Remo head switch... HELP!

Joey182

Joey182

Silver Member
I have a Gretsch Catalina Maple, with Remo coated Ambassadors on top, with clear ambassadors on bottom. Its about time to switch batter heads, and I was thinking of coated emperors.
What do you think? I like the deeper, and mellow tom sound, but with little to no overtones.
Any suggestions? I need help before I spend 70+ on heads I may not like the sound of.
 
Same kit, same heads (coated emps over clear ambs). I've been very happy with that head combo. on the Cats.

"Little to no overtones"? The toms still sing with the emps, I don't think it's overbearing, but you may want to check out something even more muffled.......Pinstripes, PS3's etc, if you're after a more muffled sound.

Didn't you just buy a heap of heads??
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
Same kit, same heads (coated emps over clear ambs). I've been very happy with that head combo. on the Cats.

"Little to no overtones"? The toms still sing with the emps, I don't think it's overbearing, but you may want to check out something even more muffled.......Pinstripes, PS3's etc, if you're after a more muffled sound.

Didn't you just buy a heap of heads??
Click to expand...

Yes, but I sold some to my friend (I'm Dumb). So I wanted to get some new ones that I'm not going to sell :).
So what do you think? Keep Ambassadors? Or Emperors?
 
I think our friend Joey here would be the equivalent of the Harley Davidson owner who spends all his time trying to get it to stop leaking oil rather than riding it ;)

Just kidding Joey. Emps should be good.
 
If you want little or no overtones, pinstripes, PS3's, or PS4's will be the way to go.

I have clear PS4's on my entry level pearl forum. You might think that the PS4's wouldn't have a lot of musicality to them, but these guys really sing! I got my toms tuned med/low on batter and med/high on resonant. Its a great sound, with not much sustain at all.

Up to you, though.
 
Joey182 said:
So what do you think? Keep Ambassadors? Or Emperors?
Click to expand...

I think I much prefer the sound and durability of Emperors....as for what you should do....well mate, that's your cross to carry. I will say this though, Emps over Ambs is a tried and tested head combo....many, many players have used or are using this set up and have been happy with it. If you think you may like it, you're unlikely to go wrong with this set up.

Now can I give you some advice? I mean this in the nicest possible way, so imagine I'm standing in front of you, we're having a laugh and I'm smiling nicely and giving you a friendly punch on the arm as I hand you a beer (or a coffee, given your age).............JUST PLAY YOUR FRIGGEN' DRUMS, MAN!!!!

Joey, honestly, if you spent as much time practising your drums as you do asking questions on whether you should: buy a new kit, get a new rack, buy new cymbals, sell old cymbals, build a drum room, replace heads, replace sticks, do cartwheels on the spot....or any other bloody thing that keeps you from actually playing.....you'd be ahead by leaps and bounds. You need to focus on what's important here mate and I can't sit here any longer without telling you.

As I said, I mean it nicely.....like a big brother giving a little brother a heads-up, if you will. But at 15 years of age....now is the time to knuckle down and practice. If you want the good gigs by the time you're 18, 19, 20....then put in the work now. Forget about different set ups, forget about custom drums or brand of cymbals, forget about racks, forget about $900 pedals, forget about all the shit that seems to weigh you down.......as NONE of it is actually going to make you a better player. Only YOU can do that. "It's the Indian....not the arrow", Joey. Wise words....remember them!

Practice, play and improve......that's all that matters my friend. You are a young man and there is plenty of time to worry about the rest....believe me.

Now go and hit that practice pad and enjoy your drumming, mate. :)
 
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Pocket-full-of-gold said:
I think I much prefer the sound and durability of Emperors....as for what you should do....well mate, that's your cross to carry. I will say this though, Emps over Ambs is a tried and tested head combo....many, many players have used or are using this set up and have been happy with it. If you think you may like it, you're unlikely to go wrong with this set up.

Now can I give you some advice? I mean this in the nicest possible way, so imagine I'm standing in front of you, we're having a laugh and I'm smiling nicely and giving you a friendly punch on the arm as I hand you a beer (or a coffee, given your age).............JUST PLAY YOUR FRIGGEN' DRUMS, MAN!!!!

Joey, honestly, if you spent as much time practising your drums as you do asking questions on whether you should: buy a new kit, get a new rack, buy new cymbals, sell old cymbals, build a drum room, replace heads, replace sticks, do cartwheels on the spot....or any other bloody thing that keeps you from actually playing.....you'd be ahead by leaps and bounds. You need to focus on what's important here mate and I can't sit here any longer without telling you.

As I said, I mean it nicely.....like a big brother giving a little brother a heads-up, if you will. But at 15 years of age....now is the time to knuckle down and practice. If you want the good gigs by the time you're 18, 19, 20....then put in the work now. Forget about different set ups, forget about custom drums or brand of cymbals, forget about racks, forget about $900 pedals, forget about all the shit that seems to weigh you down.......as NONE of it is actually going to make you a better player. Only YOU can do that. "It's the Indian....not the arrow", Joey. Wise words....remember them!

Practice, play and improve......that's all that matters my friend. You are a young man and there is plenty of time to worry about the rest....believe me.

Now go and hit that practice pad and enjoy your drumming, mate. :)
Click to expand...

Funny thing is that, when I have DrummerWorld pulled up on the computer, I'm on YouTube watching videos to perfect my paradiddle, para diddlediddle, and my triplets, and single strokes. So I am practicing.
Everytime you see me on, I am either practicing, or looking for help.
I love coffee by the way!
Thanks Big Brother! -Joey
 
Remo CS Black Dot. Easy to tune low and the CS stands for controlled sound = little over tones. They sound great on my kit. The Pinstripes sounded dead after a month or so of playing. I had to keep tightening the lugs a little just to get them to project.

That was easy...
 
specgrade said:
Remo CS Black Dot. Easy to tune low and the CS stands for controlled sound = little over tones. They sound great on my kit. The Pinstripes sounded dead after a month or so of playing. I had to keep tightening the lugs a little just to get them to project.

That was easy...
Click to expand...

I only play either coated or smooth heads. No black heads, no clear heads. ALWAYS WHITE. Not sure why, but I have always hated the "Clicky" sound.
I passed up a great deal on some pinstripes from a local music store shutting down. GRUNTERSDAD probably knows of the place, its right in his area. They were giving 10, 12, 14, 16 tom pack away for like 25$. I'm dumb! But I needed some new stuff more anyway.
 
I can recommend the Remo Coated Emp in the JP model.

It's made with Smooth White film and then coated. It's not the "Vintage Emperor" either.

These heads have resonance, but not really "overtone ring", so the drums sound and feel great, they just don't have nearly as audible a "ring" as other heads. They definitely have more "tone" than the other Emp models.
There is an Ambassador JP model as well.

With a coated bottom head, these Emp JP's would be as beefy as you could want IMO.

In Evan's I can say Coated G2 over coated G1. Fat, ballsy, clear tone, shorter decay time (from what I experienced with them).

Just my 2 cents, but don't limit yourself to "I ONLY play".....anything.
RIGHT NOW, being honest, you only like the look/vibe of White heads--which is fine.
But, come back in 5 years and see if it's still ALL you'll use on or for everything.

I say this nicely, because I know only too well your "into-it-ness" on kits and how cool drum stuff is, and figuring out different stuff to use.
 
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