Not so sure Nodiggie. I put a set of EC1's on my toms a while back. Big mistake from a sustain POV, big mistake from a projection POV, & a huge mistake from a recording POV. For good tone, sustain, projection, & durability, I don't think you can beat G2's over G1's. I'm using G+'s over G1's as a test for the next few gigs. I'm liking the little extra sustain I'm getting, but I'm not able to testify as to the durability yet. I suspect the G2's will win in that department.
Anyhow jdrummys. This clip is G+ batters, G2's are very similar. Both over G1's. Tell me what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyWG-eCo2uc&feature=related
P.S, don't be frightened by sustain live. In highly amplified music, you want as much as you can get. All but the first half second disappears from the mix anyhow.
^ I don't think he's "afraid of sustain" given that he's asking for just that.
That said, my experience is quite the opposite from yours.
My kid plays loud rock, almost always unmiked. Switching to the EC1s was the best move ever. Most sustain of any head we have tried, very punchy, lots of projection, tone that reaches the audience. (Not the tone that
I happen to prefer, but I'm a coated amb kind of guy anyway. Perfect for his music, though.)
In my experience 2-ply heads have significantly less sustain than the EC1s. And I don't find G-plus batters to be terribly similar to G2s. Don't know what's going on there!
Durability: the kid is one of the hardest hitters I've ever seen, no problem. He doesn't even dent heads, much less break them. I'm inclined to believe (in the absence of scientific tests and not accounting for gorillas on the drums) that "durability" has more to do with having good hands, proper stick angles, and the avoidance of ball-tipped sticks than it has to do with number of plies.
To the OP: why not try a couple of options on just one drum, say a 12" tom? That way you can see if you like a given model without spending a fortune on a whole kit of them.
Meanwhile, my suggestion for max sustain and projection would be EC1s over G-pluses as resos. I use the G-pluses as resos on a couple of his toms to better match the sustain among the drums. The EC-resos might be a little dark sounding with EC1s on top.
It is critical that you match the pitch of the batter and reso. I mean really match it. The better you get this the more sustain you'll get.
I would also tune all toms where they
want to be tuned, smack in their sweet spots. Go outside of this zone and the sustain goes bye-bye.