felix stein Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 I have decided that I am unhappy with my floor tom so I am taking suggestions before I venture to the drumshop. I have too much attack and high mid "spread" in the decay from a two ply head currently. There is an ambassador on the bottom. I am looking for a "bong" sound heavy in the lower register with some low end "poop" to the decay. My kick has and aquarian single ply batter and an aquarian front with no muffling except the "zero ring" muffling system they incorporate. I like that sound very much. I want the floor to be reminisent of that tonal color-OK? Its a 16 x 16 floor with the pearl isolator rubber feet which opened the drum up suprisingly. Believe it or not my friend had a royce kit and the floor tom sound was awesome (to me)...it had a dead ringer and a pinstripe. The rest of the kit sucked though LOL. I am thinking an emperor head with moongel might get me close. All tuning suggestions will be considered. Any suggestions? I am extremely happy with the rest of my kit's sound. Thanks- Felix felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 you said you had an aquarian head on the kick,try an aquarian studio x on the floor tom.it really enhances those low tones with just the right amount of decay.being a large diameter tom too much sustain is always my problem.with the studio x w/dot i dont think you'll be disappointed! ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 12, 2001 Author Share Posted July 12, 2001 I have used these, and they were my fav heads for some time but I quit using them cause they degraded quickly. My drums did not have RIMs at that time either. They were Studio x's but without the "dot". I might audition them again with the dot though. I seem to remember them being a trifle light for my taste after awhile. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 Hey, Felix: Have you tried the powerstroke III's? I use them with a clear amb. on the bottom. Nice FAT sound! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 Hey Felix, you mentioned those rubber isolator feet before and I meant to ask you more about them. They're made by Pearl? Are they easy to find and what do they do exactly? If it helps keep your floor tom from woofing out I'm very interested. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 Originally posted by felix stein: I have used these, and they were my fav heads for some time but I quit using them cause they degraded quickly. My drums did not have RIMs at that time either. They were Studio x's but without the "dot". I might audition them again with the dot though. I seem to remember them being a trifle light for my taste after awhile. Wow ... I've never heard of a Aquarian drumhead degrading quickly. You can get the Studio-X models with texture coating or clear; with or without the dot. Aquarian also has what's called a Double Thin Series which are thinner than traditional two-ply drumheads. They have an open, sensitive, warm sound with great response on tom toms at any volume level. The Performance II Series was just too "tubby" sounding to me; reminded me of the Evans Hydraulic heads. You know, I've never been a fan of Floor Toms in that the timbre does not match the rest of my toms. It always sounds like a big barrel to me. If I use a floor tom in a 4-pc kit, I'm satisfied ... and a 6-pc kit is ... well, okay ... but I absolutely hate using a 16x16 within a 5-pc kit. It's just me I'm sure ... but I don't like them. I loath 13" toms ... period. The only time I use mine is within a 4-pc set-up (13" mounted, 16" floor) ... or if I mount it on the left side of my kit and treat it totally different than the other toms. I do this by tuning it differently and using a different type drumhead. So I guess it gets treated like an "effects" tom; great for latin grooves, etc. I would really like to have a Yamaha Maple Custom kit. WHEN I get it, I want all mounted toms ... no floor toms. My Gretsch kit uses a 14x14 floor tom which is sweet; but then again, it's a 4-pc set-up. ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 Hey Bart and I agree HOOORRAAYYY!!! I don't like floor toms either!My 14"and16" toms are stand mounted.I dont loose any resonance or tone and the 16" though not quite as deep as as a floor tom sounds plenty deep and warm.Mounted toms w/RIMS style mounting are the way to go to get all you can from your toms.Also in arranging your large diameter toms you don't have the drop between mounted and floor toms.Nice arc for smooth rolls. Thats why I must win that DW kit!6pc/all mounted toms is what I play.Great set up. Keep Rockin'! ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rader Ranch Posted July 12, 2001 Share Posted July 12, 2001 for too long i was living with my old combined jazz kits with 2-12" toms and 2 14" floor toms, so i finally put both the floor toms on a stand and found an 18" Ludwig FT. plenty of low end after that...much more satisfying! even rolled off the highs, sampled it, and used it as sorta an 808 with a little natural pitch bend happening to boot. it was also,um, interesting after i turned the 2 20"bd's into one long one. i've always liked the fact that my toms go from timbale-like through to...well, big and low i guess. the more tones with less drums the better..at least maybe for those as innaccurate (or lazy) as i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 12, 2001 Author Share Posted July 12, 2001 YES! 16's on the floor are tough to make sound hip...there is no doubt in my mind. That is why I am asking you turkeys. You folks like the aquarians? Good, so do I. I have had a problem with P3's n the past sonically. Little dry if I remember correctly...sorry that is what my ears heard. I might audition a few again just to prove it to myself. Sounds like you all gave up on your floor tom toms. I'm not quite ready for that. I love the retro look of a stocker five piece...especially since everyone else hates them. They are tough to make sound hip-I fully agree. A 12 and 14 are much easier to deal with. I fully agree. You guys are wimps- yes, I fully agree. LOL Just kidding. The isolator rubber feet turn them into something better. One would be amazed. Pearl makes them...that's all I know and they are great. Studio X's I'll have to try them with a dot. Degrading is a nice way of saying I can dent them very easily. The thin double ply interests me. Thank you all for your input- I'll let you all know who the lucky lottery winner will be. