There are several indicators that determine when a drumhead should be replaced.  Outside of the obvious, when there’s a hole in the head, most heads will always produce a sound.  You will ultimately have to be the judge of when, enough-is-enough.  But here are some simple guidelines:

• Coated Heads – If the coating is beginning to wear off you have defeated one of the major reasons to use a coated head.  The coating is a main ingredient in the tone of the stick hit and overall sound.  Also, once coating has been removed, its almost a given that when detuned the head will be dished out in the center and a low clear pitch becomes more difficult to achieve.
• Heads are Dented or Dished Out - When the head is removed from the drum, it exhibits a dished-out or dented appearance.  This is the indicator that the head has been stretched beyond its limits and tuned to the point not mush elasticity is left, or it’s just been abused.  Without a doubt, it’s time to replace that head.
• Cannot Achieve Pitch - When attempting a low-pitched tuning (assuming you have properly seated the heads as described in the section Tuning  the drum will not give the desired pitch due to a distorted sound or buzz.  This is an indicator that the head has begun to stretch and as such, is no longer capable of remaining in constant contact with the shell.  On 2-ply heads, this can occur sooner due to the upper ply stretching at a different rate than he bottom ply.  The head may not be completely bad, but you may have to use a higher tuning from this point forward.
• Changed Venues - When you have changed venues such as now playing either a smaller, larger, less or more reverberant venue.  A sound or tuning, which works for a small venue will not work as well for a large venue. You have to consider what component of your sound will carry through to the audience. For example head selection for microphones will likely be different than without.  A highly resonant kit may be your sound tech’s worst nightmare. While the drummer can be inspired by this tone, recording or a sound produced by a resonant and open sounding kit may result in a very muddy sound due to the overtones and lingering decay of the drum mixed with all the other instruments or acoustics.  In large venues under close micing techniques it’s typical for drummers to use otherwise muted or 2-ply heads because the sound is more controlled and focused (“Dry” sounding).  As a result, the drum produces a shorter burst of energy, which by virtue of the hall or venue if reverberant, then reverberates or becomes delayed to the audience.  Otherwise outside of a more simplistic placement of notes the fast fills will have more definition.

Fundamentals:

• The Environment: You cannot under estimate the role the room or acoustic properties of the space have on the sound you hear. It has a major effect on the overtones and can dramatically enhance or detract from timbre of the drum. While the drummer focuses on the sound coming from the batter side, an audience hears something completely different and many times is direct result of the acoustic properties of the space.  If using microphones, this problem can lessened to some extent if you employ so-called close micing techniques. This is where a microphone is placed in very close proximity to the drumhead and as a result, the reflections of the space are not as readily picked up. In these instances, the microphone is usually placed on the top.  Even in these cases, nearby drum heads can resonate in sympathy to the head being hit and affect the sound being captured by microphones on other drums. Without mic’s, or in the case of micing the drums via overhead or outward room techniques, the reflection of what the resonant head produces or that of the space is now a major component of the sound.  If the space is highly absorbent, then the drum may also lose life.  If highly reflective, you may not hear much in the way of warmth or due to affects of the acoustic space, it may actually be a very round tone and lose definition in other ways. Overtones are an essential component to making the drum sound carry through other instruments and to the audience. The drummer should focus on the sound they create, as the audience (or microphones) would hear it rather than how they hear it in an otherwise quiet and stale environment. High-pitched overtones are essential to making a dull drum come to life in the audience.

• Batter Head: The batter head controls the feel of the hit, initial pitch, the sound of the stick slap and the initial element of the drum sound or overtones. When the drum is hit, the ear hears mostly the attack and the fundamental pitch of the drum. Overtones emitted by the batter head are washed out at a distance, but aid in the overall projection.
• Resonant Head: Often underestimated for its contribution to the tone, it is mostly responsible for the pitch, lingering tone and pitch of that created as a result of striking the batter head and resonance of the shell. The resonant head produces “resonance” and aids in sustain, it has a major effect in the overtones and enhances the timbre of the drum. Generally you do not use anything other than single ply on the bottom, but there are exceptions.
• Tuning: As you tune the drum with one of either the batter head or resonant head higher or lower in tension and pitch, you go through “zones” producing one of clear pitch, phase cancellation (no life) or a “Doppler” sort of effect where the drum descends in pitch, also referred to as “pitch bend”. This becomes more pronounced when the resonant head is of a higher pitch than the batter.

