G14 / G plus…Thoughts?

I received my G14 heads yesterday, put them on the drums, and tuned them This weekend I will get them tweaked. First thing I noticed was how heavy they are. In a good way.You can thump them right out of the box and get somewhat of a tone.One thing I did notice is that they are a little cloudy, not super clear. Not sure if that is the new material or what but it is of no concern to me. My first impression audio wise was how hefty they seem to be. I felt like I could pound on the all day and do no damage. They have great sustain, no ring, and for a real heavy hitter they would probably make good snare heads.
I will put up a sound byte this weekend on my Gretsch Renowns so all can here the effect. My only issue is with the 8 inch tom, but that has always been a PITA for me to tune. Being a heavier product they dont seem to wrap on the bearing edge correctly but I think I will crank that drum and let it sit for a while.The 14 and 16 floor toms really rumble if I tuned them low and are very clear if I tune them higher

Anyone else with an 8 inch Renown tom that has no problems tuning it give me a shout.
I feel that Evans has scored well with these heavy heads. They may not be everyones cup of tea, but for the G2 user who wants a little more beef or a one ply head, try these out.
 
Well done. Sounds like ideal floor tom heads (12"on down?).W/ the one piece thicker film it does get visually hazy (as the EC1's did, even though this is different film, according to Evans. After all G1's have a slight haze). Those G2's are crystal clear w/ the plies of 7mil. I would guess they can have very clear film at that thickness, but it's not sonically (maybe brittle ?) what they want/need for drumheads?

So, how about the volume bump that is prominent in the advertising of the G14?
 
I don't know if they are louder by themselves, but when you play them louder they dont lose any quality of sound.
 
I received my G14 heads yesterday, put them on the drums, and tuned them This weekend I will get them tweaked. First thing I noticed was how heavy they are. In a good way.You can thump them right out of the box and get somewhat of a tone.One thing I did notice is that they are a little cloudy, not super clear. Not sure if that is the new material or what but it is of no concern to me. My first impression audio wise was how hefty they seem to be. I felt like I could pound on the all day and do no damage. They have great sustain, no ring, and for a real heavy hitter they would probably make good snare heads.
I will put up a sound byte this weekend on my Gretsch Renowns so all can here the effect. My only issue is with the 8 inch tom, but that has always been a PITA for me to tune. Being a heavier product they dont seem to wrap on the bearing edge correctly but I think I will crank that drum and let it sit for a while.The 14 and 16 floor toms really rumble if I tuned them low and are very clear if I tune them higher

Anyone else with an 8 inch Renown tom that has no problems tuning it give me a shout.
I feel that Evans has scored well with these heavy heads. They may not be everyones cup of tea, but for the G2 user who wants a little more beef or a one ply head, try these out.
Very good info, & I'm super keen to hear your recording with these heads. Any chance of a comparison recording, sort of a side by side before & after kinda deal (obviously, recorded separately)? I'm grateful for anything you can put up :)

This, from Evans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwaYeEaHeGA Honestly, from a manufacturer, this is a pretty poor demo recording. I like the fact that it's recorded with a camera mic, but the placement & playing style do nothing to inform the listener. Wailing on a kit is no way to demonstrate sustain for example. At least get some slow single tom hits in there. Evans guys, if you're lurking, set up a couple of nice overheads in a good room. Run a flat recording = no processing, & set up a line of toms, snares, bass drums, whatever. Make sure they're multiples of the same drum, same tuning, each one fitted with a different Evans head combo. Go from one to the next with single strikes, then finish with a brief performance piece on each if you really must ;). Now that would be a useful marketing tool! Come on guys, you're a manufacturer of some size, get your act together.

Sorry for the mini rant Grunt.
 
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Sorry no comparison other than my 2 minute solo if you wish to suffer thru that again, but here is the sound byte of the new G14. I even remembered to turn off my snares
Recorded on my Zoom HD4
 

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Sorry no comparison other than my 2 minute solo if you wish to suffer thru that again, but here is the sound byte of the new G14. I even remembered to turn off my snares
Recorded on my Zoom HD4
Thanks for that. I didn't realise you used the G14's on your 2 minute solo. This sound clip is nice. Are you playing gently - medium? I'm getting nice head resonance but with a touch less slap than G2's, is that a fair comparison?

Great stuff!
 
I didn't mean to be confusing. The 2 minute solo was with G2 coated heads.
I am not a heavy hitter and was just playing. I would say medium. I can do a light and then heavy comparison if needed. I can just see these heads lasting forever because of the thickness. I have slammed them a few times and the sound was louder but not at all distorted.
 
They sound great Gruntersdad would love to hear different dynamic levels and maybe a little fooling around like a rock beat into 16ths roll across the set. Also what are you using for reso heads?

Keep Rockin'
 
Reso's are G1 clears, Evans

A few with dynamics.
 

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Those sound great might have to go out and buy some. Thanks for the clip.
 
Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely take this to note. I'm going to be experimenting with some bass drum designs in the near future too. Cheers!

Bass drum design as in: Let's see if we can't come up with the equivalency of the Fiberskyn?... ;o))))))))))
 
Not quite, we're about innovation, not imitation. :)

Of course not... Ambassador - G1, Emperor - G2, black dot, reverse dot... I do understand what you mean... But nevertheless, I do prefer Evans over Remo... I think the quality is better... but just keep it up there Mr. Evans... Just keep it up there...
 
I've been using G14 clears on my touring Keystones (where I hit hard) and G Plus (12mil) clear on my local Keystones (where I play at a moderate level) and love both. They do need to played a little harder than say a G1 to get them to sing, but they really sound great for mid-high volume gigs. G1 clear resos on all.

Bermuda
 
My rack toms generally start at 12", and I use the same weight thru the 18". But I do have a 10" tom for my local Keystones, and would consider using a G1 (10mil) on that.

A G2 is not going to sing quite as well, since it's a 2-ply head and more suited to punch than a clear sustain. That's not to say they're muffled or don't have any decay, they just aren't designed to sing like a 1-ply head.

Bermuda
 
Ah, it would appear that Evans have removed the video I highlighted earlier in this thread. Good move Evans!

As a side issue, but related, we're using mostly Evans heads in our honest capture drum recording sessions next week. D'Addario in the UK have been very good & delivered a big selection of heads for us to use. I have both G+ & G14 clear heads in the mix, & I'm pretty sure they"ll feature on at least one of the kit videos, & D'Addario have expressed an interest in using these videos on their sites.

I do like the idea of progressive head thickness from small to large drum sizes. Not something I've experimented with too much, so I'll be giving that a go. The only caution in my mind is that I've sometimes had better results with thicker heads on small toms (especially 8"). I'll report back here, but you'll see the results for yourselves in a couple of weeks time.
 
My rack toms generally start at 12", and I use the same weight thru the 18". But I do have a 10" tom for my local Keystones, and would consider using a G1 (10mil) on that.

A G2 is not going to sing quite as well, since it's a 2-ply head and more suited to punch than a clear sustain. That's not to say they're muffled or don't have any decay, they just aren't designed to sing like a 1-ply head.

Bermuda

I do EXACTLY the same! G1 on the 10", then G2 on 12", 14" and 16". Emad on bass, of course. G1 for bottom. Reverse dot or Genera dry for snares with 300.
 
I put coated G Plus heads on the batter sides of the Mapex Saturn toms at church, 13" and 16". When I played them last night, the toms sounded great. This may become my go-to head. Peace and goodwill.
 
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