Low tuning on single ply heads

I

ilikedrumming

Junior Member
As much as I tune and tweak them, I cannot get the low thunderous sound that I want on either my 12" or 16" toms. Should I switch to 2 plies? I am using Remo Coated Ambassador X's right now.
 
Yes, two plies will help.
More mass in the head will give your toms a lower warmer sound.
The same goes with die cast hoops.
More mass = lower frequency.
 
ilikedrumming said:
As much as I tune and tweak them, I cannot get the low thunderous sound that I want on either my 12" or 16" toms. Should I switch to 2 plies? I am using Remo Coated Ambassador X's right now.
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I myself consider Ambassadors to be more of a resonant head. It isn't really a matter of plies but thickness, there's single plies thicker than 2 plies out there. When I use Remo's I use Ambassador's as bottom heads to get a nice ring, and Powerstroke 3 or Pinstripe tops. It gives a great sound full deep sound. Sometimes I add an extra ring on top of they PS3 or Pinstripe to dampen it more, it works well with or without the rings.
 
risewiththefallen said:
Derek roddy uses those heads and his drums are very deep. Maybe tweak your reso head aswell as your batter. Also what kit are you usimg
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Countless different pro drummers use ambassadors for batter heads, with great results obviously, but they use high end kits and what you hear from them is always miced up. I imagine that OP is playing at home, so find the thickest and most muffled head posssible and tune them low, that may be the sound you're looking for.
 
I personally prefer Aquarian drum heads over Evans and Remo. I find they give a deeper tone. I currently use Aquarian Response II coated.
 
BlakeN70 said:
I personally prefer Aquarian drum heads over Evans and Remo. I find they give a deeper tone. I currently use Aquarian Response II coated.
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Aquarians are very weird to me... With identical tuning, they will sound deeper than Remo or Evans, but I find that they won't actually physically tune as low as them.

So for deep tones from a comparatively high tuning, my choice would be Aquarian, but if you want to tune loose I would definitely go for Evans or Remo. (To make matters more complicated, I like Evans coated heads and Remo clear heads for lower tuning.)

Disclaimer: This is purely based on my personal experience; there's no actual science behind this claim.
 
I also find that Aquarian coated heads last longer than any other head, as far as the "coating" on the head goes. The others seem to wear and chip too fast.
 
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