Aren`t those drums from the 60`s ?

Sorry couldn`t resist !!

Very attractive kit. How does the EMAD sound on your kick currently? What reso head do you have on it?

As to head choice for the toms, I am thinking you will like something clear. I am usually not a fan of dots as I don't really like the feel of them. Some guys swear by them, especially for certain types of drums. Single headed acrylic comes to mind. You could try a Remo Emporer or Evans G2 clear but that will be a much more "live" sound than the black dot with Deadringer combination you have now. Consider a Pinstripe or EC2 for a little darker, controlled tone. Aqaurian makes some interesting products as well but I have no first hand experience with those.

I do suggest the following:

Whatever you do, try out a head combination on one tom only. I would suggest the 13" or 14" as they are in the middle of your tom range but still small enough to not be too expensive head-wise. Whichever drum you feel tunes the easiest is the one you should test. While every drum will tune a little differently with a given head, I feel it would be a bad plan to purchase 10 tom head (5 batter, 5 reso) only to find you do not like them.

Spend the $$ and put a good set of resonant heads on there. Most likely a clear single ply for what you are looking for.

While we sometimes get hung up on producing a great quality "studio" sound directly from our drums, please remember that the sound you are hearing on a recording is not just the actual sound of the drum. It is, in fact a combination of many things. If you like a fairly dead 70's sound, be careful that you don't start with that sound from where you are sitting. You mentioned that you wanted volume and projection. That is what you get BEFORE you start muffling your kit. Once the deadringers, weather stripping, wallets, paper towels, blankets, sleeping bags, large furry creatures, etc. are applied to your kit, the volume and projection start to disappear. That sustain that might seem annoying and uncontrollable where you are sitting is also what aids in projection.

Let us know what you come up with and what you liked and what you didn't.

I'm most familiar with Remo, so I'm going to use them as examples, but every maker has products that are roughly equivalent.

I would start with clear Diplomats or their equivalents on the bottoms, then experiment with the tops to find what you like. Clear Ambassadors on the bottom will lower your tone, but I like my bottoms to be as resonant as possible.

Here's a continuum of top head choices from thuddier to brighter, reading from left to right, which will also apply to their durability (I know you're a rocker):

Pinstripe-coated Emperor-clear Emperor-coated Ambassador-clear Ambassador

Your mileage will vary, because the sound is also dependent on the weight of your stick and how you strike the head.

I agree that you should try to be as unmuffled as possible. If you have a soundman, he should know how to get good sounds from live drums. If not, you're going to need that projection to get over those whippersnappers.

Try to record yourself when experimenting with tuning. You need to hear the drum as others would hear it, not as you'd hear it from the throne.

Good luck. That's a beautiful kit. It reminds me of my first, except that I had concert toms.

I would go with clear ambassadors top and bottom on the toms, and aquarian super kick system on the BD.

Based on the original post, I would think that Slingerland prefers a darker, more controlled tone than he would get with a single ply batter. If you are a heavy hitter, especially one that plays "into" and not "out of" the drum, the Ambassadors won't hold up as well either. I will say that going from a clear black dot head with foam rings to almost anything else is going to be a very different, and possibly shocking experience. That is why I was thinking Pinstripes or the EC series heads. You might also want to check out these:

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/performance-ii-series

I am a wide open 2 ply and single ply guy myself.

You're right about that tnsquint. I used black dots on my big sonor fusion kit bacause Tony used them on his big yellow Gretsch kit. I wasn't crazy about the feel or sound. When one of the black dots got bumpy and started to peel, I peeled the whole dot off and loved the sound with no dot. I switched to clear batters the next day. Different feel and different sound...but for me...just what I was looking for.

I always thought the dot felt like hitting a piece of Formica. That is an interesting save by pulling off te dot. Necessity being the mother of invention and all. As I recall, Tony had black dots on the reso side as well. When I saw that photo, I ran out to get some and did the same thing. I felt pretty cool...I think. Funny how times change as I wouldn't consider that now.

After doing some research, I'm going to try the evans EC2's, it appears they resigned the head with a outer ink stripe to add control but still allows the drum to project, many great reviews, I'll try one and see, and go from there. thanks for all the feedback.