What is more open? Powerstroke 3 or Emperor?

^^^
I've got an old 24x16" Pearl Fiberglass bass drum that is currently equipped with a CS, but it's a bit boomy for my tastes. I still want this drum to be plenty open though, so I'm just trying to get a little bit more built in dampening.
 
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PowerStroke 3 is what you want on there. It'll muffle it down great for a good punch. Emperors tend to react the same as Ambassadors - it will ring even though its a double ply. On bass drums, the PS3 has proven itself to be a great bass drum head - unless you're trying to get that John Bonham sound (or the modern Keith Carlock sound) where it's wide-open and ringy. If you play it in a loud band, you might not notice the ring of the emperors, but if you aren't, the ring will be quite loud.
 
PowerStroke 3 is what you want on there. It'll muffle it down great for a good punch. Emperors tend to react the same as Ambassadors - it will ring even though its a double ply. On bass drums, the PS3 has proven itself to be a great bass drum head - unless you're trying to get that John Bonham sound (or the modern Keith Carlock sound) where it's wide-open and ringy. If you play it in a loud band, you might not notice the ring of the emperors, but if you aren't, the ring will be quite loud.

Well, going by the difference ambs and emps have on toms, I find it hard to believe there's hardly a difference on a kick drum, but your opinion is noted. Anyone else have an opinion? or even better, personal experience?
 
Well, closest drum I have, that is similar to a Fiberglass Pearl, is a 24x14 Ludwig Vistalite. And yes, the Powerstroke 3 would be a good choice. It's a muffled, single ply head. It has a built on richie ring. Probably my default head. I start out with a P3 on a new kick, and then adjust "less .... or more", as I see fit. The Emperor is simply a 2 ply head. Most other head companies offer a similar head, and I don't think anyone refers to their 2 ply head as pre-muffled. Now, once you get into Pinstripe and Hydraulic territories, then you get pre-muffled.​
You're currently running a CS, which is an Ambassador .... with a dot. Not really "muffling". Gives a little focus to the sound. On some drums, you might not tell any sound difference, switching between an Ambassador and a CS. A P3 will get you a little muffling. A P4 will give you a little more. And a Pinstripe will give you even more.​
 
Well, closest drum I have, that is similar to a Fiberglass Pearl, is a 24x14 Ludwig Vistalite. And yes, the Powerstroke 3 would be a good choice. It's a muffled, single ply head. It has a built on richie ring. Probably my default head. I start out with a P3 on a new kick, and then adjust "less .... or more", as I see fit. The Emperor is simply a 2 ply head. Most other head companies offer a similar head, and I don't think anyone refers to their 2 ply head as pre-muffled. Now, once you get into Pinstripe and Hydraulic territories, then you get pre-muffled.​
You're currently running a CS, which is an Ambassador .... with a dot. Not really "muffling". Gives a little focus to the sound. On some drums, you might not tell any sound difference, switching between an Ambassador and a CS. A P3 will get you a little muffling. A P4 will give you a little more. And a Pinstripe will give you even more.​

Well, I wasn't trying to imply that emps are muffled, just more so than an amb because naturally the friction between two plies will let it resonate less. I'm familiar with all of Evans' and Remo's heads' man, been selecting heads for years, just thought the Ps3 and Emp would probably be pretty similar, given the internal ring of the former and the extra ply of the latter, but I've never tried an Emperor on a kick, which is why I ask. I want to avoid buying two heads if possible because I'm gonna be dishing out cash getting the toms new batters as well. And after all, this is my secondary kit, so I'm just trying to get one new set of heads and forget about it for a few years, y'know? Right now, I'm leaning towards just getting an Emperor and using a bit of foam if necessary, but I definitely like not having shit floating around in my drum too. The toughest $35 decision on the planet, right here I tell you!
 
Extra ply of the Emp does nothing for the 'ring' thing. The PS3 has it built in of course but it typically costs $5 more where i live (not a lot ....seeing this part of your kit going to be hit 120 bpm)

The safe bet is for sure a PS3. A risk is the Emp, but you can felt strip it, just like Bonham did and that should work.

There is somebody else on here (Karl Crafton?) who uses big bass drums with wide open Ambs, but has a little towel dampening trick - small towel rolled up - wedged right between his foot pedal and the batter head. I 've used that too and it works quite well.
 
There is a big difference between the PS3 and the Emperor, with the PS3 being more focused and the Emp being more open. And yes, I use both, along with the occasional Ambassador. Bo was right on the mark, as was Harry. The Emperor is much more similar to the Ambassador (or CS) than it is to the PS3.

Along with everyone else, I will recommend the PS3 if you don't want a lot of internal muffling and would rather rely on the characteristics of the head.
 
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