Evans Remad Foam Port Rings: Is it just me?

randomrod

Junior Member
Hi Drummerworld,

I'm new to this forum, having spent some considerable time on VDrum Forum.
I gig my A-Kit regularly and have equal love for both A and E-Kits.

With yesterday's local gig pending, I decided I'd had enough of my current Kick Drum ported front head arrangement and promptly treated my 22"x16" to the latest Evans Emad/Remad combination. The heads went on easily enough and tuning up was a snip!
I immediately applied an Evans Clear Patch and achieved a great sounding bass drum in no time. We mic'd up the Kit, soundchecked and I was good to go.

It was at the end of the first set, (45min) I got up and checked the front head and port hole.
To my dismay the foam port ring I'd earlier fitted, had come appart either side of the port hole and it had rotated 180 degrees - the EMAD logo was more or less upside down to where I had placed it. I assumed some clod had knocked the kick drum mic and this had torn my fragile new foam port ring (this reso head alone cost £46.00!!)

Undaunted, and with two further 45min sets to go, I replaced the torn foam ring with the other, softer ring and we continued with the second set. It was during a fast Rock'n'roll number I noticed the guitarist looking at my kick drum...

My foam port was rotating on its own whilst being sucked in and out of the port hole during play! My Kick drum was in effect, EATING the foam port ring!

Surely Evans have field-tested these products? - which do work really well at giving you a great sound - but what's the use if the thing that fixes the crappy port hole noise doesn't last longer than 30mins?

Has anyone else experienced the same reso BD head malfunction?
I could get the shop to FOC me a replacement pack of foam port rings, but what's the point if after only a few minutes of normal use, they go into self-destruct mode?

Have I now got to fork out for a 'Kickport'? Are they all that secure either?

yours in dismay,

randomrod
 
I don't have the reso version, but I do have the batter side EMAD and was really impressed (not in a good way) with how quickly the foam ring retainer disintegrated. Happily, I like the sound of head better without the foam right, otherwise I would have been much more annoyed!
 
I'd say an easy quick fix would be take off the head get a small strip of felt put it on under the head then tune it back up. It will not move, fall apart or disintigrate on you and it's cheaper cost wise then what evans charges for those rings! I used an Emad head on a kit at church to give it a shot, not impresses with the plastic strip that holds the foam on, cracked and just didn't hold up. Done with those heads!
 
I had an EMAD reso that did the same thing. Take the foam ring off and throw it away! Take either a small felt strip like the previous post said or get a small rolled up towel and place against the front head. This keeps the head from vibrating too much (just like the foam ring would do) and you'll achieve the same sound. Next time you buy a kick drum reso get an EQ3 and don't fool with the foam ring thingy.
 
I'm an Evans guy, but the EMAD heads are a joke. The batter head's foam ring holder always breaks and the foam ring thay goes on the port of the reso. head comes apart or gets sucked into the kick drum.

I've had good luck with the EQ series heads. They sound good and you don't have to mess around with the external foam rings.
 
My foam port was rotating on its own whilst being sucked in and out of the port hole during play! My Kick drum was in effect, EATING the foam port ring!

lol. Damn hungry bass drum.

I've had the same thing happen on my Evans reso head with the foam ring. I thought I had done it by placing a mike in there and pulling it, but now that I read your story I'm not so sure.

I don't have the reso version, but I do have the batter side EMAD and was really impressed (not in a good way) with how quickly the foam ring retainer disintegrated. Happily, I like the sound of head better without the foam right, otherwise I would have been much more annoyed!

I'm an Evans guy, but the EMAD heads are a joke. The batter head's foam ring holder always breaks

hmm, I wonder if tuning has anything to do with it. I have coated EMADs on two seperate bass drums that are still going strong after more than 2 years of use. No problems at all with the foam rings or the holder. I tune pretty loose though. I had a clear batter EMAD and that worked well too for about a year. I still have it, I just switched out for the coated.
 
hmm, I wonder if tuning has anything to do with it. I have coated EMADs on two seperate bass drums that are still going strong after more than 2 years of use. No problems at all with the foam rings or the holder. I tune pretty loose though. I had a clear batter EMAD and that worked well too for about a year. I still have it, I just switched out for the coated.

