Ludwig 3-ply head choice ?

Stixxs

Member
Hi Fellaz,

Can I get a recommendation on heads for an old Luddy 3ply?

The genre is light acoustic folk/rock and
we're playing small coffee house gigs.... i need a fat but controlled sound, maybe these Remo Fiberskyns or Renaissance models?

Thanks for any input.
 
It's my opinion that Fibreskyn heads dampen the sound too much and make the drums sound dead. I've tried Renaissance heads on my '70 Ludwig kit, and I liked the sound of coated ambassadors better! Maybe it's just me.

I've tried Fibreskyn, Renaissance, Emperor (clear and coated), G2, Ambassador (clear and coated), G1, Pinstripe, Hydraulic, Reverse Dot, EC2, and Pearl Protone heads on my 12" and 14" toms, and the coated ambassadors sounded the best for bringing out the warm woody qualities of the drums, IMHO.
 
Coated Ambassador (or your favorite manufacturer's equivalent) top + bottom. A little drier, controlled, but beefy.
 
It's my opinion that Fibreskyn heads dampen the sound too much and make the drums sound dead. I've tried Renaissance heads on my '70 Ludwig kit, and I liked the sound of coated ambassadors better! Maybe it's just me.

I've tried Fibreskyn, Renaissance, Emperor (clear and coated), G2, Ambassador (clear and coated), G1, Pinstripe, Hydraulic, Reverse Dot, EC2, and Pearl Protone heads on my 12" and 14" toms, and the coated ambassadors sounded the best for bringing out the warm woody qualities of the drums, IMHO.

g2's and g1's... coated or clear?
 
Ambassador over Ambassador or Emperor over Ambassador would be the 2 "classic" combo's. Coated over smooth white. The Fiberskyn/Ren. heads work better on "modern" drum shells, to give them that "vintage" glow. I'd use a Renaissance head only as a bass reso., for that "look", maybe. But since you already have the "vintage" drums, they're a bit overkill. We used to make our own richie rings, now you can buy them, or get a head like the Powerstroke 3, which has a richie ring built onto it. Felt strips were "sound control" de regur. I like having a few different head combo's around, anyways. Especially if you're only dealing with 2 or 3 toms, changing the batter heads can be like sitting down on a completely different drum kit, without the cost of owning 2 kits. Easier to store, also.
 
Hi Fellaz,

Can I get a recommendation on heads for an old Luddy 3ply?

The genre is light acoustic folk/rock and
we're playing small coffee house gigs.... i need a fat but controlled sound, maybe these Remo Fiberskyns or Renaissance models?

Thanks for any input.

I would have thought that Remo Abassador Coated top & bottom or Vintage Ambassador Coated (they are slightly thicker) top & bottom would be perfect. That's what I used to use on my old set of 1965 Luddy's. I use Coated Ambassadors top & bottom on my vintage Gretsch and Fiberskyns on my Greatsch Bop set and they work out real nice for low volume stuff, but either way, I swear by having the same head top & bottom of my toms ...
 
g2's and g1's... coated or clear?

Sorry, they were clear. Thanks for making me clarify. As you can tell, I've got lots of "tester" heads I've bought over the years to try out on different drums. I don't need them now, now that I have my dream kits and I know what heads sound best on them. I think I'll keep all of the 14" heads to try out on new snares, though.

Come to think of it, I do have a set of coated G2s on my DW kit I could try out on the Ludwigs, but they're almost a year old, so nevermind. I found out that I like the sound of single-ply on the Ludwigs and double-ply on the DW. I wonder why that is...???
 
I agree that a 1-ply coated would be best.

I think this might be a good drum to try a Remo CS Underside Dot head on. The underside dot does some cool things to my brass snare - which I am just trying to tone down a hair without muffling. The dot may add a bit of 'fat' to the sound of the older Ludwig. If I play these heads dead center it's a classic fat back beat. If I play a bit to the side (on my brass snare) I get some nice 'honk', especially on rimshots.

I'd also try an Aquarian Satin Texture Coated batter with either a Classic Clear snare side head or maybe even a Ludwig snare side head. The Aquarian TC batters are just a tad warmer and sound good on almost any drum I put them on. You may get a bit more highs out of a Remo Ambassador. The Aquarians keep their coating on twice as long as an Ambassador if you are doing brush work (common in acoustic/coffee house/jazz gigs).

Jim
 
Evans G1 Coated heads are wonderfully warm, and the coating lasts longer than Remo Ambassadors. I do like Fiberskyn heads myself, but the ambassador weights can be quite thick. You should try the Fiberskyn Diplomats. (it's because they have that layer or fibery stuff that dampens the medium weight heads). The new Remo Vintage ambassadors might sound nice too. Its a 7mil ply and a 3mil ply head so it's a warm two-ply sound but not two 7mils like Emperors.
 
Im using remo coated vintage A's over coated diplomats on my ludwig 3 plys and they sound excellent, exactly how I dreamed a vintage kit should sound
 
hey , Im currently using vintage coated emperors on the batter and coated ambassador on the reso , they sound great on my 3 ply luddy kit !
 
I'm looking to buy new heads this weekend for my just-bought 3-ply Luddies. I'm specifically concerned about the toms. I was thinking to go old-school classic with coated Emperors over Ambassadors, or Ambassadors over Ambassadors....

BUT... I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Evans G Plus heads on 3-ply toms?
 
I'm currently running Vintage Ambassadors over clear Ambassadors on my 3 plys... this is the best combo I've tried thus far... I also like plain ole' Coated Ambassadors over Clear Ambassadors as well.

FYI - I have found that for whatever reason - Evans heads do not get along with my vintage Ludwigs... I can't seem to get a sound I like out of them. YMMV.
 
I ended up going with coated Ambassadors, top & bottom. Haven't put 'em on yet, as I'm still restoring/cleaning the drums.
 
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