Faulty head?

basset52

Senior Member
I bought a coated 16" Remo Vintage Ambassador recently to try on my floor tom. The top looked normal ie flat and smooth, but when I turned it over and I looked at the underneath side it had wrinkles in what I assume is the 2nd ply. In your view Is this normal , or has the second ply become separated from the top ply and the head is faulty?
 
It sounds faulty based on your description. Mount it on the drum and try to tune it up. If it sounds fine I wouldn't worry about it. If it sounds dead or you have wrinkles after you've tuned it up it is defective.
 
It sounds faulty based on your description. Mount it on the drum and try to tune it up. If it sounds fine I wouldn't worry about it. If it sounds dead or you have wrinkles after you've tuned it up it is defective.
Thanks. The top tensions ok - I can’t see the 2nd ply as it’s on the inner and I have a coated head as a reso. The head sounds VERY muted . At light hitting it sounds like cardboard and lifeless.
 
That's a common problem with their 2-ply heads (such as Emperors and Pinstripes.)

But it depends how wavy it is. If it's only slight, there's a a good chance the head should still tune. If it's really wavy, the head will never tune properly and is considered defective. Remo knows those are out there and will cheerfully replace it (which is apparently easier than cheerfully exercising quality control at the factory!) Actually, the store where you bought it should exchange it.

Good luck, bad Pinstripes and Emperors is the reason I left Remo after a 16 year endorsement.

Bermuda
 
That's a common problem with their 2-ply heads (such as Emperors and Pinstripes.)

But it depends how wavy it is. If it's only slight, there's a a good chance the head should still tune. If it's really wavy, the head will never tune properly and is considered defective. Remo knows those are out there and will cheerfully replace it (which is apparently easier than cheerfully exercising quality control at the factory!) Actually, the store where you bought it should exchange it.

Good luck, bad Pinstripes and Emperors is the reason I left Remo after a 16 year endorsement.

Bermuda
Thanks again. The inner ply was REALLY wavy and loose - large wrinkles . I buy pretty well all of my gear at the store where I got it - they’ll look after me. Cheers
 
The same thing happened to me once on an Evans G2. In my case it was the top layer but the end result was the same: a dead sounding head.
 
I bought a coated 16" Remo Vintage Ambassador recently to try on my floor tom. The top looked normal ie flat and smooth, but when I turned it over and I looked at the underneath side it had wrinkles in what I assume is the 2nd ply. In your view Is this normal , or has the second ply become separated from the top ply and the head is faulty?

There are those among us that would argue that multi-ply heads are defective by their very nature... In that, given current collar design, there's no way to ensure uniform, or even consistent tension across both heads. I can only concede that some drummers like their sound.

I typically recommend that people begin their journey with a single ply stock Ambassador or G1, and temporarily use moon gel to determine if their next set of heads should have a ring, dot, both, or other control-top mechanism.
 
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I have Vintage Ambassadors on both of my floor toms. 14x14 and 16x16. I turned them over to tune the bottom head and noticed slight wrinkling underneath but it doesn't both me at all. I find a good pitch on the bottom head and then the batter is just above finger tight so it doesn't surprise me. The drum still sings with a ton of tone and I just put some gaffer tap on the batter to tone it down a touch.
 
definitely a faulty head, go get it replaced.

i had a faulty head from aquarian once, the coating just fell off while playing and sounded terrible, so i got in touch with them and they sent me 4 replacement heads AND a goodie bag as well! :)
 
That's a common problem with their 2-ply heads (such as Emperors and Pinstripes.)

But it depends how wavy it is. If it's only slight, there's a a good chance the head should still tune. If it's really wavy, the head will never tune properly and is considered defective. Remo knows those are out there and will cheerfully replace it (which is apparently easier than cheerfully exercising quality control at the factory!) Actually, the store where you bought it should exchange it.

Good luck, bad Pinstripes and Emperors is the reason I left Remo after a 16 year endorsement.

Bermuda
"Common" problem?......I'm not sure I agree. I have had coating issues in the past with Remo, but never ply issues with emperors or pinstripes over a 45 year span, and I have bought a plethora of them. This particular situation with the OP would bother me and I'd have it replaced for sure. Sounds like it's not the way it's supposed to be. I've tried other brands of heads and they are all of good quality and sound, but I just like Remo's sound and feel better. Hope your issue is resolved easily and quickly!
 
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