What to Expect - A drum placed upon a soft surface, such as carpet, and tapped very lightly allows you to hear the overtones in an easier fashion that simply hitting the drum in free space. The most inherent sound created from any given head will be heard by placing a head of identical specifications on the resonance side. This is due to the ability for polymers of equal thickness (specification) to vibrate reasonably equal to each other, thus eliminating phase cancellations, which can cause a tight head to sound dead or lifeless.

• Seating: Things are changing in the manufacturing of heads. When the head is first mounted, the objective is to get the head to seat itself. Seating the head is where you create that all-important bond between the bearing edge of the drum and the film and cause the head collar to become tight to the hoop. Seating is often also referred to as putting more that normal tension on the head. This seating process, whereby you put the head under heavy tension to form it to the bearing edge is not required to get a good tuning. However, the pre-stretch that occurs during the high tension event can aid in minimizing the need to tune back up to pitch more often. Moreover, if your bearing edges are good and sharp, less tension may be required. If the head is pulled tight on side it may fail to be centered on the drum and its ability to produce an even harmonic tone may be inhibited. Uneven tensioning can limit the ability to tune a head to its lowest potential note and also create premature buzzing, or a “distorted” tone.
• Ü New Re-Seating: Upon reinstallation of a drumhead, do you need to seat it again? The safe answer is "yes" because it will not hurt. However, some logic and reasoning need to be applied here. Consider that your drum is a circle, as is the head.  If your drum is such that the shell is slightly smaller than the head, it is possible that the head will not be in the exact same place once placed back upon the shell as it was the first time. Now twisted the heads position is not as important as is the location and relationship center of shell to center of head. Remember that the act of seating is to make sure you make contact all around the head and allow a bit of a break to develop in the collar of the head. So if you went through this process to begin with, or, the head(s) have been on the drum under tension for several days to weeks, then a natural forming will have occurred between the head and the bearing edge.

So … If your edges are not real even all around (and some are not), OR, there is some slop between the head laying on the shell (meaning some side to side movement), OR, the head has not been on very long, OR, you are moving the head to a different drum, then the need to put the head back under tension via a seating process is stronger than if the edges are real good and little slop exists. In the end you will know because when you try to bring the head back to pitch you achieve the desired result, then seating is not a factor.  However, if you find you need to tune higher, or there is buzzing, or the tone is flat, then you need to just bring the head back up and let it sit for several hours.  Then a natural reforming will occur, BUT, it may never be able to be tuned as low as before because it becomes more difficult to get the film to reform a second time than the first.

