Aquarian American Vintage drumheads

[Gretschdrummer]

Hello everyone! I´m new to this forum, haven´t posted anything yet, but here comes the first:
How can I, living in Sweden, buy Aquarian American Vintage drumheads?
Anyone has any idea? Aquarian doesn´t ship to Sweden anymore. If you have any suggestion of an onlineshop that ships to Sweden, please let me know!
I have a couple of vintage Gretsch snare drums, they are too big for ordinary drumheads, so I thought about trying American Vintage.
Have a nice summer!
Tomaz

[MichaelSJ]

massmusic.net has them and ships international.

[Gretschdrummer]

Well, Thanks! But for the moment the say they don´t take any new international customers, but I send a question anyway.
Tomaz

[twincrows]

I found a dealer in uk ebay. :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarian-Amercian-Vintage-12-14-Tom-Heads-Pack-Set_W0QQitemZ140188246091QQihZ004QQcategoryZ41450Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp163 8Q2em118Q2el1247

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarian-Amercian-Vintage-13-16-Tom-Heads-Pack-Set_W0QQitemZ140188248045QQihZ004QQcategoryZ41450Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp163 8Q2em118Q2el1247

[Gretschdrummer]

Thanks! That looks better. I found some heads at interstatemusic.com, and they send some to me, but I can always need more!

[Rich K.]

For oversized gretsch shells, you can also use regular remos by cutting a slot or two in the flesh hoop of the head. I've heard this works real well.

[gretsch292]

That Remo trick is interesting. I might have to give that a try. Have you heard of anyone doing it on Regular Aquarians (like the classic clear or Performance II's)?

[LudwigVan66]

Actually, I've found that even the regular Aquarian heads are quite forgiving of slightly oversized shells or out-of-round shells. I bought Remo Ambassador heads for my Slingerlands and they were too tight, but Aquarian Texture Coated fit just fine, as did the Classic Clears on the bottom.

[gretsch292]

That's very interesting, because I've found the regular Aquarians to be very UNforgiving, especially on older oversized shells. The hoops seem to be much stiffer. Example, My RB Gretsch kit will take American Vintage Heads no problem, Remo's are tight, but get on with a little persuasion and Regular Aquarians (texture coated or Super 2's for example) are IMPOSSIBLE to get on. I really wish that they would expand the Am Vintage line a bit (some clear heads for res toms and maybe some 2 ply heads too) but I'm not holding my breathe!

[Jaye]

That is interesting, too...because, like g292...I have found Aquarians to be MORE than just unforgiving...I have stopped using them altogether on any drum pre-mid60's.

My experience has been that Aquarians (particularly the coateds... but really almost all of 'em) are actually the tightest-diameter heads out there...and there is absolutely ZERO play in those metal rings.

Matter of fact...quite honestly...sometimes even the American Vintage ones don't even come thru for me....even though they are marketed as such, I have had a number of old shells which they do not work on (and not because the shells were out-of-round, either).

Which is too bad, because I really like their heads...but I don't even try 'em any longer on my renovations.

Another good possibility, reputedly: Ludwig Coated heads. Their rings are more flexible than any other mfr's. and ther is some nice "play" in the fit...

The criticism of 'em would be that their coateds sound a bit flat. Not bad really, but not quite as alive as an ambassador or a nice Evans J1.

actually...J1's have a bit of play in 'em too, so I have used them successfully in tight situations also....and those are a GREAT line of heads, if one likes that old-school open, airy sound.

[LudwigVan66]

There must be some manufacturing variations with some of these companies. I absolutely could not get Remo Ambassadors to fit on my '78 Slingerland's, maybe if I pushed really hard, but tuning them would have been tough. Aquarian TC's slid right on, a bit snug, but no effort required, and they tuned up great. Weird.......

[gretsch292]

I'm going to give those Evans J1's a shot!

The only Aquarian exception I've found is the Superkick BD heads. Maybe it's just my kit, but a Superkick III fits like a glove on my RB 20" Blue Glass Glitter!

[Coltrane_lives]

Hi all. First time to post on this forum. I have had NO luck whatsoever with the Aquarian Vintage heads on my mid 60s Gretsch snares. They are great heads and I've tried several but the hoops are too stiff to fit on the slightly oversized Gretsch shells (and I don't want to cut back the sparkle wrap from the bearing edge...this would be one fix). I wish the Aquarian folks would consider opening them up even more. Plus, I had to special order these Vintage heads from my local music dealer and they weren't cheap. Anxious for them to arrive so I could play the drums, I was upset when after a couple of weeks wait...they arrived and still didn't do the job. I got tired and finally took out the hack saw, cut slits in the hoops, and finally got them on the drums. They are an amazingly stiff hoop with sharp edges, too. A week later I was in another music store and I grabbed a G1 Evans and though tight, it fit. I don't know what to say about inconsistency in the Aquarian heads. I've heard so many drummers say they've worked with oversized shells, but not for this drummer. At present I'm in the process of rebuilding a Gretsch snare to match my mid 60s red sparkle Gretsch kit. My other tangerine sparkle '67 (20, 12, 13, 14, 5.5x14)is finally complete after 4 years of finding parts. I'd love to chat with others about their vintage Gretsch kits. This is a great forum and I'm glad I came across it.

[schlagsaite]

You can also order from germany, i guess:
http://www.soundland.de/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=AQUARIAN+Moder n+Vintage&x=11&y=10