Crucial Questions

[drummer from Kansas]

I have had so much on my mind lately and just wanted to get them out because i get obsessed sometimes with drumming so..... here we go


What are the differences with steel, brass, chrome, aluminum snare drums?

Also are carbon fiber snares any good or fiberglass snare drums?

What about free floating snare drums? are the worth it?

Does it really matter how many plies a wood snare drum has because isn't it all about the snare wires? Or the kind of heads like evans or remo?

Are companies that make drums in the USA better than drum companies in Taiwan like Pearl, Tama, Yamaha, etc?

Also the kind of hoops such as triple flanged hoops or Die cast hoops important?

And why do we have to cut down so many trees just to make one drum? I just think that there should be some other way because i think it hurts the environment and so yeah that what i really think about from time to time

Comments and opinions would be appreciated.

[Morgenthaler]

I have had so much on my mind lately and just wanted to get them out because i get obsessed sometimes with drumming so..... here we go


1. What are the differences with steel, brass, chrome, aluminum snare drums?

2. Also are carbon fiber snares any good or fiberglass snare drums?

3. What about free floating snare drums? are the worth it?

4. Does it really matter how many plies a wood snare drum has because isn't it all about the snare wires? Or the kind of heads like evans or remo?

5. Are companies that make drums in the USA better than drum companies in Taiwan like Pearl, Tama, Yamaha, etc?

6. Also the kind of hoops such as triple flanged hoops or Die cast hoops important?

7. And why do we have to cut down so many trees just to make one drum? I just think that there should be some other way because i think it hurts the environment and so yeah that what i really think about from time to time

Comments and opinions would be appreciated.

1. The acoustics. Steel, brass and aluminium (chrome is not that relevant in this discussion)
have different tonal qualities that can present themselves more or less, depending on other
factors (like tuning, choice of head, muffling vs no muffling etc). You really need to do some footwork here.
It's like the ability to tell different spices from each other and knowing what to use them for.

2. I've had no experience with carbon fiber snares. Fiberglass snares can be fine, it really comes down to whether
you like the sound of one specific drum, or not. Always go by ear.

3. I've had a few free floating snares (all Pearl) that sounded great! (again, give 'em a listen, try 'em out!)

4. YES. It matters greatly. The difference is comparable to the one you feel if you put thinner tires on a bicycle.
It's essentially a whole other ball game, going from a thin to a thicker drum (or from few to more plies).
And yes, head choices have a tremendous affect as well as choice of snare wires. All in all you can make pretty drastic
changes to a drum by replacing heads and wires with other models. But still, each drum has a certain limit to what it does.
This is where you start contemplating moving to another size, another wood or another thickness or number of plies.

5. No. Quality drums are made all over the world. The brands you mention are all good. As is Sonor (German),
Gretsch (US), Brady (AUS) and a sh*tload of other brands.

6. Yes. On some drums very much so. On others not so much. it really depends on the initial tonal qualities of that
one drum you are dealing with.

7. That's kind of a universal problem that goes for newspapers, books and a host of other wood based products.
If you really feel bad about it, buy fiberglass drums from Ludwig or Sonor or some other brand.

Cheers,
Jeppe

[Phil T.]

Or fibreglass / carbon fibre from our friend to the north, Paul Mason of Tempus Drums.

[Josiah]

And why do we have to cut down so many trees just to make one drum? I just think that there should be some other way because i think it hurts the environment and so yeah that what i really think about from time to time

Comments and opinions would be appreciated.

We don't. That is an unfortunate and common myth about the forestry industry. There are MORE tree's now then there were 50 years ago. In the late 50's or early 60's, I forget the time and name of the law (google it), was passed that forced forestry companies to plant 2 tree's for every 1 tree they cut down. Speaking of North America that is, which I believe is where most the Maple and Birch is purchased from for drums.

Morgan hit most everything else. And most of your questions boil down to 'The Sound YOU Like'. The same maple drum from Yamaha or Sonor will be equally well built (speaking of the high end stuff) but will sound very different.

I personally play Yamaha, and it's a favorite on these boards. Their customer service is unmatch and the PHX's just blown everything away IMO having A/B'd my kit against other brands high end lines.


Also it should be noted the production that goes on in Taiwan is almost universal for all brands LOWER lines. Additionally almost all hardware comes out of that area of the world. It's much cheaper for companies to outsource their hardware needs then do it in house. The exception is Yamaha because of their motorized division they can make use of their own in house hardware production facility, which is primarily in Taiwan as well. Though the (again higher end) drums are made by hand in Japan, Sonor Germany, DW here, etc

[Riddim]

While it really comes down to making the most musical use of what you have at the time, you may want to study this site: http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/index.html

To hear specific shell types, check out The Memphis Drum and Drum Shop of Portsmouth sites for demos.

I would also suggest that carbon fiber shells, as made by Paul Mason, sound great across a wide tuning range, are light, environmentally impervious, and are virtually indestructible.