Coated heads on a kit... been awhile

[Cauldronics]

Now that fire season is gone (for now) I finally have a set of RN2 Renown setup in the garage and loving them. However, the clear emperors they come with might be a little too attack heavy, so I'm thinking about moving to coated heads, but it's been a long time since I've had all coated on a kit. I hesitate because they can be a little too soft sounding when I want the attack I just said was too much.

It might have more to do with not playing for most of the year in a band setting where I'd want that attack. If so, then for now coated should be ok. I usually go with ambassadors, but I'm keeping an open mind this time and I'm not even going to refuse Evans this time around ( ). What luck have my DFO brothers and sisters had with coated heads on your kit and which ones?

 

[LRod1707]

Now that fire season is gone (for now) I finally have a set of RN2 Renown setup in the garage and loving them. However, the clear emperors they come with might be a little too attack heavy, so I'm thinking about moving to coated heads, but it's been a long time since I've had all coated on a kit. I hesitate because they can be a little too soft sounding when I want the attack I just said was too much.

It might have more to do with not playing for most of the year in a band setting where I'd want that attack. If so, then for now coated should be ok. I usually go with ambassadors, but I'm keeping an open mind this time and I'm not even going to refuse Evans this time around ( ). What luck have my DFO brothers and sisters had with coated heads on your kit and which ones?

I use Aquarian coated Super 2's for the batters. Double ply but it's 7 mil and 5 mil. Not the usual 14 mil's like on other double ply heads. The purpose is that they have the positives of both a double ply and single ply. Very balanced! After much trial and error, these are the right heads for me! For resos I use coated as well, Aquarian hi-frequency which are 7 mil. They are the equivalent of coated diplomats.
I'll never use clear heads again!

Super 2 Series | Aquarian Drumheads

www.aquariandrumheads.com

 

[drummingbulldog]

UV1 sound really nice on my Gretsch Marquee toms & floor tom. They have been durable too.

 

[CherryClassic]

I've just about settled on Coated Ambassadors. I've gone back and forth with Coated or Clear reso heads, I really like them both ways. For gigging I feel the Clear reso project more but in a extra small areas Coated resos are nice. On my Bass drums I like the PS3 head. Ambassador FiberSkyn, Smooth White, Coated and Clear.

sherm

 

[Old Drummer]

I was going to buy a set of Ambassadors until I discovered that I had a nearly new Aquarian for one of my rack toms and my shop didn't have an Ambassador to fit my floor tom. I therefore bought another Aquarian for my other rack tom and Evans UV1 heads for my snare and floor tom.

Since I'm comparing different drums as well as different heads, it's hard to generalize, but I definitely like the Evans UV1 heads the best. I can't put my finger on why, but the UV1 heads just seem to bring the best out of the drums they're on.

 

[EvEnStEvEn]

Coated Ambassadors are perfect on my Renowns.
Vintage Emp on the 14" FT

 

[Seb77]

See this thread for more discussion:

Going all coated single-ply on a kit

Just ordered new skins for a little project over the holidays. Two sets of 12/13/14/16/22 of pure white simplicity. Might set up my drums at the school where I normally teach, and record a bit. I also have a few old ones in good shape, going to compare these to the new ones, always wanted to...

www.drumforum.org

 

[Redbeard77]

I've used coated G2s over clear G1s on my Renowns for years. I recently switched to a coated G1 batter on the rack tom to open it up a little since I mount it in a snare stand. The difference is subtle but I like it.

 

[Elvis]

I use Aquarian coated Super 2's for the batters. Double ply but it's 7 mil and 5 mil. Not the usual 14 mil's like on other double ply heads. The purpose is that they have the positives of both a double ply and single ply. Very balanced! After much trial and error, these are the heads! For resos I use coated as well. Aquarian hi-frequency which are 7 ply. They are the equivalent of coated diplomats.
I'll never use clear heads again!

Super 2 Series | Aquarian Drumheads

www.aquariandrumheads.com

Multi-ply guys probably just creamed their jeans over that statement ( ).
However, I think you meant they're a single ply 7 mil head....like a Diplomat, which you did mention.
That is a pretty cool head setup, though.

Elvis

 

[spaeth]

Not coated but you could try the Aquarian Studio X. Single ply clear but with built in control rings. Pretty durable and cut some of the harsher overtones but still maintain the clarity and tone of a clear head.

 

[LRod1707]

Multi-ply guys probably just creamed their jeans over that statement ( ).
However, I think you meant they're a single ply 7 mil head....like a Diplomat, which you did mention.
That is a pretty cool head setup, though.

Elvis

Oh boy! Nice catch!
I guess my brain was stuck on the word "ply" when writing that sentence, LOL!
I have corrected it, Thanks

 

[Cauldronics]

Coated Ambassadors are perfect on my Renowns.
Vintage Emp on the 14" FT


View attachment 475356

That would be hard to argue. I've had them on kits many times. They just work.

 

[Cauldronics]

Multi-ply guys probably just creamed their jeans over that statement ( ).
However, I think you meant they're a single ply 7 mil head....like a Diplomat, which you did mention.
That is a pretty cool head setup, though.

Elvis

Yeah, I'm mostly digging the idea of those heads on a kit.

 

[Cauldronics]

Not coated but you could try the Aquarian Studio X. Single ply clear but with built in control rings. Pretty durable and cut some of the harsher overtones but still maintain the clarity and tone of a clear head.

IIRC I tried Studio X long ago and found them kind of hard sounding. They might be good on a kit that's a little tubby and needs some clarity, but I'm not sure how well I'm remembering those heads.

 

[Elvis]

There's more than one kind of coating too.....FIBERSKYN anyone?
Its a thicker application than the traditional white coating.
Might be be the "happy medium" that Cauldronics is looking for?
I know an FSA is currently my favourite bass drum head.

Elvis

 

[bassanddrum84]

I love coated emps and vintage coated emps so much warmth with that said I’ve switched to smooth white coated for the attack and the warmth. Coated wears out to fast playing all the time.

 

[Cauldronics]

See this thread for more discussion:

Going all coated single-ply on a kit

Just ordered new skins for a little project over the holidays. Two sets of 12/13/14/16/22 of pure white simplicity. Might set up my drums at the school where I normally teach, and record a bit. I also have a few old ones in good shape, going to compare these to the new ones, always wanted to...

www.drumforum.org

Perfect thread link. I'll give it a good look.

 

[Cauldronics]

I love coated emps and vintage coated emps so much warmth with that said I’ve switched to smooth white coated for the attack and the warmth. Coated wears out to fast playing all the time.

Smooth white have no coating, don't they? Maybe there's a new version of coated smooth white?

 

[lossforgain]

I love Aquarian Texture Coated heads on my tom batters. I usually use some kind of medium weight clear on the bottom.

 

[Elvis]

Put a set of TC's on the toms of the Sonor Kit.
Works great!

Elvis