• Drum Size: Shell diameter is more responsible for pitch than any other element. Depth is responsible for the duration of the note and aids in resonance. Shell thickness when thin, adds tone, body and resonance. When thick aids in projection and detracts from resonance.
• Timbre vs. Pitch: Timbre and note/pitch are not the same. Timbre refers to the overall character of the drum vs. the fundamental note, which is the point at which the drum is likely to be most "open" or "resonant" in tone quality. Know that pitch can be raised or lowered in reference to say a note on the piano. The length of shell resonance doesn’t really change, whereas the pitch of the shell resonance will change as a reflection of the overall pitch. So a 12” drum may produce a note of G up to say a D-sharp (“pitch”), but it may really stand out around an A-flat (“fundamental” note of shell). The fact that one drum is “brighter” vs. “warm” is the Timbre.
• Bearing Edges: Bearing edges are hidden from view, little understood by most drummers and are without a doubt the single most important aspect of the ability (or lack thereof) for the drum to produce a clear, resonant tone.  Sharp 45° bearing edges will produce lingering sustain and bright overtones. Bearing edges of 30° are slightly more controlled in tone, have a bit less problem with high-pitched ring. Rounded edges produce a muted tone. Even cheaper drums can produce acceptable tone, provided the bearing edge is true, flat and properly formed.  The most expensive, high-tech set available will produce poor tone if the bearing edge has been damaged or poorly tooled.
• Shells: The rougher the interior, the less resonant the drum. With thick shells, the heads are more responsible for tone. Each shell can have a fundamental frequency. Thinner shells exhibit this more than thick. Detailed tuning or thumping on the shell and matching the note to a known scale allows you to find that “fundamental” shell pitch and enhance or detract all the inherent sounds of that particular drum character. However, this concept is forgiving and the pitch of the head does not have to match the shell pitch note. Thinner shells are more resonant so with thin shells, tuning to the shell pitch note does make a drum most resonant. A sharp bearing edge means more high overtone and resonance (i.e. 45° vs. 30° or rounded). If the drum is void of obstructions inside, like no reinforcing hoop, the drum will be more open and vibrate more freely. With a reinforcing hoop it will have a shorter decay/sustain and a more mid-ranged presence or attack than unobstructed shells.
• Wood: The best way to relate to the sound of wood is through comparing it to another. Maple compared to African mahogany (not Philippine mahogany); Mahogany will have an approximate 20% increase in low frequency resonance over the Maple drum. The mid and high frequencies will be about the same. Maple compared to birch; Birch will have about a 10% loss in reproduction of low end and about a 20% increase in the high end, with the mid range remaining about the same. Birch will be a “harder/brighter” sounding kit. Beech is in between Maple and Birch. Several filer woods are also used, such as basswood, Philippine mahogany, poplar, etc.  These are to lessen cost and typically drums made of these woods lean more towards the tone of Birch of Beech than Maple or US/African mahogany. You can read more about this subject on the page Drum Woods.

Drumheads

What is a Drum Head?  Although there are few variants, typically they are made of polyester or Mylar®.  Mylar® is a registered trade name of DuPont Teijin Films, which can be read about here if you want the detail. These films are tough, general purpose films that are transparent in 48 through 92 gauges and translucent in heavier gauges. They have balanced tensile properties and excellent resistance to moisture and most chemicals. They can withstand temperature extremes from -100°F to 300ºF. Mylar® does not become brittle with age under normal conditions because it contains no plasticizers.

Heads:

o         Coated heads will be warmer and minimize high frequency tones. The stick slap has a very bright element to it, much like sandpaper rubbing together, but the main element is darker in tone. Coated is probably required if doing brushwork. What follows are general observations and you should try them all to see if you hear or experience and differences? Coatings vary depending upon manufacturer. Some manufacturers have created heads which give then a very unique sound and wear characteristic.  By way of example, REMO offers the Renaissance™ or Suede™ series which gives the head sort of a less resonant but midrange presence to the sound, whereas the FiberSkyn™ heads have a much more mellow tone to them. Coatings from brand to brand not only offer a sound that separates one brand from another, but wear characteristics are affected as well.  In most cases, REMO will be a warmer coating at the expense of faster wear on normal WEATHERKING™ drum heads like that found of the Diplomat™, Ambassador™, Emperor™, etc. However heads like the FiberSkyn™ may potentially last less or longer because a lot of this has to do with your style of play. Heads like the REMO Suede™ series and Evans J1™ have an embossed textured surface, thus longer life and do not chip like normal coating would. To my ear, Aquarian is on the brighter end of the scale for presence but their coating will outlast most everyone else’s and is also thinner and a bit smoother. Evan’s sort of strikes a medium balance between REMO and Aquarian. Keep an open mind because manufacturers are improving their lines all the time.

o         Clear heads are bright with overtones, the stick slap does not have bright sandpaper like characteristics as found on coated heads, but the overall presence of the slap is very bright in the upper register and carries through the mix very well.

o         Ebony is in between the coated and walks that balance of properties between coated and clear and the stick slap does not have bright sandpaper like characteristics as found on coated heads. It produces a less of a high frequency overtone resonance (“darker” tone).

