I haven't changed my heads since I got my drums. But I've noticed that -- on my snare -- my head seems a little thin. I know that heads aren't supposed to be thick, but I still think mine must be a shitty brand or something. The point is, it doesn't sound thick enough. While playing back a tape I'd recorded myself on, I noticed that the bass drum and cymbals were okay. But the snare was too thin. That's the only word I can think of to describe it. It's not a high popping sound like some snares have. It's just weak.
Should I replace the head? And if so, are there different types of "thickness" that would help me find the sound I wanted?
(Sorry about my lack of drum knowledge. I can play alright, but I'm nowhere near genius when it comes to terms/parts/maintenance, etc.)

From a recording point of view, try fiddling with the EQ a little, boost the 'mid' of the snare sound (not sure what frequency that is), and try adjusting the positioning of the mic slightly, it can make a lot of difference From a drum point of view, maybe check that both heads are in tune completely.

Hope that was some help

If they are the heads your drums came with, then they are shit heads(hahaha). When you put good heads on all your drums, you will be suprised of how much better everything sounds. It might just be a really bad quality head(like most heads that come with the set). I think that if you get any brand head, it will sound better. Another thing is you might be mistaking the head with the shell. Smaller snare drums are going to have a more high pitch popping sound while a standard snare will have more depth. Also metal and wood shells sound alot different also. Maybe your going for a sound that you drum isn't capable of, but i dont know. Hopfully i helped.

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Good head is what you want

what snare are you using, did it used to sound like that? have you tightened it, loosened it?

if you haven't try tweaking the tuning, but it is probably a sign your head is going and you should run out and get some head as soon as possible

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First of all, oral sex isn't my thing. If I get any offers, I'll forward them to you.

I'm not sure what brand my snare is. But it isn't much larger or smaller than most I've seen/played on. It is steel/metal, not wood. I've tweaked the tuning a little bit, but not much -- I think it's always been in tune. And it's always sounded like this (so probably, it's that standard-shitty-head-with-your-purchase deal). There is one thing that has happened. I'm not sure what you call it, but the rod/pad on the inside of the snare messed up and I can no longer raise it/lower it (it just stays hanging in there). Other than that, I don't see what could effect my sound. And to sqol, I don't use mics. I just used a crappy tape recorder (which might have contributed to the problem).
Thanks for your input, guys. I'll probably get a new head for the snare and see how that works. Also, for the convenience of pretty much everything having to do with drum kits, I'm thinking about trying to get an electronic set instead of acoustic. Although I know that's not very "metal".



[EDIT] If it matters, I did put some tape on the head to act as a sort of muffler.

I was recording my kit on a realy crappy recorder on time and my snare sounded really weird. I was sitting there listening to it trying to think of what the hell was going on. I think the tape may have been messed up though. Also, you may want to try getting some muffling rings. They are really cheap and work pretty good too.

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