I put these on a white drum for contrast. I'm an Emperor fan on toms, but using white (regular) Emperors would have been a bad idea, so just because the looks, I bought these. Sound-wise, these are very similar to the regular Emperors, maybe with slightly more sharpness. Sustains and the rest sound pretty much the same to my ears, and they can take the beating too. What I don't like is the stickmarks. They are quite visible, quite fast. Wheather it bothers you or not, it is up to you, but I would have preferred if the marks would not appear this fast. Not a big deal, just would have been better. Still, looks awesome on the kit!