Fibes players

[1up]

I recently aquired a Fibes maple kit and have yet to set it up (I'm awaiting the RIMS mount).

I'm curious, of other Fibes players, what are your favorite drum heads and configurations.  It came w/ the stock Fibes Reso's and coated Ambassador batters.  I'm not crazy about the ambassadors because the tend to give off a slight "paper, slappy" overtone more than any other.  I'm looking to go as warm, tone-y and a configuration that will allow me to tune about as low as the sizes will go.

The shell sizes are:
10 x 12
14 x 14
16 x 16
16 x 24

I appreciate your experimentations and thanks for passing on the knowledge!

Chris

[Bart Elliott]

I use the  http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=5607334&siteid=40906838&bfpid=449302&bfmtype=gear]Aquarian Classic Clears  on the batter side,  http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=5607334&siteid=40906838&bfpid=449312&bfmtype=gear]Aquarian Hi-Frequency  on the resonant. Those are single-ply drumheads.

For what you are wanting, you may want to go with the Aquarian Double Thins. These are two-ply drumheads, but the attack sounds a lot like a single-ply.

As big as those drums are, I don't think you'll have to worry about getting deep, low tones out of them.

A two-ply is ALWAYS going to allow you to tune with as loose a tension as you can get ... and still sound decent. Although I say that, but I can get some really low tones out of my single-ply heads ... and can tune them very loose.

You will probably just need to experiment to find out what you like. There's not one way to go about this.

Anyway ... that's my suggestions ... if you are willing to go with Aquarian.

[1up]

No, I don't mind Aquarians at all.  They're the only heads I've gotten desired results from on my current setup (Gretsch).  I bought a (possibly defective) set of Coated Single ply's one time though that scratched off within a week!  Other than that, they seem to be great heads and my natural choice.  I'm just glad to hear someone else vouching for them, so I'm not missing out on any other potential.

A couple questions to your response . . . .

Should I scrap the Fibes reso's?  Are they going to limit me? They are coated, single ply (unless you knew that).  I don't usually experiment w/ the reso's, but am willing . . . .

If I go with a double ply reso, will I get more low end / quicker decay?  What about a coated reso?

Have you tried the Studio X batters (either clear or coated)? Never tried them but am considering . . . .

Desired results are deep, warm, toney but not overwhelming sustain so fast tom play can separate.  It's a studio kit, just set up for recording.

Thanks!

[1up]

BTW, Bart,

I just saw a picture of your Red fibes kit on your site linked from your profile . . . . . "what a beauty!" :o

[Bart Elliott]

If it were me, and I wanted a quicker decay AND wanted to address the matter with the resonant head as you are, I would not use a two-ply head but rather go with a coated head on the resonant.

I personally do not use coated heads on the resonant side, with exception to my vintage Gretsch kit, which is tuned for Jazz/BeBop.

The Hi-Frequency heads are a lot like the Remo Diplomat; they are thinner than the Classic Clears which is like the Remo Ambassador.

If this is going to be a studio kit, bro ... I would only use single-ply heads. You'll get the most representation of all the frequencies for recording ... then you can cut back what you don't want. I've not used the Studio-X on my FIBES kit, but I have used those heads extensively over the years ... mainly on my Yamaha Recording Custom kit. The Studio-X get's a "studio" sound, but is really meant for live playing ... not to be used in the studio. I'm not saying that you couldn't use them for that ... you can do whatever you want or like ... but just wanted you to know that the Studio-X isn't a "recording studio" type head.

I know you are giving me words like "deep, warm, toney" etc, but it's still difficult to give you an exact answer. I really do think you are going to have to experiment a bit ... to narrow down what is going to work.

My suggestion ... work with just one drum. But various 14-inch heads to use on the 14x14 Tom Tom ... and see what you like. If you don't like the heads, you can use them on a Snare drum ... so it won't be a huge waste. Plus working with one drum and buying a variety of heads for one drum will be cheaper than being entire sets of one type of head ... and then not liking what you got.

Finally, I would always start with single-plys, no coating, first in all that you do. If you need less sustain and more control of the sound, then change to coated. Maybe only a coated batter at first. If that's not enough for you, then add a coated resonant. If that's not enough for you, THEN go to a two-ply batter head, clear, with a clear resonant. If that's not enough, keep the two-ply batter and change the clear resonant to a coated resonant. After all of that, if you still can't get the sound you want, then I would consider using a two-ply on the resonant head.

Hope this helps ... and be sure to let me know what you end up liking ... even if you don't figure that out for weeks.

[1up]

Good Lord, you just laid it down Bart!

That's great info and if it gives you any sense of gratitude, I'll take your approach.  Really good stuff!

I'm gonna try this . . . .  Evans G1 (single ply-clear) for a reso. I'll take it off my Gretsch :(
Then buy the following to try for the batter: Aquarian Classic Clear, Studio X and Coated Single ply (for the hell of it)
and yeah, for the 14FT

I'll keep you posted if interested, even what don't work!  I get really excited about this stuff, especially w/ the potential I've already heard from this kit!

