Remo 16" Emperor Clear

For me, Remo Clear Emperor provides the perfect balance of tone, sustain and attack I want to hear from toms. The rebound the heads have is also satisfying.

I played coated Emperors on toms for a stint then switched to coated Ambassadors and played for years using only single ply heads as I liked the character of the attack. Later on down the line I went back to coated Emperors and loved the attenuated treble frequencies, that's what I hear at least, which I think is why double ply heads are often described as warmer. However, as time went on I noticed on recordings that the attack was less pronounced than with coated Ambassadors. I missed the cut. Finally, I arrived at clear Emperors and am really pleased with the tom sound I get on recordings these days. My reasoning is that clear heads generally have more attack as there is less dampening (coating) so the treble frequencies don't seem to be attenuated as much. I also dig the slightly shorter sustain I get from double ply heads. Sustain, in my experience, is partly a tuning thing, however I find I have to fuss less with Emperors than I do with Ambassadors to achieve the same result. To my ears, clear Emperors are a fine mix of the cut of single ply heads and the sustain and feel one can get from double ply.

Speaking of feel, the rebound of Emperors makes playing tom grooves and fills an absolute joy. I get the impression I can "dig in" to the toms while still getting enough bounce to play quick passages.

At this moment in time, I feel the Emperors are my favourite heads for toms. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be really into single ply heads again. A lot of this stuff really depends on mood, application, preferences, experience, etc. It's a solid head though and I think most will find it pleasing to the ears.

I use the 16 " Emperor Clear on my floor tom. It's brighter-sounding than a Pinstripe without being too brittle, and just as - if not more - durable. A great head for a contemporary sound with plenty of attack, a nice even tone, and just the right amount of sustain, plus it lasts forever. If you play rock or metal, you should definitely consider using this head.

The Emperor Clear may be less than optimal at high tunings as the head chokes more easily than thinner heads, but this is probably more of an issue with drums smaller than 16 inches (unless you like your floor toms tuned really high).