Remo user trying Evans for the first time... Thoughts...

SgtThump

Platinum Member
I've been switching between Emperors, Ambassadors, and Vintage Emperors on the snare and toms lately (all coated.) I recently decided to try Evans, because I wanted to try something different AND I wanted something where the coating holds up.

I ended up putting coated G1s on the 13, 16, and 18 tom batters and a coated G1 on the snare batter. I have the stock Ludwig clear resos on the toms and a Remo Ambassador snare-side on the snare reso.

So... I've had the G1s on there for a week or so and I'm super glad to say that the coating basically shows no/very little signs of wear. The Remos would've had the coating worn down at the hit spots within an hour. So yay for that!!!!

I will say that I love the deep tone I get on the toms. There's no need for moon gel or anything like that. The toms sound huge and warm! Love it!

However, I'm not so sure about this G1 on the snare. I like a snare to be open and ringy. I'm playing a brass edition 6.5 x 14 supra. The G1 appears to be the thinnest coated snare head Evans makes, which is why I went with it. But it seems like the coating used on this head really deadens the ring and overtones.

I've read a few comments on here that mentioned "if you can tell a difference" between the G1 and Ambassdor...... IF??? It's really hard NOT to tell the difference. They're enormous in my eyes (or ears, I guess.)

So... Is this a similar experience that others have had? Even the thinnest Evans coated snare batter head isn't "open" enough sounding for me. I still want to give it a shot and I'm dying for it to work, but I'm pretty undecided at this point.

Any tips? Anyone else feel the same way? Am I crazy?

Chris
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. On an Evans coated head that I thought sounded a little too choked, blasphemous I know, but I would get one of those green abrasive scotch pads and take off excess coating. It seems like some heads get more coating than others. Or you could just keep it on, play it, and the excess coating will naturally wear away and the sound will change over time. But when they're new, some Evans coated heads sound a little dead/choked.
 
For my taste, on a brass Ludwig like you mention, I think a coated Evans G2 would sound great. They sound like a coated emperor, but a tad more open and "bitier". They allow the drum to ring out with a nice high end bite like a thinner head, but it also has durability and midrange meat. It sounds great on brass drums, especially Luddies.
 
Anyone else feel the same way? Am I crazy?

Funny you mention the G1 on the snare. This may be the ONLY Evans head I don't like for my snare drums. Yet I love the PC reverse dot which is essentially a G1 with a dot underneath. How different can it really be? Yet to me it sounds so much better. Go figure. I switch back and forth between Remo and Evans for toms but my snares have Evans heads all the time. They just tune up really well and stay in tune.
 
For my taste, on a brass Ludwig like you mention, I think a coated Evans G2 would sound great. They sound like a coated emperor, but a tad more open and "bitier". They allow the drum to ring out with a nice high end bite like a thinner head, but it also has durability and midrange meat. It sounds great on brass drums, especially Luddies.

I haven't tried a G2, so I can't say anything from experience. But you'd sure think that a 2-ply G2 would be less "open" than a 1-ply G1, no?
 
I know exactly what you are talking about. On an Evans coated head that I thought sounded a little too choked, blasphemous I know, but I would get one of those green abrasive scotch pads and take off excess coating. It seems like some heads get more coating than others. Or you could just keep it on, play it, and the excess coating will naturally wear away and the sound will change over time. But when they're new, some Evans coated heads sound a little dead/choked.

I sure hope I warm up to it, because dummy be bought a 2-pack on sale. LOL There's a brand new looking G1 on my snare and one in a bag right next to it. Doh! :)
 
I haven't tried a G2, so I can't say anything from experience. But you'd sure think that a 2-ply G2 would be less "open" than a 1-ply G1, no?

I understand your logic and yes, you would think the single ply G1 would sound more open. But, at least for me, the G2 sounds more open (maybe due to different sound characteristics from the head that accentuate the metal shell?) and allows the brass shell to really sing out. The G2 has a richer tonality when played on a metal snare IMO that makes it seem like the drum delivers more tone. I know many guys who own black beauties and other brass shelled snares go with a coated emp or coated G2. Not saying the G1 or an ambassador wouldn't sound great, but the coated G2's have a certain mojo on brass drums. I run one on my snares and for me, it sounds alot better than an ambassador or G1. The PC reverse dot is a great head too, as mentioned above. It has the openness of the ambassador and the meat and durability of a 2 ply.
 
