Skins

The type of Drum Head or Skin you use on you drum set plays a very important part in defining the sound of your instrument. There is such a huge choice on the market it's often difficult to know what will work best for you. Here at Rattle and Drum we offer heads from the worlds three leading manufacturers Remo, Evans and Aquarian.

Today practically all heads are made of polyester film, commonly known as plastic, however certain marching and pipe drum heads are made from Kevlar®, the same material used to make bulletproof vests. As you’d expect, these heads are extremely strong enabling them to withstand the high levels of tension needed for this style of music.

Drum heads are available in many different thicknesses from very thin such are Remo Diplomat through to the thick oil filed heads called Hydraulic from Evans

Most modern drums feature two heads. The top head (the one you hit) is called the Batter Head. The bottom skin is called the Resonant head. Although the resonant head is generally thinner than the Batter head the same type of skin is used, with the exception of the snare resonant head which is special head, much thinner and should never be hit with a stick..

Which Is The Right Head For Me?

Drumhead durability and sensitivity are inversely proportional to thickness. Thus, as heads get thinner, they get less durable but more sensitive; and as they get thicker, they get more durable and less sensitive. So it's pretty straightforward really, the heavier you hit them, the thicker they need to be. If we use the Remo classification as a guide, lighter players would normally use either Diplomat or Ambassador and heavier rock drummers would tend to use Emperor or Pinstripe weight heads.