Evans G2 Clear v.s Evans EC2 SST Clear

(Future)DWdrummer

Senior Member
The time has come...

For new drum heads :D

Do any of you have any comments about the G2 Clears or the EC2 Clears? Particularly, any comments about the sounds these two heads USUALLY give... I mostly play rock music. I know that saying i play "rock" is SUPPER vague and general... But that's the type of sound I'm looking for, for my toms- a nice thick, easily - distinguishible rock sound.

I have a DW collectors series drum set with a 13' by 11' rack tom and a 16' by 14' floor tom..

Thanks :D
 
Both are great heads. The EC2's are ganna sound a little "plasticky" compared to the G2's. but nothing that an audience would notice. I'm actually switching over to Aquarian Super 2 clears with built in studio X ring. I think you'ld be more pleased with them in a rock setting. Zero unwanted overtones.

I use E-rings on the G2's and if u can believe it, the EC2's aswell. The Ec2's are supposed to be pre-dampened, but honestly, it's very unnoticeable IMO.

If I had to choose between the two Evans, I would get the G2's and throw on so E-rings. If I was to choose something else ( which I am ), I would go with Aquarian Super 2 clear with studio X ring. They have the right amount of dampening with zero overtones IMO.
 
I played both live and so far I am preferring the G2 clears. To my ears they sound more lively but I don't know (as the other member posted) that the audience would notice anything different. To my ears I feel the G2's have a wider tuning range. I have been using G2 clears over G1 clear for live gigs for almost two years now. I play my toms wide open with no dampening. Sometimes my sound guy will slap a moon gel on my floor tom but that is it.

I can give more feedback after I use these (EC2 SST) a few more times. The last few venues I played at could fit about 1500 people so decent sized venues.
 
I find the EC2s provide a bit rounder note with less attack. I would not necessarily think of them as pre-dampened, exactly, but the ink rings do smooth the sound out a little bit. I am currently using them on my kit but will likely not use them again because I want a livelier sound with more bite.

Speaking for myself, I would not put rings on either the G2 or EC2. Properly tuned, those overtones are part of what keep the drum from sounding like cardboard to the audience. Tastes vary, though.

Short answer to your question - I'd go with G2s.
 
I find the EC2s provide a bit rounder note with less attack. I would not necessarily think of them as pre-dampened, exactly, but the ink rings do smooth the sound out a little bit. I am currently using them on my kit but will likely not use them again because I want a livelier sound with more bite.

Speaking for myself, I would not put rings on either the G2 or EC2. Properly tuned, those overtones are part of what keep the drum from sounding like cardboard to the audience. Tastes vary, though.

Short answer to your question - I'd go with G2s.

Attack is the stick hitting the drum head. The thicker the head, the more you hear the tip and/or strike of the drum head.

As for further muffling on pre muffled heads. Well like you say it's what people like and/or what the situation calls for. For a quick example, if you want an EQ'd sound while sitting behind the kit with no mics you would put the drums in a small room, make the snare as dry as possible, stuff a nice pillow in the bass drum for a 50/50 resonant thump, use Pinstripes or EC2's possibly with a piece of moongel on the toms of your choice to control the sustain and/or overtones and wala. It would also help to wear ear muffs as they add an "EQ'd" sound as well.

To get a true sound and to control what you want to hear or what you want the audience to hear would be Ambassador over Ambassador toms, no pillow in the bass drum and then Ambassador over Diplomat snare side on the snare and then the sound guy can do what he wants to make it sound the best.

Further muting of a two ply pre or non muted head is fine but it may not sound good to others if they are around the area.
 
Attack is the stick hitting the drum head. The thicker the head, the more you hear the tip and/or strike of the drum head.

I believe both heads are of the same thickness. And I don't believe thickness is the ONLY factor affecting attack.

Am I misunderstanding your point? I've used both these heads on my kit and am simply offering a comparison based on my observation and experience. No theory involved...
 
I believe both heads are of the same thickness. And I don't believe thickness is the ONLY factor affecting attack.

