Rudimental Drumming

So what's been going on with Powerstrokes these days? With all the kevlar and aramid heads that have been available for the past 30 years, I've lost track. It seems that there are Powerstrokes with different numbers and even colors, so I'm wondering, are they still made for marching? Are they as good as they used to be? Are they as good as the old Premier Marathons? Those were gold standard to me when it came to high-torque mylar heads. Are there any mylar marching heads available today that are better? Thanks for any and all input.

The Powerstroke 77 is the marching variety and seems unchanged for a relatively long period. The other Powerstroke heads are geared to drum set applications. The PS77 is similar in construction to the Marathon but is not the same head by any means. I tried a PS77 on the 13" indoor snare (like you have, too, Keith if I recall), and I never liked the sound or feel. As there aren't many snare-specific mylar heads when compared to tenor heads, which are crimped to hold high torque as well, so I ordered several 13" heads marketed toward marching tenors. On the 13" right now I have a 13" Remo Suede with a muffle strip (thin felt, by Gibraltar, marketed toward drum set applications). It sounds and feels good. I haven't gotten around to trying the other heads out, but they're waiting--Remo Marching Renaissance, Smooth White, and Clear. Should be good for heads for a long while on that drum.

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Marshall Digmon
N.A.R.D. Member 10042

Thanks Marshall, that's good info and definitely helps me catch up on my knowledge of the mylar market. I remember when I had my first experience with a Powetstroke back in the late 80s. My band director was a Southern Miss alum and a couple of times, he would take our whole band to the games to play in the stands and to perform our halftime show in front of his former director, the famed Dr. Fraschillo. One of our heads broke on one of these trips and I could not have been happier, because my director sent me to ask the USM drumline for a head and they gave me a used Powerstroke, which I alteady knew that they used. I can't say that the head lived up to the hype, but it was still exciting in those days right before kevlar and free floaters came out in DCI and everyone was still trying to tune snares higher and higher. To this day, I still don't know how the drum corps lines tuned Ludwig hi-torque silver dots as high as they did.

Did you guys double and triple hoop the mylar heads? Done carefully, they stretch and stretch.

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Marshall Digmon
N.A.R.D. Member 10042

I remember doubling, not sure about tripling. Ah, those were the days.