Emperors vs Pinstripes

W

wloeb

Senior Member
I recorded both with the same drumset under identical conditions:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49663

Coated Emperors v.s Clear Pinstripes. Which sound do you like better? Comments?

Drumset is Yamaha Maple Custom 10x7 12x8 14x12 16x14 20x16
Bass Drum Head is Aquarian SuperKick 2 on the Pinstripe track and Powerstroke 3 on the Emperor Track.
 

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Coated emperors hands down. Your top toms have more tone, they are still somewhat dry, but you can definately hear more tone out of them vs the pinstripes. The bass drum on the emperor track has a lot more bottom end which i like better than the "round" tone on the pinstripe track.

Your bigger toms sound closer to each other on both tracks, maybe a little "rounder" on the pinstripe track.

I'm a fan of the Emperor's. I have tried Pinstripes several times in the past with poor results. I have used coated Emperor's in the past and now I am using coated G2's which is Evans version of the coated Emperor. I will probably go back to a coated Emperor when I change heads again. I have always liked the way they sound.
 
Emperors, hands down!

Pinstripes have that annoying...well...PINSTRIPE that takes the openness out of the drum sound, as heard on your recordings...

They were okay during the 80s, when the drumming world was still recovering from the evil concert tom fad of the 70s. You can't expect people to come back around from that nightmarish era overnight! :p
 
caddywumpus said:
They were okay during the 80s, when the drumming world was still recovering from the evil concert tom fad of the 70s. You can't expect people to come back around from that nightmarish era overnight! :p
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Both true and funny!

+1 for the Emperors. I left all my pinstripes back in the 80s where they belong.
 
the emperors anyday. The tone just sounds a lot better, especially the bottom end on those toms. The kick also has more attack. I'll have to get one of those powerstroke 3 thingies.
 
eddiehimself said:
the emperors anyday. The tone just sounds a lot better, especially the bottom end on those toms. The kick also has more attack. I'll have to get one of those powerstroke 3 thingies.
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That PS3 bass head is very nice in my opinion. Not too much rebound. I've heard a lot of good things about the SK2 but every time I've ever played one the beater felt like it bounced back way too much for my taste. You can get some really good tone out of it though.
 
Interesting my ears must fool me. I've always switched between clear pins and emperors. I prefer gulp.......the pinstripes. But in your recordings I prefer the coated emperors. I put tape on clear emperors when i use them because i don't like how open they are.
 
My ears tell me your pinstripes are tuned higher....is that correct?

The pinstripes sound more musical once you get into doing your thing on the toms but the single hit tests of the pinstripes sounded a little choked to me and maybe thats because you did not hit them as hard by themselves? The coated emperors seem to be tuned lower and sound a little fatter with a nice airiness to them in my opinion. Almost as they are tuned for 2 slightly different genre styles?

Also your 14" floor sounds better with the Coated Emperor.



What did you use to you record this?
 
PeteN said:
My ears tell me your pinstripes are tuned higher....is that correct?
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On the first tom I hear F with the pinstripes, and E with the coated emperors.

Tuning to the same pitches would have made for a better comparison, but I agree with the majority here that Emperors win this time!
 
thanks for that comparison. it convinced me to never ever buy pinstripes in the future. to each his own though.
i have always used emps and ambs and at times wondered what other heads sound like, but now i know not to try pinstripes, they're just not for me.
 
Two different animals.
Emps are a good solid head for standard power playing while still keeping tone and resonance.
Pinstripes are good for open-ended toms and Roto-toms, they'll deliver the note but not much else.

Every head has it's place somewhere on a kit.
 
Emperors all day long. I've tried pinstripes a couple of times, but with less than satisfactory results. I've used Evans too, but I always go back to coated Emps over Ambs, and that's what I'm using on both my Tama & Trick kits. They have always sounded the best to my ears. Nice and punchy and fat. Of course, tuning is the key to making any head sound good.
 
opentune said:
it convinced me to never ever buy pinstripes in the future. to each his own though.
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9 times outta 10, you wouldn't have to work too hard to convince me.

However, there's always a time and a place. My practice room is our spare room. It is an overtly resonant, boomy, acoustical nightmare, that for reasons of preserving marital harmony I am unable to sound treat. I got tired of "the thunder" it causes not only disturbing my household, but 4 blocks in either direction as well. Recently put Pinstripes on the toms and some foam in the bass drum. Certainly not my "go to" set up, but in this case, a far more pleasing result for not only me but the suburb that surrounds me. For general purpose use, I tend to agree with you.....but as I say, there's always a time and a place.
 
Definately coated emporers. I had a set of maple Starclassics that I put brand new pinstripes on and hated the way they sounded, and I used to be a fan of pinstripes...back in the 80's. Nuff said.
 
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