EMAD on 18" kick fitment issues

scarlit

Silver Member
I picked up an 18" EMAD for my recently purchased Custom Classic jazz kit. However, the head seems to be a little big. I can't get the wood hoop to sit straight due to the head being a little bigger.

Anyone encountered similar issues? I've had 22" EMADs for years and they are great.
 
I've had the same issue on a variety of makes of drums, heads, and sizes. I even went so far as to bevel the inner edge of the hoops on a Mapex kit I owned. Imprecise standards seem to be common and I think it's a frustration for head and drum makers alike.
 
That's because you are putting an EMAD on a Jazz kit
The bass drum and the head are rejecting each other :)
Sounds like that isn't the head for that kit.
Try an Aquarian head. They always seem to be tighter than Evans to me for some reason.
 
I picked up an 18" EMAD for my recently purchased Custom Classic jazz kit. However, the head seems to be a little big. I can't get the wood hoop to sit straight due to the head being a little bigger.

Anyone encountered similar issues? I've had 22" EMADs for years and they are great.

That sounds like a quality control issue over at Evans. If you had an 18" head that was too small for your bass drum hoops than you could say it was because you're using a 18" tom head instead of a bass drum head. But your case is vice-versa. I say send it back to Evans and ask them what gives. If it's happening with your drum, it'll happen with other 18" bass drums too.
 
Maybe your bass drum shell is a little undersized? More likely the head is oversize though.

I've got Emads on a couple Yamaha 18" kicks with no problems. Can you try the head on another 18" bass drum somewhere - like maybe a drum shop or something?
 
I don't think it's the head-to-shell fit he's talking about (correct me if I'm wrong, OP). I think he is talking about the hoop hitting the collar of the head before is seats fully against the head's counterhoop. I'm surprised nobody else has had this issue, as I've experienced it with a variety of equipment, and Andy and Evans Specialist have both mentioned encountering it from a manufacturer's point of view...
 
I have an EMAD on 18" BD of my 2011 Custom USA Gretsch kit....it fits like a glove and - as you already know with your 22" bd.....killer sound! My drum has a Nitro (Pearl) wrap and the wrap does not carry on to the bearing edges.......leaving for a nice loose-like very tunible fit.

I spoke with Paul Cooper at the Gretsch factory a while back. I can't recall how we got onto the subject but he did mention Gretsch has not had QC issues with EVANS.

A test would be to compare your 18 EMAD with one or more 18 EMAD heads (at a large drum retailer). Failing that...take precise diameter measurements of the EMAD head
and contact EMAD with your results. If it's a little large and that's how they build them at least you'd now have that info. And it may be helpful for others on the Forum to know this as well.
 
Due to the manufacturing process the hoops go through, it's very unlikely that the fit issue was caused by variance on our end (the head wouldn't have been compatible with certain machinery if the hoop was out of spec). Still, I'm definitely willing to send a replacement in the off chance that there was an issue. Please contact me directly at [email protected].

As I've been deeply involved with Level 360 bass drum head development, I toke measurements of a wide variety of drums in different make/model/year and noticed some pretty wide differences in both shell size and counterhoop size. We'll be doing our best to accommodate the widest range possible (just as we did with Level 360 tom and snare heads) but we're also aware that certain manufacturers are making changes to their specs as certain fit issues have surfaced.
 
... I think he is talking about the hoop hitting the collar of the head before is seats fully against the head's counterhoop...


I think scarlit needs to check back into this thread with some pics.

He says "... the head seems to be a little big. I can't get the wood hoop to sit straight due to the head being a little bigger...."

If the head is actually bigger than the hoop, then the hoop wouldn't fit over it at all.
Otherwise, it sounds like something's warped.
Hard to say without some pics though.
 
The wood hoop is a little small for the head. See the picture below. I can get close to centering it on the head, but the wood hoop is not touching the metal ring at all. I don't know if that would be an issue going forward.

100_0885_zps0fa63c54.jpg
 
The wood hoop is a little small for the head. See the picture below. I can get close to centering it on the head, but the wood hoop is not touching the metal ring at all. I don't know if that would be an issue going forward.

100_0885_zps0fa63c54.jpg

OK, you are having exactly the problem I thought you were having. It is a pretty common issue, but that is the WORST case of hoop-to-head fit I have seen! That's really severe.

You may need to try another brand of head or even contact the drum manufacturer to see what they have to say. Worst case scenario - you could pick up a new set of hoops or bevel the inside edge of those hoops if you can find no heads that fit well (and that you WANT to use).
 
Assuming the counter hoop is in round (which isn't always the case), this is an issue we've seen in some rare cases due to an undersized inner diameter on the counter hoop. Our Level 360 bass drum design should help to mitigate the issue.
 
Assuming the counter hoop is in round (which isn't always the case), this is an issue we've seen in some rare cases due to an undersized inner diameter on the counter hoop. Our Level 360 bass drum design should help to mitigate the issue.

I'm going to shoot you an email.
 
And btw, I hope people don't see this as a Evans bashing thread. I have been playing evans heads since pretty much day 1 (more than 10 years) and they are great. The EMAD I have on my Saturn 22"m, I've had it for probably over 4 years and it's still going strong. Sound guys love the kick.
 
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