Identifying a bad head?

[ComicalMischief]

I'm getting pretty damn pissed off. A week ago, a head broke on my during a show. Well, the top ply cracked and started peeling off. I had no problem with that, as that head was atleast 1+ years old.

The problem is I have this new head, same type, size, etc. Sounds terrible.
Hey now, before you go off insulting my tuning methods, I follow the [tuning] bible. I tried this head out on both of my snares, and it produces this terrible ear wrenching ring.

Again, before you criticize, I'm a man that appreciates resonance. I have no tape on my heads, no O-rings, no moon gels. This is no ordinary resonance. This literally sounds like someone is slamming their hands on piano keys.
Usually, I'd tell myself, "Oh just ignore it! It's just a little ringing that will be drowned out by your drums when you play altogther!" Wrong. You can hear it. Distinctly.

I don't really know what constitutes a bad head, but if this isn't, I'm scared to know what the hell a bad head DOES sound like.
I swear, I've disassembled my snare atleast 4 times, tuning and retuning and retuning, all getting this horrible sound.

So, what should I do? Think I should get out tomorrow and buy a new head?
I have a show on sunday..and I really need a fast solution..
And money now if I need a new head. Gah.

For the record, it's a coated Emperor over an Ambassador.

[Tim]

change to a coated ambassador. and the bottom make sure its a SNARESIDE ambassador.

[alvyn]

I'm getting pretty damn pissed off. A week ago, a head broke on my during a show. Well, the top ply cracked and started peeling off. I had no problem with that, as that head was atleast 1+ years old.

The problem is I have this new head, same type, size, etc. Sounds terrible.
Hey now, before you go off insulting my tuning methods, I follow the [tuning] bible. I tried this head out on both of my snares, and it produces this terrible ear wrenching ring.

Again, before you criticize, I'm a man that appreciates resonance. I have no tape on my heads, no O-rings, no moon gels. This is no ordinary resonance. This literally sounds like someone is slamming their hands on piano keys.
Usually, I'd tell myself, "Oh just ignore it! It's just a little ringing that will be drowned out by your drums when you play altogther!" Wrong. You can hear it. Distinctly.

I don't really know what constitutes a bad head, but if this isn't, I'm scared to know what the hell a bad head DOES sound like.
I swear, I've disassembled my snare atleast 4 times, tuning and retuning and retuning, all getting this horrible sound.

So, what should I do? Think I should get out tomorrow and buy a new head?
I have a show on sunday..and I really need a fast solution..
And money now if I need a new head. Gah.

For the record, it's a coated Emperor over an Ambassador.

did u seat the head properly? i've had a bad head with me once... but all it did was sound really dead and the coating was peeling off.. it was a geneva reverse powercenter btw.

[Brokensticks]

I would take it off and reput it back on. Just see if it makes a difference.

[Double Bass Jim]

Thats why it's good to test em out before ya buy a head, you can tap the center with your finger and get a tone. I've ordered a set of emps and had one dud in the bunch a 13". The head was pulled outta the hoop and won't tune up.

[pauloz!]

yeh seating is quite important if you only put the head on recently. When first bought new heads i was dissatisfied with the sound and then the next day i told myself i would retune but i played on em one more time and they sounded awesome because the head had time to stretch. Maybe consider stretching the head...

[Meridian91]

sounds like bad luck to me...

make sure you have an amb snare side btw... or it would sound like balls...

- Meridian

[ComicalMischief]

Oh boy...This is definitely not a snareside Ambassador.
Crap crap crap crap. I never knew one even existed. I've only owned an ambassador once for my snare, and for some reason, the broke. It looked like someone took a freakin' knife to it about a week in. Maybe it was a snareside...but crap. Looks like I need a trip to GC and $20.

[Perroquet Magique]

sounds like bad luck to me...

make sure you have an amb snare side btw... or it would sound like balls...

- Meridian
You don't need to put:
'- Meridian' after your every post like you're some famous person, we can see each other people's usernames for a reason you know!

I have a coated amb on my snare, hasn't given me any problem at all, I haven't replaced the reso since I got the kit though (about two years ago) and it's still a sweet sounding kit.

- Perroquet Magique :p

[Chippy569]

Thats why it's good to test em out before ya buy a head, you can tap the center with your finger and get a tone. I've ordered a set of emps and had one dud in the bunch a 13". The head was pulled outta the hoop and won't tune up.
jim, how does that happen?


the "Ambassador snareside" goes on the "bottom" head - the ones the snares go across - and the regular coated ambassador goes on top.

what material is your shell made out of?

[ComicalMischief]

Haha. Yeesh, you don't have to act like I'm a total idiot. I just got back from getting a Ambassador snareside from GC. I didn't even mention the situation to the guy working there, and he yanked the head out of the box and checked to make sure they were good using the technique DBJ mentioned. First one he pulled out was dead. Imagine that.

Oh, and my snare is maple.