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Drumhead Info
Should I use one head or two?
The choice of using a single (batter) head or two (batter and resonant) heads on rack and floor toms is a personal decision. Using the batter head only will give you a sound that is very clean and bright with a shorter sustain, the emphasis on attack rather than tone. Toms with a single head are known as concert toms and are less common than two headed toms. Concert toms may be seen in orchestral applications, within larger drum set-ups or as drums for that specific sound, however the decision to use single headed toms should be based on suitability for your own musical requirements.
Using two heads creates a synergy within the drum which gives an output greater than the sum of the parts. With two heads you have a surface parallel to the batter head against which the vibrations caused by striking the drum are reflected back against the batter head and then back to the resonant head etc etc. Secondly, as the vibrations are retained within the drum for a longer period, the drum shell is 'excited' to produce vibrations also which in turn add the existing vibrations. The other main advantage and the most important aspect of using two heads is the level of control that the drummer can exert over the movement and duration of the tone. Basically, with both heads tuned identically, the waves are continuously reflected in phase with each other with each wave slightly quieter than the previous until they are dissipated sufficiently to have decayed below the point of hearing, this gives maximum resonance for that drum in that tuning. With the heads tuned differently to each other, they will be out of phase, giving a tone that decays faster and a greater attack. On lower toms and/or at lower tunings this gives a 'pitch bend' effect.
Most drummers opt for two heads for all the above reasons.
 Drumhead Selection Guide
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