New snare heads... what do you think?

Before you listen.... understand that I AM NOT a drummer. I suck at drums. I'm an engineer and therefore a tinkerer. My son is the drummer. I wanted to try some different heads. He had a coated ambassador on top (my "goto" snare head in the studio) and a hazy diplomat on bottom (not my go to for snare side). He wasn't getting the sensitivity that I like to hear in a snare. I figured that they diplomat was pretty worn out. I was right... it was like a salad bowl!

Anyway... I got a hazy ambassador for the snare side this time, which IS my go to for the studio. However, I got a coated emperor this time to see if I could take a touch of brightness out while still retaining a good solid crack.

And MOST of all... I wanted this to be ridiculously sensitive. He's playing a lot of jazz now and is in a jazz band and the old heads/tuning wasn't cutting it from a sensitivity stand point.

The youtube below is the results. I'd like to get some opinions. This is a Gretsch USA custom maple 14"x5" with die-cast hoops. Coated emperor on the batter side, and a hazy ambassador on the snare side.

[YOUTUBE]tl2fGrG8rDo[/YOUTUBE]

It's crazy sensitive now. I can barely touch it and I get snare. And it doesn't matter if it's wet or dry... I still get nice snare action.

I'm a big fan of letting snares resonate, but holy crap, that thing rings FOREVER. I like the sound you are getting, but try tightening the strainer a bit.

yeah... the first thing my son did was tighten the snares.

I am assuming that you want sensitivity at low volume.

My opinion is a bit different. The Emperor/ambasador combo I would think would be best suited to high volume, heavy hitting environments. Thicker heads require more energy to move 'em, and hence the snares underneath.

I would think a better combination would be a coated ambassador/hazy-clear diplomat. lighter head, less force needed to get air moving, hence, greater sensitivity. For jaz work, you might even consider coated diplomat batter and hazy diplomat on the snare side.

I use an Aquarian Coated Studio-x for my batters and a Remo renessaince diplomat snare-side in opposition. Excellent response and sensitivity, great for brushes and light stick alike.

Your mileage will vary...Bob

In theory, yes... but as you can see, I can get the snares moving at extremely low volume. I'm barely touching them and they are moving just fine.

I'm pretty sure that's mostly a result of how loose you had the strainer. For jazz, I've noticed the thinner the better. If I were to buy a strictly jazz kit, I'd probably go with just FiberSkins. But hey, if you've achieved the sound you want, more power to ya. I've yet to get my top of the line Pork Pie snares to sound EXACTLY the way I want them to, so I just have some more tinkering to do. Tinker around with you heads and tuning, and remember what worked well for you. You might even find settings that you like even more than what you have. Also consider different hoop types (wood, triple flanged, die-cast, etc) and different strainers. There are endless possibilities!