Evans UV1 pitting

[Matched Gripper]

So this am I spoke with D'Addario Canada and explained my concern. They knew that they had sent me a replacement for the problem UV1 but said that "they wouldn't replace the replacement". The interesting thing is that they acknowledged that there had initially been concerns with coating integrity when the product was first introduced but stated that that was a long time ago and complaints were now almost non existent. When I mentioned that i played brushes 50% or more the rep stated that he thought "the metal brush heads might be causing the pitting ??" I mentioned that i had corresponded with many on DFO Forum and that in literally all cases UV1 users stated that it was a very long lasting, superior head for brush use. He also suggested that I try the newer UV2 as it might last longer but when I asked if the UV coating was thicker he couldn't answer that. So I guess that I'll follow the advice of of many on the form and try Aquarian Texture Coated. The only problem is my local dealer has never dealt with Aquarian and so a special order would have to be placed and that could take months. I can order from a large national chain but postage to my place is $30 plus dollars for a $17.00 drum head making the grand total just shy of $50.00 ! Maybe I'll just make a Martini and forget the whole thing ..Sheesh

I feel pretty confident that if Roy Burns was still in charge of aquarium, he would make sure that the problem was taken care of properly! I would think they still would.

 

[GretschMan61]

So this am I spoke with D'Addario Canada and explained my concern. They knew that they had sent me a replacement for the problem UV1 but said that "they wouldn't replace the replacement". The interesting thing is that they acknowledged that there had initially been concerns with coating integrity when the product was first introduced but stated that that was a long time ago and complaints were now almost non existent. When I mentioned that i played brushes 50% or more the rep stated that he thought "the metal brush heads might be causing the pitting ??" I mentioned that i had corresponded with many on DFO Forum and that in literally all cases UV1 users stated that it was a very long lasting, superior head for brush use. He also suggested that I try the newer UV2 as it might last longer but when I asked if the UV coating was thicker he couldn't answer that. So I guess that I'll follow the advice of of many on the form and try Aquarian Texture Coated. The only problem is my local dealer has never dealt with Aquarian and so a special order would have to be placed and that could take months. I can order from a large national chain but postage to my place is $30 plus dollars for a $17.00 drum head making the grand total just shy of $50.00 ! Maybe I'll just make a Martini and forget the whole thing ..Sheesh

Drumland and Drummer’s Hangout are stocking Aquarian dealers in Canada

 

[David M Scott]

Drumland and Drummer’s Hangout are stocking Aquarian dealers in Canada

Oh I know that thanks. But Canada Post want's over $30 fot mail to my address. That puts the landed cost at $60 !!!

 

[Tommy D]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and blame technique/setup. If you are literally denting the head, you are either 1) hitting the head far too hard, ie. bashing it to a pulp, 2) not tuning the head properly, ie. barely getting to JAW tension, or 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick and imparting undue stress on the head. Considering you are 80 and you play jazz, I'm going to assume we can count the first 2 options out. So that leaves us with option 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick.

I dont know how you set up your snare, but if you are a player who holds their left hand (assuming you are a right handed player playing traditional grip) high up in the air and taps on the snare right with the tip of the stick, you need to adjust your snare's tilt so you are hitting the head with the fat/meaty portion of the tip and not the sharp pointy end. That means tilting the drum down towards your bass pedal.

This example may seem extreme, but look how high Gene has his left hand. Imaging how the tip of the stick would hit the head if the drum were flat. No head would survive long like that.

 

[David M Scott]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and blame technique/setup. If you are literally denting the head, you are either 1) hitting the head far too hard, ie. bashing it to a pulp, 2) not tuning the head properly, ie. barely getting to JAW tension, or 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick and imparting undue stress on the head. Considering you are 80 and you play jazz, I'm going to assume we can count the first 2 options out. So that leaves us with option 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick.