[Chris Whitten]

I'm gonna try this . . . .  Evans G1 (single ply-clear) for a reso. I'll take it off my Gretsch :(

Bear in mind, once you've seated a head on one drum, it wont work very well moved to another drum.
For that matter, they say removing a head then re-installing it on the same drum doesn't sound great unless you have it positioned exactly as before.

[Bart Elliott]

Bear in mind, once you've seated a head on one drum, it wont work very well moved to another drum.
For that matter, they say removing a head then re-installing it on the same drum doesn't sound great unless you have it positioned exactly as before.

chriswhitten is exactly right! If you are going to remove a drumhead and replace it back on the SAME drum, you need to mark the head and the shell so that you can put it EXACTLY where it was before.

Furthermore, placing a drumhead that is used and has already been seated on one drum is NOT going to sound good or respond to its full potential when you place it on a different drum. This is one reason why drummers should never purchase used drumheads; it's a complete waste of money. I do understand if you need something on the drum and can't afford a new drumhead ... as long as you understand that it's not going to sound "good" or seat properly.

[felix]

OT!!!!

Ok, I have a confession to make:

I used a hair dryer last month on a set spent heads my friend gave me for the N&C's.  I was out of dough and out of heads.

I did manage to pull out some divets with this technique although they are pretty sorry sounding now- definitely lacking.  But I got them all close in torque and pitch/lug to lug.

Hairdryers and heads- YM Will definitely Vary!

[Louis Russell]

YM Will definitely Vary!

Felix,  look at my pic!  Does it look like I own a hairdryer?   ;D

[Chris Whitten]

Does it look like I own a hairdryer?   ;D

LOL.
Felix, did your spent heads become full of bounce and vitality?

Well I can understand people using old heads, especially when practicing on their own and pretty much hammering the kit for a few weeks.

On those N&C's though Felix  ???
You said they sounded awesome. Now I'm not so sure.
Seriously though, it costs a bundle to rehead an entire kit.  :-[

[1up]

Thanks there Mr. Whitten,

You DID answer my next question . . . . because I'd loved to be able to throw heads from one to another but always wondered about messing up the intergrity of them on another shell, or even the same one moved for that matter.

Unfortunatly I think I'm going to be moving some heads until I get the Fibes sounding like I think they should.  Then I'll stick with that configuration and re-head, not to be moved.

BTW, I've tried some 14" samples using what a local shop had: Aquarian Single ply Coated and a StudioX Clear.  Not terribly happy with either, the Studio X was more like it but didn't swap anything in for the reso (which is still the Fibes coated).  I'll try a classic Clear and Performance 2 (2-ply clear) when I find them and or have the cash.

On my Gretsch Renown toms, I have the performance 2 which was purchased by mistake but am actually quite fond of them.  Curious to try them on the Fibes.  I like to tune low. Deep, warm tones and a controllable sustain is ideal for me so I'm thinking the 2 ply clear just might be as good as it gets.

Will post w/ my resolve it it ever happens,  then some audio samples . . . . .

thanks!

[Bart Elliott]

In my opinion, all your testing and head swapping is in vain if you don't get a new resonant head on there.

You can put used heads on another drum ... sure ... but I certainly don't recommend it. Do what you've got to do, because of financial reasons, but do understand that a drumhead, once seated, is conforming to the bearing edges of the original drum. The little hair dryer trick can work to allow the mylar to reform to the new bearing edge, but heating mylar (the material that IS the drumhead) will cause it to break down at the molecular level ... which causes thinning. If you do this enough (or too much), the drumhead is going to break ... either because of the thinning or from becoming brittle.

This same type of thing is true for calfskin drumheads ... especially on hand drums. I can take a calfskin head drum a conga and put it on another conga of the same size ... and it's not going to seat properly. Why? Because the drumhead was seated on one drum and now I'm moving it to another. The only way to get it to seat correctly is to soak the calfskin until it becomes soft enough to mold to the new bearing edge ... then re-seat it. Mylar is much thinner and more plyable than calfskin obviously ... and instead of water, you use heat. The mylar is easier to work with because it is thinner, but because you using heat to change its shape ... you run the risk of ruining the drumhead because you ARE changing it permanently with the heat.

[felix]

On those N&C's though Felix  ???
You said they sounded awesome. Now I'm not so sure.
Seriously though, it costs a bundle to rehead an entire kit.  :-[

I got them sounding "awesome" but they didn't stay that way too long.  It's not my kit so I'm not going to shell out $$$ for new heads all the way around  :D
I reseated them with a hair dryer after I had cleaned and coated/polished the heads with "RainX" which I think cleans the mylar and gives it back some richness to the sound. (I hear imaginary voices also ;D)  Like I said, they pretty much went lug to lug in pitch and they sounded as good as if not better than most of my drums- so that's "awesome" in my book (an overused word for sure).

They would sound better with new heads, but "it's hard to keep a good drum down" in my opinion.  When you step back a few feet and hear your buddy play, they hold their own, compromised heads and all.