-lug/3-leg); but the IMF16A floor (φ16"x14", 6-lug/3-leg) proved so hypersensitive to the stage itself (linoleum-on-concrete kills any shell resonance) that I may have to retrofit a Randall May RIMS reso hoop to isolate the shell from the stage.
Yeah, well, that did the trick, I'm getting rid of those ultrathin clear resos :) My drum teacher even goes so far as to mount coated batter heads as resos, but that's a bit too extreme for my taste.
I actually tried double ply heads on my floor toms. I have a Mapex Saturn V, and I put clear Emperors as resonant heads on both the 14" and 16" floor toms, in an attempt to reduce some of the sustain (I use coated Emperors on the batters). I'd say it definitely shortened the sustain, but it also killed a lot of sensitivity. I'm gonna try single ply coated heads next time, which should hopefully help reduce the overtones and bring back some of the sensitivity.
Michał Bugajski Idea. I started using the remo ambassador X coated heads as batters with coated ambassador on Reso. Awesomeness!!!!!! Using on all my Birch kits- 1980 Tama Superstars & Eamesdrums from Joe 😜👌🏻
Great camerawork at 4:28 !
Thanks so much! Having fun with the b-roll sequences. More to come... -Ben