Are Calf Skin Drum Heads Better? | Max Roach Transcription 

So I got the model number wrong on my BD mic, it is actually the ATM250DE. Hope this helps!

The problem is that Tim makes anything sound amazing

I'm not a drummer, but the Aquarian Modern Vintage and Calfskin sounded pretty much the same to me. The others had a brighter tone.

Been an Aquarian Modern Vintage fan for awhile now and this (excellent) comparison video confirmed my preferences. It also made me want to get some calf head for my vintage kit haha.

Textured coated weirdly sounds most vintage to me

I really liked the Modern Vintage heads. They had sort of a classy, "warm" sound. I've used a Modern Vintage snare head before; I found it a bit tougher to work with than average heads but very, very responsive and lovely-sounding once you get used to it. If I was playing with a Big Band and wanted more oomf and boldness and pop and pizzazz, I'd go with the Aquarian Texture Coated.

I love this solo

I have tried several pseudo 'animal skin' plastic heads. I wasn't so impressed.Worst was the Remo fibreskin which wrinkles and bubbles after a while. I tried an Earthtone calfskin, which sounded great, but just kept stretching like elastic until the tuning lugs had bottomed out :-o Then I tried a Kentville Kangaroo skin from Australia. Nothing, NOTHING comes close! The brush sound is fantastic, they don't stretch by stupid amounts and they seem to keep their tuning really well :)

All the heads ( as far as I could tell) sounded very similar the Evans was slightly brighter than the real thing ( which I actually quite like) and the Aquarian Coateds had a bit more sustain

Wow those Calf skin heads sounds beautiful.

Loved the Aquarian and Evans heads most!! I like the Remo too but they have quite a lively tone to them which to me doesn't really scream that "calf sound"

If you want a good skin head, I would recommend Kentville Percussion's Kangaroo hyde heads. They have a similar sound, and are more affordable. Plus, they have an aluminum hoop instead of wood.

one of my favorite solos - worth watching for this alone!

Its good to see and hear quality calf in this video. Not all calf skin out there is of quality. Jeff Stern is the man when it comes to calf skin.

I liked the modern vintage the best, sounded Great, very warm and they look cool, Nice old color

Aquarian Texture Coated sounded indistinguishable from the calf although I know calf feels nicer under the bead of the stick. Next closest were the Evans IMO

thank's so much for doing this video! i recently made my own head's with goat's skin, and it sound's reaaally different as the head's are much heavier. But here I found that "real" calf skin are not that far from modern mylar heads. any way thanks!

Tim, thanks for the greatly informative video. I could easily settle on any configuration because they al sound pretty good to my old ears, with earbuds of course. To me, I think that the Aquarian heads sound the best of the bunch, and maybe the Texture Coated have a bit brighter and open sound, and I wonder how the Jack Dejohnette heads would fit in? I often times use my Bop kit for Jazz, Funk, and Soul, and I wonder if any of the Aquarian double ply heads would fit in such as the Modern Vintage II, Response II, or the Deep Vintage II which Aquarian describes as "The DEEP VINTAGE two ply models bring the true authentic sound of traditional calfskin heads to the “modern” drum and drummer, but with better performance results." If this description is true, these heads are a knock out! My Sonor Bop kit is 9 ply Heavy Beech shells, and I've used Remo Fiberskyns, and Coated Ambassadors, and I think I'm ready for a change..... any suggestions? Thanks and Blessings Tim, I appreciate your passion!

Fantastic video! Thanks!

The calfskin sound great! 😆As for the plastic heads, I think the Aquarian sounded the closest to the calfskin.

Great Video! Thank you Tim!

This is great chears Tim. P.s. love the kit

Thanks! Looking forward to more videos!

Thanks for making this video. I've always been a remo guy but the Evans heads sounded way better in this video...guess I'll have to give em a try. Great video!

I liked the Remo and the Aquarian.

Could have brought the Remo skyntones into this conversation as well. Probably not cost effective to, but it would have been nice. I would have taken that over the Aquarian coateds at the end. Also, Stern's not the only guy in the market. Earth tone, kentville, and whoever the EU equivalent to stern is (forgot the name) are all viable.

