I have heard the cries and wailing: “Can someone please explain what the resonant head does!!!” Ok, not really, but it is a question that doesn’t seem to have many straight forward answers. Not only that, most of the information available online is either sorely lacking, or is just downright wrong.
The reso head of a drum is probably one of the more overlooked areas when it comes to the set up of your drum kit. Most drummers understand that they need a reso skin, but once it’s put on the drum, it’s rarely tuned or replaced. Not only that, but buying new heads seems to be a large expense for something that you don’t know what to do with.
So what exactly is the resonant head of a drum, and what does it do?
Difference Between Batter and Resonant Drumheads
Starting at the very beginning, if you are a little bit confused regarding batter head vs resonant head, the answer is pretty simple. The batter head (Sometimes referred to as the “top head”) is the part of the drum that you actually hit. The resonant head is the head of the bottom that responds to the batter being struck.
A quick tip for remembering which skin goes on what side is to look for the logo somewhere on the shell of the drum. Make sure that the batter drumhead is located on the top with the logo facing upright. From there it should be pretty easy.
If there doesn’t happen to be a logo, things get a little more complicated. In this case, you’ll have to look at the mounting system for more clues as to which way things are supposed to go.
What is The Resonant Head?
In short, the resonant drum head, or bottom head as it’s sometimes called, is exactly as it’s name implies: A drum head that resonate off the vibrations from the batter head. Essentially, you can consider the resonant head as one of the key factors in controlling a drum’s sustain.
When the batter head (top head) is struck, it vibrates creating an air column that pushes air outwards. When the air makes contact with the bottom head, it gets sent back to the batter, and vice versa. This back and forth is what keeps the heads vibrating which creates a longer sound.
If you were to remove the bottom drumhead, you would hear a large amount of attack and tone, but have far less resonance. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The technique was a very popular one in the 70’s and 80’s. A bottomless tone can be heard in a lot of the funk style recordings from that era.
Times have changed, and modern drum sounds require more resonance, vibration, and sustain. Most of the pop and R&B style drum recordings today feature this “long tone” sound.
How a The Skin’s Thickness Affects the Sound
When it comes to really making a difference on your drums, the most important factor when choosing a resonant skin is the thickness.
The thicker the bottom head, the more resonance you get. As a result, thicker heads give more overtones. Alternatively, the thinner the drum head, the less resonance, and more fundamental tone you get.
It seems counterintuitive that this would be the case, however when it comes to drumheads, this is how it works.
The standard thickness for bottom heads are 7-mil or 10-mil (mil=one thousandth of an inch), and are usually single-ply (ply=layer). There really are no rules, and some heads will be up to 14-mil in thickness.
You can place whatever head you want on the bottom as long as you know what’s going to happen. Since the difference between a head’s thickness can be so small, you’ll have to train your ears to hear the difference in sound. At first, this may be tough to notice. Trust me, small differences lead to big changes to your overall sound.
The thicker the head, the more resonance you get
Thick heads
I will spare you a long winded physics lesson, but all you really need to know is that a thicker head has more mass to it. Greater mass equals more energy, and more energy leads to greater sustain. So when you are using thicker bottom heads, you receive more resonance.
Be forewarned however, greater resonance can lead to more overtones. When using thicker heads, you’ll have to ensure your pitch matching and tuning skills are better. It can become difficult to control everything. In a recording scenario, too many out of tune overtones can be a nightmare to deal with.
A lot drummers like this sort of sound. It gives you more options in terms of tunings and allows for long sustained tones. These are good for live playing scenarios. Consider it for smaller venues, dry sounding rooms, and jazz, pop, or r&b type situations.
Thin Heads
On the other hand, a thinner head has less mass, dissipating sound quicker. This is because when struck, the drumhead vibrates faster and loses energy at a greater rate. As a result, you get a quick pronounced tone, more attack, and less sustain.
I consider thinner bottom heads ideal for rock and recording type scenarios. You get a stronger fundamental tone with a lot less overtones. This makes it easier to control the type of sound you are getting.
