Aquarian has become my drumhead of choice

Lennytoons

Senior Member
It was time to replace the batter heads on my Pearl Session Series drum kit. I have been playing Remo Clear Pinstripes which sounded great but I wanted to try something different. I bought Evans G2 clears and put them on last week. The first thing I noticed was that one of the heads had a wrinkle in at one of the lugs that I couldn't get out unless I tuned it very high. I took the head off, reseated it and started over...same problem. After the third try it was marginally better but still not quite right. I tuned them up high....jazz style. I did notice that when I hit the head off the drum it had a very dead, rattling sound. After a week of struggling I decided to put Aquarians on...Coated Super 2's which I had never tried. What a difference! The head fit perfectly right off the bat and they sound fabulous. This is my third try with Evans heads on my various kits and low and behold two of the three sport Aquarians. My Gretsch Renowns came with Evans G2's over G1's from the factory and they sounded good but never great to my ears, slightly plasticky. They now have Response 2's and they are deep, meaty with more sustain than I could ever want. I settled on Performance 2's on my Mapex Meridian kit a few year back after trying several heads. They do fat, low, juicy better than any head I've ever tried. Coated Remo Ambassadors are still on my vintage Pearls and they will stay there. They give that classic, Remo sound that's unmistakable. I'm not messing with that one. I know a lot of folks love Evans and swear by them but my experience hasn't been very good. Not brand bashing just reporting what I've seen and heard.. This was what I was after since I have this exact kit.

 
It was time to replace the batter heads on my Pearl Session Series drum kit. I have been playing Remo Clear Pinstripes which sounded great but I wanted to try something different. I bought Evans G2 clears and put them on last week. The first thing I noticed was that one of the heads had a wrinkle in at one of the lugs that I couldn't get out unless I tuned it very high. I took the head off, reseated it and started over...same problem. After the third try it was marginally better but still not quite right. I tuned them up high....jazz style. I did notice that when I hit the head off the drum it had a very dead, rattling sound. After a week of struggling I decided to put Aquarians on...Coated Super 2's which I had never tried. What a difference! The head fit perfectly right off the bat and they sound fabulous. This is my third try with Evans heads on my various kits and low and behold two of the three sport Aquarians. My Gretsch Renowns came with Evans G2's over G1's from the factory and they sounded good but never great to my ears, slightly plasticky. They now have Response 2's and they are deep, meaty with more sustain than I could ever want. I settled on Performance 2's on my Mapex Meridian kit a few year back after trying several heads. They do fat, low, juicy better than any head I've ever tried. Coated Remo Ambassadors are still on my vintage Pearls and they will stay there. They give that classic, Remo sound that's unmistakable. I'm not messing with that one. I know a lot of folks love Evans and swear by them but my experience hasn't been very good. Not brand bashing just reporting what I've seen and heard.. This was what I was after since I have this exact kit.


Glad your found your sound!

To each his own - especially with heads. I've always found Aquarian heads very plastic-y toned and feeling (Super kick aside - which is an awesome bass drum head).
 
I wish Aquarian heads were easier to come by where I'm located. I'd like to give them a try.

On an unrelated note, Patrik Benek is a heck of a player but man, he tunes his drums oddly. Every kit he demos gives off weird overtones.
 
I've got Remo Coated Pinstripes on my Sessions toms and bass. Coated Pins extract the delicious low-end from the Sessions' inner plies of African mahogany, but I'm a Remo guy for life, and I don't dabble in other brands. If Aquarian is doing it for you, play away!
 
I'm back in Aquarians too. Frankly, they were always my head of choice, but Evans makes a good product that was available for less, which was important when I had less.

Now that i don't need to pinch, I can buy what I like, so last time I did a full re head, I went Aquarian. I'm also a fan of the Super 2s, both coated and clear. I've got clears with the rings on one kit, and regular coated on another.

I've still got some Evans and Remo on some snare drums and a bop kit, but they'll be replaced with Aquarian as they wear out.
 
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I settled on Aquarian about five years ago after a long, steady run of bad heads from Evans put me off permanently. I've tried a wide variety of Aquarian's models and every one has been great at what it does. I think their heads sound great, are unbelievably durable, and they're both quick to respond to emails and were open to doing some custom features for me a while back. I have nothing but good things to say about Aquarian.
 
I’m a fan of Aquarian and I absolutely disagree about them sounding “plasticky”. If anything, the thick coating on the TC heads could make them sound dark or less lively than say a Remo ambassador. I have seen that complaint before and I won’t argue against it—I just happen to love the slightly more controlled tone.

For me, the TC reverse dot is one of my go to snare batters, the Super 2 is my go to tom batter, and the Performance 2 clear is the best sounding batter on my 16” bass.
 
Congrats! Welcome to our family my friend! Great choices! My personal go-to’s are a Texture Coated Power Dot over Classic Clear SS on snare, Coated Super 2’s and/or Coated Focus-X over Texture Coated heads on toms and a Coated Super Kick II over a Ported Regulator on kick :)
 
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In the drum shop I played a lovely copper snare equipped with an Aquarian American Vintage head. I really liked the sound of that drum but didn’t want to spend $900 so I just bought the head. 😁 I put it on my Supralite and it sounded just like that drum, at least to me, in my house, far away from that $900 snare I played. I doubt I’ll use anything else on that snare.
 
good choices! ive been playing aquarian since 1999 and they always give me a sound i want time after time! :D


my choices are (currently) - clear response 2s over classic clears on toms, coated focus-x with power dot over hi-performance on snare, and clear superkick 2 over ported regulator on bass drum :)

but i swap and change all the time, depending what im playing and sound i want :)
 
Everyone goes through an aquarian phase. It's usually a fun year.

