August 2012 Product Close-Up Evans G14 Clear and Coated Drumheads by Michael Dawson Evans recently expanded

its single-ply G series to include the G14, a 14 mil drumhead thats available clear or coated. The G14 is the thickest single-ply head that Evans offers. (The G1 is 10 mil, and the G Plus is 12 mil.) Sonically, this new model is said to have a dark tone with enhanced mid-frequency response to cut through the mix. The thicker film is also said to increase durability. The G14, which is designed for snare or toms, is available in 6" to 20" sizes. We were sent a set of clear tom heads and a coated version for the snare. Clear Tom Batters I was anxious to test the clear G14 drumheads on my toms, because Ive never had any luck with standard-thickness clear single-ply heads in the past; they just seem too boinky when tuned anywhere above medium tension and too flappy at the lower end of the spectrum. My hope was that the thicker 14 mil film would help focus the tone a bit while also making tighter tunings sound richer and fuller. I put the clear G14s on 13" and 16" birch toms and tuned them slightly higher than usual to see if they sounded choked. (I tuned the top and bottom heads on the 13" drum to the note C and both heads on the 16" floor tom to G.) The 13" drum sounded very comfortable at that tension. It had a pointed, quick attack, and the resonance was pure, round, and rich. The floor tom sounded somewhat restricted tuned that tightly, so I backed off the G14 about three-quarters of a key turn. There, the drum opened up with a fat, round tone, plus a crisp stick attack and a deep, chesty punch. The sustain didnt linger forever with either drum, and the decay was quick and even. As I tightened the G14 batter on the rack tom, I discovered that the head could go quite a bit beyond the point where others start to thin out. (Some drummers like that sound, and its commonplace in bebop, but I prefer a rounder, earthier tone from my toms.) When I backed off the tension on the G14, the tone fattened up and became punchier and darker. The head started to distort at its lowest possible pitch, but all it took was about a quarter turn on each tension rod to clear up the tone and get back to a fat, unrestricted, pure sound. Another impressive thing about the G14 is that it didnt require any muffling at any tuning. If you want a more controlled Steve Gaddlike tone, you could get that easily by adding a thin muffling ring. But without any dampening, the heads had a nice combination of semi-bright attack and full, open sustain. So, did these models make me rethink my opinion on using clear single-

ply tom heads? Well, lets just say I dont plan to take the G14s off my drums anytime soon. G14 Coated Snare Batter The coated G14 is available in a range of sizes, but for the purpose of this review we wanted to focus on how it fared on a 6 1/2x14 black-nickel-overbrass snare. Tuned super-tight, the G14 sounded crisp and articulate, with brightbut not overbearingovertones and a nice thick tone. I didnt feel the need to muffle the head, but all it took was a fingertip-size piece of tape or Moon Gel to shorten up the decay. The head responded great to light ghost strokes and buzz rolls, and the coating was evenly applied yet rough enough for full-sounding brush sweeps. Center strokes on the G14 produced a very dry, clean sound, while offcenter hits introduced more pitch and overtones. The sweet spot for lighter orchestral-style playingwhere you want a bit of tone from the shell to sing throughwas a few inches in from the edge. Surprisingly, the feel of the head didnt change much as I backed off the tension, and the overtones remained balanced and focused across all tunings. I prefer a fat, punchy snare tone, so Ive had to get used to a more pillowy feel with a standard single-ply batter, which often has to be been tuned lower than usual to get that sound. But with the G14, I was able to find that deeper tone without having to detune the head quite so much. If youre looking for a snare head that has the crisp response of a traditional single-ply model, but with a slightly denser tone and controlledyet not pre-muffledovertones, Evans coated G14 is highly recommended. evansdrumheads.com