I understand your logic and yes, you would think the single ply G1 would sound more open. But, at least for me, the G2 sounds more open (maybe due to different sound characteristics from the head that accentuate the metal shell?) and allows the brass shell to really sing out. The G2 has a richer tonality when played on a metal snare IMO that makes it seem like the drum delivers more tone. I know many guys who own black beauties and other brass shelled snares go with a coated emp or coated G2. Not saying the G1 or an ambassador wouldn't sound great, but the coated G2's have a certain mojo on brass drums. I run one on my snares and for me, it sounds alot better than an ambassador or G1. The PC reverse dot is a great head too, as mentioned above. It has the openness of the ambassador and the meat and durability of a 2 ply.

Hmmmm... I think I know what I'll try next. :) Thanks for the info.
 
Re: Remote user trying Evans for the first time... Thoughts...

The Evans Power Center Reverse Dot is a great sounding snare batter head. I use it on all my snare drums except two of them. They sound great live and recorded. Just recently I listened to a snare drum batter head shootout. They were testing about eight different batter heads. I believe they were using a Ludwig Black Beauty as the reference drum which was sampled by a Shure SM57. Out of all the heads that were demoed, I and several other people picked the Reverse Dot head as being in the top two or three. Most of my snare drums happen to be wooden shells of some make or another, maple, bubinga and mahogany/poplar/mahogany.

This was originally recorded in March 2008.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...otout.html?highlight=snare+drum+head+shootout

Dennis
 
Last edited:
Re: Remote user trying Evans for the first time... Thoughts...

The Evans Power Center Reverse Dot is a great sounding snare batter head. I use it on all my snare drums except two of them. They sound great live and recorded. Just recently I listened to a snare drum batter head shootout. They were testing about eight different batter heads. I believe they were using a Ludwig Black Beauty as the reference drum which was sampled by a Shure SM57. Out of all the heads that were demoed, I and several other people picked the Reverse Dot head as being in the top two or three. Most of my snare drums happen to be wooden shells of some make or another, maple, bubinga and mahogany/poplar/mahogany.

This was originally recorded in March 2008.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...otout.html?highlight=snare+drum+head+shootout

Dennis

Thank you very much for the info. Just when I think I'm getting this stuff figured out, I realize I must be wrong! LOL

For example, I would expect any snare head with a center dot to be less "open" sounding than one without (all other things begin equal.) I would also expect the G2 to be less "open" sounding than the G1.

I feel my head starting to spin again... ha ha

I guess I could try a few different Evans snare batter heads before giving up. I just figured this G1 should be the most open sounding and it's not as open as the Remo heads I've used before. I didn't think different Evans heads could actually be more open sounding?

Weird! I think I know what my next gear adventure will be... :) At least heads are cheap compared to cymbals. :)
 
I have used (and liked) the G Plus, Genera Dry, Power Center, EC Reverse Dot, and Power Center Reverse Dot. Currently I have a white coated G Plus on my main 5.5x14 steel snare, a frosted G Plus on my 3.5x14 piccolo, and a Genera Dry on the 5x12 maple snare.

I will agree that if you are looking for the pop and the tone, a Power Center (regular or reverse) will do you well. I also strongly recommend the G Plus - I have been in love with those heads on my snares since I started using them over a year ago. Powerful, full of tone, and still sensitive. And durable. The four-month-old coated G Plus on my main snare looks as if it just came out of the box. I get plenty of ring and body with the G Plus - rimshots on my steel snares get the "glank" sound you would probably love.

The other heads I listed will definitely control the overtones, which, from what you say, is not what you want.
 
First, kudos to the Gearslutz forum in general. Aside from drum info from the drum boards I frequent, I find Gearslutz to be one of the most informative and useful forums when it comes to using drums in recording and recording in general.

Reading through the thread it strikes me that just like the preferences we have as what we like to hear in drumming, pedals, snare sounds etc., even under-the-microsope recorded sounds have very subjective effects with different people.

For example the poster chrisso is probably Chris Whitten of Dire Straits/Paul McCartney who uses the same handle over at Drummer Cafe. Chris is quite the guy when it comes to drum sounds as he is partners and a sound provider for some of the Superior Drums/EZ Drummer samples at Toontrack. Yet he is against some of the most popular head choices (G2 in particular) with others weighing in here and there differently on what sounds good to them.

We should all keep that in mind when it comes to registering our opinions on what's 'good' and what's not.

