Maple or Birch?

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You can also change the character of the drum by choosing the right reso (bottom) head.

A thicker reso head will give a deeper tone, but at a cost of longer sustain (more ring.)
A thinner reso head will shorten the sustain, but at a cost of less low end frequency.

But don't forget, heavy muffling ruins the attack and makes the drum sound choked. I suppose you just need to compromise on some things.
 
RawDepth said:
You can also change the character of the drum by choosing the right reso (bottom) head.

A thicker reso head will give a deeper tone, but at a cost of longer sustain (more ring.)
A thinner reso head will shorten the sustain, but at a cost of less low end frequency.

.
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That's good advice and well put. Thanks, I'll certainly give that a try.
 
cafehonda said:
Of course it does, everybody knows that, silly.
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Agreed, but shell choice does make a difference. Otherwise, how could we tell that Yamaha oaks are really very loud, Maple is sharp, Birch is a bit warmer and "old school" Mahogany is soft on the ears? Hardware also can make a difference. One of those cheapo sets with the cheap thin rims with only 5 lugs for a 14" diameter floor tom is going to sound bad even with really good heads. It's all part of the complete picture. The ability to tune drums well is also very important. As is the bearing edge on the drums. Are they even or dented? Are they very rounded over (okay for a small cabaret set) or are they nice sharp 45 degree bevels the way we like them now (for a stronger presence and sharpness)?
 
Birch has a scooped sound and thats why they say its naturally eq'd. Maple will have the low end and nice highs but will also have more body in the mids. You could go with either because both woods produce a great sound. With all the technolgy in heads you should be able to achieve the sound you're looking for with either wood. As far as kits go I've been fortunate in getting to play on alot of kits both Intermediate and high end and have owned both birch and maple kits so hit me up with any questions you might have. If your looking for a great kit check out Sonor Force kits. I own one currently and have bought and sold and Tama Superstar and a Pearl Session kit while owning the Sonor and its safe to say its my favorite intermediate kit. Other people will have different preferences as well as different experiences with every brand under the sun and there is no right or wrong answer. Out of the two you mentioned I would go with the Gretsch. Be sure to check out Sonor Force though cause if you look around long enough you could probably find a new Force 2007 on the internet for around $600 w hardware. For snares at a reasonable price point (Under $300) I would say: Black Panther (they come in all different varieties ranging from 150 to 500 bucks new), PDP Ace (around 100-125 bucks used), Sonor Ascent (all Beech and great color options/diecast hoops and comes with Ambassador Top and Bottom which will save you 25 bucks on heads) Theres to many good options to list and with all the equipment it depends on what sound and style you are going for. As far as heads my fav combos are:

Toms - Coated Emps/Clear Ambassadors (Great all around sound for anything other than Jazz)
Coated or Clear Emps/Clear Emps (Sounds Great Mic'd on Birch)
Clear Ec2/G1 (Great for Metal or Punk/Lot of attack but short sustain when you need to hear every note during fast playing)

Snare - Cant go wrong with either Ambassador or Evan Power Center on any wood snare/Ambassador of Evans Genera Dry on Deep Metal snares

Kick - Remo Powersonic/Aquarian Superkick 2

Let me know if you have any other questions about any potential drum gear! Good Luck!
 
I prefer the birch, I like the sound off that has the maple, especially toms.

search on youtube the yamaha custom absolute kits in maple or birch versions and compared this
 
Maple is bright and clear in tone. Definitely good for recording, but takes a lot of skill and ear to tune! Birch is less bright in its attack but has a boomier tone, which many drummers like. Besides, is less complex than maple, so the harmonics are less hard to tune. I'd say go for whichever you like, but tuning and head choice will become your number one issue after getting your drums. Good Luck.
 
For me its maple over anything else! The warmth is unmatched IMO! I also enjoy OAK!

cheers
 
HugoRibeiro.Com said:
For me its maple over anything else! The warmth is unmatched IMO! I also enjoy OAK!

cheers
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I like maple and oak also and I have a few really sweet snares made out of birch (they're all good for different reasons). Most of my favorite kit is maple (I change up the snare a lot depending on the sound I want) but I find your statement that maple gives warmth to be very different to my experience. I find that maple is much brighter and sharper (one of the reasons I like it) and certainly not as warm as birch or the older mahogany kits. Oak is just louder for some reason. I played a Yamaha oak kit at the L.I. Drum center a few years back, and the kick was so deep and booming that I didn't think I'd ever need a mic on it! I liked it.
 
Rimshot said:
I like maple and oak also and I have a few really sweet snares made out of birch (they're all good for different reasons). Most of my favorite kit is maple (I change up the snare a lot depending on the sound I want) but I find your statement that maple gives warmth to be very different to my experience. I find that maple is much brighter and sharper (one of the reasons I like it) and certainly not as warm as birch or the older mahogany kits. Oak is just louder for some reason. I played a Yamaha oak kit at the L.I. Drum center a few years back, and the kick was so deep and booming that I didn't think I'd ever need a mic on it! I liked it.
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Well.. my SIGNIA Maple kit is very warm... maple is more of a Mid-Low wood with less highs.. Birch is Low-High wood with less mids.. therefor the're famous for sounding naturally EQ'd... The OAK is awesome... loud and powerful.. the my 20" OAK kick drum just puts some 22"s to shame! :D

cheers
 
How about wood? Or acrylic? Just hit the frigging things. Put a mic or 15 on them. See what comes out the other side. Adjust accordingly.
 
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