Beware of three-ply heads

[monospace]

I posted about this on vdrums.com as well, but I figured I'll repeat it here: three-ply heads are no good for use with eDRUMin.

Like many others, I was intrigued by the Drum-Tec "Real Feel" three-ply heads. So I ordered a set to try them out. Right away, I hated them on my toms (killed the rebound, loud as f**k), so I removed those after a week. But I left one on my snare (PD-120) for a good 4 months, telling myself how great it was. But all that time, I had trouble achieving proper dynamics, not just in playing feel, but also on the eDRUMin. Positional Sensing was sort of working, but the whole thing just felt sluggish.

So last night, I switched back to the original Roland two-ply head, and lo and behold, the dynamic range I was missing was back, Positional Sensing is hugely improved, and the whole thing just plays better: better soft rolls, light strokes, etc. I tried for a long time to make it work with eDRUMin, but given what I know about how it works, it makes sense that the stiffness of a three-ply head interferes with these functions.

If it works for you, great, but I'm selling this thing and I'm not going back.

[MWJT42]

I've covered my kit with the real feel heads. I haven't experienced the same problems as you, but I have noticed the bottom layer seems to remain ruffled.

[monospace]

It’s part personal preference of course. If you like how they feel, go for it. They’re not for me. But there’s definitely a difference in how they interact with eDRUMIn, and I haven’t been able to tweak my settings to get them to respond as accurately as a two-ply head.

[thenewdrummer]

It’s part personal preference of course. If you like how they feel, go for it. They’re not for me. But there’s definitely a difference in how they interact with eDRUMIn, and I haven’t been able to tweak my settings to get them to respond as accurately as a two-ply head.

I've been wondering if it's my problem with the Sparedrum mute that are alot like the real feel. I've never been able to get a satisfying response with the eDRUMin.

But to try others I have to pay at least 55$ of shipping even for only 1 head. So I'm not sure

[evh0u812]

No issues here. Real feel or the two ply all work well with the EDrumin.

[AKA Wayne]

Hmmmm. This is interesting. I’ve got two reel feels, 2 roland 2 plys and 1 goedrum. I like them all and fell like they are all pretty similar feeling. The goedrum is a 16in and think it’s a great head. My snare has a reel feel and although I have struggled dialing it in, with HSS mainly, I e found that changing the piezo size has had the most substantial effect. I have another 14in Roland 2 ply so maybe one day I’ll compare.

[MWJT42]

But to try others I have to pay at least 55$ of shipping even for only 1 head. So I'm not sure

Where are you?!

[thenewdrummer]

But to try others I have to pay at least 55$ of shipping even for only 1 head. So I'm not sure

Where are you?!

Canada

[dsteinschneider]

I've got Billy Blast 3 ply mesh that trigger very well. Positional sensing is working in a very predictable and consistent way.

[monospace]

I can't speak for all brands of three-ply heads. For me at least, the difference on the Drum-Tec Real Feels was quite dramatic. The analogy makes no sense, but playing on those felt like looking at a blurry photograph.