fourstringdrums
05-30-2007, 05:35 AM
Well I got my set of Evans J1 Etched in the other day. I put them top and bottom on my 10 & 14 toms, and on my snare batter (I ordered 3 14's but they sent me 4 and charged me for 3. Woops!). I haven't had a ton of time to play lately but here are my initial impressions:
Toms:
This is the sound I've been looking for. I realized the beauty of a wide open, somewhat ringy tom. There are sensitivity, dynamics, nuiance, and musicality in it, for funk, jazz, and even rock. I have them tuned alittle higher than some might like I guess, and it works out great for me. Having the same head top and bottom adds alot of warmth and natural overtone control, and it makes tuning alot easier. It's a breeze to hear which head needs to be tweaked.
Snare:
Along with the J1 on the batter, I put on an Evans Hazy 200 on the reso. This is the thinnest head that Evans makes for snare side and I love it, even though it's technically marked as an orchestral head. It has a somewhat coated texture to it as well so it gives a more natural sound I think. I replaced my wires as well with Puresound Customs and this combo gives me alot of snare response and sensitivity, again with natural overtone control . It is the first head combo I've played in a while that has just the right amount of ringy. Pretty dry compared to the toms, but it fits really well. I have the snare tuned pretty high, almost fully cranked on both sides, and it has great crack to it, cross-stick, and rim shot ring depending on how you play it.
The heads have a softer feel to them on both the snare and the toms, so some people who like alot of rebound in the head may not like them, but again, something about it just seems more natural to me. The only negative I'll say about othem, and I think it has been mentioned a few times here, is that the heads mark REALLY easily. As soon as you hit the drum, a stick mark appears. It personally doesn't bother me, as it doesn't look the same as the coating flaking off of other drum heads or some heads that leave black marks. These marks kind of look clear, but they're not. It's hard to explain, so I'll try and get a picture. The heads look well played very quickly, but in a classy sort of way I think.
I'll try and get some pictures and maybe a video (as the best as my camera can do soundwise) of the heads. I've finally got my setup tweaked as well, so I'll post all that in another thread soon.
Toms:
This is the sound I've been looking for. I realized the beauty of a wide open, somewhat ringy tom. There are sensitivity, dynamics, nuiance, and musicality in it, for funk, jazz, and even rock. I have them tuned alittle higher than some might like I guess, and it works out great for me. Having the same head top and bottom adds alot of warmth and natural overtone control, and it makes tuning alot easier. It's a breeze to hear which head needs to be tweaked.
Snare:
Along with the J1 on the batter, I put on an Evans Hazy 200 on the reso. This is the thinnest head that Evans makes for snare side and I love it, even though it's technically marked as an orchestral head. It has a somewhat coated texture to it as well so it gives a more natural sound I think. I replaced my wires as well with Puresound Customs and this combo gives me alot of snare response and sensitivity, again with natural overtone control . It is the first head combo I've played in a while that has just the right amount of ringy. Pretty dry compared to the toms, but it fits really well. I have the snare tuned pretty high, almost fully cranked on both sides, and it has great crack to it, cross-stick, and rim shot ring depending on how you play it.
The heads have a softer feel to them on both the snare and the toms, so some people who like alot of rebound in the head may not like them, but again, something about it just seems more natural to me. The only negative I'll say about othem, and I think it has been mentioned a few times here, is that the heads mark REALLY easily. As soon as you hit the drum, a stick mark appears. It personally doesn't bother me, as it doesn't look the same as the coating flaking off of other drum heads or some heads that leave black marks. These marks kind of look clear, but they're not. It's hard to explain, so I'll try and get a picture. The heads look well played very quickly, but in a classy sort of way I think.
I'll try and get some pictures and maybe a video (as the best as my camera can do soundwise) of the heads. I've finally got my setup tweaked as well, so I'll post all that in another thread soon.