Hello,
So, I recently opened my tenor case to find the bottom ply of the spock drum cracked. "Interesting," I thought, "that I didn't notice that before." And maybe it was just a bad head, right? Well, then drum 2 cracked, bottom ply, very new head but not too new. So something was wrong.

I found out the heads were breaking because I was taking the tenors home (90% sure). You see, I live about 2000 feet above the school and it is a fair amount colder. This change in altitude or temperature is the problem.

This is where you come in: Before I bring them home again, is there anything I can do to stop the heads from cracking? Any tricks? Any advise? I am renting the tenors from my instructor and I pay for all head replacements so save me a few bucks and give me some hope that the next time I open that case all the heads will be there intact. Thank you!

extreme heat and humidity can do a number on tenor heads, stetching them out of tune. so i would assume extreme cold would make the drum heads a little more brittle, hence the cracking on the bottom ply.


only thing i can think of is to detune the drums before you go out into the cold. the extreme tension will make the heads very brittle also just going from one extreme to the other will do the same. if you take them home in a case try to insolate them as well.

outside of the weather it could also be bearing edges, loose casing, badly seated drum head, ect....

To add to Multi-Thomm's response, don't worry too much about isulating them, but definitely detune the heads before you bring them to your house. Once you get there, open the case and let the drums and heads warm up to room temperature (an hour or two should suffice depending on the temperature differential) and only then should you tighten the heads back up.

the cold can definitely affect a head, especially when going from a stable climate to a significantly colder one. I remember in indoor, we were warmed up inside, then after the competition we took the drums outside and rehearsed with extra time available. Not too long into the rehearsal I had to change the spock head because it cracked almost instantly during 8's. Cold very much effects heads, it's very bad for it, unless you play at 3" I suppose.

The best bet is to detune them, you wouldnt need to detune them all too much either, maybe 2 full turns for each head.

The only thing that makes me question all of this is that the bottom ply is the one cracking, usually the top is the first to go, so multi-thomm might be on to something about the bearing edge, possibly.

i would think hand warmers on the the heads while they are in the case would do.but i would stick with detuning the drums