• Amazing!

  

  As reviewed by Dave on 7/17/2009

  Wow! I had no idea that the right drum heads could make such a difference in the sound. I just replace half of the Remo heads that came with my Ludwig kit with these Emperor Clear Batter heads and the difference was amazing. The depth of tone and resonance is incredible. The only problem is I like them so much that I have to replace the rest of my tom heads to match!

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

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• It Only Took One Time and I have Found My Drum Head Combo! Remo = Best Of The Best!

  

  As reviewed by Norman H on 10/28/2011

  This is the second time in about 10 years that I have had the pleasure of using a Remo product and again it was money well spent. I must admit that this is the first time I have tried a complete "drum head setup" as I just recently got back into drumming after 10 years. What I mean by complete setup is getting to choose batters and resos, not just batters. My first set was a Pearl Export and at the time I really didn't know too much of anything when it came to drums or drum equipment. We also didnt have internet to make accessing information as easy as it is today so it was harder to get proper info on what kind of heads are available, what to use, how many plies, thickness etc and so on. Anyway's when I decided to change my heads on that kit I didn't know who, what, when, where or why as to what to get so I got what the sales man sold me at Guitar Center which was a pack of clear Remo Pinstripes for the toms, coated Pinstripe for the snare and then an Aquarian Superkick II for the bass. Note I know that now because of the good old internet lol! Mind you this was 10 years ago with a Pearl Export set, I didn't know what to listen for when it came to good and proper sounds out of the toms or what to use because of the type of drums. I actually used muffle rings as well on the toms to make them even more dead for that short sustain and deeper sound which only "fudged" a deeper sound. Though for what it's worth they lasted quite a while with my bad technique and hard hitting but sounded great for my needs at the time, which was playing covers of Rage, Coal Chamber, Korn etc. Anyway's 10 years later and with a bit more knowledge thanks to the internet, I now have a upper level and higher quality PDP X7 maple drum set in pearl white. With these drums being thin shells and maple wood and not having a bright sound with not a lot of sustain and overtones I decided to go Emperors over Ambassadors. Actually I thought of going with Ambassador X's because I thought the Emps would be too thick but I wanted to try the popular combo of Emps over Ambs. As you all know the heads that come with this kit or any other brand of drums are not very good and actually I didn't know how bad they were until I put these new Remo heads on. The ones that come with the set are UK Remo heads and are supposedly "ambassador" type heads. I wouldn't even say they are diplomat quality TBH. They are hard plastic like drum heads that shouldn't even be taken seriously. When you compare the stock heads to actual high quality Remo heads the difference is night and day. The rims of the heads are twice as thick and the skins themselves are like silk compared to the hard cold plastic of the stock heads. With the stock heads it would take at least 2 full turns on the reso and 1 3/4 turns for the batter to get a decent tension and sound out of them. With these Emperors and Ambassadors it only takes 1 whole turn on the reso and 3/4 on the batter to get a SICK deep and warm sound out of these drums. After watching a Russ Miller tuning video on Youtube I took his advice and started with the 16" floor tom. I had played with the stock heads for at least a few weeks so I knew I would hear a difference but didn't think it would be that much. Holy crap was I wrong it was a HUGE, HUGE difference!! Within the very first couple of strikes to the batter head I could tell how much depth the drum had, how much more sustain it had, good sustain like a good long deep rumble and most of all I could FEEL the difference in my floor tom. The deep tone shoots through your body like rolling thunder. When they say new heads will make your floor toms growl and your high toms sing they are not kidding. I also don't need any moongel or tape, it resonates just enough and the sustain rolls off nicely. 8 hours later after I cleaned up my drums and finished putting on the skins I sat down for a few minutes to check them all out and I could not stop playing! I was enjoying myself a lot more, it helped me with being more creative and in general just made being behind my drum set more enjoyable! I also now know what drummers mean when they say the feel of their drum heads, playing on these Emperors compared to the hard plastic stock heads is like striking 10 layers of silk sheets. It is absolutely unreal! So there you have it, I know this is a review area for Emps but I needed to express my thoughts toward the popular combo of Emps over Ambs and the differences of them compared to stock heads as batters and resos. Some people say it takes a bit to find that certain head combo, it only took one try for me. Clear Emperors over clear Ambassadors on the toms, Controlled Sound X over Diplomat snare side on the stock PDP snare which sounds damn good with either stock heads or new Remo's and then a Powersonic for the batter of the bass with the stock PDP reso. Besides changing the reso on the bass some time down the road, this current setup is THE one for me! Sorry for the long review and rambling but I am extremely pleased with my drum head choices and hope to pass on some of these positive feelings to those wondering what to get when it comes to drum heads. Thanks for reading if you do!

  2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

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• Good deal for the price

  

  As reviewed by Jen on 3/10/2008

  I used to buy Remo Ambassador heads until I got an Emperor and didn't realize it until I put it on. These are awesome, resonant heads. I have a coated one on the top of my toms and a clear one on the bottom and I'm never going to buy a different head. You get a punchy, low tone which is perfect for rock or if you tune a little sharp, you get a sound perfect for jazz and pop. I'd buy this head over Ambassador.

  9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

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