Thinner heads would be ideal for getting that dry funk sound or for loud rock drumming requiring greater attack with less resonance. They are also useful in larger venues and stadium environments, and any rooms that are very lively and have a lot of natural reverb.
One downside is that due to the increased vibrations of thinner heads, tuning must be more frequent due to more movement knocking the head around. There is also less rigidity in the actual head itself, and you will need to replace them more often since the film will wear out quicker.
Coated Heads
If you are looking for a “warmer” tone on your drums, using a coated reso head is going to be your best bet. The coating on a head acts as a sort of muffling which reduces clarity but adds a warmer characteristic.
Due to coating having a rougher surface, the vibrations are dispersed unevenly, which will reduce the overall sustain and change the tone of the sound created.
If you enjoy the sound you get out of a thicker drum head, but are having trouble controlling the overtones, a coated head could make the difference. Take note that the coating will reduce some of the drums resonance.
Built in Muffling
Some resonant heads will have an additional set of dampening around the edges of the head. The reason for this is to create a more focused sound without losing sustain. Usually these heads have a small built in “dampening ring” around the outer edge, but muffling can come in many different forms.
If you’ve ever used tape or moongels to control overtones on your drums, these heads attempt to eliminate the need for those by building it into the skins themselves.
These dampening heads actually work really well. Due to the increased thickness, they give the drum great resonance, increased tone and a slightly deeper sound.
Not all heads are created equal, so as with anything drum related, your personal preference is what will determine which heads you like the best
2-Ply Heads
Here is where most of the confusion and misinformation enters when discussing drumheads as a whole. Remember when I said a thicker head will provide more sustain, this is still true, however, when you put a 2-ply head on, the sustain decreases.
Yes, the head would seem thicker than before, but technically speaking, it isn’t. 2-ply heads involve two different skins being stuck together. These heads are usually adhered together with either a glue, or some type of liquid in between. By adhearing together, the drums have a far less chance of freely vibrating, and the overall sustain is reduced.
The main takeaway when using 2-ply skins as a reso head, is that you have more control over the overtones, but you lose a large amount of resonance. Using 2-ply heads on the bottom is not a very popular technique due to it almost “choking” a drum’s sound. As I said before, there are no rules, so try it out for yourself if you are curious.
Next let’s get to what is probably the most asked question about reso heads: tuning.
How to Tune the Bottom Head
There are only 3 ways that you can tune your resonant head (Other than completely removing it). Each tuning style should be considered in relation to the batter head:
- Bottom head at a lower pitch than the top head
- Bottom head at a higher pitch than the top head
- Bottom head at the same pitch as the top head
This is really all about physics, and is not the annoying “do what you like” excuse that most drummers give. Each tuning style will yield different results, so take some time to learn what you like.
Some drummers will wrongfully tell you that the resonant head controls the pitch of a drum. This is incorrect. Every head on a drum has it’s own pitch, and will affect how the drum sounds as a whole.
Again, there is no “right way” to tune your resonant head. In fact, you’ll find that it’s a 3-way tie in popularity among which method drummers use. But, knowing what’s going to happen with each style will make getting the sound you prefer a lot easier.
You and I both know how much of a pain it is to retune the drums. Learning what sounds you like early on will help reduce the amount of tuning time you’ll have to do later.
Resonant Head Tuned LOWER than the Batter Head
In either scenario where the bottom drum head is tuned to a different pitch than the batter head, the drum begins to “dry out”. This loss of resonance is due to the fact that the skins are vibrating at different rates from each other leading to a loss in energy.
Tuning the resonant head to a lower pitch than the batter head results in less sustain. Depending on the interval you choose, the drum will sound different. Experiment with different pitches yourself. Additionally, the lower resonant method will also create a slight pitch bend downwards.
As for practical uses, you will find this method more popular with the rock and metal drumming crowd. Due to the lower tuning, this method yields a deeper tone, creates a nice drop-off, and will have greater attack with less sustain.
