Clear Emperor® heads are made with two free-floating plies of 7-mil Mylar®, making them the brightest sounding multi-ply heads and most durable of the classic clear WeatherKing® series. Clear Emperor® heads are made with two free-floating plys of 7 mil Mylar® film, which gives consistent open tones and accounts for their popularity among many of today’s Pop, R&B and Rock drummers. Also available in 5 mil Snare Side Heads for a more focused snare response.
- 12in Clear Emperor
- 13in Clear Emperor
- 16in Clear Emperor
- FREE 14in Coated Ambassador Snare Head!
Basic Guide to heads
There are 2 kinds of head on each drum. The side that you hit is the batter head while the bottom skin is a resonant head.They come in single- or two-ply (1 or 2 layers of material) construction in a variety of materials and finishes.
You get an increased resonance and sustain with one-ply heads, while heavy hitting music can sound better on the heavier double-ply heads.
Skin Thickness
The drum head's thickness is another thing to consider. Thinner, single layer heads have a sensitive response, with bright, resonant sound and complex overtones.
Thicker single-ply heads are more durable and have a higher tuning range with less sustain and more attack than thinner heads.
Two-ply heads have less attack and a quicker decay for a focused tone. They can take a serious pounding so if you're slamming away with a double pedal this might be your best choice.
Dotted heads
Some batter heads have a dot affixed to the top or bottom of the head to muffle excess ring. This gives you a more focused, drier sound. Some players still put a line of duct tape on to achieve this same effect but the results are unpredictable and it really spoils the look of the kit.
Note: If you use brushes you're going to want to stick with heads using dots on the head's underside to avoid snagging a bristle.
Coated heads
Drum heads with a white or black coating give a subtle muffling effect. Some have internal sound rings embedded around their outer perimeter to control excess ring.
Many jazz drummers put clear heads on the toms and a classic white-coated head on the snare drum, as the texture of a coated snare head sounds better with brushes. The bottom head on the snare drum is known as the snare-side head, a transparent, extra-thin head that maximizes response to the snare wires.
Bass Drum heads
Bass drum heads can include an internal dampening system on the batter head to provide a controlled sound and a port hole for improved tone and to make it easy to fit a mic. Port hole protector rings are also available to prevent your drum head from ripping or denting when fitting a mic.
