Aquarian American Vintage or Modern Vintage?

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Am I right in assuming that the only difference between the two is one has a slightly larger head size?

Has anyone tried these heads out? Heads are pretty snug on the WFL kit I just picked up so I wanted to give them a spin.

I normally use coated Evans G2, how do they compare?
 
The American Vintage are .05" bigger in diameter, I believe. Makes it a lot easier to go on in the 'snug' situations.

The coating is beige in color, and formulated to give a warm sound similar to calf. But I have used them in many situations in loud blues bands and they sound great. Very nice tone and the coating wears like iron. Just the right touch of built-in muffling, imho.

The Evans G2's are a 2-ply head, yes? I would guess that the tone would not be that different, maybe a little warmer.

They would be perfect for 'that old kit'... :wink:

But I think you might need them on the top and bottom, depending on the ease of getting bottom heads on. We're talking 2 toms, yes? So, that would be 4 heads, not really too bad. How about the bass? Similar issues?
 
Liz,

As usual Dan's assess is spot on...now if I could speak from the heart not the head. I put Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium on my 48' Leedy set...(identical drum generation to yours)... simply put, these are the perfect heads for this application. My toms provide a deep , rumbling, vintage tone ala Krupa/Rich (Drum Boogie,Hawaiian War chant). Not sure if it is the heads but I can say, this floor tom (16 x 16) is one of the two/three best floor toms I have ever played. The drum heads have held up nicely, "feel" good to play, take vintage tensioning well, and have a vintage yellow/patina that adds to the vintage vibe. If you have any reservations about getting the heads..give Roy a call...he has pretty good insights :wink: into what may work best for you.

wanted to add...the straight legs on my FT make the drum a dancer...cannot be played on any surface other then a rug/carpet without doing the drum boogie. 8)

Other opinions may vary...but if you could play my set you would understand my endorsement.

Peace, Chas
 
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A bit of warning: The Aquarians have a square shaped hoop, I've had over sized drums where REMOs actually fit better.
 
I've got two knocks on Aquarian AVs. They tend not to be well stocked anywhere. Back ordering for two or three weeks is a regular occurance. I end up buying extras just to have them around when I need them. The second beef is that the coating chips off.

They sound fine. Very tunable. I'm partial to the mediums rather than the thins. Given a choice, I like ambassadors better for tone but sometimes (Gretsch) it's aquarian or nothing.
 
Yeah, that's what I'm going through right now, no one remotely close to me has any. That's why I wanted to ask opinions before taking the plunge and ordering them in...

As for the Remos on these drums, I pulled remos off them and they were especially tight, especially the snare side head. I haven't pulled the kick heads yet, but I usually put Aquarians on my kicks. I'm not a brand whore when it comes to heads, different drums and shells sound better with different heads...
 
Dan Coluccio said:
The American Vintage are .05" bigger in diameter, I believe. Makes it a lot easier to go on in the 'snug' situations.

The coating is beige in color, and formulated to give a warm sound similar to calf. But I have used them in many situations in loud blues bands and they sound great. Very nice tone and the coating wears like iron. Just the right touch of built-in muffling, imho.

They would be perfect for 'that old kit'... :wink:


Ditto what Dan said.
Get the AMvints, they sound great and really last.
 
I usually order them from massmusic. http://www.massmusic...cat=1003&shop=1

They tend to stock a lot of sizes but at times they do backorder me but it is usually no more than two weeks. If they don't have them that usually means no one does. Very nice guys. Not a high quality website but local store knowledge and service accessed over the phone or the net.

They are also a good source for special ordering parts you know exist but aren't shown by internet vendors.
 
Yeah, I've seen the coating flake off on one AmVint batter. Out of four toms and two BDs that have had them, that FT was the only one. Speaking of which, try the AmVint BD heads too. They have an integral felt strip glued in and strike a nice balance bewteen thump and tone.
 
I'm contemplating trying these on my 3 ply Standards. The coated amb's that are currently on there are just not working. If i tune them loose they get wet and flappy, if i tune them high at all they get chocked. Would you Modern Vintage users say that these heads might help?
 
Aquarian Vintage heads, whether "American" or "Modern," sound like calfskin. They do not have the crisp attack of a modern coated head. I tried the American Vintage on my old Gretsch, and they fit just fine. But they were just too mellow-sounding for me. They have a nice tonality, but no attack at all.
If you want a good, crisp attack and good projection, these heads are definitely not the way to go.
 
It does depend on the sound you are going for and the AV heads sound very good to my ears on vintage drums and give a vintage tone. Having used both calf and the Aquarians they are not identical and the AV have more attack than a typical calf head. The coating on some heads lasts forever and others it will chip off in dime size pieces. I think Aquarian sometimes have issues with their coating suppliers. The Jack DeJohnette head is similar in sound but is not oversized.
Listen to clips of Brian Blade, he usually has the MV on his Gretsch'.
Two very good sources to look up for heads is the Memphis Drum Shop and Fork's Drum Closet in Nashville. Both of them will ship out in a hurry and have good stocks.
 
Anyone have any audio with these in action?
 
No audio but a reminder that they make the modern and american vintage Aquarians in medium and thin. The thins work good on 12 and 13" tom or as resos. The mediums for bigger sizes. Overall they take a bit more time to break in but after playing them for a view weeks they sound better and better. The coating is very good too.
 
I assumed the medium would've been an ambassador weight and the thin something like a diplomat.
 
Aqualung said:
I assumed the medium would've been an ambassador weight and the thin something like a diplomat.

The films for the AmVint Thins and Diplomats are about the same thickness (7mil IIRC), as are the films for the AmVint Medium and the Ambassador (10 mil), but the Aquarian films have a completely different feel and sonic character from the Remo films. Plus, the coating on the AmVints is much thicker than the Remos or the Evans heads. So, the overall sonic effect is quite different. I concur with the previous poster that the AmVints really dial back the attack.
 
I'm sold on Aquarian heads. I use a Z100 coated on my 1960 Rogers Holiday snare, and I've compared it to the Remo Vintage head, and like the Aquarian MUCH better. I use brushes a lot, and the Aquarian holds up much, much longer.

But don't take my advice. Call Roy Burns at Aquarian. He is one of the partners. This legendary drummer and Rogers endorser from days past will answer the phone any time you call. Tell him what you have in the way of shells, and he'll recommend the right head. Great guy, lots of head info.
 
I ordered the Am Vintage heads this morning for the snare, I'll post a review once I get them. The drum is all polished up an awaiting heads.

The bearing edges on this drum are pretty incredible. They don't make them like this anymore!
 
I have Am Vintage batters on my Leedy BDP toms (13 and 16). They sound so warm it's almost frightening. I have clear Diplomats on the resos, but I would probably be o.k. with Am Vint thins.

On the bass, I tried the Am Vint with felt strip. It would be o.k. if I were playing in a big band. For rock or pop music, though, I find them to be a little too boomy (and I even added a second adhesive felt strip). So, I have a Renaissance Power Stroke on the batter, and a Legacy with port and real felt strip. That turned out to be a good combination.

Don't overlook Renaissance heads on the old drums (they usually fit as well). The finish is really good for brushes.
 
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