New Ambassador X

Well...last night was a real bummer for me. I had a brand new edge snare drum with a brand new ambassador X drum head for a cool gig in a great sounding room. Both the drum and the head let me down. Since this is an ambassador x thread, I'll just comment on it. The head was OK at best. At the end of the night I had a quarter sized spot on the head where the coating came off. I use 5b wood tip sticks and am a relatively hard hitter. The drum head sounded OK but I don't expect it to last any longer than a regular ambassador...maybe one more show for me. If you are a user of regular ambassador heads, you'll probably like it. It sounded similar....was a little more focused and tuned up nicely. If you're looking for the holy grail of heads that completely bridges the gap between single and double ply as far as sound and durability, keep looking. Just my opionion for what it's worth.......
 
Hey, I put one on my Ludwig 402 and have been playing it in my studio. So far I'm happy with it. I will use it on my next gig and see from there. It was also time for some new heads for my Oak Customs. I currently have Remo clear Emperors so I am taking the chance and I am going to try Ambassador X on the 10,12,14,&16" drums as well. I never heard this kit with any type of coated heads before. Should be interesting. I hope I am happy? If not I can try the X's on my 1971 Slingerland's or my Absolutes.
 
Hey, I put one on my Ludwig 402 and have been playing it in my studio. So far I'm happy with it. I will use it on my next gig and see from there. It was also time for some new heads for my Oak Customs. I currently have Remo clear Emperors so I am taking the chance and I am going to try Ambassador X on the 10,12,14,&16" drums as well. I never heard this kit with any type of coated heads before. Should be interesting. I hope I am happy? If not I can try the X's on my 1971 Slingerland's or my Absolutes.

Hey Pete!
Good luck with the heads, I think they'll sound fine on your drums. They will sound good on a supra, those type of heads sound great on those drums. I was mostly dissappointed in the coating. I use Evans coated G2's on my supra and the coating never has worn off before I changed out the head. Not that big of a deal I guess, but it just bugs me.
 
Clint, how are you liking the DW's? Are you finding it challenging after playing the Yami's for so long? Meaning finding the sweet spots on the DW's. Did you find you needed to make adjustments with the way you tune your drums.

I don't know what it is about those Ludwig 402 snares, they just seem to work in all situations, at least for the music I'm playing. Have you tried putting the Ambassador X on that drum? Just curious.
 
Clint, how are you liking the DW's? Are you finding it challenging after playing the Yami's for so long? Meaning finding the sweet spots on the DW's. Did you find you needed to make adjustments with the way you tune your drums.

I don't know what it is about those Ludwig 402 snares, they just seem to work in all situations, at least for the music I'm playing. Have you tried putting the Ambassador X on that drum? Just curious.

Hey Pete,
No challenge at all with the DW's. I'm loving them. Very easy to tune, basically the same tuning range as my yammies and they just sound huge and sweet. I have a "VLT" 12x9 tom, and an "X" shell 16x14 floor tom and 22xs18 bass drum. Thunderous and mike up so nicely. I couldn't be happier with them. Yeah man, Ludwig metal snares rule! The 402 and black beauties just rock no matter what. Great drums. I haven't tried the Ambassador X on that yet, but I probably will here shortly. I think it will sound good, it would be nice if the coating stayed on for a while and it lasted :eek:)
 
Hey Clint,

My new Ambassador X heads arrived today from MF. I just spent the last 2.5 hrs messing around with them. I never used coated heads on my Oak Customs yet so it's a bit challenging for me at this point. But so far (still have some fine tuning to do) I am happy with the sound. Naturally drier sounding but a nice resonance. The floor toms seem to like a bit higher tuning E top & bottom of 14" and D T&B of 16" Again I still need to play them live and see how they perform. They also feel reel good hitting them.
 
Hey Clint,

My new Ambassador X heads arrived today from MF. I just spent the last 2.5 hrs messing around with them. I never used coated heads on my Oak Customs yet so it's a bit challenging for me at this point. But so far (still have some fine tuning to do) I am happy with the sound. Naturally drier sounding but a nice resonance. The floor toms seem to like a bit higher tuning E top & bottom of 14" and D T&B of 16" Again I still need to play them live and see how they perform. They also feel reel good hitting them.

