14" Floor Tom Heads

?uesto

Silver Member
Hey all, have a situation I need some help with.

Not a huge issue, but something that I think about pretty regularly. On my kit, I've got 10", 12", 14", and 16" toms and 20" and 22" bass drums.

For my jazz gig, I play 10", 14", 20", and with my rock band, I play 12", 14", 16", 22". The 14" floor tom is the only drums that gets played with both bands, so this is why I'm at a crossroad.

I'd like Coated Emperors on my drums with the rock band with lower tuning, but Coated Ambassadors on the drums for my jazz gigs tuned up higher (I have all the heads already). I play with both bands pretty regularly, which is why I don't feel like changing the heads for every rock band rehearsal and every jazz gig, but I think that's what I may just do, unless someone can suggest a better option.

Thanks!
 
One more 14" floor tom and you'll be all set. LOL



But seriously, I don't know of a good compromise head for what you want.
 
Just use the coated ambassadors for everything. Tensioned tighter for jazz, looser for rock. Bam.
 
I agree with DSOP - go with the Ambassador. I've been around and around with drum heads over the years, and I just keep coming back to Ambassadors.
 
You could try one of the thicker single ply heads like an Ambassador 14 or something along those lines from one of the other manufacturers. But personally, I'd be included to just leave either the Amb or the Emp on it (whichever I could get to suit my purpose the best) and readjust the tuning according to the application. I'm pretty confident I could get one or the other to work for me. At the end of the day, both heads are pretty damned versatile.....it's just one offers a little more focus and durability than the other. Have a play around and see what you can come up with. I reckon you might be surprised.
 
I love the Ambassador X heads. Great for what you are trying to accomplish IMO. It's a single ply head that's 20% thicker than the regular ambassador. I play music from the 50's thru 90's but also do function work so I cover lots of styles and these heads work well for me.
 
I love the Ambassador X heads. Great for what you are trying to accomplish IMO. It's a single ply head that's 20% thicker than the regular ambassador. I play music from the 50's thru 90's but also do function work so I cover lots of styles and these heads work well for me.

I had no idea this existed. That actually sounds like exactly what I need. I can keep an Ambassador on the 12", Ambassador X on the 14" and Emperor on the 16", and tune accordingly for the rock kit. Then just tighten up the 14 for the jazz stuff. I'll grab one of these on Saturday.

Thanks for all the advice!
 
I had no idea this existed. That actually sounds like exactly what I need. I can keep an Ambassador on the 12", Ambassador X on the 14" and Emperor on the 16", and tune accordingly for the rock kit. Then just tighten up the 14 for the jazz stuff. I'll grab one of these on Saturday.

Thanks for all the advice!

That's what I was going to suggest (or single ply all the way around). A lot of folks use single ply for rack toms and 2 ply for floor toms, and as said, something like the Amb X splits the difference.
 
Here's a method that worked for me:

I recently bought a second hand kit and it had coated ambassadors on it. I had to gig it with my rocky band before I had a chance to change the heads, so put O-rings on each of the toms (12, 14, 16 - you can buy them in a set made by Evans) and they sounded much thicker. I was going to change the heads out for emperors, but I like both sounds, so I might keep the ambs and just put on the O-rings for gigs with the rock band. It's a bit like having two sets of heads!

Anyway, just a thought.
Mike
 
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