DRUMMER CAFE

Don't get me wrong - I'm flattered by the suggestion, but I'm quite happy leaving my drum building activities at the hobby level.  The way things are now, I get to build what I want, when I want - and if I want.  Take some or all of those freedoms away, and a lot of the fun goes out of it.  Plus, to buy parts wholesale (which I'd need to do to make this a profitable venture), there's a big minimum order amount required by the parts manufacturers in Taiwan, as I understand it at least - more than enough to wipe out my life's savings.

Additionally - and this is the biggie - the only way I'd go into the business is if I could simply build instruments the way I want to build them, and then sell them - none of this "tell me what you want and I'll build it" stuff for me.  I don't want to be a generic builder - there are enough of those out there already.  ("I want a ten-ply shell...die-cast hoops...double-45 degree edges...green glitter wrap...tube lugs...Trick strainer..."  Yawn.  Let me give you the names of a hundred other guys who already do that...)

I would want to produce instruments with a defined style and personality - something that would prompt people to say, "What you really want is a Walker snare drum, because..."  You think of a Brady, a Dunnett, a Craviotto...you know what those drums are about before you even play them.  I like instruments built by individuals with their own ideas.  If I could ever get my building skills anywhere near that level, I might consider taking the leap - but that's one hell of a big "if."  I'm probably setting the bar impossibly high, listing builders like that, but that's where I'm setting it, for better or worse.

Well, they're not the greatest, but I've cobbled together a few sound files.

ash snare, low tuning
ash snare, medium tuning
ash snare, higher tuning

There's not much of a difference between the "higher" and "medium" tunings (I did the higher tuning, then tuned the drum low, then brought it back up a bit), but I thought I'd go ahead and include both files.  There's no EQ on the sound files - just my usual signal chain (small diaphragm OH mic', into my old Mackie mixer, into my computer).  Truth be told, I'm starting to sour on the idea of online sound files - what you hear isn't exactly what I'm hearing in the room, which is a reflection on my lousy engineering skills.  Really, all it shows is, "yes, it sounds like a snare drum."  But, I thought I'd share them anyway.

I've made some slight changes to the drum.  Previously, the drum sounded a little bit fuzzy, with too much sustain in the fundamental tone (which, as far as I can tell, was contributing to the fuzziness in the snare sound).  It also only seemed to sound good if I cranked both the heads, which IMO is a sign that something's wrong with a snare drum - not that there's anything wrong with cranked up snare drums, but if a drum has to be up there in order to sound good, something's off.

I went back and rounded off the outer bearing edge on the batter head side, changing the edge from a "double 45" cut to a "roundover/45" edge, and that really helped to focus the drum.  I also added a small (3/8") vent, 1-1/2" down from the batter head.  Both moves seem to have helped the drum.  I may do the same "roundover" treatement on the snare side bearing edge, but it's more likely that I'll just leave the drum alone for a while before I do any additional modifications.  I've found that brand new snare drums (with wood shells, at least) need a little bit of time to settle in.

A vote here for - the medium tuning sound.

Thanks, guys.

After posting those files, I ended up taking the drum down to my workbench again, and I rounded the reso side edge, same as I did to the batter side edge.  There was another definite improvement in the sound of the drum - not as drastic as changing the batter side edge, but noticeable.  Overall, this is a decidedly different drum from what it was 24 hours ago.  I may try my hand at some new sound files, to see if the differences I'm hearing make their way "to tape."

Anyway...live and learn:

1)  So much for my "let's try a snare drum with a rounded batter edge and sharp reso edge" idea. 

2)  The next time someone tries to convince me that bearing edge shape doesn't make a difference in the sound of a drum...      

One of my 4 sets is a Cherry Mapex set. I use a Craviotto snare with the set because it's a snare drum that sounds great with all my sets. Just the same, that set sounds great and I would never diss a Cherry set again.   

Yeah, many woods are getting harder to get, and in some cases, even if you can get it, one might consider passing due to possible extinction...


I've been curious about mesquite as well.  It's supposed to be very hard and dense.  I live where I could probably go gather dried up mesquite logs without a problem.  I'd love to cut some logs into staves for some shells...

6x14 Global Drum Company tiger maple segment shell:

Years ago my grandpa asked if anyone made drums from that same wood.  We used it for corner post in the fences and it last forever when placed in the ground.  Around here it goes by one of three names, Osage Orange, Bois De Arc, and Horse Apple.  It is a very elastic wood.  Now you got me to wondering all over again. 

I haven't had any reason to contact Matt in recent months, but I do recall that in the past, he has had issues with his back.


I've never worked on, built, or played a drum made of osage orange, but Greg Gaylord has a very positive review of it on his web site:
http://www.drumsolo.cc/snare_drums/snare_gallery/Osage_orange/osage_orange.htm


As you've read, I'm very happy with my monkey pod snare.

IMO, the big thing is that you're looking at shells built by Matt at Global - his workmanship has always been top-notch, in my experience, regardless of the tonewood he uses.  That's more important than picking a certain tonewood - altho the choice of shell material can make an audible difference, being the "icing on the cake" in terms of getting exactly the drum one is looking for.


Thanks - a reply has been sent.