I was hoping to find people that own a full set of Tempus Fiberglass drums or have played an entire kit of Tempus Fiberglass and what they thought of the sound.

Also how would you compare them to wood, acrylic, or carbon fiber drums as a whole kit soundwise?

Thanks...

I have been playing Tempus drums exclusively for the past 18+ years. Like agogobil said, the sound is big and clean. I would also add warm. The carbon fiber shells are a bit warmer than the fiberglass but both are fantastic! I toured and recorded with a fiberglass kit for many years. My current studio kit is all carbon fiber shells. One of the surprising things about Tempus drums is how big the drums sound compared to their physical size. I play 14X20 BD, 8X10 MT, 10X12 MT, and a 14X14 FT in my carbon fiber studio kit and they sound huge!

Billy G.

(I don't know about "snare drum groupie" (altho the sentiment fits), but I have been known to refer to myself unabashedly as both a "snare wire snob" and "Tempus sycophant.")  

I had refrained from posting to this thread, as the original question had to do with entire Tempus sets, and I've only got two Tempus f/g snare drums (with a couple of c/f snare shells en route from Vancouver).  Let's just say that one of my Tempus snares is my "mothership" drum - as in, when/if the Mothership comes, and the aliens only let me take one snare drum, that's the one (by a hair over my bubinga stave...brother, I'm such a snob!  LOL)

While Paul Mason is a fabulous guy to deal with, and his workmanship top-notch, and he offers a dizzying variety of fabulous finishes (fades, glitters, etc.), the thing that really sells me on fibreglass (and c/f too, I'm sure) is the consistency of the material.  Unlike organic materials like wood, fibreglass is consistent throughout - no microscopic air pockets, differences in density, etc., all of which can affect the performance of a drum shell.  Don't get me wrong, I love wood drums - but I'm also a big fan of subversive materials like fibreglass.  When the time comes (and the budget allows) for me to build my next drum set, I'm going with Tempus shells - I'm a convert.

BTW, based just on my snare drums, I wouldn't put fibreglass and acrylic in the same ball park.  I like both, but they're definitely not the same thing.  Lots of folks think they're the same, and many confuse one with the other, but for my tastes fibreglass is a bit more musical, with a fuller tone, compared to my acrylic snare.  The f/g snares are also easier to tune and have a wider dynamic range.

Ya gotta keep 'im away from them vented snares, now...

Or as the legendary exchanges go,

"What kind of drums are those?"

"Fibreglass."

(moment of silence)

"...cool.  What kind of wood is that, anyway?"

...I've got one f/g snare with DW lugs - with the glitter finish, and it almost looks like an old Hayman snare.  I'm debating putting some single-flanged hoops and claw hooks on it, just to give it that complete "spage-age-retro" vibe, just so I can have someone come up to me at a gig and say, "Dude, I love that vintage snare drum you're using..."  


I was going to wait and let you do the honors...I guess I'm picking up the baton again on the split-shell Tempus project?  LOL

And Joe:  I've been keeping an eye on the local pawn shops for some POS wood-shell snare, just so I can have some inexpensive fun with vents...altho I haven't dismissed entirely the idea of cutting up a Keller shell one of these days...  (Where's the "evil" smiley, Bart?  LOL)