Very subjective ang "magandang" tunog. Iba iba ang tunog ng heads, just as iba-iba ang trip ng drummer. But here are some basic guidelines about setting up drums.
DRUM HEADS
Single ply - "Lively" at malutong ang tunog kasi maraming overtones, lalo na kung coated. Very responsive so you don't have to hit really hard, but easy to dent. Best for snares kasi kailangan talaga para may "crack" na tunog. Many drummers don't like it sa malapitan. But it is good for unmiked situations kasi the overtones will cut through the other instruments, and carry over distances.
2-ply heads - Two plies of mylar, permanently bonded at the edges of the head. Has less overtones than single ply, kaya litaw ang fundamental tones. So parang mas "malalim" ang tunog. Harder to dent kasi 2-ply. Mostly preferred for toms at BD kasi mas bilog ang tunog sa malapit. Easy to setup and eq for close miking, either live or studio.
2-ply hydraulics - Similar to above, pero may fluid or oil between the plys. So even less pa ang overtones, tuloy mas malalim pa ang tunog. If you like the dry, Steve Gadd tom sound, this is the way to go. Pero sa akin, maganda lang ito kapag close mic sa studio. Kung walang mic, parang patay ang tunog sa malayo.
Dots - a mylar dot is permanently bonded either to the outside or inside center of the head (1 or 2 ply). Its supposed to "focus" the sound by controlling the vibration of the center of the head, but still allows overtones from the edges.
DAMPING METHODS - anything you add to a head cuts down on overtones by limiting the vibration. Here are some popular methods:
Toms and Snare
"O-Rings" - slightly dampens any head, kasi sa edges lang ang contact. But since its not secured, it may rattle. This may not obvious to the drummer, but can be picked up by close mics.
Tape - parang o-rings, pero can be placed anywhere. But leaves adhesive marks and residue which are hard to remove, and can end up on your drumsticks.
Moongel - gel-like substance that can be stuck anywhere on top of the head, but can be removed when not in use, and leaves minimal adhesive residue.
Variable Muffler - mounted inside the drum, and pushes a felt pad against the inside of the head. The pressure can be adjusted by a screw/knob. There is also an external version that clips to the rim. Medyo obsolete, and hardly used nowadays.
T-shirt or towels - these are used to cover the entire hitting area of the drum. Gives a very dry "tud" sound on toms, and a high "tid" sound on snare. Can be used for effects. Ringo Starr used this a lot on countless latter-day Beatles recordings. Its a cheap way of muffling drums for home use.
Bass Drum
Unmuffled - Maximum boom, maximum overtones. You haven't heard a real BASS drum until you've tried one with with no muffler/pillow/foam and without a hole sa reso. Tunog Bonham.
Felt/Cloth Strip - any fabric strip that runs under and across the head, usually from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock. Takes out a little of the decay, but still allows the attack to go boom. Popular during the 1940's big band era and 50's bop period, but practically unknown today.
Patches - In the past, people would tape cloth or paper to the strike zone. Nowadays, you can buy there are nice looking adhesive patches. The trouble is they can tear, peel, or fall off. And like tape, these leave a little sticky residue on the head and end up on your beater.
Pillow/Foam/Curtain - takes out the decay, and focuses the sound resulting in a hard, short "thud" or "tud" like sound. Most engineers like this because it prevents overloading the mics. And many drummers like it too because it makes each hit discrete, so you can hear those double-pedal multiple strikes clearly. But unfortunately, it also takes out the "boom". Also, depending on the density and weight of the muffler, it cuts down at least 50% of the potential loudness of the drum, making it much less responsive. Drummers end up having to hit louder, and increases the likelihood of denting the head at the strike zone.
MY SETUP
IMHO, gusto ko ng buhay na tunog for all my drums. So fo my home set, naka coated Ambassadors ako sa snare at toms, no mufflling. Sa BD, naka cloth strip lang ako with no hole on the reso. This gives it a VERY wide dynamic and timbral range. It is very sensitive at low impact, and very loud at high impact. So I don't have to hit very hard, and this extends the life of my heads. I haven't had the chance to gig with this recently. But I would think this would kick ass without mikes in any club or auditorium.
Sa recording, its easier to tame a lively drum, than to add synthetic overtones to a dead drum. In the last two recordings I produced, the drums we used (Yamaha Absolute Maple) were set up almost exactly the same as above, except for the BD. The BD had a pillow and a hole in the reso head. But a "sub" attachment was used to recover the low frequencies lost by muffling.
