Remo Ambassador, Aquarian Vintage vs Calfskin! - Demo on a Leedy Broadway Standard
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Playing a 1940 Leedy Broadway Standard snare drum, I document my first experience sourcing and playing a real calfskin head and then recording it against a Coated Remo Ambassador and an American Vintage Medium. The snare mic is an SM57 (top only), the overheads are two Neumann KM 184m and the room mic is an Audix CX212B.
Drum History - Stern Tanning
• A Look At Animal Skin ...
I played a friends Leedy set with all calf in 1966, the greatest drum sound ever...had 26'' bass drum. Feel is amazing.
This is my first Leedy drum and I was blown away. Some of these old drums were really made incredibly well and have so much character. You hit it on the head (shameless pun haha) about the feel of calf heads. In a video its much easier to convey how great they sound but the feel is a huge factor. These days all calf would cost a small fortune. That 26” bass drum would probably be $250+ for each side. This 14” was $100. Thanks checking it out Peter!
Excellent comparison, really insightful and clearly recorded differences ...
Thank you!
Well done and thank you for doing that for us. This said, you just cannot beat Remo Ambassadors IMHO.
I agree. I used to struggle trying to make a choice, to the point of confusion. Now it’s pretty much Remo Ambassadors all around.
Good review thank you
Very welcome! Thank for checking it out!
Generally speaking, the calfskin head sounds the best. They are hard to work with, there's no question. But the tone simply can't be reproduced with non-organic materials. Hal Blaine used a calfskin batter head on his bass and it's why it had such a fantastic sound. The old recordings with the very "soggy-sounding" drums was the result of poor miking as well as the effect of humidity on the heads but the tone and volume are unmatched, even with a great product like the Aquarian American and Modern Vintage series heads.
This was my first experience w calf and it sounded the best and also felt great to play. It’s definitely something to keep on hand for recording but they ain’t cheap, especially the bass drum heads.
Really nice video. I have the same drum (though 5.5 instead of 6.5) and it's definitely one of the best sounding drums I own. I love the Modern Vintage heads on it but I bet calf would sound super nice as well.
I love these old Leedy drums. If you get a chance to try the Calif head I’m sure you will love it. Thank you for checking out the video!
That Leedy drum is awesome. Calf all the way!
I taught myself to tuck heads during the pandemic. Now I can buy fairly inexpensive untucked heads from around the globe, for around $16 for a snare head.
I got a quick lesson myself but I’m in no way ready to tuck my own.
@@eddieavakianIt requires practice. Just jump in the deep end, like me!
For my tastes I find the Aquarian was 2nd best in all examples except one with the Stern being no. 1 in each demo. The Remo was good and fine but beat out the Aquarian only once (I'll have to go back and see what that was but I think it was the medium tension w/snares on). They're all really good on what is a great sounding snare drum. Those Rogers (?) sound extraordinary to me. Great presentation!
Hey Lane. Thanks for checking out the video and for voicing your opinion. All three heads worked well on this drum. The Aquarian did a great job as a substitute for the calf. The feel and the sound of the Stern head on the recording was the overall winner for me as well. This is my first time playing a Leedy and I was blown away by this drum. The kit is a late 60s Rogers and it’s the best sounding kit I’ve ever owned.
Calf skin and Remo really good
Agreed
Pretty sure Keith Moon was using calf skin on the Who's La-La-La Lies
Interesting!
Aquarian and calf but the ambassador is good as well. Depends on tuning and how the feel. All three are great. Nice video.
Yeah all three had their moments for sure. The calf “felt” the best. That’s something that’s hard to convey in a video.
I guess I would have to echo Anthony's comment. I have only used Ambassadors for 50+ years and still love them. The calf sounded the fattest and gave a dark short ring, which I like. Although playing on a calf head takes some getting used to as they feel a bit spongey ( if thats a word ha ha ). Always dig your take friend. Cheers, Bruce
Thanks Bruce. I did find that the feel difference was a bigger deal than the sound difference, which was considerable as well, thick, dark, and warm. The “spongy” description works! 😁.
the calf sounds great on this drum!
Yeah I agree. This was a video about drum heads, but I could have made it about this drum. It’s my only Leedy purchase and I get why so people love them.
Vid on your snares brake system...
Personally I don’t usually like snares systems with those extended bridges because many of them require unique parts and snare wires. According to Stan at Pro Drums, I rigged this one up incorrectly but somehow it works perfectly so I left alone.
Very interesting comparison! I usually use Ambassador coated, but recently picked up a vintage Slingerland calfskin to go with a '50s Radio King snare drum, just for grins. It sounds pretty great, but I'm still experimenting with getting the right tension. But you can also read from drummers in the old days complaining about how they started losing tension in a room full of people where the humidity goes up. 😄BTW, I think you can order heads pre-tucked direct from Sterns. Cheers!
Thanks for checking out the video. Your timing is interesting as I just picked up a 1950s Radio King 7 x 14 today myself. It came w Vintage Emperors and it sounds great so I’m going to leave it on there for now.
When I was making this video I called over to Stern Tanning and spoke to Jeff Stern, but he just had some sort medical procedure on his hand and wasn’t taking any orders since he does all the work himself. He actually recommended I call Stan. Before I made this video I didn’t know that Stan tucked hides. If you ever post a video on that drum please send me the link. I’d love to see it. Thanks!
