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Evans Calftone heads

Posts: 1017 Threads: 349
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Any experience with these? How are they for brushes on snare batter heads? Or other similar choices?

Posted on 6 years ago
#1
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They're very similar to Remo Fiberskyn heads. I have one on a Yamaha older stage custom snare (luan/whateverwood shell). Tuned medium low, that drum has a HONK that's unbelievable. I saw a review on YouTube that says they're thinner than most, more like a diplomat weight. As far as brush response, I like it, because it's more mellow than regular coated heads. I don't know about durability because I haven't had it that long.

Ken

Posted on 6 years ago
#2
Posts: 1017 Threads: 349
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Thanks -- the brush response is my real interest. The bas head seems pretty smooth.

Posted on 6 years ago
#3
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I bought two of these for my 13/16 toms on my WFL kit. I'm not really a fan of them. I took them back off and put my Remo Coated Ambassadors and I'm happy again. I didn't get near the projection in sound and resonance as I seem to get with the coated ambassadors and even coated emperors.

-Justin

"People might look at you a bit funny, but it's okay. Artists are allowed to be a bit different."- Bob Ross

"After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music..." - Aldous Huxley
Posted on 6 years ago
#4
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Hey Bill,

I was a Remo guy for looooong time, but I really like the Evans UV1 coated heads. The brush response is phenomenal! And the heads stay clean and tune up super easy. If you're looking for brush response, those heads are sensational!

Posted on 6 years ago
#5
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From vyacheslav

Hey Bill,I was a Remo guy for looooong time, but I really like the Evans UV1 coated heads. The brush response is phenomenal! And the heads stay clean and tune up super easy. If you're looking for brush response, those heads are sensational!

+1 on the UV1 heads. They are great heads and sound wonderful on my 12" & 15" toms.

My only beef that I have is that my snare has traditional wood hoops with claws and while the head seats on the shell fine, it doesn't work well with the wood hoops.

Posted on 6 years ago
#6
Posts: 1017 Threads: 349
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Alan & Mark -- I opted for the UV1 heads. It really did tune easily, and seemed to have a wide range of resonance.

On an 80's Slingerland COW shell, it's crisp and warm.

Score!

Posted on 6 years ago
#7
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i own 2 1966 Supraphonics, so on a whim i put a calftone on the batter side of one of them and im an really enjoying its sound and feel. pairs up well with the emperors on the rest of my '63 Slingerland kit. brush work sounds a bit less 'spike-y' vs. the diplomat on my other supraphonic...

Posted on 6 years ago
#8
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From Brewkowski

I bought two of these for my 13/16 toms on my WFL kit. I'm not really a fan of them. I took them back off and put my Remo Coated Ambassadors and I'm happy again. I didn't get near the projection in sound and resonance as I seem to get with the coated ambassadors and even coated emperors.

Guess what? Back in the day no one got the projection in sound and resonance of modern coated Ambassadors. We got round, mellow and melodic tones. Nothing wrong with your preferences of course, but to me the Evans '56 Calftones seems much closer to sound of the real calfskin heads I was playing in the late '50s to early '60s. Like almost everyone else back then I moved to mylar for the practicality and the cost, but from the very outset I realized there was a price to pay in the quality of the sound. Some compare the Calftones to the Remo Fyberskins, but to my ear they are far superior and look more like the real thing as well.

Mark
BosLover
Posted on 6 years ago
#9
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From bfulton

Thanks -- the brush response is my real interest. The bas head seems pretty smooth.

The brush response is actually quite good IMHO. Remo Ambassadors, as an example, have a sprayed on texture which when new gives them an unnaturally bright brush sound and when the texture quickly wears down, a very dull sounding brush sound. The Calftones don't have that limitation and seem to have a mellow and consistent brush sound which, because of the thinner nature of the Calftones, is very articulate. Of course, everyone will have a different opinion. BTW, these are not heads for heavy hitters so if you hit hard with heavy sticks, stay away. Although the box indicates usability for rock and jazz, they would be usable at best for mellow rock or folk rock with sticks in the general 5a weight range. Think Remo Diplomats in that regard.

Mark
BosLover
Posted on 6 years ago
#10
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