Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • EVH trance state
  • Antonoff on Please Please Please
  • “Mick looked peeved. The Beatles had upstaged him”
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

A collection of single and double Tama Iron Cobra pedals on a silver corrugated metal sheet
Drum Pedals Best bass drum pedals 2025: single and double bass pedals for every budget
DrumCraft Urban Beats
Drum Kits “A good-looking kit which won’t break the bank”: DrumCraft Urban Beats review
Drumcraft Bell Brass Snare
Snare Drums “An excellent entry point into the world of cast-shell drums”: DrumCraft Bell Brass Snare review
Alesis Crimson III
Electronic Drums Alesis’ popular Crimson e-kit just got an upgrade with version III sporting new heads and a new BFD-powered drum brain
Zultan Z series update
Cymbals “A versatile set but these cymbals excel in a rock and metal context”: Zultan Z Series review
Sleep Token
Drums “We tried it as a laugh and now it’s our standard setup”: The secret sauce behind Sleep Token’s live drum sound
Alesis Strata Club
Drum Gear With the same mesh-head playability and powerful new Strata module as its bigger brothers, Alesis Strata Club brings a new compact form to its best-selling range
  1. Drums
  2. Drum Gear

The 4 best new drum heads of 2018

News
By MusicRadar Team published 26 November 2018

The best new drum head options for your kit

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

4. Kentville Kangaroo Skin

4. Kentville Kangaroo Skin

The Rhythm Best in drums 2018 polls received an astonishing 100,000 votes, and we're now ready to roll out the winners. The nominees were what we considered to be the drummers and gear that have excelled in 2018. Here, we present the best new drum heads of 2018. First up we have the Kentville Kangaroo Skin heads...

We say: With greater tensile strength than calf, native kangaroo hide is an ethical choice for this Australian company. Expensive, but undoubtedly the way to a unique warm vintage sound.

The MusicRadar Best in drums awards are brought to you in association with Allianz Musical Insurance - the UK's Number 1 Specialist Instrument Insurer

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
3. Remo ColorTone

3. Remo ColorTone

We say: Coloured heads occupy a small but significant and fun area. Remo has finally managed to adapt its Skyndeep imaging technology to bring us coloured versions of established favourites.

Read the review: Remo Colortone review

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
2. Code Drum Heads DNA Coated series

2. Code Drum Heads DNA Coated series

We say: Code is a welcome UK-based newcomer to the highly competitive drum head market, offering a clear range of value for money heads that are designed by drummers for drummers. As with any head company, Code will likely stand or fall on the acceptance of its all-purpose single-ply Ambassador-weight Coated DNA head. So this is the acid test and it performs admirably well. It sits cleanly, rotates on the bearing edge comfortably and tunes up quickly and easily. The sound is fractionally crisper, harder, crunchier than a Coated Ambassador.

Read the review: Code Drum Heads DNA Coated Series review

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Winner: Evans UV1 Bass Drum

Winner: Evans UV1 Bass Drum

We say: The UV1 heads are refreshingly different and so far seem to be living up to Evans’s hyperbole-soaked marketing claims. The UV-cured coating is indeed bright, super-consistent and hard wearing.

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
MusicRadar Team
MusicRadar Team
Social Links Navigation

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

  • GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.
  • TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.
  • STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.
Read more
A collection of single and double Tama Iron Cobra pedals on a silver corrugated metal sheet
Best bass drum pedals 2025: single and double bass pedals for every budget
DrumCraft Urban Beats
“A good-looking kit which won’t break the bank”: DrumCraft Urban Beats review
Drumcraft Bell Brass Snare
“An excellent entry point into the world of cast-shell drums”: DrumCraft Bell Brass Snare review
Alesis Crimson III
Alesis’ popular Crimson e-kit just got an upgrade with version III sporting new heads and a new BFD-powered drum brain
Zultan Z series update
“A versatile set but these cymbals excel in a rock and metal context”: Zultan Z Series review
Sleep Token
“We tried it as a laugh and now it’s our standard setup”: The secret sauce behind Sleep Token’s live drum sound
Latest in Drum Gear
Sleep Token drummer II Drumeo
“I’ve taken inspiration from the UK dance music scene": Mixwave put Sleep Token’s drummer in a plugin
DW SonicPly
Neil Peart called him 'the Wood Whisperer' and now he's blended metal and timber in DW's new SonicPly shells
Zultan Cymbals
"Crafted from Heritage. Tuned for Tomorrow": Zultan Cymbals celebrate their 25th birthday with a new high-end 25 series
Roland DrumLink
Roland's V-Drums go wireless for new simple and seamless WT-10 sensor and DH-10 hub DrumLink system
Millenium Drums book
Millenium launches new book for drummers of all ages and abilities
Alesis Strata Club
With the same mesh-head playability and powerful new Strata module as its bigger brothers, Alesis Strata Club brings a new compact form to its best-selling range
Latest in News
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: My pick of Father's Day deals for musicians include $400 off the Polyend Play+, $200 off a Martin acoustic and so much more
pmt
"It’s been a tough few years": UK gear retailer PMT closes its doors, makes 96 staff redundant and sells £2.4m of stock to Gear4Music
Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter on her musical heroes, and why she decided to release a new album so soon... and Rush
Liam Gallagher, Sharna Liguz, Nicole Appleton and Zak Starkey attend the launch party of Liam Gallagher's new store Pretty Green on July 29, 2010
“I’ll cry... I’d have done that gig for nothing” Zak Starkey on why he'll miss the Oasis gigs
Fred Armisen as George Ross, Amy Poehler as Carolyn Kepcher, Donald Trump during "The Apprentice Band" skit on April 3, 2004
“I could’ve been a flutist”: Donald Trump is claiming he has an aptitude for music

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...