Evans 56' Calftone Tom Batter Drum Head is the synthetic version of classic calfskin drum heads of yesteryear. Evans Drum Head company first made synthetic drum heads in 1956. Over the years manufacturing techniques have been refined to ultimately...
Evans has evidently fixed whatever problems were reported in the past, based on my 3 years' experience with Calftone. They are genre and kit dependent, but pretty much replicate the best recorded drummers of the era with a warm, full tone, moderated sustain, and focus. These are for classic jazz and moderate levels of anything else, but not metal or heavy hitting because the surface architecture must be understood and respected. On my vintag Slingerlands and Ludwig kits, comments the audience about the drums have been rather common--and it is not because I am Philly, Buddy, Max, or Joe. Oh, I've stayed with proven bulletproof head on the snares, the UV1, simply because I want the option of cranking the volume with abandon and because the surface of the UV1 is superb for brushwork. These heads take awhile to open up and draw the tone out of the shells; I tune them somewhat gradually over a couple of days to allow the two plies to expand together--the result is a tough head with no fragmentation.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Bob Albiston
Rating:
5.00
Look and Sound Great!
Comments:
Really enjoying all new heads all around. I replaced my whole sound from a lower pitch rock sound to a warmer and higher pitch. I really am happy with the sound and the look of these heads.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Mark Wagoner
Rating:
5.00
The Evans Calftone Drum Heads
Comments:
In searching for a tom-tom drum head with a resonant and sustaining fundamental, and without a pesky
intruding overtone, I find the Calftones to fit the bill nicely. Some reviewers state that the Calftone coating "bubbles", but we shall see.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Danlee Mitchell
Rating:
5.00
Needs Improvement
Comments:
I have a Slingerland snare which is part of their Buddy Rich 80N model kit. The nearing edges are sanded flat, possibly a strange factory cut, or someone's modification. I was not happy with the drum sound at all and tried Evans 360 which didn't help. Then I tried the Evans Calf tone and the drum sounds beautiful. It's very sensitive, has a full bodied tone, brushes sound great, everything was great until...
Only a few minutes into brush playing a tear formed, then another at a different spot and then another. These have gotten larger and make brush playing nearly impossible. Well, now the dilemma. Do I try another Calftone or something else. I checked out YouTube reviews and see that I am not alone in this problem. Others have reported that after a few good whacks, the fiberous head material begins to come apart. So to sum up, if my case is not a one time event, the Evans company needs to redesign this head. They have a great sounding head here, but it has serious dependability issues even under normal to light playing.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Nick Scheuble
Rating:
3.00
The honeymoon is over
Comments:
As a longtime Remo FiberSkyn player who switched briefly to Evans heads, I embraced the new Calftones with the assumption that they were as durable as FiberSkyns. (I even defended Calftones against criticism in an earlier review on this web site.) As other drummers and I soon discovered, however, this is hardly the case: the top layer can deteriorate after a single gig, making for difficult brushwork. Calftones sound, feel, and look great, but they simply don't last. I've begun to think they were introduced specifically for collectors whose drums spend most of their time in display cases. The Remo Diplomat FiberSkyn is a far superior product.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Hal Howland
Rating:
2.00
Evans 56 calftone heads
Comments:
I like the Evans 56 calftone heads,they are warm and responsive,very organic feel,much like a calf skin drum head,tunes up nicely and sings very well.
The durability factor is questionable.
For brush work it's a little smooth for my taste,you'll have to use a thicker gauge wire brush,otherwise a very good drum head for those who don't want to go through the trouble of climate changes with using the real thing.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Jimmy Ford
Rating:
4.00
Calf Skin Option
Comments:
It's a single ply 10 mil head with a calf skin textured coating. It has a tan color similar to calf skin which gives it a vintage look. The textured coating works well even with brushes. It has a little more focused sound than a coated G1 but less than a coated G2. The Evans 56 logo looks very "old school" as well. Nothing exceptional about this 10 mil single ply head other than having a vintage look and being another calf skin option to consider.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
Timothy R. Haley
Rating:
5.00
Same problem as FibreSkyn, only worse
Comments:
I tried this head in the hope that it would a substitute for the Remo Fibreskyn, which consistently has a problem with the top layer separating after a while, creating a "bubbled" appearance. I put the Calftone on my snare drum, got it sounding great, and took it to a gig. Within one hour of playing on it, the head started to separate and bubble in the center. It sounded great for about an hour, but then went downhill during my 3-hour set. Perhaps I got a bad one, but I'm not likely to try another one. I know the Remo heads will last longer than one gig.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
JMT
Rating:
1.00
Awesome dark sound
Comments:
These sound like Chick Webb swinging his hands off. Amazing tone and that awesome loud range of punchy, but clear sound. I'm a little nervous about durability over time with heavy playing but the sound is worth replacing a little more often, no question.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
DJK
Rating:
5.00
Awesome warm and punchy sound
Comments:
These sound like Chick Webb swinging his hands off. Amazing tone and that awesome loud range of punchy, but clear sound. I'm a little nervous about durability over time with heavy playing but the sound is worth replacing a little more often, no question.
Date Posted:
Posted By:
DJK
Rating:
5.00
Wow
Comments:
I'm a professional drummer and music educator and I've recently put these heads on my kit. They sound beautiful. In my opinion these are currently one of the best products on the market.
