Depends. I have a 14 floor tom that I have a black PS top and hazy 300 snare bottom/reso. That is after trying 4 different cominations. It really sounds good. My snares are a different story. I can use almost any head, as long as I have a 200 on the bottoms. I have the round and 60* edges, and the steely likes the Ambassador best. Bass, I have not had the money to try out, I have a 20" and 22" and the 20 is hard to find anyone around here that has any old ones to donate for trials. The neighbor hits a 22, and he donated a clear Pearl and it sounds great.

Sorry, I was in a hurry this morning. Now, let's get some good head....well, maybe not. The 14 ft is a 3 ply in prime condition, has aged extremely well, and I know someone that hates to hear this, but to my ear, sounds every bit as good, now, as a 14 L....That said, here is how I acheived this tonal quality.TAMA has introduced a new line of snares, Star-Phonic. If you go over there and look about, take a close look at the bearing edge design and and see if you can duplicate it using sandpaper. I had no idea I was "copying" their design until after I had done some research for a thread we had running a couple of months ago. It is a great design, and works very well for these drums, if yours are rounded edges to begin with. I don't go to the full "knife edge", but it is a modification of that that I am finding to work well with modern heads. Or you can try the Aquarian American/Modern Vintage on round overs. It really depends on what you want to hear. Mine sound great the way they are, but the bass, well it sounds just OK, and only because I have a newer TAMA pedal to give it that thump it was missing. The head on the 20 is 45 years old, and really needs a replacement, but finding good heads here is almost impossible. I live in OKC market, and these people just don't seem to care about their customers needs, they want to sell you what they want to sell, not want the customers want to buy. It is sad they treat us this way. If I had the money, it would be a different market altogether. I would open a drum shop catering to all drummers, not just the ones that buy from me. Does that make sense?

http://www.thedrumheadexperts.com/

I've got a bunch of MIJ drums in various states. The rehabed ones, or those found in good original shape seem to like coated emps or ambs, depending on the drum. Attack medium clears seem to work fine for resos and are pretty easy to tune up.

However, I was just working on a Tempro 14" ft that came with older (small logo) coated emps batter and reso. They were worn, but not terrible. After doing quick cleaning of the hoops and lubricating the lugs (which I'm positive are original and are in immaculate condition) it tuned up pretty quickly. While the sound might have sounded a little dry/'dead' to some, I thought it sounded very good and even a little bit calf-like, and this was with the muffler completely off the head. In fact, I'm liking the sound so well I may give this combo a try on a 12" tom in the near future.

For MIJ bass drums, I think Powerstroke 3's are a really good fit, soundwise. Gives just the right amount of muffling without taking away from the character of the drum.

Snare drums... the jury is still out. A lot of this depends on the quality and condition the drum in question. Haven't tried one yet, but I bet a coated PS3 would work pretty well. I heard a great sounding MIJ 8 lug wood snare with a Fiberskin batter and an Evans snare side of some sort.

Its not that I only use Remo stuff, but they tend to be more available and much cheaper than Aquarian and Evans. I would like to try the Aquarian Vintage American line at some point, but they aren't cheap and aren't easy to find, even online.

OK, I have 3 MIJ snares at this moment, and another floating around the neighborhood.

1) Single ply mahogany w/maple rings, 6 lug with sticksavers, likely Stewart-5.5x14 in excellent condition. This is currently set up with coated Emperor top, Evans Hazy 300 bottom, 20 strand snappies. Fat, toothy, woody tone. Tuned high it is open, and well rounded, low is warm and very pleasant. When I put the Ambassador on, it is brighter, yet loses nothing in quality. This has to be a 35-40 year old snare due to the edge. It has approx. 60* inner cut and approx. 45* outer. My estimation of age is based on the time-line of Ludwig switching to angled edges in '68. This ring/edge was very rough when I got the drum and it tuned up poorly. After I cleaned up the edges with a good sanding of 100/220 then some edge treatment, it is very easy to tune. This is the first edge that I unknowingly contoured to a similar profile as the Star-Phonic series. Great minds..... Aged wood, good heads, and a little proper tuning and this little drum has turned into a great asset for the ebay price of $32.00 including shipping. Add the bottom head for $12.00, and the top was a freebie, and you got a wood snare that will be a good working drum.

2) Majestic (Star) 7 ply mahogany lauan, 6 lug 5.5x14. This is a 45ish year old drum and is in excellent condition. Dating is approximate due to the edge contour, and the fact it is a copy of a couple of different Ludwig and Slingerland catalog sets of the early to mid 60s. It is part of a 98%complete kit. Edge is a round over design I worked to the same contour as the Star-Phonic, rounded at the outer edge to a "point" and then sloping away to the inside. I really dig this design. I started contouring my drums this way after some discussions in October with some very venerable restoration masters on this very site (imagine that). After these discussions I was doing some research at the Star catalogs and timeline when I saw the pitch for the Star-Phonic and decided to drool a little. This is when I noticed my design had been ripped off by TAMA!!!:p At this writing, it has a used Weather King C.S. on top, and hazy 300 bottom (see a pattern?), 20 strand snappies.

3) Star Stainless Steel Model 8256 8 lug 5x14. This is a bad little mama-jama! It appears to be a prototype of a things to come, as this is a direct copy of the stainless Radio Kings. It is set up right now with a Falams II K-series Super. Basically a trampoline cover. Bottom on this drum is the original SoundMaster. I am using it because this drum had about 5 lessons and into the closet for 30-some years. It is virtually a brand new drum, and sounds like an RK. Amazing. Tune it high and it cracks like a whip,, low and is crispy clean and deeply fatty. This drum has virtually limitless tuning range, and sounds good with any head at any range. ringy dingy, poppy, snappy-cracky, you name it it's in there, just like Prego!

4) Ludwig Acrolite. 1976, with a bonus strainer, a Rapid Strainer. Love it. Only has a 16 strand snare wire though....well we all know what they sound like, and this one has a coated Ambassador on it at the moment with an original Resonant Snare by Ludwig, X-Thin Clear Snare on the bottom. (just had to write it all out...don't know why...)

5) No name, 8 lug single ply 5.5x14...this one needs a lot of love, and the neighbor kid loves it. I don't know why, because it sounds like crap in it's current state. He won't let me have it back so I can work on it. Oh well....one day I will snag it and bring it into compliance.

So, you see, it takes work, but they can be made to sound great, if you have patience and know what sound you want and aren't afraid to experiment. For the sake of understanding, and the fact I have mostly Star equipment to begin with, I have included the picture from the TAMA website. Hope they don't mind. If they do, I will have to remove it.