I recently purchased a 1964 blue sparkle Superclassic kit that still has the original heads on them. I really want to use these drums,but my question is, should I use the originals or replace them. My thoughts are to remove them and put them away and replace them with new heads.
My second question is, what heads to put on these vintage drums that will make them sound best. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I would take them off and store them......as far as what to use after you do that....several choices, depending on the type of sound you are after. You could get new Ludwig weathermaster coated heads if you still want the original look......you could go with Remo's ambassador coated, or even better the Vintage a's, for that traditional 60's sound. Or you could go with the Fiberskyns for that more calf like sound......although remo states that the rennaissance heads are even closer.....or you could go with Aquarian Vintage heads, or texture coateds for that fact. I personally like the sound of Aquarians over remo.....they tune up faster and seem to last longer. Only one issue I've ever had with Aquarian....the hoops are a little thicker and sometimes wil not fit the toms....in other words too tight on the shell. But I've only had that experience with one of my kits and it was from the late 80's, not the earlier ones....go figure!
Ludwig's heads don't sound bad, they give you the original look, they are just harder to find. Even my local Ludwig dealer doeesn't carry them anymore....just not popular enough I guess. You can get them through Interstate music or 2112online for reasonable prices. They are a little more fussy when it comes to tuning though....Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the perfect sound out of them, no biggie if you know how to tune your drums properly though. Cool Dude
Thanks man, that's alot of info. What to do on the reso side.
Oh man...did you open a can of worms. Head choice is VERY subjective. Everyone has an opinion and they are adamant about it. "Coated Emperors are the only heads to use on Ludwig drums!", "Coated Ambassador on top and Clear on bottom!", etc etc etc. The best thing you can do for yourself is take your bass mounted tom (12 or 13) and buy a selection of heads for that one drum. Mix and match them until you get "THAT SOUND". It's got to be right for your ears. Then skin the kit. I went through twelve different heads in combination to come up with the right sound for me. After that initial investment (painful as it was), it was just a matter of skinning the kit and the rest fell in line. The kit sings. The advantage of doing it this way is you might like one combination but just LOVE another. You wouldn't know about that other combination had you not tried it. That's what it took for me. You might find yours right out of the chute. Just a thought and an alternative idea. Now that's just the toms. Bass drums are a different beast altogether. Good luck with your search.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]I agree w/ everyone who has replied. LD is right, put the original heads safely into storage.
MCJ is right, it's just personal sonic preference. IMHO, I find that for that era of drums, I tend to go with Evans J1 Etched if you are a jazz player, or Remo Fiberskyns if you play a variety of music.
Just MY preferences...
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