drumzealot
New member
There is a ton of hype in the drum world about which is better, maple or birch. In my opinion, this is not the first question a prospective buyer should ask. Most people shop for drums with a certain sound or application in mind.
Important factors that I do not address:
The info below assumes that your drums will be played by a good drummer. A good drummer is by far the most important factor in getting a good sound. The room is a another important factor that I will not address. This is simply about drums and their design options.
Drums shells are made using 4 basic construction techniques: ply, segment, stave, and solid. Each technique requires less glue than the other (respectively). Less glue = more efficient transfer of energy from the head to the wood. Ply shells are far more popular but are also the least efficient and exhibit less resonance and stifle the tone of the wood. Anyway, I don’t address these issues here.
What factors determine the sound of a drum? I have found the following to be true (listed in order of importance):
1. roundness of the shell
2. depth of shell
3. quality of the tuning hardware
4. Thickness of the shell
5. type of head
6. smoothness of the shell’s inner walls
7. wood type
8. mounting mechanism
9. type of rim
10. edge profile
Most hardwoods sound fairly similar. Maple and birch sound very similar. Maple has a flatter frequency response and birch scoops out some of the mids, which is why birch is commonly referred to as a “naturally EQed” wood. But these differences are slight. Only a well trained ear could tell the difference with all other factors being equal. The difference is this:
Maple is more complex and punchy
Birch provides a cleaner, more “pure” tone
Some people claim that birch is either brighter or darker than maple. But the fact is birch simply has less mids. The two woods are virtually equal in both low and high frequency response and the mid scoop is not very pronounced.
The design options listed above affect the sound in the following manner
1. roundness of the shell: ability to tune, achieve a clean/pure note. A drum that is not round is pretty much done and needs to be replaced.
2. depth of shell: more wood results in shorter resonance. Deep shelled toms are commonly referred to as “power” toms and are popular in heavy rock (especially in the 80’s) where the emphasis is on sharp attack and a short, punchy, deep tone. While this sound may be achieved with regular-depth shells (using thicker heads and or muffling) the more resonant sound of regular toms is difficult to achieve with power toms. Regular depth shells are more sensitive and have a more open/resonant sound and boast a wider tuning range. This is why the vast majority of jazz drummers do not use power toms. Jazz calls for higher tunings, and very responsive toms that sing at the slightest touch. Power toms sound great when tuned low and hit with greater velocity.
3. Quality of the tuning hardware: you can tell how well a lug casing and tension rod are machined by how smoothly it turns. Start with the rod all the way out. If you can tighten the rod with your fingers to the point where the rod starts to apply pressure to the hoop then it is well-machined. Bad hardware is hard to tune and does not hold the tension well.
4. Thickness of the shell: as thickness increases so does the drum’s volume. By contrast, there is an inverse relationship between thickness and resonance, but this is slight. A thicker shell can resonate quite freely. The depth of a shell has a more pronounced affect on resonance. Thickness also affects the fundamental pitch of a drum. Thinner shells have a lower fundamental. A drum’s fundamental pitch can be found by removing all the hardware, suspending the drum with a string, and striking it with your fist. This does NOT mean that thick shells cannot get a great low sound. A shell’s fundamental pitch seems to have little influence on how it performs when fully assembled.
5. type of head: more material = shorter sound. Single ply heads offer more diverse options. If you are looking for a resonant, open sound then go for single ply. If you want the resonance to be shorter then go for double ply heads.
6. smoothness of the shell’s inner walls: smoother shells exhibit a longer and cleaner tone. A good method of making a drum sound more dry is to not sand the inner walls as much, leave them a little rough. Engineers will sometimes line the inside of a drum with carpet to the same affect.
7. wood type: http://www.oregondrum.com/wood_properties.cfm
8. mounting mechanism: A poorly mounted drum will sound like poop. Learning to mount drums well is as much a science as it is an art. The easiest way to mount a tom well is to use Rimms style mounts. Floor toms tend to sound better using legs rather than hang.
9. type of rim: the weight and hardness of the rim will affect the clarity of gauks (aka rim shots), cross sticking (think bossa nova), and the drum’s resonance. For a shorter, drier sound use larger wood hoops or metal die-cast hoops. Die cast hoops also facilitate loud and well-articulated gauks and cross sticking. Flanged hoops tend to be lighter and allow the drum to sound more open.
10. bearing edge profile:
http://www.drumfoundry.com/amazing/...{161764EVEREST0C-9951-42BE-A4E8-9343F5F42932}
There is a positive relationship between the sharpness of an edge profile and the drums articulation, sensitivity and resonance. As the edge becomes more rounded more energy is transferred from the head to the shell. Modern drums tend to have sharper edges and more round edges tend to facilitate a “vintage” sound. Drums with rounder edges have a less pronounced attack, project and resonate a bit less.