It should be noted that having each head at a different interval makes it more important to have both heads in tune with themselves. Tuning the bottom head to any different pitch will create plenty of annoying overtones if the heads are slightly out.
Resonant Head Tuned HIGHER than the Batter Head
The same rules apply to a higher resonant head as they do with a lower resonant head. Whenever you are at a different pitch than the batter, you lose sustain. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just an important factor to be aware of.
In fact, many drummers prefer a dryer sound because it’s far easier to control, and you’re sound engineers will like you much more for it.
The main difference with the higher reso method is that due to the increased tightness of the skin, you gain a far more lively sound. The overall pitch will be higher, and the drum will have a quick bend upwards.
You will find this method to be more popular with the pop, jazz, and R&B crowd. This isn’t necessarily due to greater sustain, but rather a more live tone that is higher in general pitch. This of course is not a hard fast rule, and many drummers in that style may tune differently.
Both Resonant and Batter Head Tuned THE SAME
If you are wanting to get the maximum amount of resonance out of your drum, you will want to start with tuning both the batter and resonant head to the same notes. To get even more resonance, you’ll want that note to be one that vibes best with the actual shell itself (That lengthy discussion is for another time).
When both drumheads are tuned to the same note, they vibrate in concert together. This partnership between the two heads allows for the maximum amount of energy to be stored in the drums, yielding a longer sustain.
Some drummers prefer to tune the bottom head to a note that is either an octave below or above the batter. This method works as well, but you still have two different notes and some sustain will be lost.
If you require a very lively sound, this method would be the best option for you. When dealing with this sort of precision, you will need solid ear training to make sure that both heads are in tune with each other.
A lot of resonance with a bunch of nasty overtones might end up being a nightmare for your sound. What out If you happen to be in a room with a ton of natural reverb, like a cathedral. You might want to avoid this method to create a “cleaner sound” for your drums.
Pick Your Poison
Hopefully by now you have a far greater understanding of the resonant head. You should know how it affects the overall drum sound, how different types of heads make small but important changes, and the different tuning options available.
I cannot state this enough, but there are no definite rules to how your drum should sound. What you choose to do with your resonant head will be dictated by the style being played, the room you’re in, and personal tastes.
Never let anyone tell you that you have to tune a head a certain way, or that you can’t use 2-ply heads. Make sure to try everything out for yourself to see what works best for you.
What resonant drum heads do you use? How do you like to tune them? Do you prefer Evans, Remo, Aquarian,or something else? Comment below and discuss!
Thanks for the great explanation. I’ve played off and on for most of my life, but only recently got back into the game. I always used thin resonant heads and never knew a heavier head would yield greater resonance and sustain. This is very useful information, as I love the full rich sound of modern drums – no sound damping for me…. 🙂
Yeah, after doing the research for this article I was surprised too!
just bought a Remo bongo set . not over expensive but have a good around sound . they lack warmth but are straight to the point .
Tuning the resonant side lower than the batter side apparently increases projection of a kit. Steve Maxwell talks about this method on Youtube saying it works well for toms and bass drums, particuarly for drummers who do not mic up and works well on all sizes of drums. When tuning above the batter the sound gets sent upward to the microphone and the kit sounds bigger from behind, but not out front and this is why guys cant get the kit to project, so couple that with a higher tuning and the drums will sound less muddy with more guts in the audience.
Great tip! Could you put a link down to that video? I’d love to check it out.
It’s always hard to check your tuning by yourself, because you can’t hear what the audience hears. Might be worth practicing tuning with another drummer and hearing how things work from different angles.
Love this article. I am a professional drum tech, and I produced a whole video series that discusses using interval tunings on toms for my Kenny Sharretts You Tube channel. I cover all three methods, and several different pitch intervals (minor 3rd, perfect 4th etc.). I cover each method up close with just a tom and how it affects the drum kit sound as a whole. Check them out if you wish.
It would be nice if you actually replied to the email questions you get…..
not sure who this is aimed at, but if I missed your email, just send me another one and I’ll get to it ([email protected]). I receive quite a few messages and sometimes something slips through. Don’t take it personally.
