@dboomer and ntug.

To my experience headtypes are the least important factor in this story. (Unless you use extremes like hydrolics or powerstrokes or emperor controlled sound coated). If a drum won't sing with ambassadors top and bottom and tuned to it's sweet spot, then there's soming wrong in either construction or mounting/snarestand etc., it won't matter much if you change brand of heads or try emperors or diplomats.

Then trying to isolate the shell as much as you can (with special floortom feet, foam, surgical tubes on the snare stand, whatever) is the first way to go, I think, it has made for the most drastical improvements in my experience.

If that won't do, what about bearing edges? Maybe they were re-cut poorly or someting? Maybe somebody sanded them too round? I would then have the shell checked by a pro. maybe it is out of round or uneven in height.

I have an 18 inch Rogers Big R floortom, with pipes as floortom legs. Special floortom legs won't fit. I took of the brackets en cut pieces of rubber that I put under the brackets when I screwed them onto the shell again, also put rubber washers under the nuts. Works great! A lot more tone and resonance!