Changing drumheads is something that all drummers need to do. If your drums are starting to sound a bit flat and tuning them doesn’t improve the sound too much, it’s more than likely that you need a new set of drumheads.
If you’ve never replaced a drumhead before, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a very simple guide on how to do it that you can follow step by step.
The first thing you need to do is take the old drumhead off the shell. You do that by loosening all the tension rods around the hoop.
Once the rods are loose, you can pull the hoop off the shell. You can then pull the old drumhead off.
You’ll find that there’ll be a few stick shavings coming with the head that fell into the cracks under the counter hoop. Dust those off, and then give the shell a wipe-down. We do this to protect the bearing edge.
You can then throw the old drumhead away or repurpose it somehow to use it.
The next step is to get your new drumhead and place it over the top of the shell. Once it’s there, you can lay the counterhoop over it.
Find all your tension rods and put them in place, but don’t tighten them just yet.
At this point, you want to lightly press your fist in the middle of the drumhead to stretch it as much as you can. This will make it a bit more malleable when you try tuning the drum.
Make sure that the drumhead is sitting very securely in place and that every side looks even.
Now, you can start tightening all the tension rods that are around the counter hoop. Don’t use a drum key yet.
In this stage, you just want to tighten them with your fingers. We do this so that all the tension rods are as even as possible in how tight they are.
Try to tighten them as hard as you can with your fingers, and then stop when you can’t tighten them anymore.
When the tension rods are evenly tightened, it gives you a solid base to start the tuning process with a drum key.
Now, it’s time to start using your drum key. The number of times you turn the key on each lug will be determined by how high-pitched you want the drum to sound.
The looser the tension rods are, the lower the drum’s tone will be. The tighter they are, the higher it will be.
It’s a good idea to just start with turning each rod one full turn. After that, you can hit the drum to see if you like the sound. If you want it to sound higher, you can keep going.
You should also switch between lugs in a crossing motion instead of going around the hoop. This puts less stress on the drumhead.
Once you’ve got the drum to your desired pitch, you need to tap the head lightly around each lug. For the drum to be perfectly in tune, you need to hear the same tone coming from each tension rod.
The chances are high that some will sound lower than others. If an area sounds lower when you tap it, you’ll need to tighten the corresponding tension rod a bit until it starts to sound the same as the areas next to it.
Doing this will stop the drum from producing harsh overtones that you don’t want to hear.
Some drummers struggle with the listening process in the previous step. A much easier way to get it done is by using a drum tuner.
Drum tuners will measure the tension near each rod, and then you can use a drum key to tighten the rods so that all the tension readings are the same.
In theory, this should keep the drum perfectly in tune. However, you’ll still need to listen and adjust the rods in a few sections to make it sound as good as possible.
It depends on how often you play the drums and what you need them for. Drum kits that sit in practice rooms often keep the same drumheads for years.
Professional drummers that play for big artists tend to change their drumheads every few shows.
Those are two very distinct extremes, but you need to find your place in between them. We suggest changing your drumheads at least once a year, but you may want to do it more often.
You don’t need to replace resonant heads as often as batter heads. They don’t get hit with sticks, so they don’t lose their structural integrity over time.
In fact, some drummers never change their resonant heads. We only suggest replacing your resonant heads if you’re looking for a sound that is different. Having other heads on the bottom will help with that process.
Clear heads are transparent, and coated heads have a single color that stops you from seeing inside the shell. Clear heads sound very tight and full, while coated heads sound warm and a bit more musical.
You need to have coated heads if you want to play with brushes.
Replacing a drumhead is a very easy process once you’ve done it a few times. The trickiest part is the tuning, but getting a drum tuner will help dramatically with that process.
If your kit is sounding a bit dull, you may just need a fresh set of drumheads. Come back to this guide to help you with the swapping out process if you get stuck somewhere.
nding a bit dull, you may just need a fresh set of drumheads. Come back to this guide to help you with the swapping out process if you get stuck somewhere.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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