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted July 13, 2001 Share Posted July 13, 2001 I think the Aquarian textured coated heads are great; I use them on my kit 90% of the time and they are single ply. If you go with the Studio-X or one of the Aquarian two-ply heads, I personally wouldn't go with texture coating ... if you feel that they naturally sound dry ... the coating will make it even drier in my opinion. I've been endorsing Aquarian drumheads for ten years now ... and I absolutely love them. Remo heads are okay if you can find a good one; they are soooooooo inconsistent. Evans makes some nice heads too ... except for the Hydraulic heads ... LOL. Sorry guys ... but if I wanted the sound that you get out of a Evan's Hydraulic head, I'd just assume play some cardboard boxes; it's a LOT cheaper! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com This message has been edited by Bartman on 07-12-2001 at 07:12 PM Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanajoycekscable.com Posted July 14, 2001 Share Posted July 14, 2001 i had a set of pearl masters mrx with an 18" floor tom, and using a pinstripe on top with clear evans g2 on bottom sounded like a cannon! on the other hand, i used the same setup with my rogers kit, and the floor tom sounded like a yanaha birch kit- a big, fat 'bong' much like you describe. with pinstripe/g2 on all the toms, it really had a modern, sweet sound. however, it's not a sound i like. i'm shooting for the earl palmer/dave clark sound, so i switched to fiberskyn tops and clear g2 bottoms (except for snare- there i use the attack 'terry bozzio' pak) and now i get that great stax/hi/atlantic sound. especially my floor tom- it has that tympani sound (think the original 'harlem shuffle') which i love. it's nice to know i could get the modern 'fusion' sound out of my old kit if need be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 17, 2001 Author Share Posted July 17, 2001 I picked up an aquarian and a P3 clear last night. I let you all know how they fare. I'm sure you can hardly wait. They had an Evans g2 on the "floor" tom in the practice room and that thing sounded awesome. I was very surprised...and yes it was a suspended 14" tom! Very interesting that you are putting a two ply on the bottom head. I like that idea and it is one that I have not tried yet. I have had success using dotted heads on floor toms as well. Wish me luck. I have a birch floor tom as well BTW. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 Felix, what did you end up deciding on? The Evans G2 is a nice head too! Keep us posted. ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanajoycekscable.com Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 i found the 'g2 on the bottom' by accident really- my local drum shoppe had a sale on the evans 'pro pak' containing clear 12,13, and 16s, as well as the power center 14" coated snare. i put the g2's on top, and quickly found out they dented easily, even using 7a ball-end sticks! i stuck 'em on the bottom and put my crusty old emperors on top, and wow! loved it! been using them ever since. i'm still undecided on the fiberskyn tops tho- they do have a 'vintage' tone, and they look really cool (especially as the kick front head!), but they are kind of 'dull' sounding. i'm thinking about checking out the evans g2 coated. if they don't cut it, i'll probably go back to coated emperors. the fiberskyn don't sound bad enough to take off (heads are expensive! doh!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 18, 2001 Author Share Posted July 18, 2001 I put on the aquarian last night. I could only get it to sound good to my ear by leaving some wrinkles in it. I would tighten it up and the tom went retro in tone on me. Kinda boomy. Action was a little light for my taste. I would like these heads if I played softer jazz. So I peeled it off and popped on the Powerstroke 3 The P3 was a little better sounding. It was a clear...good shitty remo epoxy popping as I tightened it. The attack did lessen...there was more of a focused tone from the head but I could not get it pleasant to my ear...seemed to sound very "minor"...that is the only way I can describe it. But it wasn't too bad. Maybe I will fuck with the bottom head tonight and just save some money and live with it till I go back to suspended toms (I had a dw kit with all suspended toms for almost 6 years). I'm going to go for a G2combo, emperor skin, studio x w/dot. I think I might like the g2's felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted July 18, 2001 Share Posted July 18, 2001 Felix, I ordered some of those Pearl isolator feet and should have em in a week or so, thanks for the tip! I'll let you know what they do for my floor tom. I use Aquarian Response 2 heads on my toms (8x12 rack and 14x14 floor). I mostly like 'em, but am always in search of new ideas to make my toms sound more monstrous. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I haven't messed with the bottom heads very much and will probably experiment more with that too. I have Powerstroke 3 heads on the kick, and the Evans vented dry head on the snare. I'm totally happy with both of those. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 18, 2001 Author Share Posted July 18, 2001 I think I'm just going buy some of that blue plastic polyethylene tarp, cut out some circles and glue them to my hoops. I'll let you all know how they sound. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 18, 2001 Share Posted July 18, 2001 I bet they would sound really punchy with proper mic placement!ha ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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