[COLOR="DarkRed"]You looking for coateds, I assume ?

Evans J1 Etched !!!!

....... vvvvvvvery nice single-plys. Not coated, but sort of a frosted clear, feels like coated under the stick, nice for brushwork and a very 'open' sound.

Second thought are coated Diplomats...third thought is Evans G1 coated....[/COLOR]

Yes, coated. Have an etched on one of my snares, I do like it. If I were to use them on the toms what would you use on the reso? Never used the diplomats, if I were to use them would you use a diplomat on the reso side also? Got some G1's on my little Gretsch jazz kit and they are ok. My new kit came with the original bass reso head, veryyyy thin. Can't decide if I will use it or not, it was pretty stained and dirty but cleaned up ok. The only thing it has going for it is the Slingerland logo. What about the Aqurian vintage? They have a cool look. Are they single or double ply?

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Aquarian vintage heads are cool, but we are talkin' a different weight entirely...they are medium to medium-heavy. They are great when you wanna dry out the sound of a drum because of too much resonance, but it doesn't sound like you wanna go that direction.

Hmmm, the res heads ?...good Q. I usually go with single-ply clears, primarily because I sell these kits and folks wanna see the shell interiors. they sound good, always.

But if you wanted to do coated res heads, I suppose you could just duplicate the batter side heads.

But the thought of J1's on both sides...that's VERY interesting...I cannot say I have ever tried that.... [/COLOR]

I love the part where you get to put new heads on, its like the grand finale or summing...

anyway, ive always trusted the aquarian classic clear on the reso side, or any of the similar ambassadors, genera etc.

The reso heads on drums really bring out the sound of the drum, so its important for them to really respond and thats why a single ply is usually the choice.

An old drum dealer around here once explained his approach (which I have found works well), whatever head you have on the top make sure the reso head is thinner, that usually gets a great sound as I like to tune the reso a couple steps higher than the batter. the only area where this was a bit tough was floor toms as due to their depth and size you usually need a single ply on top but then you dont get much "bounce" out of the reso. but Evans seem to have sorted that by releasing the ultra thin reso heads

Rounded edges are going to bring out the warm tones more, so I like to use Diplomats. Why? Because they are thinner and they "bend" onto that round edge better and form a better seal -making full contact with all of the entire edge. That equates to better head-to-shell relationship and makes the drums sound...gooder!flowers2 But, hey, if the edges are nice and round and perfectly even, then any head will work. You just have to determine what sound you are looking to achieve within the limitations of that particular edge design.

I have actually found it rather difficult to find coated Diplomat batter heads in many shops, though. They are mostly only the Diplo snare side heads. I have to order mine, now. I can't rely on the shops around here to stock them. That seems kind of ludicrous to me. But whatever.

I put a few old heads I had on the 12" tom , just couldn't wait. Fiberskyn on the batter, coated Ambassador on the resonant. The ambassador side is very open, the Fiberskyn side much warmer but still very resonant. This tom sings. The edges are pretty good given the age of these drums. Hopefully I'll have these up and running by the end of the weekend.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Yes, definitely go thinner on the res side.

And yes, tuning the res head a third or a minor third above the batter side tone/pitch is something which usually works very well. Barring that, I tune 'em to the same tone/pitch.

Here's an interesting thing I read...some pro, famous guy but dammit can't remember who...suggested tuning the batter to the "natural pitch" of the shell !

i.e. tap the shell with your fingers or stick, and match the tuning pitch of the batter head to that. Naturally, a larger shell is a lower pitch when you tap it than a small shell...so it sorta works. Theory is this creates a nice sorta natural symbiosis between head and shell. It sounds good....

I found that interesting....

Cool that the F-skin works....those aren't light heads. Neither is a coated Amb a light res head. But if the edges are done nicely, then heck, pretty much most heads should sound good.[/COLOR]