Changing the Batter (top) Drumhead

Once you remove the old batter head from the drum, clean all dirt and/or residue from the bearing edge with a soft cloth. Place the new head on the drum without the counterhoop. On most drums, you'll notice that the head will move quite a bit from side to side. Be aware of this, because it is very important that the head is ultimately seated evenly (or concentrically) on the bearing edge. Next, place the counterhoop on the head, and you may notice that your triple-flanged steel counterhoops fit loosely on the drumhead (most die-cast hoops fit tighter than triple flanged). For optimum resonance of the drumhead, the head must be concentrically placed on the shell, and if there is play in the fit between drumhead and counterhoop, the counterhoop must be placed concentrically on the drumhead.

Thread the tension rods into their respective lugs until the heads of the tension rods meet the washers and hoop. Then proceed to finger tighten the tension rods in opposing pairs and simultaneously, skipping one pair of lugs as you make your way around the drum. Follow the diagrams below.







Remember to finger tighten each pair simultaneously, and be sure to keep the head and counterhoop concentrically seated against each other and the bearing edge. Using two drum keys, tighten the tension rods in the same way with a ¼ turn on each side – always opposite and always simultaneously. If any tension rods are loose during the tightening sequence, first snug them up against the hoop and then tighten ¼ turn. Tune to desired tension, but be sure to always complete the sequence of 5 or 4 pairs of tension rods. Once you are at the desired tension, check all lugs individually, and adjust any out of tune rods. Depending on the type of head, it often takes a few weeks or longer for the head to conform to the bearing edge. Mounting the head concentrically and evenly the first time is important to obtaining a good drum sound.

Replacing the Snare (bottom) Drumhead on Drums with Deep Snare Bed

A snare bed is a dip in the bearing edge located at the point where the snares or snare cord passes over the bearing edge. One reason many concert drums have a deep snare bed is to allow wrap-around snares to seat properly against the snare head. Depending on the depth and shape of the snare bed, it may be difficult to force a plastic drumhead to conform to the snare bed. By carefully using a heat gun, you can shrink the head to conform to the snare bed. It is very easy to burn a hole into a snare head with a heat gun, so experiment with an old head before trying the real thing.

Mount the new snare side head as outlined above until the tension rods are finger tight (for concert drums, use an Evans 200 Hazy or Remo Diplomat snare head). Tighten the drumhead through one sequence of ¼ turn each. While most of the wrinkles will be flattened out, the area near the snare bed will have wrinkles. Using a heat gun (a hair dryer may work, but it must be very powerful), heat the area around the snare bed until you see some of the wrinkles disappear. Always keep the heat gun moving, and be careful not to come too close to the head. It doesn't take much heat to burn a hole in the head! You will see the head begin to take the shape of the snare bed, but not completely.

Tighten the head through one sequence of ½ turn each. Use the heat gun to shrink the head near the snare bed again. The head will now be closer to the shape of the snare bed. You may notice that one side is done while the other still has wrinkles.

Tighten the head through one more sequence of ½ turn each and heat the head. At this time you should not try to shrink the head too much or the increased tension will open a hole in the head. Any remaining wrinkles will be taken out when you continue to tighten the head to the desired tension.

Fine Tuning the Batter and Snare Heads

The proper pitch of the batter head depends on the size of the drum. For a typical 6 ½ x 14 drum, tune in the vicinity of an "A. However.. a better rule of thumb for any drum is to tune the batter head so you obtain a long "dooo" sound.. rather than a short "dit" sound. Don't tune the batter head too tight so that it chokes the sound.. but don't tune so low that the drum sounds tubby or unfocused. Of course.. the specific tuning is highly dependent on the venue in which the drum is being played. With this in mind.. don't forget to factor in the way the drum will sound out in the hall with a room full of people.

Many professionals recommend tuning the snare head to an interval of a third or a fifth above the pitch of the batter head. My personal preference is not to tune to a specific interval.. but rather listen for a specific timbre. With the batter head tuned to its approximate pitch.. I tension the snare head until I hear a "twang" sound when I hit a mini rimshot with my forefinger. The tension is fairly tight.. but not so tight that the snare drum loses body and response.

Remember that when you hit the batter head.. the head pushes an air column down to the snare head..which activates the snares. Too much tension on the snare head will prohibit its movement.. which will in turn diminish the response of the snares. Too little tension will result in a drum with a sluggish response and less focus. By understanding the physics of how a snare drum works.. you can more easily produce and maintain a quality snare drum sound.

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