I dont know how you set up your snare, but if you are a player who holds their left hand (assuming you are a right handed player playing traditional grip) high up in the air and taps on the snare right with the tip of the stick, you need to adjust your snare's tilt so you are hitting the head with the fat/meaty portion of the tip and not the sharp pointy end. That means tilting the drum down towards your bass pedal. View attachment 551509 This example may seem extreme, but look how high Gene has his left hand. Imaging how the tip of the stick would hit the head if the drum were flat. No head would survive long like that.

I used trad grip. I play my snare high so I hit with mainly the fat part of the tip and often use the blunt end. The reason I do this is because I play a lot of Jazz and do a lot of mini buzz rolls with my left. When I play Country or "Soft Rock".. no Metal...I position my snare "just a little lower" as I play matched grip and that give me a little more clearance between stick and head. Let's just face it.. Evans had some production problems with UV and Calftone heads and I got one bummer Calftone - 10in tom and two UV1's. D'Addario admitted they had problems at start up and obviously I got some of those.
As for getting Aquarian I have to pay huge freight charges of $32. My local dealer carries Remo Emperor Suede which have an etched surface rather than traditional coating. All the reviews say they are very durable and work well with brushes. I also like the fact that it's dual layered that will reduce overtones on my Mapex Brass Cat and has a deeper tone which I prefer for Jazz/Blues.
Wish me luck.

 

[David M Scott]

B

I'm going to go out on a limb here and blame technique/setup. If you are literally denting the head, you are either 1) hitting the head far too hard, ie. bashing it to a pulp, 2) not tuning the head properly, ie. barely getting to JAW tension, or 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick and imparting undue stress on the head. Considering you are 80 and you play jazz, I'm going to assume we can count the first 2 options out. So that leaves us with option 3) hitting the head with the very tip of the stick.

I dont know how you set up your snare, but if you are a player who holds their left hand (assuming you are a right handed player playing traditional grip) high up in the air and taps on the snare right with the tip of the stick, you need to adjust your snare's tilt so you are hitting the head with the fat/meaty portion of the tip and not the sharp pointy end. That means tilting the drum down towards your bass pedal.
View attachment 551509

This example may seem extreme, but look how high Gene has his left hand. Imaging how the tip of the stick would hit the head if the drum were flat. No head would survive long like that.

Here's a pic of snare set for Jazz for which I used the trad grip. I sit it slightly lower for Country/Soft Rock as I use matched grip and need a little more space between stick and head. In all cases I keep my snare "flat"

 

[017]

I feel pretty confident that if Roy Burns was still in charge of aquarium, he would make sure that the problem was taken care of properly! I would think they still would.

DMS is complaining about d'Addario, not Aquarian.

Lately, Aquarian's customer service seems to be as good as I've heard it was when Roy was around. I recently received two defective heads. I sent photos of the defects to Aquarian, and Chris Brady straight-up asked for my address to send replacements (express international shipping to boot).

 

[Matched Gripper]

DMS is complaining about d'Addario, not Aquarian.

Lately, Aquarian's customer service seems to be as good as I've heard it was when Roy was around. I recently received two defective heads. I sent photos of the defects to Aquarian, and Chris Brady straight-up asked for my address to send replacements (express international shipping to boot).

I know, my post was a little confusing.

 

[Tommy D]

I am not a brush player but I find the coating on Evans to be disappointing. This head is after one night of playing. Freshly mounted in the afternoon and 3.5 hours of go later, this is the aftermath. I am not worried about pitting but the lack of adhesion with coating. It never holds up. If I gaff it, it peels the coating right off. I understand the UV1 is supposed to help combat this but it reads like it isn’t the case either. It’s too bad. I like the sound I can get but the durability is appallingly bad. This was my last Evans head and so sticking with Aquarian or Remo from now on.

WTF logo is that? I have never seen an Evans G1 head have that logo on it.

 

[logogogue]

WTF logo is that? I have never seen an Evans G1 head have that logo on it.

