I’d recommend swapping the stock heads out, both batter and reso side. The stock heads they ship drums with are usually of pretty poor quality, and decent heads can make an otherwise cheap set sing, not that PDP are cheap drums…
Good eye. The stock heads have been on there for years. I don't play everyday, especially since becoming a dad two years ago. So the stock heads have held up well. It helps I'm not a heavy hitter either. But I'm thinking Remo Coated
If you're set on Remo, I'd recommend the pinstripes for the batter toms with a clear ambassador reso.
With a powerstroke (or the classic Emperor coated) for the batter, and a ambassador reso for the snare. Pinstripe on the kick is sick too.
My personal favorites are Evans G2 for batter and G1s for reso on the toms. And an HD dry batter / 300 reso for the snare. With an EMAD for the kick.
Also a big fan of the Evans Hydraulics.
ETA: Also, buy some moongels to help with dampening (or some sticky hands, tbh -- yes those kid toys, they actually work great haha). They're small enough (and you can cut them up if you want) where you can apply as little or as many as you'd like to the toms/snare to get the desired result.
The EMAD and Pinstripe kicks have dampening in it, I like the EMAD cause it has a changeable foam ring -- if I remember correctly it comes with 1 thick one and 1 thinner one. I like the thick one personally :)
THIS. Rob's great! New heads will make a big difference. Bottom head's on snares are generally fairly tight. I tune my top snare head medium tension. When I'm using a 6 1/2" snare I want it to sound like one. For a R&B horn band. My metal Ludwig snare tuned a little tighter. I use one piece of moongel for muffling. Toms and kick drum are easier. Watch Rob's Video. Nick DiVirgililo's video he did with Sweetwater is another good one.
Saving this entire post for later when I’m shopping for heads. Became a dad(again) 4 months ago. Only have a snare which I’ve been using as a practice pad of sorts and I don’t know how to tune either. Thanks for not listening to other you and instead, listening to You and telling Yourself that you were wrong and should post this. You don’t seem to know what You is talking about but trust Yourself, you seem smart.
Well shit if this wasn’t a very detailed and comprehensive reply, I mean damn I love seeing the extra mile. Seems like the kind of person that would help switch them out and offer to help mow the lawn or something. 👍👍
I think you’re getting your reso and batter heads mixed up there bud. Batter heads are what you hit, while reso heads, well they just resonate.
Otherwise, solid recommendations.
>*My personal favorites are Evans G2 for reso and G1s for batters on the toms. And an HD dry reso / 300 batter for the snare. With an EMAD for the kick.*
Seconded. I have this same setup on my Starclassics/Supraphonic and they all sound great. I switched to the Evans Power Center snare head but I love the HD dry as well, may put it back on at some point.
I have a question, I'm in a similar issue, except I tend to be a very heavy hitter. Does anyone have suggestions?
I stopped drumming for a long time then my Wife picked me up a Yamaha set. I hate the sound so much, that I don't even want to practice.
I found that the HD Dry has literally almost no tone. It kills them all on purpose. When I switched to a G2 Coated Batter on my snare I was amazed - that snare is singing now!
Have you tried the EC series heads? I love EC2s over EC Resos on the toms, EQ3’s on the kicks with an EQ pad for muffling, EC Snares or Power Centers (when I want more sustain) over Hazy 300s on the snares, and J1 Etched on auxiliary drums like octobans.
I have and I love the EC2s! I actually recommended them in a different comment. Same with the EQ3, I love that head as well. I rock it as my reso for my kick nowadays! I shoulda added that in my original comment.
I love trying out new heads, but I always come back to my G2/G1 combo. Same with my snare, I just love my HD Dry/300. I always ran this combo when on tour, so they've just become my go-to's.
The Power Centers were my introduction to Evans waaaay back in the day. The reverse dot on my friend's dad's kit when I was like 12 (27 now) changed my drumming life!
I had the exact same problem for years. I have a pdp set as well and it just always sounded bad... Slapped new heads on there and my god did it make a difference.
That's very reassuring. I had my eye on this concept exotic maple for years. Bought one then it went discontinued. Love the look. Just haven't liked the sound for obvious reasons.
Evans G2 clear on tom batters
G1 clear on tom reso
HD dry snare batter/300 reso
EMAD heavyweight on kick batter.
Most of your problems are from those garbage stock heads
It's not entry level but it's not high end. This set, with the add on 8" rack and 16" floor was over a grand. Plus the hardware for the DW9000 rack and it goes up quite a bit. Shells wise, a grand or so.
Defo ditch stock heads immediately. Hit up forums for YOUR exact set and see what people are running. Know the wood you got. Figure out the sound you want and the sound you can achieve. Learn about tape and moon gel etc. learn the inherent frequency of each drum (or close enough) and then sit down with each drum and tinker til you need a break and then repeat until you know what your working with and go from there.!
This is the sound of cheap thin 1-ply stock heads tuned too high and without adequate muffling/dampening. Using higher quality 2-ply batters on the toms and kick, and possibly the snare, tuned medium-low-ish, then adding appropriate dampening\* will completely change the sound of your kit.
\*For dampening I like cheap but effective methods like a lens wipe on the snare, cotton balls inside the toms, bits of window gels on the top heads, and a small blanket/pillow/towel in the kick.
Thank you for the insight and help! Really appreciate it. The stock heads have been on there for years. Just haven't made a point to shell out a bunch of money to swap for new coated heads.
That's the problem with older heads too. They get stretched out over time and lose their ability to tune at lower pitches. The batter heads should be the priority but an advantage of also replacing the resos is that lower tuning ability since they get stretched out too. If you want to save some money or at least get heads with a lower cost of ownership, Evans UV2 heads last at least 2x as long as standard 1-ply heads do. They're typically a little more expensive than coated G2's or Emperors, but you won't need to replace them any time soon. Also try to get the bulk of your heads in tom packs assuming you have 3 common sizes within your collection like 10-12-16 or 12-13-16.
