You’ve just purchased new heads.

Start with one drum and remove one old head completely. Clean off the rim and bearing edge of the drum. Leave the grease on the the lugs!

*Veteran Note: If you tune your snare drum to a high pitch and you’re replacing the snare heads, detention each side gradually to avoid buckling of the shell.

1) Remove the drum rim and lug bolts. Toss the old drumhead or use it as a Frisbee. Make sure you have the right new drumhead for the side of the drum you’re replacing, ie: resonant or batter side. Check the rim or “hoop” and make sure it’s clean of debris. Make sure your “hoop” is not warped or uneven. It should be a circle.

With a soft cloth, make sure the bearing edge (where the plastic head touches the drum) is clean. The bearing edge condition is important in getting a clean tone out of the drum.

2) Place the new drumhead on the drum over the bearing edge. Make sure it’s even all the way around. Rotate the head so the drumhead logo is out of your playing zones. Check the Tom mounts to see where that would be.

3) Place the rim or “hoop” over the drumhead. On each side, reach under the rim to make sure the drumhead is even. This is the most critical step. Place the lug bolts in loosely and finger tighten them only, continually checking under the rim with your fingers to make sure the drumhead is even all the way around the drum.

If the metal part of the drumhead is uneven, remove the lugs and start over. Improperly seating a drumhead will give you an uneven sound and has been know to cause chicken pox.. not really, but seriously, this is the most important part. The rim and drumhead should be even all the way around the drum.

4) Don’t use the drumkey yet. When you’re sure the head is set evenly all the way around the drum, finger tighten the lugs. Don’t use the drum key yet. You may see slight wrinkles in the head. That’s ok. If the drumhead really resembles an old-man face, your head is not properly seated. When you’re comfortable the head is seated evenly, repeat the same for the opposite side. The newly seated head should have a low but audible pitch for that instrument.

*Note: For new resonant side Snare heads, you’ll need to remove the strainers. You should be able to do this easily with a drumkey.

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