forget the stripes

After some experimentation, I've decided to go back to my original Emperor Coated's for my toms. Those Pinstripes sing like all hell when they're brand-new, but after a few weeks of playing them, they died out relatively quickly and the heads showed remarkable wear (by way of many deep divets - which ultimately effected the overall tone). The attack on them are higher pitched and more cutting (thus, the singing more) than the Emperors, but I like a flatter attack for metal and funk playing. Plus I know that the Emps take a longer time to wear, just due to the coating, let alone the heavy double-plies. When I put the Emps back on this time, I didn't obsess about tuning but made sure I followed a few basic guidelines and they sound surprisingly good as is, for now. Although, I did give the bearing edges a quick shave with sand paper to refine them. I love a day off (considering I work six days a week). I changed those heads at 9:30 and have been playing since then. Rest assured, I'll be playing ALL DAY LONG. I absolutely love the drums. They boom and smash - what can be cooler?!