Evans Hydraulic Drum Heads - B14HB - Drum Head with Layer of Oil - Supresses Unwanted Overtones - Ideal for Rock, Metal, & Funk - Blue, 14 Inch

This has been one of the best ones I’ve used. I play between medium and hard and this has lasted me more than 3 months so I’ll be keeping this one as my everyday.

Drum heads sound great, easy to put on and tune. Very loud and annoying to the family/neighbors. Just what I was looking for!

Out the door, I just want to state I am not a professional drummer. This is a hobby, it’s fun. So I don’t really know HOW “GOOD” this head is. You can read lots of different stuff online and folks will argue about it for days on end…I’ve been playing with this for about two weeks now. I replaced a stock Ludwig coated snare batter head with it. This seems rock solid. The color is beautiful, was torn between the black and red but opted for red on the snare. I still have my Ludwig stock resonant head on the bottom, using a drum dial I’m at like ~90 on top, ~80 on the bottom. There’s definitely some overtones but this thing has a serious crack to it. It sounds way better than the stock head did, and honestly, less overtones. I’m muffling with either a microfiber cloth or a big fat snare drum donut depending on the song I’m playing (some 70’s stuff calls for an insane dead snare).If you’re worried about whether or not it’s “too dead”, I can assure you it’s not. I think if I knew really what I was doing with tuning I could make it sound super dead, but to my ears, the way I have this set I like. Will definitely be replacing all heads down the road with more hydraulics (batters at least, unsure on reso heads). They fit amazingly and I think the price is pretty fair considering I likely won’t need to change them out too frequently, they are really tough.

Excellent product and great quality and sound!

I have used this on my snare for a year or two now. It's coating has worn off toward the center, but is still holing up. I play with lower and looser tunings and I have no complaints with the sound. But also keep in mind that I've never had the chance to compare it to other heads.I have a sparkly blue wrap on my kit so it looks good contrasting with the shells. I just wish they made more colors!No complaints from me.

Updated 17Jul15: I have a great sound coming from this head now. So good I documented everything. My hope is that when this head is used up I can recreate the same sound. I added a PureSound Super 30 snare wire to the snare and used 2 moon gel dampers to remove the resonant overtone (see below) that was annoying and this head is perfect as of today. Another improvement in addition to the sound, is the playing area with consistent sound is almost 9 inches now and does not vary with the velocity of the hit (see below).So in summary, personally, I could not get the sound I wanted without additional "things" and effort. But now I have that sound, and consistency with it I am happy. I will add too that the head is solid and feels good to play loud or soft. For rim clicks/cross sticking make sure you get the end of the stick 2-3 inches past the rim. The thickness/fluid of the hydraulic head can muffle the sound some (vs. a clear or coated head).Previous:There's a lot to like, not sure about love yet. For me I am finding this head is most responsive and sounds great when you play in the center 4 inches at moderate to loud strikes.When I drop the volume it sounds "ok" but it has some "odd" over tones that are not consistent across the playing area. The center 4 inches of the head is where the sound is tight and consistent, if you drift out of that area, I hear the sound thin out and the snare wires rattle a bit more (not as tight sounding). Now, this may just be my in my head (pun intended) as this is my first hydraulic head.So I like it but I am not sure yet if it is the "one snare head to rule them all". I have played it enough to re-tune it twice so I can say it is not still "breaking in" or loose. I may update this review if something changes as I play it longer.

Sound great. Love them

I have tried all the usual choice for heads, Remo Ambassadors, Emporers, EC2 pin stripes, G2 clears etc.. on my Gretsch Cat Maples and found them all just a bit to resonate, finally found some heads to take that down a notch. Paired these 2 ply hydraulics with 10 mil G1 clears on reso and really like what I'm hearing, nice tone on easy hits and nice solid projecting clack when hit harder, makes for some very versatile play options. Was thinking of buying a tulipwood set to get the warmer tone I was wanting but may have accomplished this with heads. Put these on my Superphonic and Trackmaster snare as well, do not need Gel pads anymore, very pure controlled sound, very tuneable as well, high tuning will crack like a rifle if you like that, tuned more mid for me like 82 on a drum dial and 75 for low. These are definitely worth trying if you are looking for a different sound from your set. I play alot of 70's and really feel more dialed in now. Bought whole set 6,8,10,12,14,16 and coated 14snare, might get the 22 later but like my EMAD the way it is, for now, sure curiosity will get me though. Drum ON !