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traditional tension drum can use kevlar head?


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Beside competitor, I got few of those premier side drum which one of them also have double snare(steel wire), I think try with Evans MX white+MX7 on those drum

Unless your side drum is a Premier HTS free floater, that's not a good idea. The MX White and MX7 are high-tension aramid fiber heads. If your drum isn't designed for high-tension heads, it will likely be damaged if you try to use them.

what is the reinforcement rings? I saw the drum have a thicker part at both end of the shell is that a reinforcement rings?

Yes, those are reinforcing rings, but just because a drum has reinforcement doesn't mean it can handle high tension Kevlar or fiber heads. Older snare drums often had thin shells for resonance and drum manufacturers added reinforcing rings of a few extra plies of wood to handle moderate to high tension on Mylar (plastic) drum heads. Heck, even drums designed for calfskin heads had reinforcing rings. Put a Kevlar head on those drums and you're going to warp or implode the shell if you try to get anywhere near contemporary tuning.

In a nutshell, if you've got a lug-tension drum other than a Yamaha Corps Custom and you're not absolutely certain about what you're doing, don't trash your drum by putting high tension heads on it.

Edited by SkyDog
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The heads in that video are Duraline heads. They're not quite like the high-tension Kevlar and fiber heads on the market today. They originally didn't have a plastic laminate, so air was able to pass through the Kevlar fabric, giving the drum a very dry sound. I believe they were also thinner than modern woven heads, so they'll naturally have a pretty high pitch under lighter tension than a modern head. (Think of the pitch you can get from tapping a Falam snare side head or Evans MX5.)

I used those Duralines when they came out in 81 or 82. I remember them being very thick heads. We cranked them down and they shredded. We sent them back and returned to pinstripes.

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Unless your side drum is a Premier HTS free floater, that's not a good idea. The MX White and MX7 are high-tension aramid fiber heads. If your drum isn't designed for high-tension heads, it will likely be damaged if you try to use them.

Yes, those are reinforcing rings, but just because a drum has reinforcement doesn't mean it can handle high tension Kevlar or fiber heads. Older snare drums often had thin shells for resonance and drum manufacturers added reinforcing rings of a few extra plies of wood to handle moderate to high tension on Mylar (plastic) drum heads. Heck, even drums designed for calfskin heads had reinforcing rings. Put a Kevlar head on those drums and you're going to warp or implode the shell if you try to get anywhere near contemporary tuning.

In a nutshell, if you've got a lug-tension drum other than a Yamaha Corps Custom and you're not absolutely certain about what you're doing, don't trash your drum by putting high tension heads on it.

O thanks, how about putting those coated head that use by set snare ?

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O thanks, how about putting those coated head that use by set snare ?

I guess a drum set or concert snare head would work, but a typical Ambassador-weight concert or drum set head is quite a bit thinner than a marching snare batter head and probably wouldn't be very durable. It could be a chore tuning one to sound decent on a marching drum, too.

I'd recommend a Mylar marching snare batter head like the ones I listed a few posts back.

I used those Duralines when they came out in 81 or 82. I remember them being very thick heads. We cranked them down and they shredded. We sent them back and returned to pinstripes.

Thanks for the firsthand feedback on the old Duralines. I've never handled one off of a drum, so wasn't sure about that.

...and while I'm not generally a fan of pinstripes on snare drums, it's another valid option for the original poster.

Edited by SkyDog
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Does Premier still make those heads with the large black circle between the two layers? You know what I'm talking about? Our snare line used those in '87. I thought they were pretty good heads.

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Does Premier still make those heads with the large black circle between the two layers? You know what I'm talking about? Our snare line used those in '87. I thought they were pretty good heads.

No, unfortunately they don't. The Premier Marathon was a fantastic head. The closest thing available nowadays seems to be the Remo Powerstroke 77.

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No, unfortunately they don't. The Premier Marathon was a fantastic head. The closest thing available nowadays seems to be the Remo Powerstroke 77.

That's it, the Marathon. I used them at a high school I taught in the early '90s. The only thing I didn't like about them was that they were a little bigger round than the rims. I had a heck of time time getting them inside the rims.

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That's it, the Marathon. I used them at a high school I taught in the early '90s. The only thing I didn't like about them was that they were a little bigger round than the rims. I had a heck of time time getting them inside the rims.

Haha, they probably fit Premier drums PERFECTLY. I have a Premier snare at home with a Remo Falam batter head, and changing it requires a crow bar.

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