Your thoughts on new Remo heads?

[mja61]

Have any of you tried the newer Remo heads on your toms (specifically the Renaissance, Suede, and Smooth White series)?

Coated Ambassadors are about the best I've found. They sound great, and are very durable--they hold up to heavier hitting, and maintain their tone longer than any other head I've tried.

I would like to get the "biggest" sound possible out of my toms (most projection, depth, attack, and sustain). Clear Ambassadors don't sound as full, and are no where near as durable, so these new Remos with different coatings seem like they might be interesting.

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

[tnsolt]

DR come here and help me a minute.

Me Yes C'mon.

Listen I haven't properly sterilzed my hands yet, well this guy isn't going to get any sicker.

(Cuts open a cadavor)

Boy never get used to the smell do you!!

Ever seen a spleen that large, no not not since breakfast. (faints)

[Vdrummer]

Hey Mike,

If you go with one of those heads you'll lose some of the characteristics you like. The smooth white may be a little closer to a clear, the Renaissance and Suede are darker, and more calf-like. For a fuller sound those might do, but you'll lose sustain with a thicker or more textured head.

It's possible you'd like a clear Emperor, but you'll get a bit less sustain, more attack, a fuller and deeper sound that's very well suited to Rock. I don't know how hard you hit or what style you're mainly playing. Another choice that's a bit thinner than an Emperor but still two ply are Aquarian's Double Thin heads. Good luck!

[mja61]

Hey der Brad -

Thanks for the reply. I keep going back and forth between Coated Ambassadors and Clear Emporers. The Clear Emporers sound good at first, but they tend to go south in a hurry. There is something about the Remo coating that makes them very durable--they keep their tone and are very resistant to pitting.

I suspected the Suede and Renaissance might be a little too subdued (the drumhead equivalent of one of Zildjian's 17,000 K Custom Dark Thin Dry Constantinople Wannabe Ride models), but it's difficult to tell by Remo's online descriptions.

I tried an Aquarian single-ply coated...not bad (once I figured out the secrets of using RIMS properly!), but I might still have to give the edge to Remo. The double-thin might be one to try...I might swing by The Pad this weekend...

Shock - LOL! I'll be in a good mood for the rest of the day now!

"I thought that was my dead brother. It's alright, it wasn't him, but that spleen was the spittin' image."

"I like to use a little chewing gum on these trips...it uh...filters out the pollutants."

"But the Underhills have left for the day."
"They'll be back. He just went for his urinalysis."

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 02, 2005 10:46 AM: Message edited by: mja61 ]</font>

[Randy walker]

'look, it's Lassie"

[sashal3]

I've had some great success with the smooth coated emperor heads. I play Gretsch and have a proclivity for the Aquarian double thins. The Remo heads were given to me and I was hesitant to use them because I've never been a fan of the emperor sound. They always just felt too heavy for me but the smooth coated are different. Unfortunately,unless you have a bottomless pit of money or you are endorsed,finding heads can be a pain. The smooth coated emperors that I came across really sing and they last. I'm using them on a mohogany gretsch kit and they sound huge! I've recorded two rock/pop records with them and they sound great. I haven't tried them on my maple or birch kits but they work with the mohogany. My 2 cents......

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 03, 2005 02:19 AM: Message edited by: sashal3 ]</font>

[mja61]

So, I splurged; I invested <s>49 cents in a set of novelty teeth</s> a few bucks in some Smooth White Emporers. I haven't really had a chance to fine tune them yet (no pun intended), but so far, I'm pretty impressed.

The tone is warm, full, and round, but still with a healthy attack. They sing and resonate nicely while retaining a strong fundamental. They seem to hold their tuning and stand up to fusion/rock-level playing. Even though they are technically the same thickness, they don't feel and play as "thick" as a Clear Emporer. They have a "tone" rather than a "dead flap" sound when you take them out of the box, and you also don't have to hit them as hard to get a sound. I found these heads to have the widest tuning range of any I've ever used--no choking even when tuning the small drums up high.

They don't have the dark, "cardboard" characteristic that Coated Ambassadors sometimes have, but they also lack the fat, wet, funky characteristic of Clear Emporers/Pinstripes. The seem to have more mid-range presence, which might explain the fuller sound and extended resonance.

The film appears to be an altogether different type of Mylar, rather than clear film that has been coated or modified. I don't particularly like the way they look--kind of cheap and "plasticky," but you can't have it all.

As a side note, I checked out Aquarian's website, and it looks like the "Double Thin" is no longer in their product line.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

[Steve Holmes]

Hmm...Maybe I'll try the new Smooth White's. I've been on Clear Emporers for a while now and could use a change to insprire some different playing.

I think I'm going to lock myself in a cell with a drum machine, and my drums for 6 months and have someone slip food under the door 3 times a day. With a PC and a fast internet connection that only works after 10pm for evening entertainment. Anyone want to fund that kind of arrangement for me? [img]graemlins/whatever.gif[/img]

[Jean-Paul]

I have recently put Renaissance's on my Pearl MMX kit in my rehearsal room. They started to sound better since they are getting older. In the beginning the sound was very sharp. I will not put them again on my set. The Suede were too dull. I am a coated Ambassador lover [img]tongue.gif[/img] For other situations I have tried Emperors both coated and clear but I prefered also here the coated versions. Next thing will be smooth white Ambassadors or Evans G1 clear. I liked the G1's very much but the durability from Remo is IMHO a little better. I've heard that smooth white is the new thang!