Thank you very much.. it was just what I needed.. well done demos

Very nice video

Nicely done!! I can hear some differences, though hard to articulate what they are. The calf does seem to have more "bottom" to their sound. Each of the mylar has a slightly brighter sound. I like the Aquarian Vintage myself, they have an especially nice texture for brushes. I think I remember reading somewhere that a thicker head would give more bottom end to the sound. Don't know if that is accurate? I do have a goof around set with Remo Renaissance heads on the toms, Emperor weight. I sort of like the sound. May have to outfit the toms on one of the kits I play out with to see what they do on a little big band gig.

Every time you upload, ;.; I want more

Great content... Thanks!

Have you tried the Earth Tone calf heads? I prefer the Aquarian Modern Vintage myself. I use them for every style I play. They last an absurdly long time.

Great video!

I actually do not think matters what kind of heads are used ...Im sure calf heads are great ..but ..I would imagine that it depends on make/model of said drums & style of music being played as well ...its just an observation ...

I just purchased these. $63 total counting shipping from the UK. I thought it was a good deal for calf. What do you think? 11 Real Hide Skins - got to go or will be binned. All undamaged except one with a repaired pin hole. Differing weights. Most are aged/stained. One has the legendary 'Maurice Plaquet' store stamp on it. Mix of wood and metal rims 8 x 14" 2 x 12" 1 x 10"

I like the modern

Great video Tim, Sounds great even using budget recording gears! What is your overhead placement in this video? Thanks

Evans then Aquarium modern vintage for me.

Thinking about putting calf skins on my Ludwig down beat

Hi Tim! Very helpful video, did you use the medium or thin thickness for the Modern Vintage heads? Thanks in advance for your reply.

calf just has so much more tone. the aquarians do about the best job it's still less tone than calf

The American Vintage definitely sounds the most like calf, which has been my experience on my 60s Gretsch set also. My question is, "how did you get the Remo heads to fit your drums." They just barely fit mine, is that the case with your drums as well? Nice playing, by the way!

Tim, which Aquarian Modern Vintage did you use? 6mm, 10mm? I play 10s on the batter side, and 6s on the reso side...

nice one Tim! :)

How was the reso tuned in relation to the batter?

First and foremost, Tim Metz is an outstanding musician, educator and a very generous human being for sharing his knowledge and well produced videos with us for free. Then, as for the subject of the video, I think that it comes down to a personal point of view. Industrial produced drum heads are more durable, keep tunning better and seem to be a little bit higher in pitch that the calf ones. My personal choice is mylar-derived drum heads. Best regards to everyone.

Great video, thanks for making it. Killer!

Bass drum sounds great.

How do the Modern Vintage feel compared to the textur coated?

Hey Tim what tuning scheme and muffling is on the bass drum in this?

Tim, just a couple of questions, The kit sounds amazing! I think the Evans heads sounded closest to the real calf skin but as another comment mentioned they are a bit brighter. Would that be because they are newer? Will they darken down a bit once they’re a bit used? Also, could you share your tune-bot tunings for batter and reso sides? I am essentially using the same sizes but with an 18” bass drum. Thanks!

What are you using for resonant heads? I'm guessing you're using the same heads top and bottom in this case?

Everything okay Tim?

Were the modern vintage thin or medium?

Aquarian Modern Vintage

Calf heads are definitely better on that drum kit!!

Either way, Aquarian still has to be the absolute way to go. Of course, that's subjective.

With calfskin, on the snare, which head do you tune tighter? The batter or snare side?

To my ears the evans sounds the most similar to calf

Hi tim which cymbal stands do you use?

With the tune bot what settings are you using?

Can,t tell to close

Sounds good but these are not actual calf heads they are synthetic heads. Your younger viewers should know the pain of calf heads is they get lose or tight depending on the weather. When plastic came into the picture it was a relief.

etonement c'est la fyberskyn qui imite le moins bien la peau ...

Animal skins all the way

$34 for calf skin bass drum head isn't that much..You only buy it once..