Evans Drumhead - What makes the sound different?

Following the previous blog, “The Allure of Evans Drumheads!,” I would like to talk about Evans drumheads!

There are many different types of drumheads with the same inches. Considering the hassle and cost of reupholstering, it would be difficult to buy several and try them out at .......
While some differences can be seen by appearance, there are also structural differences that cannot be seen only by appearance. In this article, I will focus on the structural differences.

1. Film Thickness

The most obvious difference in structure is the difference between layers and films. This difference is common not only in Evans but also in heads made by other manufacturers. Generally, the unit for layers is “ply” and the unit for thickness is “mil”. A layer is 1 ply or 2 ply depending on how many films it is made of.

Thickness is the thickness of the film. The unit of mil is not used much in daily life and is not familiar to us. 1 mil is 0.0254 mm, or 1/1,000 of an inch. It is a unit used for paint, paper, film thickness, etc. Drumheads are often made from 6 to 10 mils per sheet of film.

Both images show the same size head of the same series. The only difference is the layer, the thickness of the film. The left side is 1 ply 10 mil and the right side is 2 ply 14 mil. Comparing them side by side, the difference is almost the same, but when you touch them, you can see the difference in thickness. Even if you tap the surface of the drum without attaching it to the drum body, you can feel the difference in sustain and tone. I felt the sustain of the 2ply was longer than that of the 1ply, though this is just my impression.

2. Coating of the Surface

While the thickness of the film introduced earlier is not so apparent, there is a visible difference in the coating of the surface.
There are about 8 types of coatings used in Evans. The coating can be warm, clear, or vintage, depending on the genre of music being played and the player's preference. There are also heads with color coatings such as red and blue. Here are the main types of coatings!

Coated

White rough surface. Bright and coherent sound, attractive sustain.

Evans / B14G1 G1 Coated 14 inch

Clear

Smooth and transparent surface. Often used for bottoms. Attractive for its bright and clear sound.

Evans / S14H30 Snare Side 300 14 inch

UV

Evans' proprietary UV cured coating; UV improves durability and provides a warm attack sound. 1 ply and 2 ply UV1 and UV2 heads, as well as the EMAD series, which are often used as bass drum heads, are also available with a UV finish.

Evans / B14UV1 UV1 Coated 14 inch

Evans / B14UV2 UV2 Coated 14 inch

Evans / BD22EMADUV UV EMAD 22 inch

In this article, I focused on thickness and coatings. There are several other types of coatings available, which I will introduce in my next blog. In addition to thickness and coating, there are also rings on the back of the drumhead to control overtones, removable mutes, etc. You may want to try different heads depending on your playing style and environment.