I'm still on that quest to find the perfect head for each snare and it seems to matter as to what I'm using the drum for and where I'm using it. One of the snares that seems to consistently mate with one head choice is my Pork Pie 5 x 13 maple snare. I've tried several heads on it but keep going back to coated G2's. To me it always sounds at least very good and sometimes outstanding with that head and I've gotten comments to support my opinion from different people in different places. Sadly none of my other snares are quite as consistent with head choices even though they are great sounding snares.

I thought the G2 in the shootout sounded great although I'd have a hard time using a clear head on my snare unless someone in the process was really lobbying for it or it had proven itself in some random way before walking into the studio or venue.

I've tried all of the heads in the shootout except the Hi Energy. I have used and still use Aquarians on several of my drums, the latest being a Modern Vintage on my Pork Pie 6 x 13 maple snare (the 5's slightly bigger brother) and some Response 2's on my live Gretsch toms. I'm finding that in general, I like a medium or medium thin head in general for all drums except bass drums. Anything thick sounds ..well...too thick and not responsive enough.

Jim
 
Hmmmm...interesting video. I actually liked the sound of the G1 better than the G2 in your recording, but that G2 sounded alot duller and middier than what I hear on my own drum. In this case, your assumption of a brighter more open sound with a G1 over G2 has been confirmed. On my drum, the G2 sounds like the G1 in your video. Go figure? I'm assuming you didn't dig the G2 so much? Too muddy sounding compared to the single ply G1? Maybe you would like the PC reverse dot best of all. It sounds alot like a coated ambassador, but has a touch more meat in the center due to the dot underneath...plus it's durable. I just placed a coated G14 on my snare to try out at the next gig and so far just from tuning it and tapping around, it sounds pretty good. We'll see. I like the sound I get from a coated G2 on my snares, but I'm always looking to find something that may sound better or fit the current slot in my transient taste for snare sounds. Durability is a big issue as well, so that narrows the field somewhat :/
 
I have two main snares. One is a Ludwig 6.5x14 supraphonic and it sounds the best, IMO, with a coated ambassador or coated Evans G2 or emperor. A Remo coated CS reverse dot, coated vintage emperor, Evans PC reverse dot and Gplus didn't sound as good. On my Joyful noise 6.5x14 steambent maple snare, the coated ambassador is too thin, the G2 sounds great, the PC reverse dot sounds good, the CS reverse dot sounds good and the G14 sounds good. The coated G2 just seems to win out so far, but I'm not done experimenting yet.
 
To me, they actually sound more similar than I expected. The G2 was a little tiny bit more "muffled" (for lack of a better term), but not as much as I expected. Pretty similar, IMO!

I like the feel of the Evans heads for sure. These seem to have more bounce or something.

I'm amazed at their coating and even how easily they tuned. I just need to find the right head or they need to grow on me (which is starting to happen a little.)
 
To me, they actually sound more similar than I expected. The G2 was a little tiny bit more "muffled" (for lack of a better term), but not as much as I expected. Pretty similar, IMO!

I like the feel of the Evans heads for sure. These seem to have more bounce or something.

I'm amazed at their coating and even how easily they tuned. I just need to find the right head or they need to grow on me (which is starting to happen a little.)

Well that's cool then. In person, the G2 does sound pretty open and like you would expect, just a tad bit more "muffled" as you say, being a 2 ply head. They are nice heads, the coating lasts forever and they do tune up esily. So, what are you leaning towards? Are you going to try some other types? PC reverse dot? G plus or G 14? To me, the G2 is the most open of Evans' 2ply heads. If you are still looking for an openish sound and haven't found it yet, the PC reverse dot, G plus and G 14 are all 1 ply heads. Then you get into the prefuffled stuff and specialty heads and I'm not sure you'll like them. Please let us know what you come up with :)
 
Well that's cool then. In person, the G2 does sound pretty open and like you would expect, just a tad bit more "muffled" as you say, being a 2 ply head. They are nice heads, the coating lasts forever and they do tune up esily. So, what are you leaning towards? Are you going to try some other types? PC reverse dot? G plus or G 14? To me, the G2 is the most open of Evans' 2ply heads. If you are still looking for an openish sound and haven't found it yet, the PC reverse dot, G plus and G 14 are all 1 ply heads. Then you get into the prefuffled stuff and specialty heads and I'm not sure you'll like them. Please let us know what you come up with :)

Thanks for all the help (you and everyone else!)

I'm not sure what I'll try next. The G1 and G2 both seem to be the most open sounding heads they have (1ply and 2ply), so I'm really confused as what to try next.

There's a chance I'll stick with the G1 and give it alot more time.
 
Back
Top