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October, 2006
 
Good Heads, Affordable Prices
HeadFirst Offers Drummers the Highest Quality by ICX When Rob Warner, owner of HeadFirst custom bass drumheads, started the company six years ago, his goal was "to give drummers a good product that looked and sounded great. And," he says, "we threw away loads of heads until we knew we had something that worked. It took a long time to get the product ready to go to market, and we worked tirelessly with a lot of great drummers and techs and did a lot of testing. We had them on the road with a couple of different bands, in studios; we worked with a couple of companies. A lot of industry people started hearing about them. Famous musicians started using them and saying how great they sounded. We kept moving forward and faster and it really exploded." For Warner and his staff, it was about more than good drumheads for professionals to endorse. "Another challenge was to make the product affordable, not just for the touring musicians but for every drummer to be able to afford," he says. "That was a huge consideration. It took about 18 months, and we’ve been able to lower our prices and give a better sound by continuing to test the drumheads. The key to achieving that goal, he says, is use of proper materials. "The mallet feedback when you strike a kick drum was so dense rather than resonant. We were able to cure that by using a microporous material that lets the head breathe. It’s laminated with a matching over-laminate finish for a nice gloss." Among the many artists using HeadFirst drumheads are Rikki Rockett, Kenny Aronoff, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, Mike Portnoy and Morgan Rose of Sevendust. "It was like once we got the recognition, artists came to us," says Warner, "and it wasn’t just the head itself. It was everybody was looking for a solution, but they couldn’t find anything. We finally delivered heads that look and sound great. Drummers began calling us, which was really interesting. It helped that people were also seeing the heads on the road with Stone Temple Pilots, Aerosmith and other bands. They started aorse. "Another challenge was to make the product affordable, not just for the touring musicians but for every drummer to be able to afford," he says. "That was a huge consideration. It took about 18 months, and we’ve been able to lower our prices and give a better sound by continuing to test the drumheads. The key to achieving that goal, he says, is use of proper materials. "The mallet feedback when you strike a kick drum was so dense rather than resonant. We were able to cure that by using a microporous material that lets the head breathe. It’s laminated with a matching over-laminate finish for a nice gloss." Among the many artists using HeadFirst drumheads are Rikki Rockett, Kenny Aronoff, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, Mike Portnoy and Morgan Rose of Sevendust. "It was like once we got the recognition, artists came to us," says Warner, "and it wasn’t just the head itself. It was everybody was looking for a solution, but they couldn’t find anything. We finally delivered heads that look and sound great. Drummers began calling us, which was really interesting. It helped that people were also seeing the heads on the road with Stone Temple Pilots, Aerosmith and other bands. They started asking, ‘Where did you get those heads?’ and it spiraled from there." HeadFirst heads are produced using high-resolution digital output images that are laminated onto a single-ply head. The heads are fade resistant, waterproof and remarkably rugged. "The real intention," says Warner, "was to supply working drummers and their techs without them having to spend an arm and a leg." In addition to drumheads, the company also makes backdrops, risers, amp scrims or screens and mesh scrims. "We go to a lot of shows and we saw what people were using, what the market wanted," says Warner. "It made perfect sense, and while we don’t want to sell ourselves as a glorified sound shop, again, we want to give people a good product at a good price, and now we are known for more than drumheads. We’re trying to provide a graphic end, but we don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver." This month, HeadFirst will launch a new website, which Warner says will "answer a lot of questions for every drummer and allow us to focus more on everything. We’re always happy to speak with people, but this will get to the bottom of it and highlight comments from drummers in the field at all levels. All the bands’ websites will be linked as well." At $110 per head, the company keeps their design fees as low as possible. "A couple of other companies do what we do," says Warner, "but we were the first, and if you look at our roster it’s easy to see that it doesn’t take a millionaire to buy our stuff. It’s available to everybody." HeadFirst prides itself on the fact that very few of their heads have ever malfunctioned or been returned. "I still have heads from when the company first started," says Warner. "They’re on a kit we have here. It’s rare that anything is returned, but we offer an unconditional money-back guarantee: If you don’t like the look or the sound, we’ll buy it back. So far, we haven’t had that problem. There’s a one-year warranty, but we’ve had no problems with manufacturing, either. Adrian Ost from Powerman 5000 took them all over the world. He’s a very hard-hitting drummer, and they made it back alive and we were thrilled." For more information about HeadFirst, call them at 781-963-4323 or e-mail info@headfirst-online.com. Audio-Technica Offers ATH-A700 Import Series Headphones Audio-Technica has announced the U.S. availability of its Import Series ATH-A700 closed-back dynamic headphones. Designed to deliver audiophile-quality acoustic performance with full, rich balanced bass and extended frequency response, the ATH-A700 headphones offer superb fidelity while providing maximum comfort for a luxurious listening experience. Ideally suited for reference-quality monitoring and high-definition playback formats, the ATH-A700 headphones feature propriety large-aperture 53mm drivers with neodymium magnet systems and CCAW (copper-clad aluminum wire) voice coils, as well as a unique closed-back Double Air Damping System (D.A.D.S.) for superior sound reproduction and extended frequency response. Audio-Technica's unique total ear fitting design, plush ear pads and self-adjusting 3D wing support mechanism offer an extremely comfortable listening experience, while maximizing noise rejection and minimizing sound leakage in critical playback environments. Combined with a striking appearance featuring a deep blue metallic finish, the ATH-A700 headphones represent the latest in premium monitoring technology for the discerning listener. For more information, visit www.audio-technica.com. |