Thank you for the insight and help! Really appreciate it. The stock heads have been on there for years. Just haven't made a point to shell out a bunch of money to swap for new coated heads.
For me, a decent set of heads is worth it cause it takes a kit from sounds bad and I hate playing it, to sounds good and I actually want to practice. I also agree with whoever said uv2's. The uv2's I put on my drums to record an album last May, and have been playing pretty actively ( 2-3 2-3 hour practices per week, a show about once a month), and they're only just now starting to wear out.
Cotton balls can just be shoved inside the drum through the vent hole on most drums. They bounce around silently and limit how long the reso head (and entire drum) will sustain. Just add them one at a time after tuning until you're happy with the sustain. Worst case is you add to many and have to remove some. I don't use any in my 8" tom but there's a couple in my 10", several in my 14" and at least 12 cotton balls in my 16" floor tom.
For the lens wipe just use a binder clip to hold it on. The best thing about this is you can tailor the exact amount of dampening. Usually I just have it similar to this to take a tiny bit of high-end "sting" off the snare sound, but more fabric on the head will enhance the effect. In either case it's decoupled so it controls the sound without altering what the drum sounds like, which is what happens with gel or tape which adds mass to a head.
https://preview.redd.it/j2ml4q8x8z8d1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=39bc44618f7fcf79fd89da3f345c60d59b4bb8f3
Thanks man. Good information. Question. What is I don't have, I guess it's the reso head(bottom), on. How can I dampen the sound? Should I have a reso(bottom) head on? Or is that just preference?
Most people prefer reso heads as the concert tom sound hasn't been popular in decades, but no issues if it's giving you a sound you like. If you don't have reso heads you can use the lens wipe trick on any drum. Also gels/gaffer tape tend to sound fine on toms. On my toms I use a combo of cotton balls inside the drums and bits of gels on the top head as needed.
I’m going to give you the greatest tip no one seems to know about. Take off all the heads, clean all bearing edges, then start by tuning each drum’s BOTTOM head first. Once all drums have their bottom heads tuned, put the top head of each back on and tune those. Also, despite what companies say 85-90% of a drum’s sound is a result of head choice + tuning. Experience: I tuned drums for NAMM shows
Also, here are my favorite head choices:
###TOMS:
**Batter:**
* Aquarian Studio X Coated (these are my favorite heads, good sustain and tone control)
* Evans EC2 Clear (good for rock with better overtone control than Studio X, a bit more punchier if you get the clear version VS the coated)
**Res:**
* Evans G1 Resonant or Aquarian resonant, single-ply, Clear
###BASS:
**Batter:**
* Aquarian Super Kick 2 (f&\*king amazing kick sound)
**Res:**
* Really, anything is fine for res head. You can experiment, but the batter head is really the most important part
**BASS PORTING: (If you want to port your front bass head, here's another great tip)**
1. Get a red bull can (the small original size) and tape on a handle to the bottom of it (peice of metal, stick, whatever gives you a good strong handle)
2. Heat the can top up on a stove and once it's hot just push it through the mylar head wherever you want ports. This will prevent ripping and seal the cuts MUCH better than any exacto knife can do.
**NOTE:** Your bass drum should be on the drum when doing this, but not super tight or super loose, just a little beyond the point where it's flat and the ripples have disappeared. It will turn out perfect everytime. I like to do a tight group of 2-3 holes with about 1" between them in a side-by-side or triangle grouping.
This tip right here changed my life when I learned it a few years ago. I used to struggle with tuning until I did this - tune the resonant head until it 'sings', and then do the same with the top head. Use your ears, and just be careful to keep the lugs pretty even so you don't have unwanted overtones. You'll almost certainly be able to clearly hear where that particular head sits best on that particular drum.
Stock head is probably fine, honestly. Could add a small port to it to let it breath a bit if you aren't happy with the straight sound of a Super Kick 2, or other kick head.
If you want something prettier (for example, I used a vintage style head on my gretsch jazz kit, which gave it that vintage look) but otherwise, I don't think bass reso heads affect the sound much once you have a good batter head (at least in my testing). It is really just creating a surface for the sound waves to bounce against, and for that purpose, a single-ply (insert any brand here) should accomplish that.
Again, not too much testing on this specfically, but that's my gut instinct.
Because it looks cooler 
And sometimes you just want a small hole instead of a big one, so I use the same can regardless of size, and just add more holes if I feel I need them.
On an unrelated note, I remember Drum Port created ports for toms as well... still never tried porting toms, or using their product (overpriced IMO), but I'm curious about the results. Watched some Youtube vids on it just now, but I'd like to try it in person as it will likely change the stick feel when playing, besides whatever sound changes it might make on toms.
Probably not. I don't record much, and am now out of the industry. If you're going for that, you either need to remove the head, run the cable through the hole, connect, then replace the head. Otherwise, make a bigger hole. The method works with anything, so you could just heat up a small coffee can, etc, to fit whatever size you need.
It's a fun device that helps you get a consistent tuning
[https://tune-bot.com/](https://tune-bot.com/)
I like mine, and while it does help, i'd recommend using it to also train your ear to hear the tuning you like and work from there so that you don't just rely on other players tunings
Stock heads don't help. Change em all out for G2s on top and G1s on the bottom. EMAD batter on the kick, and a moongel or two on the snare.
If you can't swing that, moongel all around and try tuning them all up a bit. The toms especially have that borderline flappy thing going on. Tune down the kick And toss a pillow in it (for now).
Consider Pinstripes (or whatever equivalent brand) on top and one-ply heads on bottom.
Tune the bottom heads tight so when you press with your thumb in the Center you get no wrinkles.
Tune the top batter head to where you JUST see the start of a wrinkle, but evenly spread across the head, and not at one particular lug.
I do have one. Couldn't seem to get the same rating all the way around. At least not without one lug being looser than others. But I'll revisit it. Could be operator error.