I disagree with the drum’s sound not being projected into the audience with the resonant head higher. John Bonham and many jazz drummers used that method to do just that, have the drums project in an unmic’ed situation. I myself and others I know get a huge, big sound out in front of the kit with the resonant head being higher. I find a lower resonant head doesn’t project nearly as well and has more attack, less tone. I guess this is the reason why drum tuning is often misunderstood and highly subjective.
Hey Jon! For sure tuning is a tough subject. It’s different for every drummer, drum size, wood type, and choice of head. I think to really know how to make your drum sound the way you want it is to experiment with different tunings and heads to find out what works best for you!
🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻Indeed sir
0.001″ is 1 thou. Not 1 mil.
0.001m is a mill for millimetre.
Thanks for the correction. You are right that 0.001″ is 1 thou, but in the United States, mil and thou are the same. Quoted from Wikipedia: “One US mil is approximately 1/40th of a millimetre at 0.0254 mm”. Most drum head companies operate using the USCS instead of the metric system.
Great summary info, with just the right amount of detail. I’ll be tearing apart my ancient Pearl Export kit today and changing all. Starting with a lower reso head tuning.
Let me know how it turns out!
Hi, Duran!
Love your post, very useful and just in time, because i’m having so much struggle with my bass drum sound.
It’s a 20″x16″ Mapex Saturn V which came with Remo clear Powerstrokes 3 for batter and reso heads, but with all kind of tunings, it sounded like a cheap basketball against the ground… So I changed the batter head to a thicker one, an Evans clear EMAD2, and it sounded so much better. Also tried some muffling stuff like pillows and towels, which killed that “ball” sound but also the volume and resonance.
I continued experimenting and when I tried my bass drum with no reso head, which surprisingly turned to be the best configuration, with lots of boom and low end, and the best (for the moment) volume and projection. It also kept the “basketball sound”, but then it gets solved with a pillow without losing any significant volume or tone.
This doesn’t make sense to me, I don’t understand why does it happen, and wonder if I should buy a thinner reso head for my bass drum, because I don’t want to keep it open and porting mine doesn’t makes a similar effect. I’m also thinking on moving to coated heads, to avoid that clicky plastic sound on my bass drum.
What do you think?
In my opinion, if you managed to get a sound you like without the reso head, just stick with that. If it sounds good, there’s no need to change anything. I’m not sure what sound you are going for, or what type of music you’re playing, so that might help narrow things down a bit.
Adding a reso head should increase resonance as there are now two surfaces for the air to bounce back and forth from. Taking off the reso head will give you more attack and little resonance. again, I’m not sure what type of sound you’re going for, but it sounds like you’re on the right path. Try out some different heads and see which works best for you. Bass drums without the reso head are quite common, so don’t think that it’s wrong or weird if you like it that way.
I’m not too sure what you mean by “basketball sound”, but I’m guessing you mean a more “slappy” sound. That would mean that you’re hearing all of the attack of the beater, and no resonance at all. In that case, you’ll need to tighten up the batter head to get a more full sound.
Try some of these out and let me know if that helps! Thanks for the message!
Thanks for the answer!
It’s been a while, and now I have my bass drum with the stock Powerstroke 3 Clear and the same for the resonant, but I had to tune it really really high to get more resonance than without it, what seems still weird for me.
Also, I’ve tried different mufflings and the best was a small pillow inside my bass drum without touching any of the heads, just to reduce that ball sound, which is like a high “boing” (like when a cheap basket ball hits the ground, thats what I meant), but it costs me losing some resonance, so I have to hit it really hard with the pedal…
Tuning my bass drum is still a huge mystery for me, but I’m making progress.
I hope I can get new drumheads soon, so we’ll see if they make any difference.
Thanks again for your answer and for your great content!
