A Heads Up about Heads

With the triumph of plastic heads over calf-skin, we now have a near-infinite variety of options. Plastic film comes in a number of thicknesses and materials. The heads can be layered, coated, dampened, even ‘chrome-plated’ ... and more. And each drum head innovation has either cured a problem, created a new sound or both. 

Now, about finding that ideal drum head: Here is a basic guide to plastic drum head characteristics.

Thickness
Ranges from 1 mil (1/1000 of an inch) for orchestra snare-side heads to 15 mil for heavy duty batter heads. Thinner film has faster response and more high overtones but is not as strong. Heavy film is mellower and can be tuned lower than thin heads. 

Number of Plies
Usually just one or two. A second ply removes a lot of the high overtones while deepening the low end and adding both sustain and ruggedness. Two-ply heads can be made from any combination of ply thicknesses to yield heads as heavy as 30 mil. Heads can also incorporate a tone ring and reinforcing dot. 

Coating
A sprayed-on coating softens the tone, bringing the sound more in line with calf-skin, and provides an excellent surface for brush work. Some heads are treated to a texturing process that looks much like a coating (e.g. Remo's Suede heads), with a sound that is mid-way between clear and coated heads. 

“Donuts”
Drum heads can incorporate a variety of tone-modifying rings. Many bass drum heads have an added "tone ring" at the perimeter. The Evans EMAD system for bass drum has a mounting system for damping rings. Donuts mainly affect sustain (increase) and ring (decrease). 

Reinforcement
The first 'dots' were added to the centre of drum heads to counteract some of the abuse drummers were inflicting on them. It turned out that these heads produce a tone that is desirable in its own right. Dotted heads are loud and hard wearing, and can provide very good stick response.

The Works
In theory a drum head could have more than three layers plus other features, but there are practical limits. Many combinations simply do not work.  Too many layers kills the sound, as does a head that is too thick. And a thicker head may not even fit the drum shell properly. So you won't find a 3-ply coated dotted head with a donut. Fortunately, the makers know what works and what doesn't.