Yea like... a long time ago I read this interview with a drummer from some famous band - maybe Collective Soul (Pre- Johnny Rabb) and the interviewer was talking about how good of a drum sound he had and he said all kinds of great things about the Studio X series - so I picked up a full set and it was just like the most dead plasticky click I'd ever had on my drums with the exception of the kick so I never really went back. I played them until they wore our then went to Evans but like two decades ago - absolutely not my bag. Maybe they are better now.
 
Studio x is only good for recording. Mics absolutely love those things. I got a set after hearing them on recordings and the best thing I ever did was remove the control rings and use them as Texture Coated heads. I’ll still buy them if I can’t find the TCs and remove the ring. The plastics sound disappears with the ring removed. They feel better too.
 
Aquarian is my undisputed second choice for heads. (Remo still holds the top spot for the majority of my needs and Evans is a very distant third/only in a pinch situation and yet I can’t get away from that dang EMAD head...it works for me for some unknown reason.)

The Aquarian coating is durable as heck. They feel a bit different under the stick at first, a bit spongier, but I think anyone can make the adjustment with minimal effort. For their bass drum head offerings, I’m not a fan of the SuperKick series at all. Takes away way too much of the guts of the drum. Too muffled. The Impact Series is even worse and is completely unusable to me. But, I love the Force series heads more so than I like the Powerstoke 3 from Remo.

The Coated Studio X head on certain metal snares can take away the harsh overtones or overt ringiness depending on how you tune your drums. To my ears, it’s like the equivalent of putting a full Moon Gel on without actually doing so. They also seem to work well when you do the tuned-down, tubby thing.

I was a dedicated Aquarian only user/low level endorser for over 10 years (2001-2011) and got to know all their products really well and use actively use them for my own needs. I do miss Roy’s humor and insight. Great guy. A legend in the industry. Great company. They worked very hard to get where they are now. They get nothing but mad respect from this guy.
 
Aquarian is my undisputed second choice for heads. (Remo still holds the top spot for the majority of my needs and Evans is a very distant third/only in a pinch situation and yet I can’t get away from that dang EMAD head...it works for me for some unknown reason.)

The Aquarian coating is durable as heck. They feel a bit different under the stick at first, a bit spongier, but I think anyone can make the adjustment with minimal effort. For their bass drum head offerings, I’m not a fan of the SuperKick series at all. Takes away way too much of the guts of the drum. Too muffled. The Impact Series is even worse and is completely unusable to me. But, I love the Force series heads more so than I like the Powerstoke 3 from Remo.

The Coated Studio X head on certain metal snares can take away the harsh overtones or overt ringiness depending on how you tune your drums. To my ears, it’s like the equivalent of putting a full Moon Gel on without actually doing so. They also seem to work well when you do the tuned-down, tubby thing.

I was a dedicated Aquarian only user/low level endorser for over 10 years (2001-2011) and got to know all their products really well and use actively use them for my own needs. I do miss Roy’s humor and insight. Great guy. A legend in the industry. Great company. They worked very hard to get where they are now. They get nothing but mad respect from this guy.
Good post ! Could you describe the Aquarian Force series heads , thanks
 
Well…let’s see. The design is basically the same as the Powerstroke 3 but there are differences between the two:

From the Remo website:

The Powerstroke® 3 Clear features focused mid and low tones with well-defined attack. Constructed 1-ply 10-mil Clear film with a 3-mil inlay ring for Toms and Snares and a 10-mil inlay ring for Bass drumheads, Powerstroke® 3 Clear provides a perfect balance of response and tone control. Available in sizes 6" - 36".

From the Aquarian website:

The Full Force™ single ply, medium weight bass drumhead feature an acoustically “vented” muffling ring tucked into the hoop on the underneath side of the head. The muffling ring helps control overtones and features vent holes along its perimeter that allow the ring and head to move as one. This 10mil head has a powerful attack with outstanding projection with just the right amount of tone control. A free Kick Pad™ is included with every Full Force head.


Aquarian doesn’t mention the thickness of the inlay ring on their Force product, but it feels thicker to me and there is a bit more material on the inlay ring itself, as if it is larger. (Or…goes into the head further.) For some unknown reason, I get a fuller, more complete tone with the Force I batter head than I do with the Powerstroke 3 head. Same drum, same tuning, but enough of a difference for me to prefer the Aquarian over the PS3 most times.

Probably doesn’t help, but there you go.
 
I dig Aquarian's Jack DeJohnette heads for my snare drums. It's a standard single ply coated head but the coating is a bit thicker.

Does anyone know if Remo and/or Evans make(s) something similar? I'm keen to try them out if they do.
 
I am in love with Aquarian... i had a bad head (it split along the bearing edge when i installed it), i emailed them and they over-nighted 2 heads to me.. customer service counts :)

Just wait til you see how long that coating lasts and how well they stay in tune also :) I use response 2's.. never tried the supers..
 
Good post ! Could you describe the Aquarian Force series heads , thanks
The Aquarian Force is highly underrated. Great bass drum head, much livelier than the popular SK, that I personally don’t like, too dead, too hard. The Force has a wider ring than the Powerstroke, great feel.
 
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