You can learn a ton about drums and make an informed decision from a book called The Drum Handbook by Geoff Nicholls.
Important factors that I do not address:
The info below assumes that your drums will be played by a good drummer. A good drummer is by far the most important factor in getting a good sound. The room is a another important factor that I will not address. This is simply about drums and their design options.
Drums shells are made using 4 basic construction techniques: ply, segment, stave, and solid. Each technique requires less glue than the other (respectively). Less glue = more efficient transfer of energy from the head to the wood. Ply shells are far more popular but are also the least efficient and exhibit less resonance and stifle the tone of the wood. Anyway, I don’t address these issues here.
What factors determine the sound of a drum? I have found the following to be true (listed in order of importance):
1. roundness of the shell
2. depth of shell
3. quality of the tuning hardware
4. Thickness of the shell
5. type of head
6. smoothness of the shell’s inner walls
7. wood type
8. mounting mechanism
9. type of rim
10. edge profile
Most hardwoods sound fairly similar. Maple and birch sound very similar. Maple has a flatter frequency response and birch scoops out some of the mids, which is why birch is commonly referred to as a “naturally EQed” wood. But these differences are slight. Only a well trained ear could tell the difference with all other factors being equal. The difference is this:
Maple is more complex and punchy
Birch provides a cleaner, more “pure” tone
Some people claim that birch is either brighter or darker than maple. But the fact is birch simply has less mids. The two woods are virtually equal in both low and high frequency response and the mid scoop is not very pronounced.
The design options listed above affect the sound in the following manner
1. roundness of the shell: ability to tune, achieve a clean/pure note. A drum that is not round is pretty much done and needs to be replaced.
2. depth of shell: more wood results in shorter resonance. Deep shelled toms are commonly referred to as “power” toms and are popular in heavy rock (especially in the 80’s) where the emphasis is on sharp attack and a short, punchy, deep tone. While this sound may be achieved with regular-depth shells (using thicker heads and or muffling) the more resonant sound of regular toms is difficult to achieve with power toms. Regular depth shells are more sensitive and have a more open/resonant sound and boast a wider tuning range. This is why the vast majority of jazz drummers do not use power toms. Jazz calls for higher tunings, and very responsive toms that sing at the slightest touch. Power toms sound great when tuned low and hit with greater velocity.
3. Quality of the tuning hardware: you can tell how well a lug casing and tension rod are machined by how smoothly it turns. Start with the rod all the way out. If you can tighten the rod with your fingers to the point where the rod starts to apply pressure to the hoop then it is well-machined. Bad hardware is hard to tune and does not hold the tension well.
4. Thickness of the shell: as thickness increases so does the drum’s volume. By contrast, there is an inverse relationship between thickness and resonance, but this is slight. A thicker shell can resonate quite freely. The depth of a shell has a more pronounced affect on resonance. Thickness also affects the fundamental pitch of a drum. Thinner shells have a lower fundamental. A drum’s fundamental pitch can be found by removing all the hardware, suspending the drum with a string, and striking it with your fist. This does NOT mean that thick shells cannot get a great low sound. A shell’s fundamental pitch seems to have little influence on how it performs when fully assembled.
5. type of head: more material = shorter sound. Single ply heads offer more diverse options. If you are looking for a resonant, open sound then go for single ply. If you want the resonance to be shorter then go for double ply heads.
6. smoothness of the shell’s inner walls: smoother shells exhibit a longer and cleaner tone. A good method of making a drum sound more dry is to not sand the inner walls as much, leave them a little rough. Engineers will sometimes line the inside of a drum with carpet to the same affect.
7. wood type: http://www.oregondrum.com/wood_properties.cfm
8. mounting mechanism: A poorly mounted drum will sound like poop. Learning to mount drums well is as much a science as it is an art. The easiest way to mount a tom well is to use Rimms style mounts. Floor toms tend to sound better using legs rather than hang.
9. type of rim: the weight and hardness of the rim will affect the clarity of gauks (aka rim shots), cross sticking (think bossa nova), and the drum’s resonance. For a shorter, drier sound use larger wood hoops or metal die-cast hoops. Die cast hoops also facilitate loud and well-articulated gauks and cross sticking. Flanged hoops tend to be lighter and allow the drum to sound more open.
10. bearing edge profile:
http://www.drumfoundry.com/amazing/...{161764EVEREST0C-9951-42BE-A4E8-9343F5F42932}
There is a positive relationship between the sharpness of an edge profile and the drums articulation, sensitivity and resonance. As the edge becomes more rounded more energy is transferred from the head to the shell. Modern drums tend to have sharper edges and more round edges tend to facilitate a “vintage” sound. Drums with rounder edges have a less pronounced attack, project and resonate a bit less.
You can learn a ton about drums and make an informed decision from a book called The Drum Handbook by Geoff Nicholls.
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