Just keep trying stuff out! It takes a while to get to know your drums intimately, and the only way to get to that point is to tune it over and over. Try new heads, see what works best for the drum and for the sound you want. Don’t forget, there is a chance that maybe the drum itself just isn’t capable of producing the sound you want. Try some other drums out, find the sound you really like, and then work back from there. Good luck, and thanks for the kind words!
Fantastic Topic and Explanation! I bought new heads but i am having difficulty tuning them to my preference so I was thinking maybe there is something to do with the reso heads, they are stock, 7 years old Pearl VBX.
I (finally) bought my Analog DrumDial, while I don’t think it’s the perfect tool, it does help you come close but one needs to know how to use it properly to tune, and be sure to tune both opposite tension rods to achieve same tension with the same reading on scale.
Found a second hand 2007 DW collectors series (ten and six) and very pleased with it.
My question to you is, do you think my 7 year old reso heads are done? they have been played quite alot but never tuned so much. ?
Thanks a lot, I find this article pretty unique and godsend for us drummers wanting to know lil more that the fundamental basics.
Best Regards,
I would definitely recommend changing out those reso heads. If you combined that with a new set of batter heads as well, I think you’ll be blown away at how much better it sounds, and how much easier it is to keep in tune. Imagine having the same guitar strings on for 7 years! It’s gonna be hard to tune, and the sound isn’t going to be the best it can be
How often do you change your reso heads? Mine have been on for years.
It all depends on how easily you want to be able to tune your drums. I would suggest at least once every 6 months. Try putting new reso heads on and you’ll be amazed at how good the drum sounds and how easy it was to tune.
Hope you can help me, i have a vintage 76 Ludwig blue vista lite set that I am refurbishing, spent a lot of years on the road with me and kept them. Now retired and want to pick up the sticks again. Long overdue, what would you recommend for the top heads on the toms 13,14,16,& 18, have Ludwig clear silver dot on the bottom of 16 & 18 now had removed heads on all toms in the past, but want to put them back on. looking for that deep throaty sound of the 70’s. Look forward to your response. Would prefer to go with a clear head for aesthetics and the look of the set but am open to suggestions.
Revived Drummer in Virginia
Hope you can help me, i have a vintage 76 Ludwig blue vista lite set that I am refurbishing, spent a lot of years on the road with me and kept them. Now retired and want to pick up the sticks again. Long overdue, what would you recommend for the top heads on the toms 13,14,16,& 18, have Ludwig clear silver dot on the bottom of 16 & 18 now had removed heads on all toms in the past, but want to put them back on. looking for that deep throaty sound of the 70’s. Look forward to your response. Would prefer to go with a clear head for aesthetics and the look of the set but am open to suggestions.
Revived Drummer in Virginia
Try Remo Controlled sound black dot! Those work great on vintage drums with those large sizes!
This article was balls, buddy. Thank you very much.
Thanks! Assuming balls is good
Wow, this is great info. I’m gonna have to experiment with this info. I want a softer, drier, warmer sound for most of my gigs… thinking I might try a single-ply, coated head with built-in muffle ring on batter side and a 2-ply, coated head on reso. I’ll experiment with tuning heads to the same pitch and see if I like those 3 elements together, or if maybe I want to go back to tuning the bottom a different pitch. I’ve always tuned the bottom head higher, but I might try lower now and see how I like that, once I’ve gotten this new combination of heads on. Thanks for the GREAT read!! Really good info that totally reversed some of my thinking.
Awesome! Let me know the results!
Hi! I’ve got a drumkit that I use for practice mostly, I use mesh heads on it because there are neighbors everywhere and this has worked for me extremely well. However, I will sometimes use this kit for gigs too, so I want it to be ready for action whenever its needed but also to sound good while practicing with my current setup
My kit has always had its shitty default resos and now it’s time to upgrade them. I like having a warm sound, killing as many overtones as I can, and keeping a decent amount of resonance
I’ve got on my aim the following 3 options:
· 7mil coated
· 10mil Evans EC reso (the one with an hexagonal pattern ring)
· 2-ply head (still unsure if coated or clear)
With this “profile” which heads would you suggest?
Thanks in advance!