Evans Torque Drum Key Review

Practical Buying Guide

Introduction:

The Evans Torque Key is one of the most loved drum keys on the market. With there being hundreds of drum keys available from various brands, the Torque key has made its way to the top of most people’s lists. 

Drum keys are very simple tools with simplistic designs, so what makes the Evans key so popular? We’re going to give our review on it to break everything down. It’s an incredible tool, so keep reading to see why you should get one for yourself. 

Key Features: 

There are several features that make the Evans Torque Key stand out compared to other options. The biggest one is that it has a dial that you can adjust to lock a specific tension in place. This makes it very easy to get the same tension at every rod when tuning. 

The key also has a knurled knob that makes placing and removing drumheads very easy. 

The oversized handle is a fantastic design that makes it comfortable to twist the key, even when the tension rods are very tight. 

Finally, the key has a magnetic design that makes it stick to the tension rods when it’s in a resting position. This lowers the chance of the key dropping to the floor. 

Build Quality
98%
Performance
96%
Price to Value Ratio
95%
PROS: THINGS WE LIKED
  • Allows you to lock in tension settings
  • Very comfortable handle
  • Magnetic design
  • Extremely popular
CONS: THINGS WE DIDN'T LIKE
  • One of the most expensive drum keys available

FEATURED ON

 Evans Torque Drum Key Review:

What To Expect from This drum key

 

Quality 

The Evans Torque Key is arguably the highest-quality drum key available, and that’s a big reason for it being so popular. Not many other drum keys offer the function of locking tensions in, making this key easier to tune with. 

You need to do less work with your ears when tuning, as the key will make sure that all your tension rods are tightened equally. After that, you can do some fine-tuning. 

The key is also indestructible, as there’s nothing you can do to stop it from functioning how it’s supposed to. The only way to do that would be to lose it, which is very common with drum keys. 

Construction

Apart from using an analog or digital tuner, this Torque key will give you the most accurate tuning experience possible, and it’s all due to the clever construction. 

The knurled knob makes it easy to take drumheads off. That’s a small feature that makes a huge difference in the process of replacing all your skins. 

The magnetized head then makes it easy to keep the key resting on one of the tension rods. You can leave it there while you play the drums and then make fine adjustments quickly whenever you need to. 

The oversized handle also does an amazing job of making it feel comfortable when you twist all the tension rods. A lot of smaller keys end up hurting your fingers if the rods are too tight. 

Performance

We truly mean it when we say that there aren’t many drum keys that feel better to use than the Evans Torque Key. Evans really knocked it out of the park with this design, and this key has been a go-to option for so long without too much competition. 

If you want a solid drum key that works well, any key will work just fine. However, not every drum key will give you a tuning experience that is as good as the one this key gives you. 

Price to Value:

The price is the big downside of the Evans Torque key. Standard drum keys are incredibly inexpensive. You could buy ten of them to keep around your drum room, and it wouldn’t even affect your wallet that much. 

The Evans Torque Key is far pricier than any standard key, making a lot of people think twice before buying it. However, we think it’s well worth the price, as you won’t want to use other keys after experiencing this one. 

You just need to make sure not to lose it, as replacing it will cost a lot more than replacing any standard drum key. 

Evans Torque Drum Key Review
  • Build Quality
  • Performance
  • Price to Value
4.5

Conclusion

It’s easy to see why the Evans Torque Drum Key is so popular. It gives you a tuning experience that is very close to how it feels when you use a dedicated drum tuner. If you don’t have one, this Torque Key will make things easier. 

If you do have a drum tuner, it won’t benefit you as much to own this, and you can easily get excellent tuning settings with a standard drum key. 

Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London  has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.

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