Questions - Snare drum (Skins and Strainer)

[Drummer 51]

Hi fellow Softies!

I have a couple of questions regarding Snare drums skins and strainers.

1) Can a batter head be used as a resonant head?
I currently have lots of skins (i'll mention them below) and i'm wondering if an Evans HD dry (with dry vents) batter head can be used as a resonant head.


2)Is a Remo Powerstroke 3 Head a batter or a resonant head?
I've got the above from a friend, but i'm not sure what head is it supposed to be. Its clear with a black ring a few inches away from the edge.


3) How does the number of wires a snare strainer have affect the way a snare drum will sound?
At the moment, i have 3 strainers, for 3 snares. Two strainers have 20 strings, and one has 16. I need to fit one onto a Remo piccolo 14"x2.5", and the other two onto a Mapex Q series stock snare - 14"x5.5", and a Gretsch Blackhawk stock snare - 14"x5". Any suggestions?


Lastly, for those who have some ideas on what skins goes well, here is a list of skins i have. Any suggestions on how the skins should be matched will be welcomed.

Remo Powerstroke 3 clear
Remo WeatherKing Emperor X Coated with Dot (2 pieces)
Remo UX coated and clear (Stock skins that came with the mapex drum set.)
Evans HD Dry with dry vents coated - comes with a 2 mil overtone control ring
Evans Genera coated - comes with a 2 mil overtone control ring
Evans Hazy 300

The drums that i'm using are:
Remo piccolo 14"x2.5" as secondary snare
Gretsch Blackhawk stock snare - 14"x5" as primary snare
Mapex Q series stock snare - 14"x5.5" as a spare snare


Any suggestions that will be welcomed. I look forward to your replies!

 

[edrummer]

Hi drummer51. a 1 ply batter head can be use as a resonant head for the toms, but for snares, u need to get special 3 mils thick hazy head, and remo powerstroke 3 is a batter head, it is a 1 ply head with muffling rings below,
and the number of wires affect a snare drum sound, for 16 strainers, they are meant for drummer whom want their snare to sound with less snare sound, for 20 , it is the medium number of wires, and 24 is for ppl whom likes the snare sound alot and want more of it
And i sued to own a the mapex snare, use something like a coated ambassador on it, it would sound great, and for your black hawk, use ur powerstroke,
oh ya and, where did u manage to find ur remo snare? hehe

 

[Drummer 51]

That was the snare that was "given" to me by my friend, along with the Powerstroke 3(reso) and a coated ambassador (batter). I'm not sure where he got it, but it sure is old. it was really dusty, and i'm assuming its at least 6-10 years old, since that was when he was last in the drumming sector of music. Never asked him where and how he got it.

Would the powerstroke 3 be good on the remo piccolo snare?

 

[edrummer]

Powerstroke 3 is a muffled one ply drum head due to the fact that there is a ring that dampens the sound under the head, btw, ur piccolo is maple? And btw, i am currenly using ATTACK drum heads, this heads are the bomb man, the price of it is lower than the remo and evans, and it last twice as long, without sacrificing any sound quality, and it is not a rip off to remo or evans, it is used by guys like terry bozzio

 

[Drummer 51]

I'm not to sure if its maple. I received it with no details, and all i know about was that it was slightly damaged, and the skins were a Coated Ambassador, and Powerstroke3. Say if i were to get some drum heads, could you give me more feedback about the ATTACK drum heads, and how I can purchase them.

 

[johannlow]

I'm not to sure if its maple. I received it with no details, and all i know about was that it was slightly damaged, and the skins were a Coated Ambassador, and Powerstroke3. Say if i were to get some drum heads, could you give me more feedback about the ATTACK drum heads, and how I can purchase them.

Attack drumheads are carried by The Musiclab. They also carry Turkish cymbals.

 

[Drummer 51]

Okay. Do you have any comments about that brand? I've never heard of it before, so maybe i'll give it a try if reviews are good.

 

[edrummer]

Hi drummer 51, i have used more than 10 attack drum heads, i can tell you something, Simply saying, it 1 ply drum head, that give a tone of the ambassador and emperor or g1/g2, but it is more durable than an emperor x, the coating for the heads is 3 times as much of a normal evans drum skin, the list price is $15- $20 before any discounts for each head, i am not sure how much discount they would be giving, but typically any shop like swee lee/ranking are already selling a 14 inch head for $23,
I have fitted it on my church tom toms last night, when we were using the pinstripe, we always needed the moongel to take away the irritaitng overtones, but with the attack, ALL WERE GONE! , and there were no more snare buzz when u hit the high/mid tom, and after 1 night of hard hitting, the tom heads didnt even show a single stick mark, Incredible man.

 

[Drummer 51]

Seriously? Maybe i should try getting them. Other than the MusicLab, do any other shops carry that brand of drum skins?

And what skins would you recommend for Snare (i'll try a batter and resonant), and for 10,12,and 16" toms?

 

[edrummer]

i am serious, i have put the one ply medium in my church for 2 weeks, finally while i was hitting hard today, the high tom had a small black mark, Incredible, i hope other softies shld be more openminded and try Attack Btw other than musiclab, no where else is selling this, and btw, attack can also be found in musiciansfriend, but shipping a drum head from usa down to singapore is not an good idea haha,
I would recommend you one ply medium terry bozzio signature model for snare, i put it on my canopus, cant be more impressed by it, and for toms, u can use either the attack 2 ply medium, or 1 ply medium, 2 ply medium gives you a more focused punchy sound and it is darker than the 1 ply, but it is much more durable than emperor x, 1 ply medium gives u an ambassador tone but the good thing abt the 1 ply medium, u dont need to use an o ring or moongel get the best sound out of it,
And for reso heads, use attack 1 ply medium clear or attack 1 ply medium thin if musiclab sells it, i had a very lousy metal snare drum which couldnt be sold off, and i let my buyer tried it with attack heads, he was so impressed that he asked me to bring him down to musiclab to buy 3 one ply medium heads

 

[Drummer 51]

For toms, i think i'll use the 2 ply heads. First time i'm hearing this brand with such good reviews. hopefully, i'll be able to get skins this week. got a event at my church this friday

 

[edrummer]

Sure please do use it hope you will love the heads, the 2 ply medium sounds good man!