Ambassador vs. Emperor

I'm wanting to replace my tom heads asap (one of them is on it's way out, probably going to rip soon). The current heads might be the stock ones...It's an old Tama Rockstar kit (3 toms) from the late 90s or so. I play mainly Rock/Punk music, with a little bit of Metal and Jazz thrown in.

Anyway, from what I've read, Coated Ambassadors and Emperors come highly recommended, so I'm trying to decide between the two. What is the difference between the two, and what do you think would suit my needs the best? Thanks!
 
Clear Evans G2s or clear Remo Emperors work well for rock/metal. Ambassador is a single ply head and although it sounds great the Emperor will have better durability.
 
Ambassadors might sound "louder" to you but Emperors are 2 ply so they will be more durable.

If you haven't tried a 2 ply, you will like Emperors. Nice solid attack sound and depending on how you tune, a little less ring and a more focused punchy sound.

Ambassadors are 1 10 mil ply and Emps are 2 7 mil plies. (I'm pretty sure)
 
One of my kits I use the Ambassador coated heads, on the other kit I use the clear Emperors. It boils down to what makes you happy. The coated ambassadors are warmer and a bit more resonance, a little more ring. The clear Emperors have a nice attack. I like them both and find myself switching them out often. Don't forget that your tuning plays a key role!
 
Why not buy one of each for just one drum, say your 12" tom? Try them one after the other and you'll get a pretty good idea of how a full kit of them will sound without spending a fortune.

And: durability has much more to do with technique than the number of plies. I don't need to play that hard anymore, but my kid is the hardest hitter I've ever seen--no foolin'--and he has never so much as dented a single-ply head. Good stick angles and good hands.
 
Definitely the Emps (or G2s if you're contemplating Evans), they're a really well rounded head. Tuning wise you can get them to really sing, or shorten the sustain, or add moon gels to get a bit more of a thud sound. Although, personally I like the feel of the Ambs, to me they've got a real nice bounce. I'd also say go with coated heads if you like playing jazz, I assuming you have brushes so the coating is an absolute must.
 
I'd say the single plys will be more lively, with more overtones and the emporers, while still having the overtones, they will be in a lower register. I like lively ringy happy toms (single ply) but you may like more focused deeper sounding toms (2 ply). I like drumtechdads advice, get one of each and experiment. I'd get someone else to hit them slowly, and stand back 15 feet, walk around, and listen to them from an audience standpoint, (do this with both heads) before making a decision. If you play unmiced this is key.
 
I've had the same Coated Emperors on my toms for almost nine months, and they still sound wonderful. I actually think that Evans G2's have a softer feel and more mellow tone straight out of the box, but Emperors sound better with age.
 
Thanks for the advice. I checked more closely, and it turns out that the heads I have now are not the stock heads, rather they are just very old 2-Ply Attack heads. With that in mind, I think the best way to go would be the Emperors, since I am used to the feeling of 2-Ply heads now!
 
In my mind. it depends on how well you can tune the heads. Emperors are a little more forgiving than ambs. . And yes they are more durable. I would lean towards emps in you situation.
 
I used to put Emp's on one side of my mounted toms, and Amb's on the other. Except for my floor tom of course. If the legs would have allowed me to play it upside down I would have flipped the floor tom also. I would turn the drums over and retune when I wanted a different sound. This practice was very popular in the 1970s.
 
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