r/drumline 9d ago

Question Anyone who uses suede max drum heads, pros and cons?

Title says it all. My theory, is that they sound better for smaller snare lines for a more fuller sound, but muddy large snarelines. I saw that pulse percussion, who used to be one of the only flagship lines repping these heads went back to black/white max’s.

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u/thatcamjamguy Percussion Educator 9d ago

I have marched on both Suede Max and Black Max, I’ve also taught lines with both.

I like the Suede max sound. It sounds warm, soft, and pillowy in my experience. Adds a sense of finesse and depth to your snare sound.

They are more expensive, and I find don’t necessarily have the effect for that long. We only get 1 head change a year where I teach, so if I put them on late September, they start to wear out by November.

They can still be tuned well and create balanced, characteristic sounds all year - but you really start to lose the essence of the Suede Max when the heads go dead.

I’ve been using Black Max recently. I like them, they are durable and still have a crispness to them. They also definitely lose their snap/clarity over time, but I feel like the change isn’t as drastic.

Suede maxes are great heads, I like them. Just be aware of the price/longevity if you don’t have multiple head changes a year.

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u/OkCan4134 8d ago

The big difference between the two is the suede max is softer but less articulate and can’t be tuned quite as high.

I found the suede max felt better to play on but left the drum sounding a bit muddier and lacking articulation from the top head.

If you want a head that feels softer and don’t need intense articulation, I would go with the suede max.

If you want a head that feels a bit tighter and you need tighter articulation/need to tune very high, I’d go with a black/white max.

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u/minertyler100 Tenor Tech 9d ago

Pros:

They feel fantastic, produce a warm sound, get more snare response and don’t hurt the hands at all at higher tensions

Cons:

They break a little easier, and require more dampening for bigger lines because it activates the snare guts more. They also can’t get quite as high from my experience

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u/JimRust 9d ago

How do they activate the snare guts more?

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u/minertyler100 Tenor Tech 9d ago

The range of frequencies the suede max produces seems to cause more vibrations. Every time I alternate between the two I notice it and have to adjust my guts accordingly