I have Evans coated on all my toms and remo weatherking on my snare, no reso head on the bass, not sure what the batter head is on my bass drum. Someone else blew it up and replaced it a while back. Its a Tama Rockstar with 5 toms on a pearl rack. Every drummer that plays this kit loves it! I have a old acrolite snare on it. Serious drummer that come usually bring thier own snare.

The factory tama reso heads on the toms.

Remo Coated Emperors are great on top, but I really prefer the Evans G2 Coated heads for toms. They just seem to have more "roundness" to them. Remos always sound "plasticy" and "mid-rangy" to me for some reason...especially when you combo the coated emperor with a coated ambassador on the bottom. If you plan on tuning the drums up a little higher that combo can be golden, but for lower-med rock tuning I always dig the G2s way more...unless you are playing through a gigantic system every night...then it is just all about what feels the best to your stick (imo).

That said, I put Remo Emperors on almost every snare I have. Still good sensitivity, but tough enough and with enough added low end for loud rock music. I just really like the way Remo heads sound on snare drums in general.

As far as the felt goes...I would put a strip about 3-4 inches wide or so vertically on the opposite site that I put the port hole...running between about 7 and 11 oclock on the side that has the most "head realestate" left...if you know what i mean. If you dont plan on porting the drum then just do the same only it doesn't matter which side. You want to keep it away from the center of the head so that you get the initial response from the "meat" of the head without the muffler killing the sound right away. That way the felt just dampens the overtones.

If you have ever used "moon gel" or a similar product, you notice that the closer to the edge you place them the more "overtones" you still hear. Closer to the center...more dead sounding and less responsive. The MORE moon gel you use the more dead the sound is. The LESS you use...the more natural overtones. Same idea with the felt. You want to find what thickness sounds best to your ear, and locate the perfect spot for your sound. Its best to go closer to the edge than the center, but not too far out (if that makes sense). Also, whatever you do, if you port the head, don't run the felt right next to the hole. Port on one side and felt on the other.

Hope that helps!

-Adam

By "always" I mean on the 70's Ludwig shells that I own. I dig that combo on other kits. 70's Luds always sound the best to my ear with coated G2s on top and a one ply clear on the bottom.

-Adam

Just wondering..Try the fib on top and the Pin on bottom tuned higher than top.

Have you tried that yet??

PS..Stanton Moore has played Fiber on top with amb on bottom....they sound Great!!!

Get Ludwig heads all around the toms. Coated batter, clear reso, both medium weight. On the bass, coated on both, heavy batter, medium reso, 1 felt strip on the batter.

Since I already had a complete set of pinstripes I decided to go ahead and use them for the batter heads. I got some single ply clear evens genera for the tom resos. Im going to get a Ludwig Logo head for the bass.

I have a kit im going to take to a benefit next week for all the drummers to play. I got some evans g2 for the tom batter heads. Its a gretsch Blackhawk kit. Its not a high end kit so I decided to at least put some good heads on it. The drummers are required to bring thier own snares and cymbals. Im just providing the drums and stands an pedals and throne. I like the way the evans sound on my Tama Rockstars I have at the Jamhole. Everyone loves that kit.

Small point on the cloth mufflers if you like that method for dampening. It's not felt (too heavy) or an old T-shirt (flimsy and curls up) that works best, if you want control.

Flannel is my choice.

Thought I'd add one more option to the mix. ;)