Michael. first off Welcome to the VDF, If you like die cast use them, but the sticksavers are great rims also, I personally don't like diecast rims! but if that's the sound you like then go for it! also another Southerner, good to have you with us!

I like my sticksavers on my Slingys best.The only problem I have is my sticks don't rest well on the floor tom anymore!! But like Vm2K said, try it you might like it.

Cheers,BigE

Welcome to the forum,I don't have much exp with Slingerlands but I have found that die casts will" point up" or focus the sound a bit,how much seems to be more or less from a drum to drum basis,and can shorten the resonance a little and to my ears control the resonance a little more giving you a pointed sound.Playability wise I don't notice that much of a difference in toms until you start getting into higher tunings,then it feels like you are playing onto the head more than into it.Another thing to consider is that while die casts hold their tuning real well especially on extremely high and low tunings,they may not be as forgiving tuning wise with less than perfect bearing edges,but may actually help at low tunings depending on where and how the flaw is.If one of the die casts on your gretsch will fit one of your slings I would try that,or see if you could borrow some,I probably don't have to tell you that on those big drums that die casts top and bottom can get a little pricey if money is a concern. If I had a nice renown kit and had that sound covered I would go with stick savers to have the best of both worlds.

Those are all very good points. Thanks so much for the help. I think vintagemore2000 hit the target though. I already have kit with cast hoops, and I am looking to expand my options sonically. So with that I am now on the hunt for some Sticksavers.