Evolution of Drums.

[Ironcobra]

I've been wondering, pondering this question for the last few months and have realized that it's the one true flaw with this instrument.

We have been making drums the exact same way for far to long. A cylinder made of wood, with a skin on top (and bottom). Sure we have made some minor progress, different woods, thicknesses, re-rings. We've even got desperate and searched for things like VLT shells. (lol)

Pearl has made the Reference series, Yamaha has the Phoenix, the list goes on. These are all just minor variations to the type of wood we have been using. Trick. Trick has made the effort to design something different, not a typical wood drum with two heads. It's a new material all together.

My point is, why has there been no research into re-inventing the drum altogether. Is wood naturally the most resonant and drum-worthy material out there? No, science can surely create something better. Things like North drums, sure they are a failure by today's standards, but that kind of thinking is the only thing that can propel the next generation of drums. We can only go so far with hybrid shells and re-enforcement rings.

And why are drums always a perfect cylinder? Surely by tapering the bottom side we can add more focus and punch. (and of course we make exceptions to other forms of percussion.)

Of course none of the companies would invest into re-inventing the materials to make drums, but imagine a super-resonant plastic, with a lug free, free floating system. Combining these smaller things together already starts to re-invent the drum. It's the simplest instrument on the planet, and we're still just making it out of just wood. I'm starting to make spelling mistakes and starting to rant.

[harryconway]

Drums have been around for centuries. Plywood drums, 100 years or so. Metal snares, like the Black Beauty, hit in the 20's, Fiberglass and acrylics hit in the 70's, with carbon fiber, a 90's off-shoot there of. Electronic kits, since the 80's. Most drummers just want wood. Plywood. At a rock bottom price. Look at the popularity of the Mapex Pro M, or the Gretsch Catalina series (for example). Research and development costs money. The majority of drummers are very resistant to change. Philanthropy is a great concept, but a very bad business model.

[blade123]

Drums kept on improving until the 1960-70's. As rock emerged, everyone flocked to buy a guitar, bass, and drumset. To keep up with the demand, companies had to change their mindset. Instead of providing the next best thing, they just tried to keep up with the demand. Making cheaper and cheaper sets. Why couldn't they be innovative as well? Simple, "omg, acrylic shells!!! dats not wat john bonham plays, i ned 2 be lyk john bonham so i can be c00l!!!" As much as I love rock, rock has very little to do with actual music, more of the scene and style behind it. Jazz, blues, and the earlier styles were "musician's music", meaning that musicians could appreciate the music more than non-musicians. In the 40-50s, there was big-band and bebop. Big-band was a healthy compromise. It had a rhythm that you can dance to AND it featured soloists that showed off their musical talent. Bebop was a musician's music. If you listen to some bebop casually, you'd want to blow your brains out. I was watching a documentary on John Coltrane and when I listened to the older stuff, it sounded like utter crap. Squeaks, squeals, everyone sounded unresponsive to each other, I could have sworn that there was multiple tempos and styles being played at once. Then I got into the mindset of the drummer and was in my mind pretending I was him. The music made perfect sense. The squeaks and squeals fit, the seemingly random bashing fit, it worked! Granted, not something I would listen to casually, but it worked!

Now as a musician, it took me a little while to understand it, I can only imagine what a non-musician feels, most non-musicians wouldn't enjoy it. That being said, you have to already be a musician to get into that style. The styles of music that existed pre-1960s were like that. You had to be a musician to truly enjoy those styles. True musicians (not "omg, john bonham iz hellza good n i want 2 be lyk him") wouldn't be lured into buying a cheap drumset. They would look for the best drumset out there. On the documentary, they said that Coltrane would spend hours every day for years reshaping his mouthpiece to find "his" sound.

Now, there are way fewer true musicians out there. Whenever I run into a "drummer" they have no clue what they're talking about. They have a set though! And to the drum companies, that's all that matters. Drum companies now just make cheap gimmicks to lure fresh meat into buying their crap. They also make decent instruments for the "true" musicians.

PS, no disrespect to John Bonham, I love him. I was just using his name because he was in that era.

[Ironcobra]

I understand that this is all people want. 100 years down the road, the drums will still be the same. Why do we not try different things to achieve an EQ'd sound without running the drums through a computer. I'm sick of people saying this kit is better than that one, blah blah blah. They're all the same! What's the point in debating which company has better drums when they're all making the same product. Each company should have a unique twist on the drums that is tied in with their brand name. A unique twist that only that company can do, if you understand what I'm saying.

It's a lot more like this in the car industry.

[gusty]

Drums sound pretty good to me as they are.

[Wavelength]

How about these babies...

http://moleculesdrums.com/Site/HOME_files/LOW%20RIDER%201.jpg

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Gotta love the Fishbowl look for sure. Drums could be made of almost anything but they would have to appeal to the masses and be of such a price that the masses could afford them or they would collect dust.

As for shape, Djembes, and most other world drums are anything but cylinders. And as Blade said, for every 1,000,000 Bonham sets teen boys want, one may want the Fishbowl.

[Wavelength]

As for shape, Djembes, and most other world drums are anything but cylinders.

Indeed. It seems that in the world of drums (not just drum sets) the perfect cylinder seems to be the odd one out.

[Gyrefalcon]

I was thinking, what if you used the output of a piezo on a drum and amplified it, instead of using it to trigger a sample. It would take some careful placement though.


I might just have to brush up on my analog electronics and play around with the idea.