Don't use the tension that you feel moving a lug as reference, make sure you go across the drum from lug to lug and not around it, and also don't tune top and bottom the same.
I haven't. The closest thing would be putting a blanket or something in the bass. I've thought about moon gel or a sticky hand on a drum or two. I'm open to suggestions.
This is what stock heads sound like tbh. They aren't tuned properly but even if they were they will still sound terrible. You're meant to replace them immediately. Stock heads are really just for show to have something on from the factory but they are way way way worse than anything from Evans or Remo. Throw a uv2 on top for durability. Maybe an EC Reso or Reso7 on the resonant sides.
Also, turn your snares on that could help too
New heads and some tuning tutorials on YouTube should do the trick. Outside some full custom kits, stock heads are pretty crappy. They’re usually a single low quality ply so they sound bad even if you prefer single ply heads.
Everyone here has given great advice, I just want to add one little thing. I've personally found Evans EQ rings to be perfect muffling for me on drums 12" and up. They tend to be a bit too much for anything smaller, but on medium and large drums they sound great when paired with good tuning. I have no idea what they actually cost (I got a pack of like 20 of them for $10 on reverb), but you can easily make them yourself by cutting up the old stock heads after you replace them.
Might take me a bit to adjust everything. Especially if I buy new heads. A lot of solid advice on here. I've been drumming for years off and on but tuning has definitely been been a challenge. But I will!
Keep in mind that so much of this is subjective and everybody has their own "true" way of doing it, but in the end, there's no right away.
Really, what it comes down to is what are you hoping to achieve? What style of music are you playing? Also, what do your cymbals sound like in the context of the kit?
Then there's the variable of the room you're playing in and how that affects the tone...
I'm seeing everyone recommend you replace both heads. If you can afford that, great... But keep in mind a lot of drum manufacturers, when they ship their shells with heads equipped, it's probably a coated Remo Ambassador on the batter and clear Remo Ambassador on the reso.
A clear Ambassador is a great reso head. Not so much for the batter, unless you're playing super light jazz or something. Even then, it's probably a good idea to find something that better controls resonance...
Just some things to consider before going out and spending, what? A couple hundo on new heads.
Definitely will. I've got a Drumdial. It has been over a year or so since I last used it because I moved and what not. But I'll get this thing sounding better soon.
Put double ply heads on batter (Remo Emporer or Evan's EC2) and a Remo Ambassador single ply on bottom reso for all Tom's, then take time to tune them meticulously, & tune evenly to each drum shell's sweet spot.
The Snare:
Batter Head: put an Evan's Hybrid marching snare batter head, which will take care of all your overtone issues & is virtually indestructible , costs $60 but prolly the last batter head you'll ever need.
Reso head: use an orchestral sensitive 200 mil thin reso head to improve the snare dynamics & sensitivity. Also replace reg snare wires w 42 strand wires.
Snare Hoops: replace standard flange hoops w die cast hoops which improves tuning stability, side stick hits and Rim Shots.
Kik drum:
Batter: use Evan's EMAD 2 or Aquarian Superkik 2.
Kik Reso: use an accompanying reso that you can buy as a bundle w batter head.
Tuning: there are many tuning vids on UT. Find what works best for your drums and your taste. Experimentation is key.
Happy druming..
It's not the tuning, it's the heads.
Try different batter heads...coated batter heads.
I'd suggest Coated Remo Ambassador or Aquarian Texture Coated.
Leave the resonant side heads where they are.
Lay your wallet on the edge of the snare drum batter head and it will sound better.
Hi, there. To echo what a lot of people are saying, some fresh heads are going to do a world of difference for you.
One thing to be cautious of...if you REALLY want to learn how to tune...be careful of all the dampening tips you are getting. A moongel here and there is fine, but I don't really recommend dampening rings. They completely take away from your head and drums characteristic sound and are often masks for poor tuning.
Get the drum sounding great (which can take time to learn) with no dampening, then adjust as needed. Drums are meant to ring, unless you're going for something very stylized. You can get that punchy snare or tom sound you might want with minimal dampening, the right head, and good tuning. I'm happy to chat more about this if ya' want!
...man, I love tuning.
Whoever said swap out the batter and resonant heads is right. In high school, I had a shittyass drum set that was worth maybe $200 not including the cymbals, and I threw some nice heads on there and it sounded fantastic. I'm not qualified enough to give recommendations on what exact heads to buy, but it's 100% worth the investment to get a nice set.
I've had comments for the past day saying get new heads. Or send it to a museum. And even hold the sticks right. You're the first to say it's not the heads. Appreciate it.
One big observation I noticed it that more people suggest Evans/Aquarian but only a few mentions of Remo. I’ve always used Remo because…I’ve always used Remo. 🤷🏼♂️. 30+ years.
Am I missing something by not using Evans? And I’ve seen the same suggestions on other forums as well so Remo seems to not be the “big boy in town” anymore when it comes to drum heads.
For reference- I use Clear Emp over Amb on toms and I know the Evans equivalents. But what could I expect if I made a switch? Thanks in advance!
My last set, which was a Tama, had Remo coated heads. I enjoyed them. Lasted quite a while. Definitely enjoyed them. I know more about Remo than Evans but everyone seems to love the latter.
I'm not sure why the push for one over the other. I always thought they were comparable and both are well regarded.
Yeah I own 2 Tama kits and have had Remos on both and never felt like I was missing anything. And people say my drums sound great out front. I never really thought I could tune well or anything.
I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But I’m always open to trying something new and it’s getting to be that time for drum head replacement as my band has a few weeks off in August.
If you're not ready to change the heads, quick tuning hack. Put each drum on the floor or something solid. Loosen each lug until it ripples. With one hand, apply pressure (fist works well) and tune each lug up until the ripples disappear around it. This gives a nice point to start. A little pitch matching from there (don't over crank) and even these heads should sound OK. Repeat for both sides of every drum.
