We manufacture just about anything that lies within the boundaries of the theoretically possible.
Shell diameters from 8 to 28 inches in different wood types, Shell strengths with all the known and not so well known bearings. Be it veneer finishes, exotic wood ply, Custom Lacquer finishes, oiled or polished shells, the sky’s the limit!
We have already realized some really special, unusual Optics!
The many different choices of shells in different Woods, like Maple, Birch, Mahogany, Beech or Acrylic and hardware in black, chrome or gold plate leave no room for desire.
Intensive talks with the potential client are most important. All the relevant parameters will be fixed by which the Set will be configured.
We still can’t quite create “the egg laying, milkable, woolly pig”^^, but we’re working on it hard!!
That is why the ambitious drummer should think hard about his needs and how he wishes to use his new set before rushing to the buy!
You will not need a Set built for a Hard-Rock Band in a small Jazz-combo! Likewise it would be impossible to kick that Bonham-sound out of an 18’ Bass-Drum except if you have a magician on the mixing console.
There are a lot good and non good publications about shell construction, woods, bearing edges and tunings. Basically there are some simple rules :
1. Thinner drum shells resonate easier and generally lead to a very open sounding drum.
2. Thicker shelled drums are louder, dryer sounding drums.
3. The sharper the bearing edge, the more overtone and high pitched overtone resonance.
4. Half round or round bearing edges means more contact between head and shell. The result are less overtones
5. If the drum is void of obstructions inside, that is, no reinforcing hoop adhered to the inside; the drum will be more open and vibrate more freely. Conversely, if the drum has reinforcing
hoops inside, it will have a shorter decay/sustain and a more mid-ranged presence or attack than unobstructed shells. The reinforcing or counter-hoop stifles the ability for the drum to resonate, thus decreasing the low-end along with the very high-end response to a small degree. Therefore, the unobstructed shell is usually brighter or with more high frequencies, while the thin unobstructed shell increases low-end resonance as well.
6. Maple is the most used wood in drumbuilding. Maple shells have a smooth, warm tone
They support a wide tunig spectrum with good allround characteristics.
7. Birch will have about a 10 % loss in reproduction of low end compared to maple and about a 20% increase in the high end, with the mid range remaining about the same. So the birch kit will definitely be a “harder” and “brighter” sounding kit.
8. Beech is in between Maple and Birch. All other Maple colored woods used in laminated shells are basically there for either structural integrity or looks and do not have the desired qualities ( meaning density and grain structure ) of the above.
9. Mahogany has earned a undeserved bad reputation due to the use of inferior grades.Such as Luann on low cost drums for appearance reasons. But Mahogany is a very rich sounding and warm tone.
10. Poplar is a very fast growing wood and the sound is a bit like Birch and Mahogany.
In Vintage drums there’s often the core that’s made of Poplar, and the outer plies
are Maple or Birch.
11. Basswood is also a fast growing wood. Because of the cheap price is often used for
Beginners drums.
12. Acrylic shells appears since the 60’ on the drum market. Because of the less overtones and the rich volume this kit is good for big stages.
The shell depth while having a small impact on the warmth or resonance of the drum has a greater impact on volume and articulation. The diameter has a far greater impact on creating lower pitch. Greater depth increases volume or power by having an impact on resonance of the fundamental note of the shell. A shallower shell creates a shorter burst of tone and makes a drum more articulate by virtue of the fact that the quantity of surface area of the parent material (i.e. the shell) is lessened and therefore cannot resonate as much as large surface area. Less distance between heads means the opposite head (i.e. Resonant head) reacts quicker, or gets excited faster when striking the batter head, it responds better to softer playing. For instance, a 22” diameter kick drum of 16” in depth has a shell area of approximately 6,080 square inches. A 22” diameter kick drum of 18” in depth has a shell area of approximately 6,840 square inches, or a 12.5% increase in area to resonate. Take that same thought to a 10” tom
with a 9” depth. This results in a shell area of approximately 706 square inches versus one with an 11” depth, which results in a shell area of 863 sq. in. That 2” increase in depth is now a 22% gain. The deeper the shell, the more likely they are to produce a deeper or warmer sound because of resonance ability, but this should not be confused with a low tuning.
For many reasons, the bearing edges is a very misunderstood area of the drum.The bearing edge is the part of the drum that the head should be in contact with at all times and is the essential element to gaining resonance, or the lack thereof. The problem is, they are hidden from view most of the time. If you are using a “vintage” set of drums, or any set of drums for that matter, first take into account the era or how they were manufactured and realize that the set was designed to produce a sound that reflects the
designer or that, which may have been popular with the times.
Anyone can very quickly determine whether his or her set will be able to be tuned to a point where it can be very resonant, excluding the abilities of the tuner and head used. If upon further investigation you determine that your set has been constructed so that a built-in problem or construction technique exists, rethink your desire to put new heads on your drums in hopes it will sound like something in your head because it simply may not be able to be achieved by changing heads, in other cases certainly changing heads may work.
By simply removing the drumhead on any given drum, the answer will be visually right there, staring you in the face. Many older sets were manufactured with a bearing edge that has anywhere between a 35 to 60 degree chamfer cut on the interior side of the shell. On the outer side of the shell, in many cases the bearing edge is rounded over on the outside and crown area as opposed to that of the newer manufacturing techniques. Now add a bent or deformed hoop to this and I don’t care what head you pick, it will always have a “thud” element to the sound. The closer you move to flatter bearing edge or a bearing edge of 35 degrees on the outside or inside, or rounded as the case may be, the drum will exhibit more of the “thud/cardboard” sound. With newer drums, which usually are a 45 with a very small radius of less than 1/16 of an inch (some kicks very as do snares), resonance is easy to achieve and the head selections I have given will hold true. It is the designers tool to get the drum to produce it’s signature sound.
