One Year updated on Evans UV2 Heads!

S

SpazApproved

Active Member
It's been one year since I pulled the trigger and put UV2 heads on my Pork Pie kit. This kit is not gig'd on but it was used on multiple drum videos and is played daily down in my basement and used for teaching and lessons. This kit is one of my absolute favorites and I cannot talk highly enough about these heads! They really hold up and look brand new while still keeping their tone wonderfully! They have a nice bright sound and really make the drums sing in my opinion. Evans really knocked this one out of the park!! I'm a believer but I've always been an Evans player. I apologize though as all my microphones are currently setup on my PDP Kit so the sound on this one is very basic. Hope you enjoy and any questions just let me know!


 
They do sound quite good. I think it’s mostly you ;) but I guess the heads do contribute a bit.

So my question is more about the UV1, though. Timpano has a demo of snare heads where I thought the one that sounded most Ambassador like was the UV1, yet it appears to be thicker, with 10 mil film instead of 7. Meanwhile I thought the G1 sounded less like the Amb than the UV1. What’s your take?
 
JimmyM said:
They do sound quite good. I think it’s mostly you ;) but I guess the heads do contribute a bit.

So my question is more about the UV1, though. Timpano has a demo of snare heads where I thought the one that sounded most Ambassador like was the UV1, yet it appears to be thicker, with 10 mil film instead of 7. Meanwhile I thought the G1 sounded less like the Amb than the UV1. What’s your take?
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Hey Jimmy, I can't speak to why the heads sound different, but all three of those are 10 mil. Differences must be in the coatings, collars, or specific films.
 
SpazApproved said:
It's been one year since I pulled the trigger and put UV2 heads on my Pork Pie kit. This kit is not gig'd on but it was used on multiple drum videos and is played daily down in my basement and used for teaching and lessons. This kit is one of my absolute favorites and I cannot talk highly enough about these heads! They really hold up and look brand new while still keeping their tone wonderfully! They have a nice bright sound and really make the drums sing in my opinion. Evans really knocked this one out of the park!! I'm a believer but I've always been an Evans player. I apologize though as all my microphones are currently setup on my PDP Kit so the sound on this one is very basic. Hope you enjoy and any questions just let me know!


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UV2s are my tom head of choice. I'm playing EC2s on my main kit for now because they came new with it, but when they wear down, I'm switching back to UV2s. My other 2 kits have them and I love the tone they give.
 
Stroman said:
Hey Jimmy, I can't speak to why the heads sound different, but all three of those are 10 mil. Differences must be in the coatings, collars, or specific films.
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Whoops! For some reason I thought Ambs were 7 mil. Thx for clarifying.

So are you familiar with all 3 too? I don’t mind if someone besides Zach has an opinion they’d like to share. Been thinking about trying Evans but I’m pretty married to the sound of Ambs on snares.
 
I've been using UV1s for a couple of years now, and it feels like these were the heads I've been waiting for, because they give me a deep, warm, resonant and full response. It's the tom sound I have always had in my head. And they last a long time and look great.
 
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JimmyM said:
Whoops! For some reason I thought Ambs were 7 mil. Thx for clarifying.

So are you familiar with all 3 too? I don’t mind if someone besides Zach has an opinion they’d like to share. Been thinking about trying Evans but I’m pretty married to the sound of Ambs on snares.
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I've used Ambassadors and G1s, but haven't had a chance to try the UV heads. Wish I had some input there. I don't plan to mess with my snare sound, but I wouldn't mind trying the UVs on toms.
 
BobC said:
I've been using UV1s for a couple of years now, and it feels like these were the heads I've been waiting for, because they give me a deep, resonant and full response that's warm. It's the tom sound I have always had in my head. And they last a long time and look great.
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Interesting. I have a friend who thinks I’m nuts for still using Remo when Evans exists, but I have been pretty particular when it comes to snares. I think I’d like the Evans tom and kick heads just fine, but something about the Amb on a snare just gets me.
 
I’ve been using UV2s on my toms for the last several months now and really dig ‘em. They do stay clean, which really isn’t a selling point for me, but I can see how it is for others. They have been very durable - I can easily see how OP is a year deep into his and still going strong. I expect I’ll probably get bored with them and swap them out for something different before I wear them out.