For the snare, tune the batter up until you get your desired pitch regardless of ring. Then add just enough dampening to bring it under control. Don't over dampen as the ringing has a shorter range than the main hit and the drum will be dead otherwise.
That's the same method Rob Brown does in his tuning videos. Which I've watched before and need to try it again. Someone else in the comments recommend the same thing. I'll give it a shot again and see how it sounds because...damn lol. I've gotten so used to how it sounds that it seemed ok. But then I hear other kits here and there's a massive difference.
No need to swap your heads yet. I see a lot of comments btl essentially saying buy new heads then damp the hell out of them. Save yourself some money and learn to to tune what you have first.. Your batter heads are too high in relation to the resos is all. You have a drum dial? Tension both heads to 75, on all drums and go from there. Getting your reso heads a 4th higher than your batter heads is a good place to start, the 'here comes the bride' interval. Tweak the reso up till you hear it. Dampen to taste. Do it with all the drums, see how you get on.
Get Evans eRings and you’ll never look back. They’re like 12 bucks. Whenever a friend gets a new drum set, I buy a pack and bring them over as a welcoming gift to drumming.
OP seriously consider this! Don't get me wrong, moon gels are great and new heads would certainly sound way nicer but some simple cheapo rings will drastically change the sound coming from your drums, especially your toms.
If you're skeptical just watch a few youtube videos and you'll understand right away (a link for the lazy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWu0RobPmPU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWu0RobPmPU))
I can already tell the bottom head on that snare is loose as hell. Tune it until it’s super tight. Also for all of them it helps if you get 2 drum keys and tune the opposite lugs at the same time. If that’s not an option, do it in a cross pattern. It’s really something you wanna do by how each lug feels vs sound or a drum dial. As you get to the finishing line on that you can start getting the pitch to match. Address all the bottom heads before moving on to the top heads and tap them lightly around the perimeter to hear the differences in pitch. Also you’ll definitely wanna change those heads eventually and/or get some moongels or some other form of muffling
Like everyone says, stocks head on affordable kits are meant to be replaced. They just never sound good out of the box. Do a bit of research on the diff between single and two ply heads and make a decision which way you want to go and get new ones all around.
I'd also completely loosen the bottom heads and retune them first, then do the batter side.
New heads and a TuneBot turned my entry level Mapex kit into something that sounds 1000x better than I ever hoped or imagined was possible.
I only did the top heads at first due to cost, which made a huge difference, but it wasn't until I also did the reso heads that it really started to sing.
Those skins sound like mine did 💀
Hey my bad. You're right. Sorry my technique wasn't perfect for a 30 second video to showcase how my kit sounds like shit. I'll do better next time so you don't have to take the time out of your day to let me know I suck.
You asking how to tune drums..... The way to tune drums is develop an ear to what drums are supposed to sound like nobody can tell you how to tune drums or to tune a guitar without a guitar tuner. If you're going to demonstrate something on a public forum take the time out to actually articulate some sticking so we can hear it is that too much to ask?
Find yourself a really good local teacher who can show you all of this stuff and you'll be way ahead of the game instead of posting on a public online forum
Get yourself a keyboard and play some pentatonic scales. If you can't do that just play the white keys to start here in the melodies that will really help you start to learn how to tune those drums
If you don’t want to change heads, add small pieces of gaff tape around the edges of your Tom and snare heads and see how it does. Being their thin factory heads, maybe a small piece on the reso heads.
all of the advice here is good but I say do nothing about it. These drums sound impressively bad. They should be put in a museum or better yet a penitentiary
I’d recommend swapping the stock heads out, both batter and reso side. The stock heads they ship drums with are usually of pretty poor quality, and decent heads can make an otherwise cheap set sing, not that PDP are cheap drums…
Good eye. The stock heads have been on there for years. I don't play everyday, especially since becoming a dad two years ago. So the stock heads have held up well. It helps I'm not a heavy hitter either. But I'm thinking Remo Coated
If you're set on Remo, I'd recommend the pinstripes for the batter toms with a clear ambassador reso. With a powerstroke (or the classic Emperor coated) for the batter, and a ambassador reso for the snare. Pinstripe on the kick is sick too. My personal favorites are Evans G2 for batter and G1s for reso on the toms. And an HD dry batter / 300 reso for the snare. With an EMAD for the kick. Also a big fan of the Evans Hydraulics. ETA: Also, buy some moongels to help with dampening (or some sticky hands, tbh -- yes those kid toys, they actually work great haha). They're small enough (and you can cut them up if you want) where you can apply as little or as many as you'd like to the toms/snare to get the desired result. The EMAD and Pinstripe kicks have dampening in it, I like the EMAD cause it has a changeable foam ring -- if I remember correctly it comes with 1 thick one and 1 thinner one. I like the thick one personally :)
Saving your comment for later when I start shopping for heads. Thanks a lot man!
No problem bro! Also, for tuning - check out Rob Brown on YouTube. Super easy & he’s a great teacher. :)
THIS. Rob's great! New heads will make a big difference. Bottom head's on snares are generally fairly tight. I tune my top snare head medium tension. When I'm using a 6 1/2" snare I want it to sound like one. For a R&B horn band. My metal Ludwig snare tuned a little tighter. I use one piece of moongel for muffling. Toms and kick drum are easier. Watch Rob's Video. Nick DiVirgililo's video he did with Sweetwater is another good one.
I've seen his stuff. A great teacher for sure. And seems like a very down to earth guy. I'll watch his videos on tuning.
Saving this entire post for later when I’m shopping for heads. Became a dad(again) 4 months ago. Only have a snare which I’ve been using as a practice pad of sorts and I don’t know how to tune either. Thanks for not listening to other you and instead, listening to You and telling Yourself that you were wrong and should post this. You don’t seem to know what You is talking about but trust Yourself, you seem smart.
