Evans heads, what should I expect?

[zoomasslive123]

Hi All,

I just picked up a new kit (used, but new to me! DW Collector's) 10" & 12" rack toms, 14" & 16" floor toms, 18" x 22" bass drum. I figured I might as well just put all new skins on them to make the kit feel new and officially mine.

I was wondering what you all think of this set up (below) as I have not purchased these before but I figured I'd buy into the descriptions and see how it goes. I play blues rock to straight rock with my band (gig out two to three times a month) and would prefer to not have to use much external muffling if any.

At first glance, what is your impression of what kind of sound I can be expecting?

Toms (batter): Evans EC2 SST (clear)
Toms (resonant): Evans EC
Bass (batter): Evans EQ4 Coated
Bass (resonant): Evans Onyx

Any and all comments/opinions are welcome. Thanks.

[TheArchitect]

Hi All,

I just picked up a new kit (used, but new to me! DW Collector's) 10" & 12" rack toms, 14" & 16" floor toms, 18" x 22" bass drum. I figured I might as well just put all new skins on them to make the kit feel new and officially mine.

I was wondering what you all think of this set up (below) as I have not purchased these before but I figured I'd buy into the descriptions and see how it goes. I play blues rock to straight rock with my band (gig out two to three times a month) and would prefer to not have to use much external muffling if any.

At first glance, what is your impression of what kind of sound I can be expecting?

Toms (batter): Evans EC2 SST (clear)
Toms (resonant): Evans EC
Bass (batter): Evans EQ4 Coated
Bass (resonant): Evans Onyx

Any and all comments/opinions are welcome. Thanks.

I would think they will sound quite muted/dead with those heads

[Shedboyxx]

From your description of what you play, I'd try G2's instead of the EC stuff.I've ued both and when the band starts cranking, you'll be short of tone and and high end with EC's (unless close miked...maybe),

Coated G2's sound plenty warm with nice attack and are probably my favorite Evans batter for toms/snares. I've used G1 clear and coated resos.
A bit more controlled is the new G-Plus head. I had some frosted G Pluses on my Gretsch toms and they sounded warm but more resonant than the EC's.

I personally would use an EQ3 bass drum batter with an EQ1 reso but have not tried the Onyx heads.
I've given up on the Emads as the infamous plastic retaining ring always seems to shatter (break) at one point.

You may also want to consider Aquarians (my fav). The Super-2's are a competitor to G2's and sounded great on my Yamaha toms (coated). You also should check out the SuperKick series of Bass drum heads.Some guys that don't use Aquarian on their other drums will have a SuperKick I or II on their bass drum.

HTH

Jim

[JAKD-UP]

I agree with everyone else. I'm about to record a few tracks for my band's first EP and went to get new heads. Been playing remo pinstripes for awhile but decided they were just too dead for my taste. Triple flanged hoops helped open them up a little but not much. So I decided to go back to Evans. They just "feel" better for some reason.

I was so undecided between the EC stuff and the G2 coated/G1 combo. After talking with a guy at the drum store and tapping on different heads I realized I like having control of muting/deadening my drums if they need it...instead of the head doing it for me. So I went with the G2 coated/G1 combo on my toms and couldn't be happier. For the kick I wanted a Superkick 2 but they didn't have any in stock for my size (26"). So I went with a clear eq3 and am glad I did.

what kind of sound are you looking for?

[zoomasslive123]

Thanks for the responses guys, although I was hoping for at least one person to say they actually like the combo I got! I guess I will have to decide for myself whether or not I am happy with the sound. JAKD, to answer your question I am looking for a nice low-end sound without a lot of "ringing" if no external dampening is used. Having learned more and more about correct tuning of drums, I know that a lot of ringing or overtones can be caused by the drums not being in tune with themselves, but while I also don't want the drums to have very long sustain, which I know can be controlled by moon gel etcetera which I have used for years now. I guess I was thinking I wanted to try something new and see what the "latest and greatest" had to offer. I'm sorry to hear that my new kit is going to sound muted and dead, but like I said, I will have to be the judge I guess.

