On drums...

Not yet. I'm so close to loving it. In some sublte ways it's superior to the Lite, but it's also subtly harder to play. I spent the morning tuning and playing all my snares. I tried different tunings on some, but that just leads to personal disappointment; that tight strung sound has its place, and the sticks dance on the tight head, but it feels alien.

I found a fresh Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium in my stash and put that on the Signature. Fattens up the sound compared to the Amb, and definitely more alive than the Fiberskyn Amb. I'm told it takes a while for those heads to seat (?) so I'm giving it a few days. Curious about the light version, the Skyntone and the Fiberskyn Dip.

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Gregory

My thoughts exactly!

One of you guys is buying? Wait till you hear the price on this rare item. I'll be a one percenter before you can say, "Occupado."

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Gregory

I like the Modern Vintage medium head. Standard Aquarian POC that it is, it cannot be easily tuned with the DrumDial because of either inconsistent mylar or coating thicknesses. On this snare it sounds kind of soft and gushy with a crisp top, like an apple crumble. When new, the coating is a little harsh for brushes but smooths out with use and is responsive to light work.

I'd still like a shade more warmth, and it will be interesting to see if the thinner version or the Dip Fiberskyn will open up the sound... or just create too much ring. The drum is, after all, a Signature, carrying fair tonnage of bristling hardware.

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Gregory

Got one, Tim, and I love it. Real fat with a live edge. I keep trying my other snares, but none of them has the body and sensitivity of this one. Thanks for the suggestion.

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Gregory

If just a touch of warmth is desired, I just put a small square of duct or gaff tape right on the edge of the batter head. An even more aesthetically appropriate approach is getting a thinner zero ring for a 14" drum and cut out a small piece of it that spans 1.5-3 lugs. It snugs up to the hoop on the lowest point on the snare head and does a great job removing the higher frequency harmonics from the tone without killing the drum as they do when using the whole ring. It kind of floats upon striking the head, often the smallest piece of tape to secure it down helps. Different sizes can be cut from the ring to experiment.

I have a Skyntone on my 12" Djembe. They come stock with a Fiberskyn and I have gone through a FS every 3 years or so since I accompany the band by playing it with brushes as a mobile drumkit, so to speak. A couple years ago, when going in for another FS, the salesman hipped me up to the Skyntone, it was on a Djembe and I checked it out, liked it and purchased one. It is considerably warmer than the FS, the surface much smoother (like a broken in coated head) but not as loud with as much projection-which is a plus in my situation. It does last longer than a FS in a brush situation, too. The comparison to calf is apt.

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Chris

Fiberskyns Ambs are pretty dry, but the Dip FS I'm using on the Gretsch snare gives yields plenty of controlled warmth. The Skyntone would be interesting to try on the Sig and the Lite. The only improvement I'd like on those drums would be a fatter sound when more volume is asked. My take on the Lite and the Sig is that they are excellent jazz drums, but that they thin out a bit as the volume rises. I may well be wrong, because I've never listened to the drum 'out front,' and it may be that the attack is so strong when struck forcefully that my ears are confused. When played quietly, they are very fat, particularly the Sig.

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Gregory

Hi Gregory,
On snare drums, I rarely deviate from my batter of choice, which is Remo coated Ambassador. But, I've got several snares with decorative veneer on the shell interior, and I decided to try clear heads. So, for my CL 8x14 Sonor Signature, I installed and tensioned a Remo Clear Emperor batter. I went back and retuned it several times, but found it lacked sensitivity, and felt it was rather one-dimensional in sound character. It also felt like crap to play. I pulled that head and I installed and tensioned a Remo Clear Ambassador batter. I love the way it plays and sounds. Sensitive, yet beefy when I need more volume. Of course, my brushwork really suffered; you really can't hear it at all! When I get over the desire to see the inner ply, I'll probably revert to coated Ambassadors once again.

Brian

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Drums and No Money will get Me through Hard Times better than Money and No Drums!
-A Recovering Drum Addict

The Tyranny of Inner Veneer.

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Gregory

Hey Brian,

There was a time (back in my loud rock days) when I used either Emperors or G2's as well, and at the time what we now see as 'one dimensional' was 'consistency', if that was the only sound you ever wanted - and it was, since I was playing at a volume that was beyond any nuance anyway. As you suggest, not much for brushwork either, eh?

I still like the look of clear snare heads, and if you look at the photo at the tops of the index page, one of my Designer 14x8's was fitted with one for a while, when it was getting used for rock n' roll, but this time a G1.

A lot more versatile sounding, but still not much for brushes.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?