I want coated heads, and...

[PreppieNerd]

I run 8'', 10'', 12'',14'' toms. 2 up, 2 down. I like the sound of coated emperor tuned fairly loose on the 14. Should I run all emperors? or would I get a better sound out of ambassadors on the 8 and 10 inchers?

If you have an opinion, please give it.

[konaboy]

What would help is to know what kind of kit you have and the wood it 's made out of. I've had good luck with Emperor or G2 clears on my 10" and they sound great. With going coated you might find you get a better tone with a single ply like an ambassador or G1

[PreppieNerd]

the wood is birch. I like my toms to have that full-bodied round tone.

[konaboy]

I just noticed I left part of my thought process out of my last post. What I was trying to say at the end was you might find the 8 sounds better with a single ply, possibly the 10 as well. My 10" birch yamaha sounds great with a clear 2 ply but with a coated 2 ply it really seems to muddy the sound so you might look at a single ply for that as well.

[Jeremy]

you also might want to try those throwback reissue ambassadors that are two ply, but still add up to 10 (i think it's a 3 and a 7 mil). they're supposed to be somewhere in the middle, as are the aquarian super-2s. i run all coated single ply over clear single, sometimes remo, sometimes aquarian, and you can't really go wrong with that.

[Cymbalrider]

Coated Ambassadors are my vote except for maybe that low tom.

[Mr. Pasquini]

The coating on Evans is better, and who here doesn't love a simple Genera G1 Coated? I think my next heads are gonna be coated G2s because of how I've been playing lately (much harder).

[danander11]

Right now, I am using the Evans EC2 coated on all of my toms, 10, 12, 13, 14, & 16.., and I LOVE them! I had tried the clears for about 4 months but I wanted something a little warmer. The 10 just sings and I actually start my tuning with it... then work the drop for the rest of the toms from there.

I used to use the coated emporer (sp?) heads.. and liked them, but the overtones could get to be a bit much sometimes.. The EC2's seem to do away with most of it without a lot of mucking about, and if a drum detunes a bit through the show, then it is still OK..

Mostly, it will depend on your shells, the bearing edges, and how you tune them... experiment and try different things..

Cheers!

[wooltonboy]

I'm running coated Ambassadors on my 10 and 12, with coated Emperors on the 14 and 16.
Sounds great, as I like the smaller toms to sound more lively and open.
I'd actually like to put Ambassadors on the floor toms, but I've never been able to get the sound I like. The Emps do give a nice bottom end on the floors.
Cheers

[Mendozart]

I'm running coated Ambassadors on my 10 and 12, with coated Emperors on the 14 and 16.
Sounds great, as I like the smaller toms to sound more lively and open.
I'd actually like to put Ambassadors on the floor toms, but I've never been able to get the sound I like. The Emps do give a nice bottom end on the floors.
Cheers

I'm with wooltonboy & cymbalrider. I'm running coated Ambassadors batter / ebony Ambassador resos on the 10", 12", & 14" toms (3-up) and coated Emperor batter / clear DW Ambassador (white ring) reso on my 16" & 18" floor toms. This is the best combo I have found for my keller shelled DW's and I have tried clear G1's & G2's and clear Ambassador & clear Emperors. The sound and feel are just right for me now.

[Skitch]

The coating on Evans is better, and who here doesn't love a simple Genera G1 Coated? I think my next heads are gonna be coated G2s because of how I've been playing lately (much harder).


I don't love any Evans heads and Remos have the tried and true sound - sorry to Evans! And the question was really regarding Remo heads, not a question comparing the two brands. And since you decided to bring this up out of context, it just goes to show how inferior Evans heads really are because any time Remo is brought up, some Evans sycophant has to chime in, off topic, to declare their brand best. If you love Evans - great, but if you don't have anything constructive to offer other than being a corporate spokesman, please defer and go to the next thread.

As far as the Remo heads as to the ORIGINAL QUESTION goes, there has been some rethinking that thinner heads on smaller drums will actually sound more appropriate but the real proof is for you to go and try them yourself. We can make recommendations all day long, but it has to be your ear that is the final judge.


Mike

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

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

[maddrummr]

No Emperors on the high toms. The sound is just not getting through the 2 ply on the small drum.

[Big_Philly]

I've got good results with emperors on my 10 - 12 - 14 -16 toms. On bigger drums you will definitely need emperors, but maybe the smaller ones will do fine with ambassadors. Still, my advice is to go with the emperors.

[Rickk]

I pulled the Remo heads off my DW set and went with Evans, Pulled the Evans off and went with Aquarian, Since I have had all three brands and spent a lot of time and money changing heads.... AQUARIAN IS THE WINNER either Coated which I use now or clear which I had on my Ludwig set.
Studio X- coated /Classic clears on the bottom ( Maple Wood)

Super II clear on top may be my next choice but I am sticking with Aquarian.

Hope this can help those undecided that are not set with one brand, give the Aquarian a try
you may be pleasently surprised.


Hope this helps.

Rick

[wooltonboy]

I pulled the Remo heads off my DW set and went with Evans, Pulled the Evans off and went with Aquarian, Since I have had all three brands and spent a lot of time and money changing heads.... AQUARIAN IS THE WINNER either Coated which I use now or clear which I had on my Ludwig set.
Studio X- coated /Classic clears on the bottom ( Maple Wood)

Super II clear on top may be my next choice but I am sticking with Aquarian.

Hope this can help those undecided that are not set with one brand, give the Aquarian a try
you may be pleasently surprised.


Hope this helps.

Rick

Yeah, I think more people should give Aquarian a try also.
I have tried quite a few of their products, and the one that you may consider if you are torn between ambassadors and emperors is the Aquarian Satin texture one-ply.
I've said this before, that the Aquarian "mylar" seems thicker/denser than either remo or evans, and the sound is actually in-between a one and a two ply.
I do find the Aquarian 2 plys to be a bit on the "muddy" side, although the response 2 clears were quite good. the new Super 2's look interesting also.
I actually have a set of Studio x coateds that i tried once, but I found them a bit "boxy" sounding. Maybe I didn't break them in long enough.
To me though, Aquarian has the best "build" quality for sure, and they sure tune up easy.
Try the one ply coateds, i think you'll like
Cheers

[Rickk]

Yeah Wooltonboy, they are my choice , did you tune your bottom heads before the top, that is the key.

Rick

[wooltonboy]

Yeah Wooltonboy, they are my choice , did you tune your bottom heads before the top, that is the key.

Rick

Yeah, I just started doing that on other heads, with great results, so maybe I'll give them another go.
Thanks
Phil