A second opinion on remo heads

gbftats

Member
I picked up some ambassadors for my snare and they sound great. Im thinking about getting them for my toms as well. I mentioned diplomats on the bottom to the guy at the music store and he said they are too thin for his taste to run on the bottom. I thought you wanted a thinner head on the bottom? How would a thicker head on bottom (say ambass/ambass) effect the drum compared to a thinner bottom head?
 
A thinner single ply head will give less sustain.

Perhaps try one of each before outlaying for a whole set. Roll with the one YOU like the sound of best.
 
Dips on the bottom have been used for years by drummers who want a punchy sound.
I use them for recording and gigging in small venues. Dips were invented as a bottom head for toms.
Try them!
I use Ambs over Ambs also as well as Emps over Dips and Emps over Ambs.
Mix it up and have fun with your sound.
Try Ambs over Emps just for fun also.
 
Well, at least the guy at the store said "too thin for his taste".​
There is no written in stone rule. Some people like thinner heads on the bottom. Some people like same/same for batter/reso. And you might even run into a cat or two who will run a thicker head, reso.​
It's all about the sound you like.​
 
There's a Bob Gatzen video where he demonstrates the sound difference between Diplomat and Ambassador weight reso heads, and the Evan EC Reso. The thinner one reduces the sustain of the tom considerably. I prefer the Ambassador weight myself (or even the EC Reso, for that matter).
 
Messing with different reso heads is one way to help equalize sustain between your toms, so their overall sound matches.

One tom (or toms) sustains too much? Try a Dip for the reso on just that drum. One tom (or toms) sustains too little? Try an Evans G-plus on just that drum. (The 12mil G-plus will give a little bit more sustain than the 10mil Ambs or G1s.)

And it was an old trick to tame floor toms that sustain like crazy to put an Emperor on it for a reso.
 
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