I don't think so. I have used the EMAD heads on 3 different kick drums. I use different tunings on different drums. Some have lasted longer than others, but in the end, the ring fails.

I've had 5 or 6 EMAD heads. I've tried both the single and double ply heads.
 
That foam ring was an engineering failure by Evans. I tried double sided sticky tape, hot glue and rubber gasket sealant ... damn thing shreds no matter what.
 
Hey thanks you guys for all your posts - they made me laugh! Especially Steady Freddy's '..my body stunk...' LMFAO!!!

Seriously though (the EVANS distributor's sending me out replacement foams), I'll be looking (literally) at a Kickport come the end of the month - I can't resist new gimmicks and a whole lotta GAS!

Affectionately

Rod. x
 
I don't think so. I have used the EMAD heads on 3 different kick drums. I use different tunings on different drums. Some have lasted longer than others, but in the end, the ring fails.

I've had 5 or 6 EMAD heads. I've tried both the single and double ply heads.

Maybe I just got lucky. I've used the hell out of mine, played out with them, thrown my bass drum in the back of my car without a case and they're still going strong after a few years of use. I just switched back to my old EMAD clear tonight since this thread got me to thinking about how long I've been using my main coated EMAD. Everything seems fine on all three of my EMADs in regards to the ring.

How much use do you get until the ring breaks? (It comes apart from the head right?)

I;ve been thinking of experimenting with some tighter tuning. See what happens with that.
 
I've only used Evans Emads last Saturday - not long enough to test the longevity of the BATTER head with external damping ring. My beef was with the RESO head and those port rings shredding after only a few minutes - hence why I'm considering a Kickport - it looks like it will last.

Rod
 
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How much use do you get until the ring breaks? (It comes apart from the head right?)

Mine lasted six months to a year. I play about 6 hours a week. Sometimes a little more. The EMAD batter issues have been talked about here a few times.

Evans claimed they had fixed the problem. but I'm not still convinced. Too bad because it is a great sounding head. I've used the two ply version on two different DW kicks and one Yamaha kick.

I've switched to the two ply EQ heads and like the sound. I haven't had any problems with them.

I hope yours stays together.
 
Oh well, at least the UK distributor sent a replacement pack of the two port rings FOC. These turned up today - rapid response huh?
I wonder how long they'll last on Saturday - we're only playing for an hour!
 
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Took the thinner foam ring and super glued it to the inside of the head (like the Aquarian SK) It sounds great and I don't have to worry about the plastic support breaking again. I know that by doing it this way it's a perminent solution but the sound I like is the smaller ring, I never switched out those foam rings anyway.
 
I guess I'm lucky. Had EMAD on for well over a year and switched to EMAD2 almost a year ago. Always tuned low with not ONE plastic ring failure. The port foam on rezo lasts about....yup, 30minutes. I don't particularly dislike the rezo sound without it so it is just left off.
 
Well my experiment failed :-( The super glue idea did not work out too well. So this time I'm using a different type of adhesive. I'm also letting it sit for a couple of day's and see what that does. So I'm back to the PS3 which sounds pretty damn good anyway so if my new glue treatment fails at least I tried...
 
I had the same problem with the ring on the reso head.....I could just picture it spinning madly round and round while I played. Mine never fell apart though, just spun like crazy.
 
Hey everybody!

Just a quick note to let you all know, I never did try those replacenment Evans reso head mic hole foam rings. Instead I put my hand in my pocket AGAIN and got a Kickport. Suffice to say, it has the distinct advantage of staying put and in one piece. As for the 'Kickport Advantage' well, perhaps the manufacturer's recommendation of a thicker, batter head for the front, rather than the thinner Evans Remad, might be better. Who knows?

Thanks for listening...
 
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