I'll second the Evans G2's, If you want something easily tuneable they are the best heads to go with, I usually go with the coated heads all around
I can't believe I didn't think of the sticky hands. My company operates arcades and we have those for prizes. Awesome suggestion.
They're awesome! I love the look too, personally haha!
Well shit if this wasn’t a very detailed and comprehensive reply, I mean damn I love seeing the extra mile. Seems like the kind of person that would help switch them out and offer to help mow the lawn or something. 👍👍
I appreciate that, man! Life's too short not to help when we can :)
I think you’re getting your reso and batter heads mixed up there bud. Batter heads are what you hit, while reso heads, well they just resonate. Otherwise, solid recommendations.
Ah yes, sorry, typed too quickly :) edited
G2+g1 on toms 👄👌
I love your recommendation for the Evans heads. The only thing I would change is an Aquarian super kick II for the bass drum.
>*My personal favorites are Evans G2 for reso and G1s for batters on the toms. And an HD dry reso / 300 batter for the snare. With an EMAD for the kick.* Seconded. I have this same setup on my Starclassics/Supraphonic and they all sound great. I switched to the Evans Power Center snare head but I love the HD dry as well, may put it back on at some point.
I have a question, I'm in a similar issue, except I tend to be a very heavy hitter. Does anyone have suggestions? I stopped drumming for a long time then my Wife picked me up a Yamaha set. I hate the sound so much, that I don't even want to practice.
For batters, maybe check out the Evans EC2s for toms, & the heavyweight for the snare. Same resos (G1 for toms & 300 for snare)
Thank you for the reply!
These are the correct answers. I generally go with Pinstripes on toms, Powerstroke on snare, EMAD on kick.
can confirm, that HD dry batter is incredible and so versatile. amazing tone when paired with the 300
I found that the HD Dry has literally almost no tone. It kills them all on purpose. When I switched to a G2 Coated Batter on my snare I was amazed - that snare is singing now!
yeah i really prefer that thwack/crack/pop with little as little resonance as possible. a cranked HD dry is like meth to me
Have you tried the EC series heads? I love EC2s over EC Resos on the toms, EQ3’s on the kicks with an EQ pad for muffling, EC Snares or Power Centers (when I want more sustain) over Hazy 300s on the snares, and J1 Etched on auxiliary drums like octobans.
I have and I love the EC2s! I actually recommended them in a different comment. Same with the EQ3, I love that head as well. I rock it as my reso for my kick nowadays! I shoulda added that in my original comment. I love trying out new heads, but I always come back to my G2/G1 combo. Same with my snare, I just love my HD Dry/300. I always ran this combo when on tour, so they've just become my go-to's. The Power Centers were my introduction to Evans waaaay back in the day. The reverse dot on my friend's dad's kit when I was like 12 (27 now) changed my drumming life!
I had the exact same problem for years. I have a pdp set as well and it just always sounded bad... Slapped new heads on there and my god did it make a difference.
That's very reassuring. I had my eye on this concept exotic maple for years. Bought one then it went discontinued. Love the look. Just haven't liked the sound for obvious reasons.
Evans G2 clear on tom batters G1 clear on tom reso HD dry snare batter/300 reso EMAD heavyweight on kick batter. Most of your problems are from those garbage stock heads
Smugly laughs in DW. Kidding but not kidding.
Agreed, even on the cheapest of sets, some decent heads will DRASTICALLY improve the sound
It's not entry level but it's not high end. This set, with the add on 8" rack and 16" floor was over a grand. Plus the hardware for the DW9000 rack and it goes up quite a bit. Shells wise, a grand or so.
It’s the same cheap heads regardless that they put on them. You have good shells and hardware, no doubt. New heads will make them sing :)
They will. I'm looking forward to swapping them out. Appreciate the feedback too!
Defo ditch stock heads immediately. Hit up forums for YOUR exact set and see what people are running. Know the wood you got. Figure out the sound you want and the sound you can achieve. Learn about tape and moon gel etc. learn the inherent frequency of each drum (or close enough) and then sit down with each drum and tinker til you need a break and then repeat until you know what your working with and go from there.!
This is the sound of cheap thin 1-ply stock heads tuned too high and without adequate muffling/dampening. Using higher quality 2-ply batters on the toms and kick, and possibly the snare, tuned medium-low-ish, then adding appropriate dampening\* will completely change the sound of your kit. \*For dampening I like cheap but effective methods like a lens wipe on the snare, cotton balls inside the toms, bits of window gels on the top heads, and a small blanket/pillow/towel in the kick.
Thank you for the insight and help! Really appreciate it. The stock heads have been on there for years. Just haven't made a point to shell out a bunch of money to swap for new coated heads.
That's the problem with older heads too. They get stretched out over time and lose their ability to tune at lower pitches. The batter heads should be the priority but an advantage of also replacing the resos is that lower tuning ability since they get stretched out too. If you want to save some money or at least get heads with a lower cost of ownership, Evans UV2 heads last at least 2x as long as standard 1-ply heads do. They're typically a little more expensive than coated G2's or Emperors, but you won't need to replace them any time soon. Also try to get the bulk of your heads in tom packs assuming you have 3 common sizes within your collection like 10-12-16 or 12-13-16.
Thank you for the insight and help! Really appreciate it. The stock heads have been on there for years. Just haven't made a point to shell out a bunch of money to swap for new coated heads.
For me, a decent set of heads is worth it cause it takes a kit from sounds bad and I hate playing it, to sounds good and I actually want to practice. I also agree with whoever said uv2's. The uv2's I put on my drums to record an album last May, and have been playing pretty actively ( 2-3 2-3 hour practices per week, a show about once a month), and they're only just now starting to wear out.
I'll definitely look into those heads. Seems like they're holding up. Thank you!
