Which DrumHead?

[CHStenor]

In our band we have a line of 12 people

4 Basses

3 Snares

2 Tenors

3 Plates

We are currently using Pinstripe Crimplocks which sounds pretty good once we tune them up. During the show when people in the audience record it, it seems that the drum heads aren't that loud. They sounds really fine not too far away but it seems once you're back really far you can barley hear them over the snares and basses.

What are the best heads to buy for a small line that still have a good sound?

[Slow Adam]

What size are the tenors? Are you tuning them too high? Two tenors should easily over-balance 3 snares.

Pinstripes, IMO, are the loudest tenor heads out there.

[TastyWaves]

In our band we have a line of 12 people

4 Basses

3 Snares

2 Tenors

3 Plates

We are currently using Pinstripe Crimplocks which sounds pretty good once we tune them up. During the show when people in the audience record it, it seems that the drum heads aren't that loud. They sounds really fine not too far away but it seems once you're back really far you can barley hear them over the snares and basses.

What are the best heads to buy for a small line that still have a good sound?

Well, alot of this is more than head selection. Are the quad players playing with the same wristurn and velocity into the head? are the levels uniform? all of those types of questions are what effect projection.

Ive had two man quadlines rip through the sound of a 70 member wind section on pins and ive also had 4 man quad lines not be heard worth of crap with a 50 member wind section.

Implement selection also comes into play.

If they are playing generally together, I think maybe just take a look at your stick/mallet selection. For power, I find the Ralph Hardimon quad stick (STRH3) form Firth really has a big sound. Also mallets with a bigger head on them.

Also, tuning. IF you tune too HIGH, they tend to lose some projection. avoid tuning too high in general as you lose alot of tonal projection. even with good drums. alot of people tend to tune too high because it sounds nicer up close or in the lot, but from the field, go a little lower. especially on 1 and 2.

sorry to go so in depth, but there are alot of factors that contribute to your problem, and alot of different ways to make your sound the way you want it.

good luck!

[CHStenor]

We have the small set of tenors. 6,8,10,12,13

I play extremley loud while the other tenor player is soft and doesn't do much at all. And it sucks because you can't hear us on the tapes.

[SkyDog]

A couple thoughts...

As the other guys have mentioned, you can get plenty of volume and 'cut' from Pinstripe heads. They're almost certainly not your problem.

Two quads should easily balance three snares. One strong quad can balance three snares. That doesn't mean you should try to balance the line all by yourself, though. You and the other tenor player should be playing uniformly. Don't try to make up for the other guy's lack of sound -- get him to play louder. If he's playing too soft, that's one guy who's not playing well. If he's playing soft and you're hacking to compensate, that's TWO guys playing poorly.

If your drums are tuned too high, especially on small-block tenors, it'll be harder to hear you. You've gotta find that real narrow 'sweet spot' on small block drums where they're not so high they sound like bongos or so low that they feel like @#$%.

Consumer-grade recording gear generally isn't all that accurate. Maybe the tenor voice is projecting, but just doesn't come through on the recordings. Get someone who knows drums to listen to the line from afar and tell you if the tenor voice can be heard.

Writing can also play a big part in the equation. If the snare and tenor parts are rhythmically similar, or if the snares are constantly playing, it can be hard to hear the tonality of the tenor part.

As mentioned earlier, implement selection is also a factor. Sticks in general tend to give tenors a brighter, thinner sound, although there are some that sound fuller than others. Mallets tend to give you a fuller, slightly warmer sound. My suggestion would be the Vic Firth MT1A-S mallet. It has a nice combination of weight, balance, durability, and head size.

[TenorsForWorldDomination]

Pinstripes are designed to have a muted muffled sound, hence the name Pinstripe. From the black stripe to the edge of the head is a bonding resin that acts as a built-in muffling device. Pinstripes are certainly not the loudest tenor heads out there.

Of course proper technique and chops has a lot do with it, but if the players only have so much, you can work with heads as a work-around.

Why don't you give Remo Clear Emperor Crimplock heads a try? They are the exact same 14mil 2 ply thickness as a Pinstripe but they do not have any built-in muffling. They are a wide open clear 2 ply head. They kick some serious ### on a set of tenors, especially a smaller line. It really helps bring the tone to the crowd.

If your not using Vic Firth MT1A or MT1A-S mallets...you should be. These provide a much fuller sound.

[K-Swiss]

the crimplocks are good. I use them for the line that I teach and we have balance problems because they're almost too loud

[CHStenor]

It's that the other player is a bit shy. I think it may be that he doesn't want to mess up and be heard. I'm gonna let him know he needs to play louder. our instructor has also told him.

[K-Swiss]

if he's afraid to mess up, tell him that you can't fix mistakes unless you can hear them

[TenorsForWorldDomination]

the crimplocks are good. I use them for the line that I teach and we have balance problems because they're almost too loud

Crimplock what? You do realize you can get pretty much any head in Crimplock right?