I have a 14x5 PDP brass snare drum (Black Ace)nice drum! Have had a Remo CS on it and decided to go to a PS3 head. Not really happy with the sound, kinda phat and muddy. I like the crack and pop of the CS head better. At the same time I put a PS3 on my birdseye maple Mapex Black Panther 14x5.5, LOVE IT! Controlled but not overly, still has a nice crack to it. Will probably go back to CS head. Any thoughts on what else to try! Thanks for ur time!!! Vinman
RvJim
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Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
On my Ludwig Blackbeauty (a similar drum) I have really liked the CS the most on it. I've also had good success with standard heads: ambassador and emperor.
"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously" -Hubert H Humphrey
OldFart
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Joined: Apr 2, 2007
Location: Peoria, AZ
RvJim wrote: On my Ludwig Blackbeauty (a similar drum) I have really liked the CS the most on it. I've also had good success with standard heads: ambassador and emperor.
+1
Agreed.
It seems the wood shells suffer some with the heft there in the center of the head, such as with a CS; but respond better to having a Coated Ambassador ( or Emperor ). Or a Coated Ambassador with a Rem-O or some other form of Richie Ring or even a bit of MoonGel ( if you need to attenuate any overtones that might bother your ear).
Metal shells, however, seem to work better with a CS type head.
Mapex Saturn * Paiste Terry Bozzio Single-Ply Coated
I'm no expert but I would ask what type music your playing. I use a Ludwig Supra(not the same metal)with Coated Ambassador. The Ambassador I would assume is a much more versatile head with dead crack in the middle, more snap midway and nice ring close to the rim.
If you are playing Jazz or Country in low volume venues the Ambassador may be one of your choices. I like the fact that you don't mind trying other types of heads.
When all is said and done the best way to figure out what the best (sounding) head is for a snare drum or for that matter any drum is the process of elimination; but that can get awful expensive!!! So again I will get a new CS coated head. Can't go wrong there! Thanks for your input folks!!!
drumster15
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Joined: Aug 28, 2012
Location: Drummer Island
I've been using a Pearl 6.5 x 14 brass free floater with die-cast hoops since 1987. Unless you are a really heavy hitter, Remo coated Ambassador hands-down. If you don't like the tinniness, level it off with your desired amount of moon-gel.
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No. 1 Posted on Dec 5, 2012 8:47 PM