[JAKD-UP]

Oh you already bought them? Ok...I thought you were just looking into them. I wasn't downing them cause I have never tried them. I had just read/heard that they were the equivalent to remo pinstripes, in which I have had experience with. I see what your saying as far as the sound your wanting. Ever thought about trying die-cast hoops? Your DW's probably have triple flanged hoops so the heads you picked might not sound to bad. Actually it might be exactly what your looking for the more I think about it.

[mcbike]

I think your toms will sound very punchy, warm and have short sustain.
your kick will sound very punchy and dry. You won't need any external muffling with that set up.

The overall volume of your toms will probably be relatively quiet though and it might be a problem if your kit isn't usually mic'd at live performances.

[Chaos_Inferno]

I had Coated EC2's over EC Resos on my Rockstars before, with an 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 setup....

With three horrible mics and no knowledge of how to use a mixer, this is what they sounded like:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1718971/drummin/drum%20sound%20check%20%282%29.mp3

I think with the right tuning and in the right situation they could sound good, but in the future you'd probably be better off with G2's or whatever.

On that note, I have Ambassadors all around over G Pluses.... and I'm debating on next time whether I should put G Pluses on top as well or G2's. I think I'm going to try Evans again, I'd never put Remo on a whole kit before besides a snare drum and I think I want to try some two ply heads.... The Ambassadors are great, just not exactly what I was expecting on my Force 3007s. Smaller setup this time too, only 8, 10, 12, 14... and the depth is an inch shallower on my 8". I'm thinking Clear G pluses, I want something really resonant and full but really warm and dark.

[zoomasslive123]

Well, unfortunately I think you guys were right on the money. I put the new skins on the other day and played them, then brought them back up to tune again. The first thing I noticed was the "plasticky" attack, especially on the floor toms. The 16" actually had a great resonance after the initial attack, but I could not stand hitting it more than once in a fill because of the unnatural attack.

I bit the bullet and followed a lot of people's advice/user comments and bought some G2 Coated Batters and some G1 Clear Reso's. They'll be coming in the mail on Wednesday, hopefully I won't be let down again.

I did, however, like the sound of the bass drum, powerful and punchy, so I am keeping that combo for now.

Next time I will remember to do a little more research on this forum before I go and buy new gear.

[larryace]

Also, you could try (with a blowdryer, I did it) taking those silvery rings off the EC2 which will leave you with (I think) a clear G2.

I don't believe in pre muffled heads. If you don't mic and you want your drums to sound like drums, premuffled heads cut out a lot of higher frequencies, unmuffled heads preserve all those wonderful overtones that gives your tom sound "legs" so that the nice wood tone makes it to the audience.

Overtones are beautiful! (assuming a beautifully tuned drum)

[Mendozart]

Also, you could try (with a blowdryer, I did it) taking those silvery rings off the EC2 which will leave you with (I think) a clear G2.


Wow, that's interesting. How easily did the silvery rings come out?

[konaboy]

Well, unfortunately I think you guys were right on the money. I put the new skins on the other day and played them, then brought them back up to tune again. The first thing I noticed was the "plasticky" attack, especially on the floor toms. The 16" actually had a great resonance after the initial attack, but I could not stand hitting it more than once in a fill because of the unnatural attack.

I bit the bullet and followed a lot of people's advice/user comments and bought some G2 Coated Batters and some G1 Clear Reso's. They'll be coming in the mail on Wednesday, hopefully I won't be let down again.

I did, however, like the sound of the bass drum, powerful and punchy, so I am keeping that combo for now.

Next time I will remember to do a little more research on this forum before I go and buy new gear.

Always better to ask before you buy then buy before you ask ;-) I think you'll be happy wit the G2/G1 combo.

I switched to evans a year or so ago, heads tuned easy but I did notice they have a little bit more plastic attack compared to remo.

