Aquarian heads!

S

SimSalaBim

Senior Member
Hi

Probably talked about before but I am looking for some opinions about Aquarian heads. Gonna change bass drum, snare and 10 and 12 tom heads. I am looking for some recommendations from Aquarian line. I played Evans and Remo but would like to experiment a little. Neee something for louder rock settings. Thx.
 
Big Hitters:
Super 2 clears on the toms
Super kick 2 / regulator on the kick

Not big hitters:
Classic clears on the toms
Superkick 1 / regulator on the the kick
 
This is what works for me:
Snare Drum: my favorite is the Studio X Texture Coated. Classic Clear reso head.
Toms: Super 2 Clear with X-Ring for batter. Classic Clear Gloss Black reso head.
Bass Drum: My "go to" head combo is Force I Clear for batter and coated Modern Vintage Medium with a factory glued in felt strip. I cut a small 2-inch diameter port (front bottom center, two inches above the hoop) to route a cable harness for internal mounted microphones. I'll also use the Super Kick I Clear on some of my bass drums when I need a tad more muffling. All bass drums have an Evans EQ pad inside.
 
I have been quite impressed by a combo : Force 1 on bass drum, Texture coated on snare, Performance 2 on toms. Lively yet controlled and very durable. I have tried also Texture coated on toms, it sounded great on my Signia, and the coating is very good.
But I never liked the Superkick - too muted and too stiff under the foot.
 
Tamaefx said:
I have been quite impressed by a combo : Force 1 on bass drum, Texture coated on snare, Performance 2 on toms. Lively yet controlled and very durable. I have tried also Texture coated on toms, it sounded great on my Signia, and the coating is very good.
But I never liked the Superkick - too muted and too stiff under the foot.
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How are you liking Performance 2 on toms? Do they sing nicely or do they sound dead?
 
I think the Super Kick batter with Regulator front head combination sounds great if you want to avoid using any additional muffling inside the drum and still get a tighter "rock" sound. As with any pre-muffled bass heads you might need to add a little more tension to keep the tone lively, but when they're dialed in correctly they sound fantastic.

A SK II sounds quieter than an SK I or III, but I'm not sure you'd notice a difference if you're planning on playing in a mic'ed setting.

For tom heads...man, that's pretty wide open. I've used an awful lot of their heads for "rock" playing, but they have so many options that it really comes down to what kind of flavor you want to have. For a more general sound I think clear Super 2's sound really good. They're a little more lively because of the 7+5-mil construction, which is what I'd want on smaller 10" and 12" toms. You didn't mention your floor tom, but I'd probably recommend a Response 2 for any toms bigger than 12".

The Modern Vintage heads sound great tuned medium/medium-low. They do what other coated heads do but with a thicker boost of mid-range tone. Now that you can get four different thicknesses you can really dial in what kind of sustain and feel you want while keeping the overall tone of the toms well balanced.

I've used the Performance II's before; they're essentially the same idea and vibe as a Pinstripe or EC2. If that's your type of "rock" sound I think you'll like them. I thought they were fine for that kind of sound but I was just mentally (and actually) moving away from EC2's, so they weren't exactly what I wanted at the time.

For snares: While I don't really like any kind of edge treatments on tom heads, I really like the Studio-X coated head on snares. Similar (but different) I also really like the Texture Coated Reverse Dot. For the last few years I've been using a lot of snare heads with reverse dots for the feel and the attack. If you prefer the sound and/or feel of 2-ply heads on snares once again the (coated) Super 2 or Response 2 sound great.
If you like 2-ply construction AND a dot, the Hi Velocity is 7+5-mil (like a Super 2) but with a reverse dot.
If you want two-ply and a little more control, the coated Reflector is an interesting head. It's a lot of head (10+6-mil I believe), but it softens the tone and feel, and I have one snare tuned super, super low as an effect and that drum doesn't need any additional muffling but still sounds solid. Tuned up in a more "normal" range and the Reflector is clean and clear and still surprisingly lively for a thicker head.


On my kit right now I have a mix of Modern Vintage II and Deep Vintage II on the toms, and a Hi-Velocity on my (aluminum) snare. My steel-shell snare drums are both currently fitted with coated Reflector batter heads. Bass Drum is usually (but not currently) a Super Kick Modern Vintage batter with a Regulator front.
 
has anyone used the Response-2 black texture coated? they are described as drier than the white coated...
but Im looking to avoid that plasticky sound/feel...
 
