Remo Emperor vs Remo Ambassador Heads

Yup, Bo is right on "d-money", lol.

Audible differences will be that the emperor will yield more attack but less resonance, the ambassador will be opposite of that.

If you like your toms wide open or your snare with lots of ring, get the Ambassador. You can always dampen with moon gel if necessary. On floor toms or deep snares I usually will use a 2 ply equivalent of Emperors because of the extra attack. You'll know what I'm talking about. If a floor tom has a really wimpy one ply head it will sound open but lack the guts it should have. If you are looking for a fat, huge tom sound stray away from 1-ply heads (ambassadors).
 
If you are looking for a fat, huge tom sound stray away from 1-ply heads (ambassadors).

I completely disagree, and so would Simon Phillips, Jeff Porcaro, Phil Collins, Manu Katche, and about a million other world class drummers.
 
I completely disagree, and so would Simon Phillips, Jeff Porcaro, Phil Collins, Manu Katche, and about a million other world class drummers.

They would? It seems to be me 2 ply yields a thicker and meatier tone. If you want your toms to sing and can add the extra woof through a sound system well then I guess it's really not an issue.

You're probably thinking about their live sounds - it's a bit different when you don't have top class sound equipment - just a reminder.
 
It seems to be me 2 ply yields a thicker and meatier tone.
I think this is true but only because of the dampening that comes with a two ply head.

I've played 2-ply heads since Pinstripes were in vogue and have used Emperors (or G2s) since about '90 or so. But the last year I got curious enough to try Ambassadors and I can tell you without a doubt that they yield more tone AND a sharper attack. The biggest downside is their much shorter useful lifespans. The Ambassador batters on my toms started sounding flat and papery after about 6 months. I put Emps back on but couldn't handle the comparatively dull and muted sound, so I went back to Ambassadors.

Honestly, I don't think I'll ever go back to 2-ply heads.

I'm not wild about 10 mil Ambassadors for snares, though, but there's an Ambassador-X at 12 mils and Ambassador X14 (14 mil) that are more open than a 2-ply and seem pretty durable at higher snare tunings. I'd like to try those thicker Ambs on my toms but they're not available in 18" (that I've seen, anyway).
 
Let me just add Emperor Smooth White to the mix. I bought these for my ludwig kit when i was restoring it. they have a lot more sustain than regular emperors and the coating is applied differently. Its like the plys are white, not clear with a coating on top. I forgot which heads i ordered and got a regular coated emperor months later for my 18inch tom and it really sounds dead compared to the rest.
 
I use Coated Ambassador top and bottom of my toms and floor toms. No lack of "beef" from my 16's and 18's. I use it on my 26" bass drums as well. Nice, fat, solid, articulate sound.

I don't like it on the snare for some reason though. Maybe because it just sounds so "even", and I mainly like a snare sound with personality (not perfect) and some dirt.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Emps sometimes, and they do have a nice attack that's different than the Ambassador. For me Emps ring more on the toms than Ambassadors too.
I don't really like a Coated Emp on the bass drum, but I have had nice results with the Smooth White as a batter, and as a reso head.
 
karl, do you dent the smooth whites easily? i have a gig tomorrow and i'm using my ludzs with smooth whites. I dented the 14 just banging for a few min. after i tuned it up.
 
TOH, not your imagination, the Vin. Emps do have a white film with coating over it.
The white film is more durable than the clear film IME also.
Ambassadors use a milkier film than white, but they used to be white film. I think that kind of head is available to order though.

One thing I dig about Remo is, they offer most of their head models for 6" through at least 28-30" and sometimes up to 40".
Some new models stop at 16"--but I also use an 18" drum, so that right off the bad makes that model that stops at 16 a head I wouldn't bother with even trying.

The thing I like about the Ambassador is, the sound first, but that it'll work on any size drum, and will sound great in any situation. It's a plain old, reliable head that works without much fuss.
 