It's their "57" logo. They had a limited(?) run of a G1 with the 57 script logo. Most often found on their calftone series. I am not an Evans historian, so this is my understanding at any rate.

 

[David M Scott]

My preferred heads for brush playing are the Remo Skyntone or the Remo Fiberskyn Diplomat . I have not experienced any issues with bubbling with these heads . I have with both Fiberskyn Ambassadors and Evans Calftones .

The Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium is really nice for brush playing . You need to sand it down a bit first though . The costing is really thick .

I had a Remo Diplomat FiberSkyn on my Jazz snare for about 5 years and it performed well. The last year the surface is not really bubbling but is becoming bumpy in spots. I moved it to my 14in floor tom and noticed it is harder to play unless cranked. Otherwise it's soft when tuned to C which I like. Time to retire it but not unhappy as 5 years is a good run.

 

[Tommy D]

It's their "57" logo. They had a limited(?) run of a G1 with the 57 script logo. Most often found on their calftone series. I am not an Evans historian, so this is my understanding at any rate.

Yeah, I thought they only put that logo on the 57 series of heads. I found it strange that it was on a G1. I thought maybe someone had sold you an off-brand (cheap) head and put that strange script logo on it saying it was something special.

 

[logogogue]

Yeah, I thought they only put that logo on the 57 series of heads. I found it strange that it was on a G1. I thought maybe someone had sold you an off-brand (cheap) head and put that strange script logo on it saying it was something special.

Lol. I got them off of sweetwater, so I am pretty certain it isn't some chincy off-brand knockoff.

 

[David M Scott]

I had a Remo Diplomat FiberSkyn on my Jazz snare for about 5 years and it performed well. The last year the surface is not really bubbling but is becoming bumpy in spots. I moved it to my 14in floor tom and noticed it is harder to play unless cranked. Otherwise it's soft when tuned to C which I like. Time to retire it but not unhappy as 5 years is a good run.

So today I bought and mounted a Remo Emperor black suede snare head. I was looking for a durable but bright head that worked for brushes which I play at least 50% of the time. Well, first of all it is very bright.. glad I took the dual head Emperor and not the single head Ambassador..and the brushes sound just fine. They are a bit more subdued than a regular coated head but vey nice and the brushes just glide over the surface without bouncing or grabbing. Hopefully I have found a solution to delaminating and/or the fast wear head surfaces I've been having. And the stick articulation is as good as any head I've played. Wish me luck.
cheers

 

[David M Scott]

So today I bought and mounted a Remo Emperor black suede snare head. I was looking for a durable but bright head that worked for brushes which I play at least 50% of the time. Well, first of all it is very bright.. glad I took the dual head Emperor and not the single head Ambassador..and the brushes sound just fine. They are a bit more subdued than a regular coated head but vey nice and the brushes just glide over the surface without bouncing or grabbing. Hopefully I have found a solution to delaminating and/or the fast wear head surfaces I've been having. And the stick articulation is as good as any head I've played. Wish me luck.
cheers

Think i'm really like the Emperor Suede. Great stick response and nice for brushes with only a very minimum loss in volume played with brushes compared to Amb or Evans coated. And no coating to wear off. Lots of stick work this past week and surface looks great.

 

[David M Scott]

Think i'm really like the Emperor Suede. Great stick response and nice for brushes with only a very minimum loss in volume played with brushes compared to Amb or Evans coated. And no coating to wear off. Lots of stick work this past week and surface looks great.

Just finished 3 hour Jazz jam and played 90% brushes. Great sound. Our pianist is very competent and does great fills and tempo changes in numbers which lets me do l.h. buzz rolls. The head is the best I've ever played for that. I confess that I like firm brushes so I use Promark TB6 for slower numbers and Vic Firth Live Wires for up tempo. So obviously that gives me more bounce to the ounce but i've never had a more responsive snare head and one that's so smooth to play with brushes.