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Evans EC2 SST heads
Evans EC2 Drum Heads Before I tell you how I found these heads I wanted to inform you the process that these heads have been reviewed under. I was sent a set of the new EC2 heads in clear 10”, 12” and 16” for my teaching kit which is a Maple Gretsch New Classic. I put the heads on the kit 14 days ago and the drums have had around 140 hours of playing. I also had a 10”, 12” 14” coated which I put on my live gigging kit which is also a Gretsch New Classic. This kit has had about 20 hours of playing and has been moved and set up in various temperatures and environments. Now I know that Evans is the preferred head choice on Gretsch drums so I also used both clear and coated versions on a Mapex and a Pearl kit but both kits were only used for around 3 hours in a live situation. Evans description of these heads is as follows… “The EC2 features a Sound Shaping Technology ring mounted underneath two plies of 7mil film. By controlling edge vibration (instead of eliminating it), the ring isolates and damps higher overtones, enhancing low-end and attack, and enabling a broader tuning range”. We have reviewed the Evans EC2 heads in 2006 before the sound shaping which you can read here |
I wanted to find out a little more about these heads and why Evans thought that they needed to change an already very good and popular drumhead, so I asked Michael Robinson, senior product manager for Evans. Tell us a little more about the EC2 heads The old EC ring was an appliqué that was mounted on the underside of the head. Even though the width of the ring would change for each head size, the different diameter rings were still cut from the same material and therefore all had the same thickness. The new EC rings have different densities and thicknesses for each size head. The result is that the smaller drums have less damping while the larger drums have more control. Why did you think you needed to change this head? We always felt that the original EC2 was good, but limited by the ring material. Occasional consumer and artist comments backed that up...where players would say that they really liked the sound of the heads, but the small drums would sometimes sound a little choked (often depending on tuning and the drum they were on). What should we be looking for out of the coated and the clear EC2 head? |
In general, players should looks for a more balance sound across the entire kit... from small to large drums... as well as increased tuning and dynamic range, and a more bouncy/spongy feel that was absent from the originals. These differences come from the fact that the rings are FAR more flexible than the original. They move with the natural vibration of the head rather than create stiffness. The originals had the slots to help that...but they only got us 1/2 way there. How much research and development goes into a new head? For the new EC2? A ton... but that''s largely because we were working with an entirely new damping technique (Sound Shaping Technology) and we had to design each head from scratch to make sure that the sound/performance of each was optimal. The heads were tested extensively and months in advance of the launch) by well over 100 Evans artists. Ok, so lets get on to the actual review… I was told once by drum tech “Yard” that a drum head should have a tone as soon as it comes out of the box, so the first thing I did was hold up each head and tap it with a finger. All the heads maintained a nice sustain and tone which hopefully should continue once placed onto the shell of the drum. |
The first major difference I found with these heads was how easy they were to tune – it didn’t take much effort to get the head to sit nicely on the drum and get an even tone. This applied to both the clear and coated and I found I could tune and replace the heads on the kit and get good sounds very quickly. Once the heads had settled they managed to retain there tone and sustain and have not needed much adjustment on my teaching kit which, as I mentioned earlier, has had about 140 hours of playing in the week since I put them on. Everybody wants different tones from a drum head so I can’t say if these are for you but these heads gave me a lot of depth on the 10” and 12” toms and not too much sustain on the 16” which I personally like in my tom heads. I’m guessing this was due to the differing size/thickness control rings in the heads which seem to really work. I found that I was still getting plenty of volume and punch from the small drums which sometimes you would lose from a thicker or dampened head. As for the coated I still found I could get the depth out of the smaller drums but there was more sustain and top end tone, which again for my live kit I like. One complaint I have made over the years regarding Evans heads is the sticky label that is placed onto the outer rim for the barcode. This has now been removed completely with the barcode being printed directly onto the outer hoop. Well done Evans - much better, not only for the cosmetic looks but also for quick head changes. We always like to follow a review sandwich concept when we do reviews at mikedolbear.com - positive, any negatives and finish on a positive. I tried hard to find some negatives in these heads and I couldn’t. I have said it in previous reviews, but Evans are a very pro-active company that are always looking at improving thier products and helping us drummers sound better. These heads are a great example of this - they have done it again. Mike Dolbear Current forum topic http://www.mikedolbear.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=80136 |
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