o         2-ply: These aid in durability and can also limit high pitched overtones. Often referred to as “muted” in tone, when they do not have a control ring adhered to them do produce lingering resonance and bright overtones the higher they are tuned. These come in multiple film weights depending upon the manufacturer.

o         Snare Side Heads are specifically designed to be thinner and should be the only style head used on the snare side of the snare drum. Thin heads enhance sensitivity and are brighter whereas thick heads are exactly opposite. The most common weight is a 300 weight.

o         Hazy heads are generally both "bright" and have a stronger "midrange presence" to the sound. 

o         Glass heads are both brighter and drier than Hazy or other pigmented heads.

o         Thickness - In all cases thicker heads will be mellower and less sensitive than that of the exact same thinner counterpart.  For example, a REMO Diplomat Clear will be brighter and more sensitive than a REMO Ambassador Clear, the Ambassador being thicker than the Diplomat and both being single ply.

o         Etched – The finish of the film has rough sort of embossed surface and does not chip away as does true coated surfaces. Good examples of this are the Evans J1™ and REMO Suede™ series of heads.  These are favored for Jazz like applications.

Tom Batter Drum Heads

Categorized in 5 different categories, within each are subtle to very subtle tonal differences and can be used interchangeably with a similar end result for sound. For example, in Category 1 a REMO Ambassador™ coated will sound very similar to an Evan's G1™ or Aquarian Satin Finish™. However, between categories there are major sound differences.

• Category 1 - Sensitive, good stick feel, open sound with good sustain and resonance.     Single ply, not muffled medium weight such as

o         REMO Ambassador™ - Classic open stock drumhead sound

o         REMO Renaissance™ - A bit more presence than Ambassador™

o         REMO FiberSkyn™ FA – Warmer than the above.

o         Aquarian Satin Finish™ - Classic open stock drumhead sound

o         Aquarian Classic Clear Series™ - Brighter than above

o         Evans G1™ series - Classic open stock drumhead sound

• Category 2 – A more mellow tone compared to single ply with overtones becoming less prevalent on the initial attack, stick feel and sustain are reduced slightly; A sound similar to placing an “O” ring around the head.  Comprised of either single and 2-ply muffled or heavy weight heads, these can help warm up or round out the tone, yet retain an element of sustain with minimal high-pitched overtones. This would include heads such as the

o         REMO Emperor™ (2-7mil plies)

o         REMO PowerStroke3™ - Single ply feel – minimized overtones

o         REMO FiberSkyn™ F1 – Warm and open – minimal overtones

o         Evans G2™ - Slightly muted over Evans G1™, open sound tuned high.

o         Aquarian Studio-X Series™ - Warm overtones, single head feel

o         Aquarian Double Thin™ - slightly more responsive and open than Response 2™

o         Aquarian Response 2™ -  Focused sustain strong attack

• Category 3 – Muffled and suitable for heavy wear concerns.   This category is sort of limited. These all take the Category 2 style heads and add a bit darker tone to them by have a section of the head adhered together like the REMO PinStripe™, or add thickness to the film like the Aquarian Performance II™. They also encompass almost anything with a "Power dot" on it. These produce a very short initial attack coupled with a very short sustain add bring out the low frequencies by minimizing upper register response.

o         REMO PinStripe™ - Excellent for that classic fat deep tone

o         Aquarian Response 2™ – (yes bridges both Categories) Focused sustain strong attack

o         REMO Control Sound™ - thick attack and wear resistant w/high-pitched overtones

o         Aquarian Signature Carmine Appice – Strong attack, warm fundamental tone.

• Category 4 – Very dry heavy muffled.     There isn’t much competition in this category. These heads are as void of overtones as they come, yet still produce a dark sound that enhances the depth of sound and a very focused attack.  Classic 70’s sound.

o         Evan’s Hydraulic Glass™ - Classic oil filled 2-ply.

o         REMO PowerStroke4™ - Like a REMO Emperor™ w/Underlay at outer edge.