Stx'n'Bonze said:
has anyone used the Response-2 black texture coated? they are described as drier than the white coated...
but Im looking to avoid that plasticky sound/feel...
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I wish I had so I could confirm for you, but black coated heads are about the only general variety of Aquarian heads I've never tried.

I can say that the yellow Vintage coating is thicker and rougher than the white and gray coatings, and also helps the Modern Vintage heads avoid sounding like plastic. I don't get a plasticky vibe from Aquarian in general, but the Modern Vintage heads are especially warm.
 
On black coated heads, I've not used the Response-2, but I've had the same Jack DeJohnette heads on my toms for a year now. They don't feel/sound plasticky, have a coating that holds up really well; still looks/feels almost like new -definitely hasn't worn off. I'm not anywhere close to thinking about changing them out.

Winston_Wolf said:
I can say that the yellow Vintage coating is thicker and rougher than the white and gray coatings, and also helps the Modern Vintage heads avoid sounding like plastic. I don't get a plasticky vibe from Aquarian in general, but the Modern Vintage heads are especially warm.
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I would agree with this too. I have MV on my micro kit and they sound great.
 
Duck Tape said:
Use a super kick if you want your kick to sound like an old mattress
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not true, i use a superkick 10 and it thunders!!! its all down to the tuning and if the drum like the head or not :)
 
if you're a heavy hitter:

force 10 clear batters OR performance IIs OR reflectors over classic clears on toms
superkick 10 over ported regulator on kick
hi-impact OR triple threat OR hi-energy batter over hi-performance reso on snare

------------------------------------

medium to med-heavy hitters:

super 2 or response 2 on tom batters over classic clears
superkick 1 2 or 3 batter over ported regulator on kick
hi-velocity OR coated focus-x w/powerdot OR coated studio-x w/power dot batter over classic clear on snare

-------------------------------------------

light hitters/vintage sounders:

jack dejohnette coateds OR texture coateds OR classic clear OR modern vintage OR deep vintage batter over hi-frequency OR modern vintage on toms
force 1 OR modern vintage w/ felt strip batter over force II OR modern vintage w/ felt strip on resonant.


_______________________________________________



 
I like response 2 on the toms, I don’t think they sound better or worse than my remo/evans heads, they feel like as good or better quality. I thought they were similar to a g2/emperor but I’m reading here that the super heads are closer?

The classic clears are a single ply so I would be using them as resos and have a set on a pearl masters maple which sounds great.

I stay away from anything with muffling like the studio x stuff, I did own a Gretsch kit briefly with a full set of those on the toms and they were very subdued.
 
Duck Tape said:
I like response 2 on the toms, I don’t think they sound better or worse than my remo/evans heads, they feel like as good or better quality. I thought they were similar to a g2/emperor but I’m reading here that the super heads are closer?

The classic clears are a single ply so I would be using them as resos and have a set on a pearl masters maple which sounds great.

I stay away from anything with muffling like the studio x stuff, I did own a Gretsch kit briefly with a full set of those on the toms and they were very subdued.
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Response 2 on toms are my go-to. The Super 2 are 7 & 5 mil where the Response 2 is 7 & 7 mil (similar to Emperors). Lotta good recommendations in this thread! I switched from Remo to Aquarian within the past year and have been very happy with their different options. Have yet to try the Vintage heads or the DeJohnette line.
 
I've had the SKI before and didn't like it either. Way too muffled, stiff, and muted. I like the Force I heads a lot more, sort of a meatier Remo Powerstroke.

For louder settings, the 2-ply Response 2 or Super 2 should work. Also a fan of the Modern Vintage heads.

For snares, a good long-lasting head is the Texture Coated w/ Power Dot.
 
SimSalaBim said:
Thanks guys for all the help. I think for the first time I will go with Force I on bass, Super 2 on toms and Texture Coated w power dot on snare.
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dont forget a kickpad for where the beater hits! :)
 
Duck Tape said:
See, look how quiet the super kick is compared to the rest of them, it’s probably the worst head there.
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true it does sound a little more quieter, but ive got it on my studio monitors and studio headphones, so IMO its only a bit quieter due to the felt ring muffling it.

with my SK10 and wood beaters with one of the older-model kickpads, it thunders on my kit :) but yeah, on some drums it definitely sounds quieter :/
 
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