Am I misunderstanding your point? I've used both these heads on my kit and am simply offering a comparison based on my observation and experience. No theory involved...

Yes I know they are the same thickness which is why I find it hard to believe there would be less attack.

I wonder if Evans uses a different type of mylar for each of their drum heads. Maybe the EC2 is less "plastic" like compared to the G2? The general rule of thumb is the harder the surface the more you hear the strike of an object against it. So it would stand to reason that attack refers to the stick hitting the head and with both being 14 mil (two ply) I'm lead to wonder just how much less attack there is between the EC2 and G2.

What's your take on attack lol? :)
 
I have played G1's live (and Ambassadors) and while they sound good the durability for me is just not there. I might get two gigs out of them. I recently used a G1 coated on my snare for a 2 hour set and afterward it was fairly beat up.

Not getting into the weeds just give you my .02. I have also noticed a noted increase in tone and clarity with the level 360 heads vs. the older Evans heads.


G1 360

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiFveDGd8GI

G2 360

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLjcVCQng2Y

Black Chrome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btrh8M-dh74

What I used to do is buy a couple of different heads for my 12" tom and see what I liked the best.
 
Yes I know they are the same thickness which is why I find it hard to believe there would be less attack.

I wonder if Evans uses a different type of mylar for each of their drum heads. Maybe the EC2 is less "plastic" like compared to the G2? The general rule of thumb is the harder the surface the more you hear the strike of an object against it. So it would stand to reason that attack refers to the stick hitting the head and with both being 14 mil (two ply) I'm lead to wonder just how much less attack there is between the EC2 and G2.

What's your take on attack lol? :)

I think the ink rings reduce some of the frequencies associated with attack.

CLARIFICATION - what I meant by "dampening" is something that reduces the sustain of the head, ie zero rings, lots of tape, pillows, etc. The ink rings on EC2 SST heads don't really seem to do that much - they just change the frequency characteristics of the head. I BELIEVE that is exactly what they are intended to do.
 
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I have played G1's live (and Ambassadors) and while they sound good the durability for me is just not there. I might get two gigs out of them. I recently used a G1 coated on my snare for a 2 hour set and afterward it was fairly beat up.

Not getting into the weeds just give you my .02. I have also noticed a noted increase in tone and clarity with the level 360 heads vs. the older Evans heads.

What I used to do is buy a couple of different heads for my 12" tom and see what I liked the best.

lol! I know exactly what you mean Airborne. I really want to go Amb over Amb on the toms of my X7 kit but I tend to get quite emotional with my playing and after a half dozen songs and just playing around they will be ready to be changed. These toms sing so beautifully with single ply clear heads on them. The stock heads that came with the X7 made them sound like high quality tenor drums when going from the 8" down to the 16".

Also yes my "examples" are not to be taken as final for those situations. Obviously like ID said it's what people like but in general those combos should be applied for those type of results. Like for instance when you get someone asking "how do I get that sound of said drummers drums on that CD I heard" well you either have to mic it and EQ or try and manually EQ them. Yes they may sound like cardboard to those from far away or sound bad up close but behind the kit they will be focused and similar to what you would get with a recording. Unless of course you want open and lively for jazz or something of that genre.

EDIT: Also yes that is a great way to test before you commit to a type of head. I'm thinking of buying the Drumdial or Tunebot and getting an Amb Clear, Emp Clear and Coated, Vintage Emp Clear and Coated and a Pinstripe to put over my "still new" Amb reso on my 10 or 12 and do a good test to see what I like the best. So far the middle ground seems to be clear Emperors but I'm a bit bored with that sound.
 
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I think the ink rings reduce some of the frequencies associated with attack.

CLARIFICATION - what I meant by "dampening" is something that reduces the sustain of the head, ie zero rings, lots of tape, pillows, etc. The ink rings on EC2 SST heads don't really seem to do that much - they just change the frequency characteristics of the head. I BELIEVE that is exactly what they are intended to do.

