Kick head to go with ambassadors

[aboylikedave]

I'm a bit of a newbie and am replacing my stock heads for the first time on a Yamaha Stage Custom. I really do need an all round set of heads as I play everything except any form of metal (no offence) - soul, funk, pop mainly.

I've been advised to go with Ambassador Coated. My Q is, should I use the same on the bass drum? I get the impression that people like to sometimes use a different skin for the kick.

So, what's going to go with the ambassadors - or is it another ambassador? BTW, I am keeping the original resos.

Cheers

[raje.a]

evans emad...i've tried a lot of different kick heads and these are great.

[Wavelength]

A coated Remo PS3 on both sides works perfectly. Depending on your tuning and touch you can get anything from a punchy "thud" to a resonant "boom", and you won't need any extra muffling to achieve this.

[Big Chris]

I really do need an all round set of heads as I play everything except any form of metal (no offence)


Grrrrr!!!! I have taken offence to your not playing metal!!!



;-)

[aboylikedave]

Does a cheesy cover of Black Crowes 'Too Hard to Handle' count?

I thought not!

[harryconway]

A coated Remo PS3 on both sides works perfectly.

I'll second that. It's a great place to start. If you're gonna keep your reso. (you know those wear out too?) then P3 batter. Personally, I set my kicks up with a clear P3 batter and ebony Ambassador reso. As a starting point. I hate laundry in the kick, so I will use different head combo's instead of pillows, dog blankets, socks, etc.. I'm a Remo guy, and I have a few different kick heads laying around, so pretty much all the bases are covered. An Ambassador batter is probably going to be a little to "live" sounding. The P3 is an Ambassador head with a built on richie ring.

[Skitch]

I'll second that. It's a great place to start. If you're gonna keep your reso. (you know those wear out too?) then P3 batter. Personally, I set my kicks up with a clear P3 batter and ebony Ambassador reso. As a starting point. I hate laundry in the kick, so I will use different head combo's instead of pillows, dog blankets, socks, etc.. I'm a Remo guy, and I have a few different kick heads laying around, so pretty much all the bases are covered. An Ambassador batter is probably going to be a little to "live" sounding. The P3 is an Ambassador head with a built on richie ring.

I have to second Harry's opinion here and, no offense to those who prefer the Emad, but I find these tend to sound a little one-dimensional. On one studio session however, the kick drum was a Premier Genista with a Fiberskyn FA with a felt strip and a clear ambassador on the front. I tend to like the PS3 on my batter and either an Ambassador weight on the front on an Ebony PS3 on the front. I do use the DW pillow in my kick drum as well.

Mike

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

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
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[Wavelength]

No offense to those who prefer the Emad, but I find these tend to sound a little one-dimensional.

True. They have a good "thud" to them when you play them loudly, but that's about it. The PS3 exhibits a nice, round and full resonance even when played softly -- that is, if you actually tune it to an open resonant sound -- but can cover the wet & flappy areas just as well.