[2bsticks]

Have you tried the Remo clear or coated Emperors over the Ambassador? Great combo IMO. Nice resonance and punch without the plastic attack.

[Mathew 7:21]

What heads were on them when you got them? I never liked1 ply heads on my drums but my dws sound alot better with 1 ply heads, they just dont seem to get along well with 2 plys. The best sound I got with 2plys was clear emps. I always seem to go back to the stock dw heads. The drum shop that I deal with keeps them in stock they say alot of people with dws use the stock heads.

[konaboy]

What heads were on them when you got them? I never liked1 ply heads on my drums but my dws sound alot better with 1 ply heads, they just dont seem to get along well with 2 plys. The best sound I got with 2plys was clear emps. I always seem to go back to the stock dw heads. The drum shop that I deal with keeps them in stock they say alot of people with dws use the stock heads.

I have to say every DW kit I've heard or played with stock heads always sounded really good.

[Steady Freddy]

I play DWs also. One of my kits likes coated G2s over clear G1s. The other kit likes clear G Pluses over clear G1s.

Stay away from the pre muffled heads on DWs. We pay a lot for those shells. Let them be heard!

[jodgey4]

Have you tried the Remo clear or coated Emperors over the Ambassador? Great combo IMO. Nice resonance and punch without the plastic attack.

Evans defiantly have more plastic sound, because the metal ring that holds them is not near as strong as Remo or Aquarian. That makes them hard to tune, harder for them to stay in tune, and overall just not as good of quality as other heads. Sure Evans is creative, but I think any kit could sound better with Aquarian or Remo equivalents, because they are built better. Go to the Aquarian site and check them out, I heard that they used to supply the heads for DW, and now Remo is doing the heads in the style of the old Aquarians. I could be completely wrong however. Emperors over Ambassadors is a classic tried and true set up. Emperors act more like one ply heads than two. I'm probably going to do that but with both the Aquarian coated equivalents (Super-2's or Response-2's over satin coated). Die cast hoops is also a fantastic opportunity to try something new, and it should give you the fantastic sound you need.

[Nytak]

I just put Evans G2/G1 on all my toms (vision vbx) and I absolutely love the sound! They sound great un-muffled, and they sound good with e-rings too, all depends on what you want to get out of them. I think you'll be happy w/ the G2's.

[Ainulindale]

Evans defiantly have more plastic sound, because the metal ring that holds them is not near as strong as Remo or Aquarian. That makes them hard to tune, harder for them to stay in tune, and overall just not as good of quality as other heads. Sure Evans is creative, but I think any kit could sound better with Aquarian or Remo equivalents, because they are built better.

this is pure crap.

i will not say a word about Aquarians, too hard to find so i have never used them, however...

it drives me crazy saying evans heads have a more plasticky or slappy sound, this is untrue - the most plastic, wet, slappy sounding heads i have ever played are clear pinstripes and clear ec2s - notice the common theme here? clear heads sound brighter, slappier, wetter, "more plastic" then coated heads - regardless of who manufactures them...
and to say that evans hoops are "not as strong...and diffucult to tune" simply does not ring true, i have played on g2s, ec2s and g1s - always easy to tune and proved extremely durable, durability is actually the reason i am going to switch back to evans in the new year...

sorry, rant over

[konaboy]

this is pure crap.

i will not say a word about Aquarians, too hard to find so i have never used them, however...

it drives me crazy saying evans heads have a more plasticky or slappy sound, this is untrue - the most plastic, wet, slappy sounding heads i have ever played are clear pinstripes and clear ec2s - notice the common theme here? clear heads sound brighter, slappier, wetter, "more plastic" then coated heads - regardless of who manufactures them...
and to say that evans hoops are "not as strong...and diffucult to tune" simply does not ring true, i have played on g2s, ec2s and g1s - always easy to tune and proved extremely durable, durability is actually the reason i am going to switch back to evans in the new year...

sorry, rant over


All I know is in a side by side test I did a clear G2 has more of a plastic attack to it than a clear emperor.