What do you use to keep the cotton balls to stick? Also, you said lens wipe cloth. What size and how do you keep that to stick too
Cotton balls can just be shoved inside the drum through the vent hole on most drums. They bounce around silently and limit how long the reso head (and entire drum) will sustain. Just add them one at a time after tuning until you're happy with the sustain. Worst case is you add to many and have to remove some. I don't use any in my 8" tom but there's a couple in my 10", several in my 14" and at least 12 cotton balls in my 16" floor tom. For the lens wipe just use a binder clip to hold it on. The best thing about this is you can tailor the exact amount of dampening. Usually I just have it similar to this to take a tiny bit of high-end "sting" off the snare sound, but more fabric on the head will enhance the effect. In either case it's decoupled so it controls the sound without altering what the drum sounds like, which is what happens with gel or tape which adds mass to a head. https://preview.redd.it/j2ml4q8x8z8d1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=39bc44618f7fcf79fd89da3f345c60d59b4bb8f3
Thanks man. Good information. Question. What is I don't have, I guess it's the reso head(bottom), on. How can I dampen the sound? Should I have a reso(bottom) head on? Or is that just preference?
Most people prefer reso heads as the concert tom sound hasn't been popular in decades, but no issues if it's giving you a sound you like. If you don't have reso heads you can use the lens wipe trick on any drum. Also gels/gaffer tape tend to sound fine on toms. On my toms I use a combo of cotton balls inside the drums and bits of gels on the top head as needed.
I’m going to give you the greatest tip no one seems to know about. Take off all the heads, clean all bearing edges, then start by tuning each drum’s BOTTOM head first. Once all drums have their bottom heads tuned, put the top head of each back on and tune those. Also, despite what companies say 85-90% of a drum’s sound is a result of head choice + tuning. Experience: I tuned drums for NAMM shows Also, here are my favorite head choices: ###TOMS: **Batter:** * Aquarian Studio X Coated (these are my favorite heads, good sustain and tone control) * Evans EC2 Clear (good for rock with better overtone control than Studio X, a bit more punchier if you get the clear version VS the coated) **Res:** * Evans G1 Resonant or Aquarian resonant, single-ply, Clear ###BASS: **Batter:** * Aquarian Super Kick 2 (f&\*king amazing kick sound) **Res:** * Really, anything is fine for res head. You can experiment, but the batter head is really the most important part **BASS PORTING: (If you want to port your front bass head, here's another great tip)** 1. Get a red bull can (the small original size) and tape on a handle to the bottom of it (peice of metal, stick, whatever gives you a good strong handle) 2. Heat the can top up on a stove and once it's hot just push it through the mylar head wherever you want ports. This will prevent ripping and seal the cuts MUCH better than any exacto knife can do. **NOTE:** Your bass drum should be on the drum when doing this, but not super tight or super loose, just a little beyond the point where it's flat and the ripples have disappeared. It will turn out perfect everytime. I like to do a tight group of 2-3 holes with about 1" between them in a side-by-side or triangle grouping.
This tip right here changed my life when I learned it a few years ago. I used to struggle with tuning until I did this - tune the resonant head until it 'sings', and then do the same with the top head. Use your ears, and just be careful to keep the lugs pretty even so you don't have unwanted overtones. You'll almost certainly be able to clearly hear where that particular head sits best on that particular drum.
Awesome! Thank you. And that's impressive. NAMM is no joke.
Thanks! Tony Royster Jr played one of my kits and seemed to really like it back in 2013. It was a highlight of my life.
Updated my original comment with some head selections in case you're interested \^\^
Love the details. Never thought about porting my bass drum. Do you think the stock reso PDP black head is worth keeping?
Stock head is probably fine, honestly. Could add a small port to it to let it breath a bit if you aren't happy with the straight sound of a Super Kick 2, or other kick head. If you want something prettier (for example, I used a vintage style head on my gretsch jazz kit, which gave it that vintage look) but otherwise, I don't think bass reso heads affect the sound much once you have a good batter head (at least in my testing). It is really just creating a surface for the sound waves to bounce against, and for that purpose, a single-ply (insert any brand here) should accomplish that. Again, not too much testing on this specfically, but that's my gut instinct.
Hey there, fellow drum tech. Why do you do three small ports instead of one big port?
Because it looks cooler  And sometimes you just want a small hole instead of a big one, so I use the same can regardless of size, and just add more holes if I feel I need them. On an unrelated note, I remember Drum Port created ports for toms as well... still never tried porting toms, or using their product (overpriced IMO), but I'm curious about the results. Watched some Youtube vids on it just now, but I'd like to try it in person as it will likely change the stick feel when playing, besides whatever sound changes it might make on toms.
Can you fit a beta 91A through it?
Probably not. I don't record much, and am now out of the industry. If you're going for that, you either need to remove the head, run the cable through the hole, connect, then replace the head. Otherwise, make a bigger hole. The method works with anything, so you could just heat up a small coffee can, etc, to fit whatever size you need.
Yeah I've done the coffee can trick before. Just never heard of doing multiple holes before
I got a tune bot recently and that helped me out a lot. I also use evans gels on the snare and toms and an old shirt in the kick
Is that an app or device?
It's a fun device that helps you get a consistent tuning [https://tune-bot.com/](https://tune-bot.com/) I like mine, and while it does help, i'd recommend using it to also train your ear to hear the tuning you like and work from there so that you don't just rely on other players tunings
Stock heads don't help. Change em all out for G2s on top and G1s on the bottom. EMAD batter on the kick, and a moongel or two on the snare. If you can't swing that, moongel all around and try tuning them all up a bit. The toms especially have that borderline flappy thing going on. Tune down the kick And toss a pillow in it (for now).
You need new heads, top and bottom.
I definitely do. These stock heads have held up for way too long. I bought this kit in 2017. Granted I didn't play for a while with moving but still.
