Aquarian SUPERKICK AND REGULATOR BASS DRUM HEADS

EXCLUSIVE
94 RHYTHM AUGUST 2009
A
quarian supremo Roy Burns was
the original drum set clinician and
a top big band player. So, even
though Aquarian is widely seen as
the third head company after Remo and
Evans, you can be sure Aquarian products are
drummer-friendly. The bass drum heads
featured here aren’t new, but we’ve not had
the chance to review them previously at
Rhythm . The Super-Kicks I, II and III are
variations on Aquarian’s popular bass head
system and the Regulators are the perfect
complementary front heads.
Build
The Super-Kicks and Regulators all feature
Aquarian’s patented Floating Muffl ing
System. The unique aspect of this is the use
of felt as a damping material, rather than the
foam rubber that characterises the (roughly)
equivalent heads of Remo and Evans.
The Super-Kick I and II look identical. They
both utilise clear fi lm and have a 1¼” band of
cosmetic black coating running around the
perimeter. On the inside there’s a 1¾” wide
perimeter ring of white cardboard, which
encloses the so-called ‘fl oating’ white felt
damping material. It’s only partially fl oating
because it’s fi rmly glued in place along the
outermost edge, but most of the felt ring is
held loosely against the inside of the batter.
The difference between the two heads is that
the Super-Kick I is single 10mm Mylar ply and
the Super-Kick II is twin 7mm ply. The
Super-Kick III is single 10mm ply, like the
Super-Kick I, but white coated and with an
additional central 6½” diameter white impact
Power Dot on the outside of the head.
Alongside the Super-Kicks, Aquarian offers
the Regulator series of resonant front heads.
These are single ply 10mm in Video Gloss
Black or White, which come either with no
porthole, or with the choice of a 7” central
hole, or 4¼” off-set hole. We were sent a 20”
white (no hole) and 22” black with off-set hole.
The Regulators also have felt muffl ing, which
this time takes the form of a 10½” diameter
doughnut ring of 4cm wide felt glued on.
Hands On
As a long-time Super-Kick I fan, what’s always
struck me is the deep fat sound, especially in
combination with a Regulator front head and
small miking hole. This is because Aquarian,
uniquely, uses felt for the damping ring.
Before the advent of pillows and complex
head designs, a simple loose felt strip was the
normal muffl ing solution. The Super-Kick lays
felt right around the perimeter, the most
resonant area of the head. It subdues the high
overtones and leaves you with a dark, wet
'blap'. The Emad and PowerSonic both use
foam rubber perimeter damping and, while
foam is just as effi cient, it doesn’t seem to be
quite as richly warm as Aquarian’s felt.
The Super-Kick II is the same head, except
it’s a twin ply version. I’d not tried one before
and frankly the difference in sound was
minimal. Just a tiny bit brighter, more focused,
as you might expect. The advantage is the
head’s harder wearing if you’re an aggressive
player. The Powerstroke III was also new to me
and again the difference in sound is subtle.
With the large Power Dot and white coating,
it’s a remarkably thick, solid and creamy
AQUARIAN
SUPER-KICK AND
REGULATOR BASS
DRUM HEADS
£35-£54 Many drummers, including Geoff Nicholls,
have long championed Aquarian’s funky Super-Kicks
PRICES:
20” Super-Kick I,
£37.94
22” Super-Kick I,
£43.51
20” Super-Kick II,
£49.43
22” Super-Kick II,
£53.40
22” Super-Kick III
single ply coated with
Power Dot,
£53.40
20” Regulator white,
£35.69
22” Regulator SH Bk B,
£42.29
SIZES
Super-Kick I, III and
Regulator:
16’’ to 28’’.
Super-Kick II:
16” to 26”
HEAD
CONSTRUCTION
Safe-T-Loc aluminium
hoop with Triple
Locking System and
epoxy resin glue. Single
(10mil) or double
(2x7mil) ply Mylar.
Pre-formed ‘Sound
Curve’ collar
IN-BUILT
DAMPING
Aquarian patented
‘Floating Muffling
System’ of in-built felt
damping rings
CONTACT:
The Music Shipping
Company,
Unit 9
Hoo Farm Industrial
Estate,
Kidderminster,
Worcestershire,
DY11 7RA.
Tel: [phone]
www.musicshipping.
co.uk
www.aquariandrum-
heads.com
ESSENTIAL SPEC
THE 20" SUPER-KICK
II is a twin ply version of
Aquarian's Super-Kick I head
RECOMMENDS
RHY166.gear_aqua 94 19/6/09 7:42:20 am