• Category 5 - Thin Single ply, not muffled and thin in weight.  These are usually only suitable for an orchestral setting, light touch or Jazz type situation where feel and sensitivity are of the utmost importance.

o         REMO Diplomat™ weighted heads - Very resonant/sensitive used in various REMO lines

o         Evan’s Strata 1000™ - Warm and simulates the feel and tone of calkskin

o         Aquarian Hi-Frequency™ – Much like the above, a Jazz favorite

o         Aquarian American Vintage Series™ - Available in thin weight to simulate calfskin heads

Toms Resonant Drum Heads

Note, you can obviously use any head, but it is generally accepted to use a single ply head. However, the following will explain and present guidelines on what to expect for popular style heads: 

• Thin resonant heads: These accentuate the higher registered overtones of the drum and shell that thicker or 2-ply head take away from the sound. It adds back an edge to the sound to compensate for the tone a thicker 2-ply or muted head from Category 2, 3 or 4 may have lessened or eliminated. These are easier to excite, and do not make the tone linger on or add low end warmth.  This is because they are thin and have less mass. Things of less mass stop quicker once set into motion. So if you want a bright attack and less low end resonance, these are good choices.

o         REMO Diplomat™ weight heads

o         FiberSkyn 3 FT/FD™

o         Aquarian Hi-Frequency™

o         Evan’s Genera Resonant™

o         Evans Glass Resonant™

• Medium or Standard Weigh Heads: These will have less high frequency sustain than the thin counterparts such as the REMO Diplomat™ or Evans Glass™. They are thicker and as such stay in motion a bit longer and add warmth or depth to the tone. As a reminder, coating adds even more thickness (depending upon manufacturer and style of coating) and can further enhance low end resonance while keeping high-frequencies in check. Moreover, ebony colored heads because of their inherent properties take the low end response and make it right in between clear and texture coated heads. They are ideal where you want a great attack yet decent low end depth.

o         REMO Ambassador™

o         REMO Ambassador™ Ebony

o         REMO FiberSkyn™ FA

o         Aquarian Classic Clear™

o         Aquarian Satin Finish™

o         Evans G1™ 

• Heavy Muffled or 2-ply: Comprised of either single and 2-ply muffled or heavy weight heads, these can help warm up or round out the tone, yet retain an element of sustain with minimal high-pitched overtones. When used in conjunction with Category 1 or 2 batter heads, in can add an element of warmth by minimizing high pitched overtones.  They create a very warm tone and round low end attack much the same as adding muting devices to the batter head might. This would include heads such as the

o         REMO Emperor™ (2-7mil plies) – general warm sound, less high overtones

o         REMO PowerStroke3™ -  Further minimized high overtones

o         REMO FiberSkyn™ F1 – Warm and open – minimal overtones

o         Evans G2™ - Same as REMO Emperor™.

o         Aquarian Studio-X Series™ -  Warm overtones, longer resonance than above

o         Aquarian Double Thin™ -  Same as REMO Emperor™

o         Aquarian Response 2™ -  Focused warm sustain w/strong attack

Toms, Selections and Characteristic Sounds

• Category 1 Batter paired with Medium Weight Single Ply Resonant of same type: Very resonant, high ring can be very prominent when clear resonant is used, more so when clear batter is used. Sound goes warm when coated versions are used, very good sustain, excellent stick response. Coated on top w/clear on bottom produces warm attack w/bright overtones. This is what a large portion of jazz, country and light rock guy’s use. Tuning can control ring easily.  Popular recording choice.  Coated provides a nice sibilance to the stick attack while clear provides predominate midrange attack. Examples are

o         REMO Ambassador™

o         Aquarian Satin Finish™

o         EVANS G1™

• Category 2 Batter paired with Thin Weight Single Ply Resonant: Resonant but focused, Initial stick attack is not as sharp as with a clear batter head. An element of hi-frequency ring is present in the resonance but overall sustain is less than if a medium weight resonant head were used. Good stick response. A popular recording choice where you want a more focused and less open sound, not completely dry. Works very well for close microphone situations. For a little warmer sound and more resonance, use a medium weight coated head on the bottom or Ebony series.  Examples are