They have less “twang” to their sound compared to Emperors, or maybe less prominent high overtones. Whatever it is, they sound more tame to me than corresponding Remo heads. That could be considered a negative or a positive depending on what one is looking for. That observation is also made through the filter of my old, tired, half-deaf ears, so take it for what it’s worth ($0).

I’m using UV1s on all my snares at the moment and do appreciate the texture of the UV-cured coating compared to other single-ply coated heads I’ve used. The coating lasts forever, but I know there are other options that do that as well. I use brushes frequently and for whatever reason prefer the feel of the UV1s under brush.
 
JimmyM said:
Interesting. I have a friend who thinks I’m nuts for still using Remo when Evans exists, but I have been pretty particular when it comes to snares. I think I’d like the Evans tom and kick heads just fine, but something about the Amb on a snare just gets me.
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I still like an Ambassador on a snare batter, but use G1s also.
 
I tried UV1 on 2 of my snares but they weren't all that great, I ended up with an Ambassador X on my BB. The other drum I tried it on was an older wood Yamaha. I still have EC2 and EMAD1 heads on kick and toms.
 
Try UV1s on your toms and see how you like them. If you want a sound that's full, round, resonant and punchy, that's what they do.
 
JimmyM said:
They do sound quite good. I think it’s mostly you ;) but I guess the heads do contribute a bit.

So my question is more about the UV1, though. Timpano has a demo of snare heads where I thought the one that sounded most Ambassador like was the UV1, yet it appears to be thicker, with 10 mil film instead of 7. Meanwhile I thought the G1 sounded less like the Amb than the UV1. What’s your take?
Click to expand...

I have the UV1 heads also I'm going to be putting on my bop kit. I haven't installed them yet but I'm extremely curious to hear how they'll sound vs the UV2s
 
I think UV1s will sound great on a Bop set, where I assume you'd want plenty of ring and resonance on the toms. I think UV2s might be too thick for those drums, but to each his own.
 
Stroman said:
Hey Jimmy, I can't speak to why the heads sound different, but all three of those are 10 mil. Differences must be in the coatings, collars, or specific films.
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I love them for the coating. That UV process for sealing it to the film is really something else. I have one on 2 of my snares & they take the beating with no flakes or chipping.
I'm a hydraulic guy most of the time, but for snares, there's nothing else for me.
 
Cmdr. Ross said:
I love them for the coating. That UV process for sealing it to the film is really something else. I have one on 2 of my snares & they take the beating with no flakes or chipping.
I'm a hydraulic guy most of the time, but for snares, there's nothing else for me.
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How do they sound on snares compared to the Amb? To me they sound closest of all their heads in demos, but you know how that goes.
 
Cmdr. Ross said:
I love them for the coating. That UV process for sealing it to the film is really something else. I have one on 2 of my snares & they take the beating with no flakes or chipping.
I'm a hydraulic guy most of the time, but for snares, there's nothing else for me.
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Interesting. I have never had problems with coatings, to speak of. I don't really mind if they get dirty, show stick marks, or wear off in the middle, as long as they sound good. And to be honest, even with Remo, which so many people complain about, I never had a ton of wear. A little brown spot in the middle is the worst I've dealt with.

So to me, an extra durable coating is a fix for a problem I don't have. However, if the head itself is more durable, I'd call that a benefit. Is it a benefit that offsets the cost? That I don't know.
 
JimmyM said:
How do they sound on snares compared to the Amb? To me they sound closest of all their heads in demos, but you know how that goes.
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Very snappy & bright IMO. Even with lower tunings, they give me the sound I want.
Stroman said:
So to me, an extra durable coating is a fix for a problem I don't have. However, if the head itself is more durable, I'd call that a benefit. Is it a benefit that offsets the cost? That I don't know.
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I thought of this as well, since my usual snare heads didn't have issues other than marks. I did have a Remo chip a bit when I'd hit the most, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
I did the Evans snare tune up kit and the UV1 was in the box. I can say when I put it on, I was pleasantly surprised with how it sounded. So I just stuck with them.
 
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