I talked to Ian Witt, my drum builder at
http://www.wittpercussion.com/, this morning. There were some details about my new snare that I was supposed to keep a secrete until he did a show with a drum just like mine in Toronto Canada at the end of this month. The company that he was going to do some kind of joint venture with and the show fell through so he told me I could tell all about it now
.
The Drum was truly inspired by something I read with Chris Whitten. If I can find the whole artical I will provide the link to it.
MODIFY:Here it is,
http://www.majormusic.com.au/products/ew_dfh_custom_vintage.php. You will have to scroll down a bit to find all the info.
The drum is very Close to Noble and Cooley hardware. The shell is Single Ply, Steam bent Lake Superior Flame Birch. Timeless Timbers
. The shell thickness is exactly this. All of Ian's shell's are made to replicate the Vintage 30's and 40's Slingerland Radio King shells. The snare drum is very light compared to my 6 X 14 StarClassic birch snare. The sound of this shell is like nothing I have played. In talking to Ian this morning about drum heads and the Ambassador that is on it was very close to what Chris Said about them. He said that if you are doing Studio work, he recommends the Ambassador for the best sound, But replace it after each session. If you are going to be playing a lot of gigs go to an Evans head, they will last longer. If you don't know anything about Lake Superior Timeless Timber Wood. Check this artical out. By the way, Ian can still get this wood. He said he has a few regular Timeless Timber Birch pieces ready to bend right now. He can also get other types of wood that are Timeless Timber. I have been really waiting to tell this, now I have
.
I can honestly say that this snare was worth every penny I paid for it. The workmanship, the sound and the looks. Thank you James Walker for letting me know about Mr. Witt's reputation. If you contact Ian, please let him know that you heard it from Mark Counts.
More info on Timeless Timber
Recovered from the depths of the Great Lakes Region and other US and Canadian waterways Timeless Timber is virgin old-growth timber 300 - 1200 years old. Grown under a thick canopy of evergreen trees and competing for limited nutrients and sunlight in overgrown forests, virgin hardwood species matured very slowly, accumulating up to 40 to 50 rings per inch. Today's second growth rapidly maturing trees average only 5 to 10 rings per inch. These environmental factors resulted in the development of a finely grained, highly figured hardwood of exceptional quality and beauty.
In the 1800's logging mills dotted the shorelines of lakes and rivers that were adjacent to the majestic forests of North America. Thousands of rugged lumberjacks felled millions of virgin trees that were previously untouched by man. These logs were tied into rafts and floated to the lumber mills for processing. Most of the lumber was used for building the great cities of the Industrial Revolution, except the logs that were lost before reaching their destination. These logs also known as 'sinkers', became waterlogged in transit and in their subsequent holding ponds and settled to the bottom. Forgotten, these sunken timbers have remained at the bottoms of lakes and rivers for over a century, untouched and perfectly preserved in the icy cold waters of the North. It wasn't until the 1990's when Timeless Timber discovered these lost 'sinkers' and devised methods for the recovery and state-of-the-art kiln drying of these irreplaceable woods.
Extensive research into log mark records by Timeless Timber staff bridges the past with the present. Some Timeless Timber logs have marks showing the logging company's name, from that we try to determine the sawmill and the year the log was cut down and in transit. Today, only two million board feet of recovered submerged lumber is available each year, although new domestic and international caches are continually being discovered.
Some of the ever changing species of Timeless Timber are flamed red birch, hard maple, tidewater, red cypress, beech, ash, white pine, red pine, ponderosa pine, red oak, western larch and aspen, with more species being discovered as recovers continues. The allure that Timeless Timber wood provides is beyond compare. Whether you are an architect, fine home builder, furniture maker or rare woods purist Timeless Timber will give your next project exceptional beauty, strength and a captivating story that dates back to the days of Columbus's discovery of America.
Nutty
