Head Reccomendations For My Kit

[markee2004]

I own a Tama starclassic birch kit. I'm fairly happy with my kick drum sound at the moment (remo ambassador batter, remo ebony front, pillow against batter). But I simply can't afford to buy a load of different drum heads to try out for the toms. I'm currently using evans 2 ply clear heads for batters, and evans ambassador type heads for resos, and am very unhappy with the sound, the batter heads seem to lose all their tone (which isn't saying much) within a week. I'm looking for a sound that's quite balanced across the whole frequency spectrum, as in good ammount of bass, mids, and highs, that will make my drums sound more like maple drums. I want them to have a good tuning range, quite an open sound, but not to ringy, and with the right ammount of attack, and (I can't stress this enough) to have nice mid to high frequency overtones. So sort of a good full bodied jazz sound but with a good ammount of bass, and that can handle low tunings.

Oh yeah, and I only want to consider remos, as I have had to many bad experiences with evans, and aquarian heads.

[bighaibigdrums]

Coated Emporers over coated Ambos.

[figure_02]

Coated Emporers over coated Ambos.

I'll second that. But in my opinion your best bet would be coated Evans G2's over clear G1's, but if you want Remo, then emperors over ambassadors.

[markee2004]

how does the coated ambassador differ from a coated diplomat as a reso head? Also would this head combination be able to cut through against distorted guitars, and bass?

[markee2004]

I was also wondering if remo do a coated ambassodor head with an internal dampening ring, and if so what's the product name?

[PureRockFury]

Yes they do that and they are called Remo Powerstroke 3 heads. 1 ply 10mil medium weight head just like the Ambassador but it has an extra muffle ring around the edge of the head to dampen high pitched overtones and round out the sound a bit more. I highly suggest NOT using those heads.

Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassadors is a FANTASTIC combination on birch shelled drums.

[harryconway]

From my Remo catalog. Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Neil Peart, Vinnie Colaiuta...coated Ambassador batter, all but Peart, clear Ambassador reso. Pert, coated Amb. reso. Some guy named Steve Smith, clear Ambs. batter and reso. Kenny Aronoff and Travis Barker, smooth white batter, clear reso. The Remo web site has more info. like this.

[MadJazz]

For birch you wanna cut some high tones. Coating will do just that. I suggest NOT using 2 ply coated batters on small toms. It'll result in a very dry and dull tone. For floor toms you can consider a 2 ply coated batter or 2 ply clear reso.

SD: coated amb, or coated PS3 if you experience a lot of ring and a clear amb snare side.
BD: a clear emad or clear EQ4 paired with a coated EQ3 reso.
TT: coated amb batter / clear amb reso
FT: coated amb batter / clear emp reso

Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassadors is a FANTASTIC combination on birch shelled drums.

I'm not too sure about that. Maybe for live performances, but not in the studio.

[PureRockFury]

Sure it is. Why wouldn't it be? I've used Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassadors on maple drums, birch drums, real african mahogany, cherry, walnut, purpleheart, cheap mahogany with absolutely fine results. If you know how to tune for the drum then you won't run into any problems at all. People look too hard into things and are scared to try new things. I have also experimented with almost every head type from Remo, Evans, and Aquarian from drum set heads to ethnic heads and marching in betweeen.

[MadJazz]

Sure it is. Why wouldn't it be? I've used Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassadors on maple drums, birch drums, real african mahogany, cherry, walnut, purpleheart, cheap mahogany with absolutely fine results. If you know how to tune for the drum then you won't run into any problems at all. People look too hard into things and are scared to try new things. I have also experimented with almost every head type from Remo, Evans, and Aquarian from drum set heads to ethnic heads and marching in betweeen.

Have you experimented with resos or only batters? For ex, have you tried my suggestion?

[Skitch]

how does the coated ambassador differ from a coated diplomat as a reso head? Also would this head combination be able to cut through against distorted guitars, and bass?

The diplomat is a thinner head than an ambassador, so you had better be a light player or use the diplomats as reonant heads.



Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[Skitch]

Yes they do that and they are called Remo Powerstroke 3 heads. 1 ply 10mil medium weight head just like the Ambassador but it has an extra muffle ring around the edge of the head to dampen high pitched overtones and round out the sound a bit more. I highly suggest NOT using those heads.

Clear Emperors over Clear Ambassadors is a FANTASTIC combination on birch shelled drums.

I have actually tried these heads (Remo Powerstroke 3) and they sound great! Okay back to the fifteen year olds bashing Remo.


Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[harryconway]

I run Powerstroke3 heads on my toms also. 15x12, 16x16, 18x16 Ludwig 6 ply maple. Great sound.

[bighaibigdrums]

I'm not too sure about that. Maybe for live performances, but not in the studio.

A good sounding kit is a good sounding kit, doesnt matter if its in the studio or not.

[they_call_me_diesel]

I use Evans Genera G1 coated 1-ply on my toms and on my I snares use the Remo Emporer X and Remo Weatherking Ambassador. They sound really good an can take a beating!

[scrubs]

I'm looking for a sound that's quite balanced across the whole frequency spectrum, as in good ammount of bass, mids, and highs, that will make my drums sound more like maple drums. I want them to have a good tuning range, quite an open sound, but not to ringy, and with the right ammount of attack, and (I can't stress this enough) to have nice mid to high frequency overtones. So sort of a good full bodied jazz sound but with a good ammount of bass, and that can handle low tunings.

Oh yeah, and I only want to consider remos, as I have had to many bad experiences with evans, and aquarian heads.

Based on that description, I'd suggest the Renaissance Ambassadors for your toms. I think 2-ply heads will kill the high frequency attack too much. The Suede heads might also be worth considering.

Unfortunately, every kit is different (as are the expectations of every drummer), so some amount of experimentation is required to find the right heads for you.

[AveyTare]

I use Evans Genera G1 coated 1-ply on my toms and on my I snares use the Remo Emporer X and Remo Weatherking Ambassador. They sound really good an can take a beating!

man, it really hurts...