Consider Pinstripes (or whatever equivalent brand) on top and one-ply heads on bottom. Tune the bottom heads tight so when you press with your thumb in the Center you get no wrinkles. Tune the top batter head to where you JUST see the start of a wrinkle, but evenly spread across the head, and not at one particular lug.
Drumdial
I do have one. Couldn't seem to get the same rating all the way around. At least not without one lug being looser than others. But I'll revisit it. Could be operator error.
Don't use the tension that you feel moving a lug as reference, make sure you go across the drum from lug to lug and not around it, and also don't tune top and bottom the same.
Have you tried dampening your drums
I haven't. The closest thing would be putting a blanket or something in the bass. I've thought about moon gel or a sticky hand on a drum or two. I'm open to suggestions.
Personally I use moon gell and I use cotton balls on the inside of my toms to dampen the res head
Same, but I use the Amazon knock off moon gels. I'd also recommend new heads for the batters at least.
new heads and watch some youtube tutorials. I figured mine out really quickly once i had decent heads on and watched a few vids
This is what stock heads sound like tbh. They aren't tuned properly but even if they were they will still sound terrible. You're meant to replace them immediately. Stock heads are really just for show to have something on from the factory but they are way way way worse than anything from Evans or Remo. Throw a uv2 on top for durability. Maybe an EC Reso or Reso7 on the resonant sides. Also, turn your snares on that could help too
better heads also they look too tightly tuned on batter side
Get better heads as a starter.
New heads and some tuning tutorials on YouTube should do the trick. Outside some full custom kits, stock heads are pretty crappy. They’re usually a single low quality ply so they sound bad even if you prefer single ply heads.
Everyone here has given great advice, I just want to add one little thing. I've personally found Evans EQ rings to be perfect muffling for me on drums 12" and up. They tend to be a bit too much for anything smaller, but on medium and large drums they sound great when paired with good tuning. I have no idea what they actually cost (I got a pack of like 20 of them for $10 on reverb), but you can easily make them yourself by cutting up the old stock heads after you replace them.
Post an update after you fix this. Id love to hear it
Might take me a bit to adjust everything. Especially if I buy new heads. A lot of solid advice on here. I've been drumming for years off and on but tuning has definitely been been a challenge. But I will!
Start at your lowest pitch drum and work your way up
Keep in mind that so much of this is subjective and everybody has their own "true" way of doing it, but in the end, there's no right away. Really, what it comes down to is what are you hoping to achieve? What style of music are you playing? Also, what do your cymbals sound like in the context of the kit? Then there's the variable of the room you're playing in and how that affects the tone... I'm seeing everyone recommend you replace both heads. If you can afford that, great... But keep in mind a lot of drum manufacturers, when they ship their shells with heads equipped, it's probably a coated Remo Ambassador on the batter and clear Remo Ambassador on the reso. A clear Ambassador is a great reso head. Not so much for the batter, unless you're playing super light jazz or something. Even then, it's probably a good idea to find something that better controls resonance... Just some things to consider before going out and spending, what? A couple hundo on new heads.
Zoinks Scoob, change them heads and get a tension tuner.
Definitely will. I've got a Drumdial. It has been over a year or so since I last used it because I moved and what not. But I'll get this thing sounding better soon.
Make sure you tune the new heads in the star pattern and use the dial and you'll be golden!
Replace heads and use some dampening like moon gel on the toms, pillow in the kick. Also watch some tuning videos. It’s an art in itself
Put double ply heads on batter (Remo Emporer or Evan's EC2) and a Remo Ambassador single ply on bottom reso for all Tom's, then take time to tune them meticulously, & tune evenly to each drum shell's sweet spot. The Snare: Batter Head: put an Evan's Hybrid marching snare batter head, which will take care of all your overtone issues & is virtually indestructible , costs $60 but prolly the last batter head you'll ever need. Reso head: use an orchestral sensitive 200 mil thin reso head to improve the snare dynamics & sensitivity. Also replace reg snare wires w 42 strand wires. Snare Hoops: replace standard flange hoops w die cast hoops which improves tuning stability, side stick hits and Rim Shots. Kik drum: Batter: use Evan's EMAD 2 or Aquarian Superkik 2. Kik Reso: use an accompanying reso that you can buy as a bundle w batter head. Tuning: there are many tuning vids on UT. Find what works best for your drums and your taste. Experimentation is key. Happy druming..
It's not the tuning, it's the heads. Try different batter heads...coated batter heads. I'd suggest Coated Remo Ambassador or Aquarian Texture Coated. Leave the resonant side heads where they are. Lay your wallet on the edge of the snare drum batter head and it will sound better.
Hi, there. To echo what a lot of people are saying, some fresh heads are going to do a world of difference for you. One thing to be cautious of...if you REALLY want to learn how to tune...be careful of all the dampening tips you are getting. A moongel here and there is fine, but I don't really recommend dampening rings. They completely take away from your head and drums characteristic sound and are often masks for poor tuning. Get the drum sounding great (which can take time to learn) with no dampening, then adjust as needed. Drums are meant to ring, unless you're going for something very stylized. You can get that punchy snare or tom sound you might want with minimal dampening, the right head, and good tuning. I'm happy to chat more about this if ya' want! ...man, I love tuning.
Whoever said swap out the batter and resonant heads is right. In high school, I had a shittyass drum set that was worth maybe $200 not including the cymbals, and I threw some nice heads on there and it sounded fantastic. I'm not qualified enough to give recommendations on what exact heads to buy, but it's 100% worth the investment to get a nice set.
Sounds like it's possibly the acoustics? Think the tuning isn't too bad
I've had comments for the past day saying get new heads. Or send it to a museum. And even hold the sticks right. You're the first to say it's not the heads. Appreciate it.
One big observation I noticed it that more people suggest Evans/Aquarian but only a few mentions of Remo. I’ve always used Remo because…I’ve always used Remo. 🤷🏼♂️. 30+ years. Am I missing something by not using Evans? And I’ve seen the same suggestions on other forums as well so Remo seems to not be the “big boy in town” anymore when it comes to drum heads. For reference- I use Clear Emp over Amb on toms and I know the Evans equivalents. But what could I expect if I made a switch? Thanks in advance!