I use calfskin batter heads on all my snares. They definitely require tightening during a gig, but it's not such a big deal. I have played VERY hot & humid swing dances where, after a certain point, the head can no longer be tightened. The moderate hassle is totally worth the feel & sound.
Awesome vid.
I loved the Stern and the Ambassador.
Ambassador is the only head I use on every drum I own.
The Aquarian I didn’t care for.
Sounded like it was choking itself in every clip.
Stan tucked that Stern like a champ!
Hey Bro. Thanks for the good word! The Ambassador is mostly all I use as well. It pretty much does it all short of sounding like calf skin. The Aquarian is trying to impersonate the calf, but in doing that it’s not as versatile. I actually tried to get the “thin” instead of the “medium” but I purchased the “modern vintage” instead of the “American vintage” thin not knowing the difference as I don’t know the Aquarian lines. The modern vintage didn’t fit this drum.
The Stern head sounded so clean and was satisfying to play. Stan hooked a brother up! 😎
Great video, M8! I got a skin head from Pro Drums (Best in the West, fo' sho'!!!) for my '59 Shelly Manne 5X14. I have Aquarian Vintage heads for my '40s Radio King toms/kick. I absolutely LOVE the skin head! As you say it's "softer" and rich. I tune mine high and it also sounds great in R&B as well as Jazz (brushes are sublime). I fear using the skin head in the Summer, because of detuning issues. One does have to detune the calf head when not in use. Which is why I haven't done calf skins all around. The Aquarian heads are pretty good, though I've yet to track with them. Thx for this video! Cheers!
Hey Adrian. I’m happy you enjoyed the journey on this one. I feel lucky to have the guys at pro drums so close to home. They always come thru. You’ve got some killer drums there man and I’m sure they sound incredible w those skins. Thanks for reaching out!
@@eddieavakian Keep up your great work M8. Cheers!
Old school all the way
I actually liked them all.
I love Remo, and have for years.
But lately I've been enjoying the tone of the Aquarian. I'll probably bounce between the both of them.
Calf skin sounded great too, but I probably wont be buying any in the near future.
The toms also sounded great in this video. Coated Emperor?
Thank you! I really like Aquarian but can't I just can't get myself away from Remo. The toms are Ambassador coated. I used to go with Emperors but the Ambassadors give me what I like in the wide open sound.
I like this 😊
Thank you. Glad you checked it out. ✌️
Can’t help feeling the calf skin belongs on the calf.
Yeah I get it.
👏🏆
Why a thi think it better less over tone
I am an Aquarian guy and I really like the Modern Vintage and American Vintage heads but I will say in this demo the calf skin wins ... I just bought a set of Earthtone calf heads and I'll see who those work. Thx for a great video
Yeah that calf brought it on in every tuning. It also felt the best to play. I’ll still be using remo on everything minus a recording session here and there.
I'm an Aquarian man, but never really found the sound I'm after with American Vintage. Compared with these heads they lack openness and resonance
The remo ambassadors always do well for me generally speaking. I liked all three of these options on this particular snare. The Calf was my favorite tho.
Thank you. That was a realistic comparison of the three heads. I believe the Remo holds the standard and all goes from there nowdays. Shalom.
Thanks John. I personally only use Remo on everything myself. I’ve tried to like other brands like Evans but couldn’t get there. My 2nd pick would be Aquarian but I don’t need a plan B at this point. ✌️
I couldn't get puresound wires I bought to seat properly on any of my 3 snares for some reason.
Really? What model? I hav 13 snare drums and all have pure sound snares except two. Those two have Canopus wires. You should try those if you haven’t already. They’re a little more pricy than pure sound but they’re good wires.
I wish you would have used a Remo Skyntone instead of the Ambassador. That would have been an interesting comparison to the calf.
Hey Ken. I don’t know if the Skyntone heads have a classic fit size option. A standard 14 inch won’t come close to fitting on this old Leedy. If they do, that would be a good option. I’ve used those on my 50s Grestch kit and they sound awesome.
@@eddieavakian I see said the blind man, lol
@@kenbarr1219 😁
Very cool video … man I’d love to get a calf head, but it’s doesn’t seen to be worth the hassle and money … both of those heads are close enough for jazz and me! Thanks for taking the time to share your process! I subbed!
Thanks Earl! I appreciate it. If you can stomach the price you should try and get at least one for the arsenal. It would be less trouble if your drum is a modern 14”. You can just call Jeff Stern directly. The microphones minimized the sound difference v what it sounded like in the room and they couldn’t convey the feel difference. It’s definitely a luxury you don’t need but I’m happy I tried it.
I preferred the calf head until high tuning, the ambassador was best here. I much prefer a Aquarian Texture Coated to even an Ambassador which are solid heads.
I use Ambassadors pretty much across the board but i have liked all the Aquarian's that I have ever played. The Calf felt really nice to play but it's impractical for daily use. It will come out on select recording session for sure tho. Thanks for checking out the video!
Thanks
That Leedy is class! Gonna try the Aquarians next for my toms. Thanks for the video mate
Yeah that Leedy is something really special. Thank you Tommie.