Maybe tighten the head up just a touch more. 1/4 turn-ish on each lug (don't forget the bottom heads too)

When you get to the venue they'll probably sound deeper than you think. That always happens to me anyway. A little more articulation with the bigger drums can't hurt either!

I really don't dent the CA's at all, even with the butt end sticks. Other guy's that play lighter than me have dented my heads though. I'm thinking it's from the stick tips. The butt end is about twice as wide, so it must distribute the impact better. I love the sound, so not denting is a bonus!!

After a long while they'll get smooth from being played on, and after a while a pit might happen, but that's after months of use--or an exciting gig haha!
 
I've only seen heads dent when the stick hits at an angle that is too steep. I've done some serious pounding with the tip end of a 5A and not dented a head. The rest of the time I'm using 7A butt ends. I set my drums up so that my sticks naturally come down against the head as close to parallel as possible.

When I was a kid first starting out, I was breaking the tips of my sticks off 1/4" - 1/2" from the end. An older drummer correctly guessed that my drums were set up at too steep of an angle and I was probably denting my heads as well. Once I looked at those ergonomic issues and adjusted my angles accordingly (including ride cymbal angle), my heads stopped denting and my sticks started lasting a lot longer.
 
I've only seen heads dent when the stick hits at an angle that is too steep. I've done some serious pounding with the tip end of a 5A and not dented a head. The rest of the time I'm using 7A butt ends. I set my drums up so that my sticks naturally come down against the head as close to parallel as possible.

Yep. No denting.

202020202020
 
I use Ambassadors just because it what my kit came with, but I'm thinking I might try Emperors next time I change my heads.
 
I've been using combination of these two on my toms for years - coated Emps on top,clear Ambs on bottom. Since my rehersal kit is very resonant and open sounding, yet very cheap (bought for 250 Deutsche marks in 2002,used,5 piece) I wanted less ring and more ballanced attack-sustain-durability and after few switches I came up with these. IMO it's a great all around combo for toms.
 
Karl/Mike, i pounded them on Saturday and no dents. The true culprit may be this little short dude that lives in my house who I sometimes call my son! Not sure what happened orignally but the dents we small and not the size of the stick tip like usual dents. I didnt make any new ones so i think they may have been caused by something else. flying matchbox car?
 
Hey guys, I play drums twice a week at my church on a different kit than my own. It's a crappy Pearl Forum series 13/16/22/14x5.5 (I don't use the 10). We play a lot of folk, and kind of alternative rock stuff. Nothing super heavy and nothing super rocky. Just kind of mellow stuff. I am looking to replcae my heads and wann go coated (I used Pinstripes last and couldn't get them to sound right). Any suggestions for batter and resonant heads?
 
Try Remo coated Ambassadors top and bottom. They sound great on my DW Classic drums and should fit in quit well with what music you're playing.

DSC_0827-1.jpg


Dennis
 
Try Remo coated Ambassadors top and bottom. They sound great on my DW Classic drums and should fit in quit well with what music you're playing.

DSC_0827-1.jpg


Dennis

I do the same, I like that sound (the coating on reso is noticeable) and also the look.
I just don't need to see the inside of my drums.
 
If I may revive this thread for personal use...

At the moment my Coated Amb. heads are nearly 1 year old and at last they sound quite used, especially the 13" and 16". Those 2 start okay but decay with a whoopie cushion sound. I recently started tuning them a little higher than I used to and loved the higher tuning on the 10" and 12".

So here's the main question (s), if I were to switch from my Coated Amb.s to Clear or Coated Emp.s what would I immediately notice? I.E. Would lower tunings come easier? Would I get any extra pitch bend from using Clear Amb. resos? Would higher tunings sound less piecing? Would it maybe work best to only use Emp.s on the 13" and 16" since they seem to be the most difficult? How much quieter would they be? Clear or Coated?

I don't have lots of money to try out a lot of heads so I wanna try to make a decision I can live with for another year.
 
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