Review: Best Drumhead

Evans’ ST Dry snare drumhead is a very small batter head featuring precisely drilled holes around the edges of the head to give it a very dry and crisp sound; it’s surprising how little the holes interfere with brush playing. It performs much like a single ply head in that it has a lot of tone that’s dry without sounding clipped or cheated. The textured white coating creates the ideal sound which works great in all genres of music along with a nice pop for rim-shots.

I often play a different head for Jazz gigs using a lot of brushwork, but I’m usually pretty comfortable playing with brushes on this head if an alternative is not convenient. It has two layers of 7.5 mil film that are very strong and durable; the ST in the product name stands for “Super Tough”, meaning these drums rarely break. I’ve never broken a ST Dry snare head and I use them on almost every gig that I play.

Remo’s Ambassador head is the most versatile head available because of its warm tone and crisp attack while being responsive enough for orchestral playing, but durable enough for rock. I feel comfortable using this head for any genre of music because it has a sound which adapts to almost any audible setting. The head has a white-textured, durable coating which allows brushes to speak.

While it’s a single-ply head, it can still feel like a double ply head when pushed to the limits. The Ambassador truly allows the snare drum's natural tone to come through and sing, providing nice overtones without requiring a lot of muting. My only complaint about this head is sometimes the manufacturing quality isn’t consistent from head to another.

The Heavyweight snare head by Evans is the best snare head for heavy-hitters and metal drummers. It has two extremely durable 10 mil plies as well as a reverse dot for even more strength in the playing spot.  I usually don’t like power center or dot heads but the Evans Heavyweight is truly exceptional.

Evans Drumheads fit snuggly around the rim thanks to their 360-degree technology which creates evenness across the entire ridge of the shell. The head has a deep sound that is still very crisp and will cut through louder genres of music. It has an overall thick sound that is not appropriate for lighter styles of music but works great for rock and metal.

Evans’ EMAD2 Bass drumheads have quickly risen to the top of the list of best Bass drumheads. They have a built in dampening system called Externally Mounted Adjustable Dampening (EMAD). The dampening pads can easily be adjusted for more or less of a muted sound; this very helpful for drummers switching between rock and jazz gigs with the same kit.

The EMAD2 batter head is very durable because of an outer 6.5mil ply and an inner 10mil ply. These heads can be adjusted to produce any kind of sound that will fit whatever genre you choose. Most heads that use a lot of dampening sound very dead, but the EMAD2 produces a nice tone even when fully dampened. This head have the perfect combination of great tone and punchy thud.

Evans’ EMAD Reso Bass drumheads are often sold in a set with the EMAD Batter head, because the EMAD Reso works in perfect harmony with the EMAD2 batter head to create the ideal Bass Drum sound; this head controls the tone and creates a nice punch The EMAD Reso is a smooth black resonant head with a 4 inch hole allowing  for easy microphone placement. The mic hole is surrounded by a noise-free plastic sleeve holding a foam dampening ring in place. A bonus is the head’s black color and black sleeve which gives it a very professional look.

The Aquarian Super-kick II is a clear 2-ply head with a very pointed sound and features two 7mil layers which are extremely durable and produce a slightly dampened sound. Aquarian’s drumheads have some exclusive features which create a pure sound such as the Sound Curve collar design for a flush fit and fewer wrinkles even at loose tensions. The Safe-T-Lock hoops and Triple Locking System control the tension and prevents the head from losing pitch. This head has a very focused punch that sounds great in a variety of different genres.

Drummers have trusted Remo’s Powerstroke 3 for many years. This head features a thin underlay which dampens the head and helps to control overtones. This versatile head is very responsive at all dynamic levels and sounds great when played in all genres of music. Many jazz drummers prefer the coated Powerstroke 3 but I prefer the clear Powerstroke 3 for general playing. This is one of the most durable bass drumheads available as it can withstand a lot of heavy stomping and will still sound great.

Evans’ EC2S drumheads have become the standard for superior sounding tom heads. They produce a very pure tone that blends well with the other drums in the kit. They also have a pre EQ’d sound control ring mounted on the underside of the head that is called Sound Shaping Technology. The SST rings control the vibrations of the head and help create a focused sound.

These heads are very durable because they have two layers of 7mil film, as well as having a very strong attack and controlled decay that sounds great on fills. These drumheads sound appropriate with any genre of music and have an overall sound that blends well with other instruments. These are my favorite tom heads for just about any setting.

Evans’ Genera Resonant heads produce a very full sound that interacts well with almost any batter head. The Genera Resonant tom head is a clear head which enhances the sound of your drum, adding controlled sustain to 2-ply batter heads and giving the whole drum more life. Since these heads are never struck with a stick, durability isn’t really a concern. Resonant drumheads generally only break during tuning and these heads hold up to tuning changes better than other resonant heads.

These tom heads also hold their tension very well between practice sessions or between gigs. I usually don’t have to do a lot of tuning in order to make them sound good. These are some of the best resonant tom heads on the market and will last you a very long time.

Evans G1 Coated heads have a textured white coating giving the tom-toms a very unique sound that blends well with certain genres; these heads produce a classic, coated tom sound while maintaining a focused tone. These heads produce a very warm sound that blends well certain lighter styles of music; I usually prefer coated heads for jazz because of the character created by the heads.  The G1s have a single, durable ply of 10mil film but the one downside to these heads I’ve experienced is fading of the white coating in the playing spot; however, this is something fairly common with coated heads and I usually replace these head types more frequently than clear versions.

The Resonant Glass tom heads by Evans are the thinnest resonant heads this company makes. When paired with G1 coated heads, these heads allow the true character of the coated head to speak without being imposing in any way. These heads are a bit brighter and lighter sounding than thicker resonant heads; I usually recommend thicker heads for rock or metal, but these heads sound great for jazz.

These heads can be an effective tool for creating a lighter sound from heavy-handed players. Durability isn’t really a concern with these heads since they’re resonant heads and aren’t struck with a stick. However, since they’re so thin, special care must be taken when tuning to prevent them from snapping.

Evans’ G1 Clear heads are the best heads for drummers who prefer single-ply heads as they can give the kit more life and openness. Many drummers prefer to play single-ply tom heads because they have a bit more ring than 2-ply heads. G1 clear tom heads feature a single ply of clear, 10mil film that sounds open and lively with a bright sound to cut through the texture for fills while interacting well with your other drums in the kit. In fact, I often even combine these heads with other toms mounted with 2-ply heads. I’ll usually mount a G1 on my smaller toms (10 inches or smaller), because they seem to give these drums some life. These heads will react well with a number of different resonant heads and can create some very unique sounds when paired with non-clear resonant heads.

Some players are concerned single-ply tom heads will break easily because they’re too thin. However, when you take into consideration tom heads are actually played less frequently than snare and bass heads and actually take less abuse than the other heads. You can easily finish a gig without playing the tom with a broken head, because most drummers have multiple toms which allow alternate playing options. Having said all that, I can tell you from experience that G1 tom heads are some of the most durable single-ply heads available.