Evans EMAD2

GEARREVIEWS
Evans
EMAD2
JUNE 2006 RHYTHM 107
G
iven its position as the foundation
of any drum kit, the bass drum
assumes particular importance
in the life of a drummer. It not only has to
underpin the snare, toms and cymbals,
but it must act as an anchor and driving
force behind the whole band. So it is
imperative that the kick drum sounds
bang on at all times. It has not always
been an easy drum to get sounding
sweet, however. There is a delicate
balance to be struck between solid
thump and well balanced overtones, and
a key element in achieving the ideal bass
tone is the batter head under the beater.
Evans’s EMAD head, with its swappable
damping rings, has been a good bet for
rock, pop and funk players for some time.
It is a versatile, good-sounding head that
provides both control and tone for stage
and studio – and now the original model
has been joined by a beefed-up younger
brother, the EMAD2, which is aimed at
heavy-footed beat messiahs.
Ring in the changes
The EMAD acronym stands for Externally
Mounted Adjustable Damping and, as
many of you will be aware, it features a
choice of two foam damping rings – one
thick and one thin – that can be installed
in the circular plastic ‘channel’ on the
outside of the head. The EMAD2 is
exactly the same thing, but features two
fi lm plies instead of a single ply, which
adds weight and a little extra control to
proceedings. The plies are 10mm and
6.5mm (inner and outer respectively)
and are designed to work together for
some enhanced low-end response
over the original.
Trampled underfoot
The second that the EMAD2 swings
into action (the 22" version in our case)
it’s clear that it is a meaty, muscular
character – from the fi rst pedal strike
you are aware that this is no open-voiced
jazz head. Undampened, there is plenty
of low-end wallop and a discernible
thickness to the lower mid-range that
will suit hard rockers to a tee, but
there is also a good degree of upper
mid-range content that prevents
the bass drum sounding muddy.
Adding the thin damping ring
immediately rounds down the
top end, resulting in a pleasingly
‘produced’ sound with just
enough decay to retain the
character of the kick. Damping
down unpleasant resonance is
all well and good, but smothering drums
and robbing them of any sustain and
multi-layered harmonics kills tone stone
dead. Something that the thinner ring
manages to avoid.
The thin ring is probably as much as
many rock drummers would need to
apply to their EMAD2. But if you are into
hearing just the fundamental frequency
of a bass drum and squeezing out pretty
much everything else, then the thicker
ring is equally valid. Of course, ultimate
response depends very much on the
specifi cs of the drum you are using and
the way in which the EMAD2 is tuned –
happily, I found it much more capable
over a wide tuning range than I had
anticipated.
ESSENTIALS
PRICES
18"-24" £39-£47
CONTACT
Summerfi eld Music
Vance Court
Enterprise Park
Blaydon On Tyne
NE21 5NH
Telephone
01914 149000
Website
www.evansdrum
heads.com
The original EMAD concept proved itself to be far more than a gimmick
as soon as it was launched, apparently becoming the fastest-selling
bass drum head in history. The EMAD2 delivers the same benefi ts
to drummers who need an extra thickness of tone and enhanced
longevity to cope with high energy gigs. It will probably be too
heavy-sounding for players of lighter styles, but for AC/DC and
Led Zeppelin-style rock right through to lightning-speed death
metal (where the lack of sustain achievable is a real boon), the new
EMAD makes an awful lot of sense.
Flexible, proven concept
that sounds great.
It won’t give you
Bonzo’s right foot.
★★★★★
RATING
The EMAD Resonant head
(that comes complete with two
interchangeable foam rings),
is available separately, and
compliments the new EMAD2.
From £39 | Evans has decided that harder rockin’ players should have an EMAD head
all to themselves. Jordan McLachlan steps into the ring with the chunkier EMAD2…
The EMAD2 is
the beefed-up
younger brother
of Evans’s EMAD
bass drum head.
RHY125.gear_evans 0107RHY125.gear_evans 0107 20/4/06 3:10:20 pm20/4/06 3:10:20 pm