Heads

[Rory444]

What kind of sound would coated emporers as the batter and clear ambassadors as the reso give me on my ELX? I was goning to get clear pinstripes as the batter and diplomats as the reso but an absoloutly amazing drummer who greatly respect as a drummer told me to got for the coated emporers and the ambasadoors. so could some one please tell me what sorta sound they give compared to the pins? Thanks, Rory!

[Rory444]

is no one gonna help me with this?

[sk8drummer]

Travis barker uses coated emperors and clear ambassadors. so listen to his set and decide if you like it. I once heard coated pinstripes and clear ambassadors on a set and it sounded good but it need a LITTLE bit more resonance. So im gonna go with the coated emperors cuz their still 2 ply but without that muffling ring.

[The Swish Knocker]

hey, I'm currently using coated emperors (batter) and clear ambassadors (resonant) for my export. I feel that clear emperors provide a better sound in that they allow the drum to really breathe. The coated emperors kill a little too much of the tom sound, even for hard rock. The clear ambassadors for your resonant heads are the top-choice.

[drumwerker]

Rory444
I don't know what kind of style music you play.

In general, coated Emperors are somewhat more controlled sustain and focused warm sound with great attack. The clear pinstripes are more bright sounding, are more resonant and since they are clear have less warmth.

For the jazzy side of me I prefer the coated Emperors, but the fusion side loves the Pinstripes.

Either way, use the clear Ambassadors as the resonants. I think you'll be happy either way. Hope I've helped describe the difference.

[Rory444]

yeh thanks. i play rock, what kind of music it is that incubas play, and sometimes metal. i'd go more for a rock sound though. so........?

[drumwerker]

so you probably want lots of attack to cut through with a certain amount of brightness. You would probably want to go with Clear Emperors as the batter and Ambassador resonants.

[Rory444]

Well to be honest I don't know what sort of sound I want! I don't know a huge amount the different sounds and I'm not the best a tuning either but I managed to get my really old pinstripes to sound hald decent. I was definatly gonna go for another said of pins cos I've used them before and they were grand but now I was told by a really good drummer that i should go for the coated emporers and the clear ambasadors but every one on the fourm here seems to use pinstripes so I really need some definate good advice! Thanks guys!

[SKiezws]

Well...for Christmas i got some new drumheads. I got a set of pinstripes, and a 13" emperor and a 13" ambassador to try for the reso side. I found i really like the pinstripe/emperor sound. What I suggest doing is buying some heads and just trying them in defferent combinations. That way you can really see which you like better.

By the way, the sound i get from my drums are awesome. They have a really low, dark sound without mugh resonance(ringing). This seems to be somewhat of what you are describing. I also play rock, so you might want to get some heads and try stuff out.

-SK

[OWIMdrummer]

I just bought clear emperors for my elx 2 days ago. I really like them. I'm just using them with the pearl resonant heads and they still sound good. Definitely get ambassadors for resonant and not 2 ply heads cuz otherwise they will kill all the resonance of the drum. I have heard exports with coated emperors and they sounded pretty sweet but my choice is the clears because they have a bit more attack and cut through the music better. As with cymbals, if you play loud music you need a brighter higher pitched sound otherwise it will get lost. If your playing live and not recording then clear heads are the answer in my opinion.

[Rory444]

Yeah I don't ever record propper in studios only atr home and at competitions and stuff. I play a lot with bands live but not live as in on stage just in my house, I've played live a few times in competetions and stuff. Though so would the cpated emporer be ok for that do you think?

[Medic1121]

There's nothing wrong with a little experimentation. My experiences in practices, live gigs and recording have me pretty settled with pinstripes for the batters and a coated ambassador or emperor for the snare head. I use a zero ring on the snare with the coated head to kill the overtones generated with the high level of tension I use. You can do quite a bit just with tuning alone btw.

Just about everyone has tried several different arrangements with heads but eventually gravitate toward a particular arrangement. Best of luck!