So how's the attack compared to a clear head or 2 ply? How hard do you hit, because I'm curious about the durability, too?
 
Too early to tell, tonight I plan on playing them for a bit. Last night I was mostly tuning them. I hit pretty hard depending on my gig, I would say a bit above average if that helps.

Compared to the clear emperors it's a different feel but not in a bad way. I need to get a couple of gigs under my belt, but so far I'm pleased.

Tha attack is not as bright but being a thinner head it resonates more with a bit warmer tone. I have both heads tuned to the same pitch on all the toms. At least right now, I may bring the reso heads up a bit on the 14" and 16" floor toms.
 
I'd bought a couple of the new Ambassador X heads a few weeks ago and finally got around to mounting one. It went on a 5 X 14 DW brass snare.

I like open sounding snares and use Ambassador batters a lot. The head feels and sounds pretty much like an Ambasador. Maybe a shade darker tone and slightly less sustain. The head sounds great, and tuned up fast.

If you like Ambassadors you'll probably like this head too.
 
Why don't they make these in 18"? Same with Vintage Ambassadors... no 18". Anybody know why or how to get one?
 
alright, I just got a set of these and put them on my keller 6 ply toms (10,12,16-very thin shells), and I love them so far. They seem to sound exactly between a coated ambassador, and emperor. They have the attack and sensitivity of an ambassador, and the more controlled resonance of a coated emperor. They don't have the explosive resonance of the thinner ply heads, but the tone is more even as a result. I've had coated ambassadors on these drums before, and they could be a little papery and ringy, but these really focus the sound like a 2 ply head would, yet you don't have to hit them as hard to get the tone like you would a coated 2 ply.

The only thing that concerns me is the durability. I haven't played these with my band yet, and the real test will be live where I tend to play a bit harder. I am trying to lighten up on the power drumming, but I can't seem to do it with the 2 ply heads on the toms, because they're just not sensitive enough, so hopefully with these I'll be able to achieve that goal.
 
I've been using them on a Classic Maple kit I just picked up on eBay and I really, really like them. I've always liked Coated Ambassadors but this is a fatter sounding head, and has a better feel. They have a bit more punch than the coated ambs, too, I think.
 
I have a birch kit and am running trusted coated emperors on the batter and clear ambassadors on the reso and am looking to change it up a bit. With a birch kit any suggestions on the batter?
These coated ambassadors X, stick with what I'm used to (coated emperor) or go clear emperor????
Decisions decisions......
Thanks guys, and girls...
 
I have a birch kit and am running trusted coated emperors on the batter and clear ambassadors on the reso and am looking to change it up a bit. With a birch kit any suggestions on the batter?
These coated ambassadors X, stick with what I'm used to (coated emperor) or go clear emperor????
Decisions decisions......
Thanks guys, and girls...

The Ambassador X is a lot different than Emperor. The thicker 1 ply actually has more sustain than regular Ambassador which also means more ring. I would suggest a PS3 as a nice bridge between 1ply and 2ply.
 
The Ambassador X is a lot different than Emperor. The thicker 1 ply actually has more sustain than regular Ambassador which also means more ring. I would suggest a PS3 as a nice bridge between 1ply and 2ply.

Yes to that extra ring. I put one on my Yamaha BCA 6.5X14 snare and it's ringier than the regular Ambassador. 20% more ringy - I dunno but it's not a pleasant tone. I like some ring but this head is giving off, no matter how I tune/tension, a weird tone - subtle yes - but annoying all the same.
 
Now that it has been a while since the initial posts, how are people feeling about them?

I've always been a clear emperor guy on my toms, but I prefer ambassadors in the studio for the extra attack. However, ambassadors just don't last, while emperors keep going and going.

Now that I have a home recording set up, I will be doing a bunch of recording, but rather than a typical go into the studio and knock out a whole bunch of songs at once, I'll be recording here and there over a period of time with rehearsals in between.

So in theory, I am thinking the ambassador X would give me the attack I want, but will hold up longer.
 
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