Ambassadors - improved coating?

Pollyanna

Platinum Member
When I returned to drumming a couple of years ago I bought a coated Ambassador. I use brushes in a number of songs and I found the coating rough and uneven and needed wearing in before playing with the band. The coating subsequently wore off very quickly.

I then bought an Evans and found the coating much more durable, as though the coating was a texture of the head rather than a layer on top that could wear/crack off. Same with the Aquarian I used after the Evans.

Then I decided to give the Ambassador another go because I was always a Remo gal. It seems the new Ambassador is more textured than coated - like the Evans and Aquarian - and is even and durable.

Is there some inside word on Remo improving their processes? I really like this new head.
 
I don't know for sure Polly, but I have read that a number of years ago, Remo had to change the process for coating the heads due to environmental regulations. Though I have never personally had problems with Remo's coating, I have heard quite a few stories of heads with quickly-peeling coating. These days, I am not hearing this so much, so I wonder if Remo has been working on the materials or process in order to refine it. They face pretty stiff competition now, so it makes sense.

I always found it amazing that so many people say they have had trouble with Remo coating (some of those people I know and trust!) but I never have, despite using mostly Remo coated heads over the years..

Ah well, glad you like the new Remo you've got. I still like the sound of Remo heads better than any other.
 
ID, do you sweep with brushes much? That's what wore it off. I had no probs in my old rock bands.

I found all three - Evans, Aquarian and the new Remo - to be very good, but there's a certain character to Ambos that does it for me too.
 
ID, do you sweep with brushes much? That's what wore it off. I had no probs in my old rock bands.

I found all three - Evans, Aquarian and the new Remo - to be very good, but there's a certain character to Ambos that does it for me too.

Polly, I don't sweep much these days - just a few songs at most. But in the past I used brushes quite a lot.

It's funny, when people ask me about drumheads, I tell them straight up, Evans, Aquarian, and Remo all make good heads, but I LIKE the Remos best!
 
Maybe I was just wiping off the coating with heavy handed brushwork? I might be playing loungey music but I still have rock hands. Whatever, the heads seem to be Polly-proof now :)

The new Ambo feels very much like the Aquarian I had before it but I like the sound better ... at the moment. I found the Ambos' sweet spot period shorter but more intensely pleasing than the Evans and Aquarian so it remains to be seen how long it lasts with the new head ...
 
I had more problems with the coatings actually chipping with the Remo heads. This would sometimes leave a dime sized area on the head without any coating. The Remo Ambassadors do have a very nice bite when working with brushes. I changed to mostly Evans about four or five years ago and found that their coatings lasted longer and didn't chip, unless you happen to use their economy heads that come equipped on some of the mid range Gretsch kits that say "heads by Evans". Those are worse than the most problematic Remos I ever used.

Dennis
 
Polly I have been a mostly Aquarian and Evans consumer for awhile. I found that that these brands seemed more resilient, especially Aquarian. I also have been very impressed with Aquarian's customer service and think that's a value in itself (Thank You Roy Burns!). The last product issue I had with Evans (years ago) was handled nicely as well although Aquarian still is tops in that area.

In the last 2 years I started to dip back into the Remo waters when a friend recommended I try a Remo Coated CS Underside dot head for a drum. I tried it and was pleasantly surprised at the character of the sound and the general feel of the coating. Since a CS Dot head is an Ambassador with a dot, I felt that I'd go ahead and take a stab at using a straight Ambassador head again. I've been enjoying the sound of these as well as some Emperor's on 4 snares right now (2 Ambs, 2 Emps, all coated).

The brands all sound different so I could just be having some fun enjoying new timbres but I did notice that the coating felt better for brush work out of the box. That was an observation I also made within the last year for an Evans G1 - nice brush coating - but I've never been able to get a snare to sound as good as I want it to with a G1. I have 1 drum which seems to have a love affair with G2s so it usually gets that head and Evans remains a viable snare batter choice. The G1 just hasn't worked sound wise although holding up coating wise very well.

Since starting to use the Remos I haven't noticed any premature wear or chipping. I'll probably hang with some Remo choices for awhile but having 6 snares and 2 drum sets means I can count on using different brands and changing things up every so often. I'm sure that I'll see all 3 brands on my drums over time.

FWIW: I just played a jazz gig with a snare/hi hat/crash-ride setup where I played 95% brushes, mostly traditional sweeping style. I brought my newly acquired (used) Ludwig Bronze with a brand spanking new Emperor on it. It felt great under the brushes. I bought the drum with an Emperor head that was a little worn down but the drum still sounded good. I wanted to break in a new head for a session coming up in a few days and this gig as well as practicing and tuning it was what was/is needed.

Jim
 
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I've been playing coated Ambassadors for a long time and the coating does seem more durable than it used to be. Just something I've noticed in the past few years. But it was never a real issue for me. The coating always seemed to last a long time. And I sweep all the time.

But the truth is that even if I had problems with the coating - and I don't - I would be hard-pressed to make the switch to another head. I just like the sound and feel of these heads so much that I would probably just suffer through the extra cost and annoyance of having to replace them more often. On my bop kit, I have them on the batter side of my toms, too.
 
I had more problems with the coatings actually chipping with the Remo heads. This would sometimes leave a dime sized area on the head without any coating.

Dennis, I remember Ambos chipping back in the 70s. I shifted to dots and then pin stripes in the 80s - which was almost compulsory. Back then transparent heads were a novelty.


... The last product issue I had with Evans (years ago) was handled nicely as well although Aquarian still is tops in that area.

In the last 2 years I started to dip back into the Remo waters ... and was pleasantly surprised at the character of the sound and the general feel of the coating.

... Since starting to use the Remos I haven't noticed any premature wear or chipping.

The Evans retained tone for longer than I expected. However, the tone never quite reached the peak of the Aquarian and Remo to my ear. I'm hoping this Remo holds its tone for a while because it's sounding nice at the moment.


I've been playing coated Ambassadors for a long time and the coating does seem more durable than it used to be. Just something I've noticed in the past few years. But it was never a real issue for me. The coating always seemed to last a long time. And I sweep all the time.

Yes, I was surprised at the change. Seems like both you and Jim (and others) have no issue with brushes wearing off the coating so, by process of elimination ... well, damn! lol

I like Ambos on the toms too - more sensitive and many-sided for my purposes than the clears.
 
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