The EPCRD (Evans Power Center Reverse Dot) is Evans’ answer to Remo’s Controlled Sound & Emperor X snare heads. Just like a G1 it’s a single ply 10 mil head, the only difference being the little 5 inch, 5 mil patch on the underside of the head. The little patch looks a little something… like a dis.

Most people think of heads with dots being two ply heads with a really heavy and dead snare sound. This one is definitely more dead than a G1 but for a dotted head it’s quite lively. You might notice that the dot seems to be split up into sections… well each of those sections sounds a little different than the last. Danny Carey of Tool is known for making use of the patch on the power center head (the one with the dot on top) to get all kinds of crazy tabla like textures out of the snare drum. Same thing holds true for the reverse dot snare head. The problem is, that you can’t see the patch on this model of snare head. Thought that’s the only problem I have found with this drum. This problem can be solved by taking a sharpie (the official marker of musicians) and looking at the bottom of the head and then drawing where the different strike sections of the drum are. The tones that you get out of this head aren’t as drastic as the ones you get out of the regular power center head but you do get the ability to play with brushes… looks better too.

In terms of sound this head has a real nice pop to it. This head’s element is in medium to high tension tuning. It just sounds real nice when it’s cranked up. Again, it has the tabla effect as you move around the drum. The tablaesqness (did you like that? made up a new word right there) can be enhanced by turning off the snares. Brushes sound very good on this head. Not as good as they would on a G1 or J1 but then again if you bought this head you’re probably not worried about getting all possible overtones out of the drum. You bought it because it’s more focused and has less ring than your standard single ply coated head.

If you play with any sort of technique (not bashing like a gorilla) then this head will last you for a good long while. Once again it’s not a double ply head, at it’s thickest point its a one and a half ply snare head. So don’t go in with the intention of abusing this head like it’s an Emperor X. Though I will say that it can take quite a good thrashing. It was a favorite of John Blackwell Jr. before he switched over to Remo (traitor.)

To me this head is worth 4 of 5 stars. It loses it’s last star because the different strike zones are invisible to the naked eye, making it more difficult to use to its maximum potential. Not that big a deal but it would be nice if I didn’t have to draw on the head myself. However I’m big on getting all the tabla like tones out of this drum. If you’re like the most drummers then all you have to worry about is hitting inside the five inch dot… not that difficult. So it might as well be 5 stars for most people

Average those two scores out and i think you’ll find that it equals 4.5 stars out of 5.

So if you’re bored with your current head or are looking for a head that’s in-between a single and a double ply head… go pick this one up.

For more information on this head please visit evansdrumheads.com

And I’m out.