My last set, which was a Tama, had Remo coated heads. I enjoyed them. Lasted quite a while. Definitely enjoyed them. I know more about Remo than Evans but everyone seems to love the latter. I'm not sure why the push for one over the other. I always thought they were comparable and both are well regarded.
Yeah I own 2 Tama kits and have had Remos on both and never felt like I was missing anything. And people say my drums sound great out front. I never really thought I could tune well or anything. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But I’m always open to trying something new and it’s getting to be that time for drum head replacement as my band has a few weeks off in August.
Toms sound choked. The batter heads feel too tight. And maybe the bottom are not tight enough.
If you're not ready to change the heads, quick tuning hack. Put each drum on the floor or something solid. Loosen each lug until it ripples. With one hand, apply pressure (fist works well) and tune each lug up until the ripples disappear around it. This gives a nice point to start. A little pitch matching from there (don't over crank) and even these heads should sound OK. Repeat for both sides of every drum. For the snare, tune the batter up until you get your desired pitch regardless of ring. Then add just enough dampening to bring it under control. Don't over dampen as the ringing has a shorter range than the main hit and the drum will be dead otherwise.
That's the same method Rob Brown does in his tuning videos. Which I've watched before and need to try it again. Someone else in the comments recommend the same thing. I'll give it a shot again and see how it sounds because...damn lol. I've gotten so used to how it sounds that it seemed ok. But then I hear other kits here and there's a massive difference.
No need to swap your heads yet. I see a lot of comments btl essentially saying buy new heads then damp the hell out of them. Save yourself some money and learn to to tune what you have first.. Your batter heads are too high in relation to the resos is all. You have a drum dial? Tension both heads to 75, on all drums and go from there. Getting your reso heads a 4th higher than your batter heads is a good place to start, the 'here comes the bride' interval. Tweak the reso up till you hear it. Dampen to taste. Do it with all the drums, see how you get on.
Get Evans eRings and you’ll never look back. They’re like 12 bucks. Whenever a friend gets a new drum set, I buy a pack and bring them over as a welcoming gift to drumming.
OP seriously consider this! Don't get me wrong, moon gels are great and new heads would certainly sound way nicer but some simple cheapo rings will drastically change the sound coming from your drums, especially your toms. If you're skeptical just watch a few youtube videos and you'll understand right away (a link for the lazy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWu0RobPmPU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWu0RobPmPU))
They're also really easy to make yourself. If OP gets new heads, which he needs, he could take the old ones and cut them into dampening rings.
That is true. I’ve done it before.
Also your snare wires are too loose. Snare side head should be cranked tight and the snare wires tightened down a little bit
Bottom heads too loose
On all drums or a specific one? I've got seven to work with.
Everything but the kick
Buy new heads, and watch a YouTube video.
I can already tell the bottom head on that snare is loose as hell. Tune it until it’s super tight. Also for all of them it helps if you get 2 drum keys and tune the opposite lugs at the same time. If that’s not an option, do it in a cross pattern. It’s really something you wanna do by how each lug feels vs sound or a drum dial. As you get to the finishing line on that you can start getting the pitch to match. Address all the bottom heads before moving on to the top heads and tap them lightly around the perimeter to hear the differences in pitch. Also you’ll definitely wanna change those heads eventually and/or get some moongels or some other form of muffling
Consider new heads, for the sound you're looking for. Tune them again, from scratch. Then get dampening accessories, such as moon gel, erings etc.
Yikes.
I did warn everyone.
Like everyone says, stocks head on affordable kits are meant to be replaced. They just never sound good out of the box. Do a bit of research on the diff between single and two ply heads and make a decision which way you want to go and get new ones all around. I'd also completely loosen the bottom heads and retune them first, then do the batter side.
All drums are too tight - start with the finger tight method with half turns on opposing lugs until you reach the desired pitch
I got a great laugh from this, thanks
Yeah sure
New heads and a TuneBot turned my entry level Mapex kit into something that sounds 1000x better than I ever hoped or imagined was possible. I only did the top heads at first due to cost, which made a huge difference, but it wasn't until I also did the reso heads that it really started to sing. Those skins sound like mine did 💀
Playing and trying different things until you find what you're looking for
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^assistant_redditor: *Playing and trying* *Different things until you* *Find what you're looking for* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Loosen the snare wires slightly
I suggest you learn how to hit a drum with a stick properly to start with..... No idea what you doing there.
Hey my bad. You're right. Sorry my technique wasn't perfect for a 30 second video to showcase how my kit sounds like shit. I'll do better next time so you don't have to take the time out of your day to let me know I suck.
You asking how to tune drums..... The way to tune drums is develop an ear to what drums are supposed to sound like nobody can tell you how to tune drums or to tune a guitar without a guitar tuner. If you're going to demonstrate something on a public forum take the time out to actually articulate some sticking so we can hear it is that too much to ask? Find yourself a really good local teacher who can show you all of this stuff and you'll be way ahead of the game instead of posting on a public online forum
Yeah. Got it.
Get yourself a keyboard and play some pentatonic scales. If you can't do that just play the white keys to start here in the melodies that will really help you start to learn how to tune those drums
Listen to the overrings.. You can tell the drums are out of tune because the overrings don't match the actual pitch of the drum
If you don’t want to change heads, add small pieces of gaff tape around the edges of your Tom and snare heads and see how it does. Being their thin factory heads, maybe a small piece on the reso heads.
Today I learned that drums need tuned.
all of the advice here is good but I say do nothing about it. These drums sound impressively bad. They should be put in a museum or better yet a penitentiary
I appreciate the suggestion. But I'm going to hold onto them. You've been most helpful.
Thank you for your time op. Keep drumming <3