The drum-heads are one of the major factors in the sound of the drumset. It is the tone generator and defines the timbre, attack, and sustain of the drum. Clear Drum-Heads are the most common today. It produces a mid range and crisp sound and covers most of the contemporary musical styles. Thin Single Ply Clear drumheads are normally used on the bottom of the snare or tons, and are called Resonant Drumhead. Medium Single Ply drumheads are also used as a resonant or as a Batter, it produces a sustained and open sound with a higher and brighter attack. Coated Single Ply drumheads produces a warmer sound, with less high end and overtones. Single ply drumheads have more sensitivity than a double ply but less durability. Two Plies or Double Plies Clear drumheads have a moderate sustain and a deeper sound, with more low frequencies than a single ply. Coated Two Plies produces a warmer sound with more focus. There are different types of muffling systems used on drumheads. Rings are much like a regular drumhead with the center cut out, you just place it on top of the head in your drum to control resonance and high overtones, and you can use it on the snare or tons. Dots are an extra layer of ply cut in a circle and stuck on the center of the drumhead to produce a heavier sound and to increase durability. Normally used on snare on top of thicker one ply drumheads, they work best when put on the underside because it will not get in your way in case that you need to play brushes. You will get best results using any type of muffling by placing it near the edges where the overtones are. 1 - A basic all around set-up with good durability will be Clear or Coated two plies for the tons Batters, with medium one ply clear as resonants, a Coated thicker single ply with underside dot for the snare Batter with a thin clear one ply as resonant, and a Clear or Coated two plies for the bass drum Batter, with medium single ply as the front head, normally with off center hole of 5". ( Bass drum front heads are normally Black Single Ply drumheads). 2 - For clarity and a more open sound use Medium Single Ply clear or coated for the tons batters, with Medium Single Ply clear as resonant, Coated Medium Single Ply for the snare batter, with a Thin Single Ply clear as resonant, a Medium Single Ply clear or coated for the bass drum batter, with a Medium Single Ply as the front head with a off center hole of 4". 3 - A more jazzistic or traditional set-up will be Medium Single Ply coated for the tons with Thin Single Ply clear as resonant, Medium Single Ply coated for the snare, with a Thin Single Ply clear as resonant, a Medium Single Ply Coated for the bass drum batter with a Coated Single Ply as the front head without hole. There are variations of the types mentioned above. There are two plies drumheads with oil between them for extra muffling, single and two plies with rings attached on it, different density of coating, and coating rings placed on the edges of the heads. Try it and see if they work for you. | 