Buddy Rich used coated Diplomats on his snare drum. My friend Eric played trumpet in Buddy's band during his final years and would set up his drums each night for extra money. He gave me one of Buddy's old snare batter heads and a pair of used sticks (Mike Balter 5A's) as souvenirs back in the 80's. The head had duct tape all around the perimeter on the hoop (for some reason even my friend isn't quite sure of). I just wrote to Eric and he said that Buddy taped his heads on the aluminum hoop and even some of the cymbals and tuned the old refurbished Radio Kings himself...