First I just want to say that my correction of your idea of attack was not to make you look incompetent at all. Just that the rule of thumb has always been the sound of the drum stick hitting the head is all and figured maybe you may have the wrong idea of what attack represents. In the end we all have our definitions for these things LOL! :)

As for the ring. That's an interesting theory. That sharp sound of the stick hitting very thick mylar could play a role in overtones so it may help with that along with the overtones from having more sustain from a thicker head. Also yes I believe the ring helps to focus the tone of the drum no matter the tuning range.
 
Yeah, usually it is a communication issue, lol.

I know what I hear. Now, describing it so someone else understands what I mean? That's something else entirely.
 
I prefer the clear G2, and I have used them both. Peace and goodwill.
 
G2 or Emperors for me. I have EC2's on my starclassic and imo they are killing my toms especially the smaller ones..
 
G2 or Emperors for me. I have EC2's on my starclassic and imo they are killing my toms especially the smaller ones..

I just put super2's on my 10 and 12. The 12 sounds great but I'm having trouble getting a sound I like out of the 10. I did have a G+ on it.
 
I wonder if Evans uses a different type of mylar for each of their drum heads. Maybe the EC2 is less "plastic" like compared to the G2? The general rule of thumb is the harder the surface the more you hear the strike of an object against it. So it would stand to reason that attack refers to the stick hitting the head and with both being 14 mil (two ply) I'm lead to wonder just how much less attack there is between the EC2 and G2.
/QUOTE]

We use the same film combination for the G2 and the EC2S. The only difference is the SST ink rings on the bottom side of the the EC2S, which attenuate higher frequencies in order to provide a more focused (often referred to as pre-EQ'd) sound. Since the higher frequencies are reduced, and "attack" often comes from upper mid/high frequencies, I can understand where the EC2S may have a less perceived attack. When tuned lower (as many people do with the EC2S), the attack is often perceived as greater (described as a "punchier" sound).
 
We use the same film combination for the G2 and the EC2S. The only difference is the SST ink rings on the bottom side of the the EC2S, which attenuate higher frequencies in order to provide a more focused (often referred to as pre-EQ'd) sound. Since the higher frequencies are reduced, and "attack" often comes from upper mid/high frequencies, I can understand where the EC2S may have a less perceived attack. When tuned lower (as many people do with the EC2S), the attack is often perceived as greater (described as a "punchier" sound).


Interesting take on attack and it does make sense. Thanks for the reply.
 
We use the same film combination for the G2 and the EC2S. The only difference is the SST ink rings on the bottom side of the the EC2S said:
So do you recommend a different tuning range for EC2S heads? You guys do an awesome job; sure my drums play a role in the sound of my kit but I know the heads are just as important. A lot of other guys think I change heads often but I always get compliments on my drums.
 
We use the same film combination for the G2 and the EC2S. The only difference is the SST ink rings on the bottom side of the the EC2S, which attenuate higher frequencies in order to provide a more focused (often referred to as pre-EQ'd) sound. Since the higher frequencies are reduced, and "attack" often comes from upper mid/high frequencies, I can understand where the EC2S may have a less perceived attack. When tuned lower (as many people do with the EC2S), the attack is often perceived as greater (described as a "punchier" sound).

Yes, this mirrors my experience, and helps explain why I perceive less attack, or a smoother overall sound. I tune fairly tight. If I liked to tune low, perhaps the EC2 would be better suited.

That's why there are different heads available, eh? Thanks for the info.
 
So do you recommend a different tuning range for EC2S heads? You guys do an awesome job; sure my drums play a role in the sound of my kit but I know the heads are just as important. A lot of other guys think I change heads often but I always get compliments on my drums.

I hate to provide a vague response, but I recommend tuning them to a range that fits your preferences. I've heard some guys play EC2S clears up much higher than I would tend to use them and I've been quite impressed. One of my favorite things is seeing/hearing people use heads outside of the confines of what I we might typically recommend them for. Getting creative with head combinations and tuning is how we all learn more about getting the sounds we're looking for and discover sounds we've never thought of.

To get back to your question though, I would personally tune an EC2S lower than a G2 since I looking for a lower sound out of them with a bit of punch.
 
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