Another Cherry stave kit

[Unix]

This one was done for a fellow DW bro, Taylerplaydrums. Size are 22" x 18" - 16" x 14"- 14" x 12"- 12" x 9" - 10" x 8", all 3/8" Cherry shells.

This one is one of the nicest I ever build...

[drums_n_surf]

those are absolutly beautiful!

first time i've seen on of your unix kits with a lacquear finish, and i must say that i love it.

[trkdrmr]

Now you've done it. Ply drums are now dead to me. Stave drums really amaze me. This kit is stunning... no other way to describe it. I just can't look at standard construction the same way anymore.

I am waiting for Zambizzi to get his paduak snare. Once I can hear it, I am going to decide between a 14x7 bubinga or paduak.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Absolutely stunning looking set. Still saving the pennies.

[mind_drummer]

Nice & great looking as always.

So business is good François.

[oops]

Yet another STUNNING kit.

Are those 'upside-down' tom mounts secure? I'd hate to see one of those beauties fall if the mount became loose due to vibrations.

[Wavelength]

Are those 'upside-down' tom mounts secure? I'd hate to see one of those beauties fall if the mount became loose due to vibrations.

How many times has an L arm come loose from the mount? I've never seen that happen. Turning the arm upside down won't affect its friction, will it?

(I do find it a bit tricky to mount a drum on an inverted L arm from the underside, especially if you want the rack tom to be directly above the bass drum.)

[trkdrmr]

Yet another STUNNING kit.

Are those 'upside-down' tom mounts secure? I'd hate to see one of those beauties fall if the mount became loose due to vibrations.

The L-arms come with memory clamps. Even though they never come loose and fall, a memory clamp would stop them if they did.

[Big_Philly]

How many times has an L arm come loose from the mount? I've never seen that happen. Turning the arm upside down won't affect its friction, will it?

(I do find it a bit tricky to mount a drum on an inverted L arm from the underside, especially if you want the rack tom to be directly above the bass drum.)

The L-arms come with memory clamps. Even though they never come loose and fall, a memory clamp would stop them if they did.

Friction remains the same indeed, but better be safe than sorry with this kind of thing. Use memory clamps or don't invert the L-rod.

Unix, once again a beautiful piece of work. I love the burst finish.

[taylorplaysdrums]

Hey guys, I just thought I'd give feedback about the drums and my experience with Frank.

First of all, doing business with Frank was great. He was very responsive to all the questions i had throughout the building process, and more importantly he was very personable and made me feel... special, haha.

Now to the drums. Holy shit these drums sound great! For reference, before them I had Starclassic Bubinga Omni-tunes, and they were great drums, but Frank's drums are superior imho. Everything I was told about them is true, i.e. they're louder, cleaner, easier to tune, more responsive, etc. The other cool thing is that their tuning range is a lot wider than ply drums, and with ply drums, I had to tune into a sweet spot to get good tone, but with these, there is no sweet spot... it's just, find the tone you like! Admittedly though, stave took a little while to get used to because it's so different, and I still don't think I've even unlocked their true power quite yet. It really is a whole new realm of drum (not to sound cliche.)

Looks wise, the pictures don't even do them justice. They're flat gorgeous in person. Trying to explain to people why the wood goes the wrong way is hilarious because nobody can see the stave joints even when I point one out. Hell, I can't even find one most of the time, haha. The fade is flawless, and the way that it's proportionate to each drum is really cool.

I don't want to go on anymore cause I think this is already a little too long for some people, haha, but if anyone wants to know anything else just ask or PM me!

Taylor

p.s. sooner or later I'm gonna try to record them and post sound clips, but that'll probably be a while...

p.p.s. inverting the L rod does nothing... the ball clamp is still under the same pressure as far as I know b/c it's a ball, and I've been setting them "upside down" as long as I've been using suspension mounts : )

[trkdrmr]

Hey guys, I just thought I'd give feedback about the drums and my experience with Frank.

First of all, doing business with Frank was great. He was very responsive to all the questions i had throughout the building process, and more importantly he was very personable and made me feel... special, haha.

Now to the drums. Holy these drums sound great! For reference, before them I had Starclassic Bubinga Omni-tunes, and they were great drums, but Frank's drums are superior imho.

I was wondering: bubinga has a deep low end, how does the cherry wood compare? Tone wise how is it different? (Aside from louder).

[taylorplaysdrums]

I was wondering: bubinga has a deep low end, how does the cherry wood compare? Tone wise how is it different? (Aside from louder).

Well, the bubinga definitely had deep low end tone, but imo it was either too boomy or too middy... no happy point. So cherry comparatively is very much more controlled and balanced while still obtaining the tone.

(The volume is mostly a product of stave vs ply as far as I know)

[trkdrmr]

Well, the bubinga definitely had deep low end tone, but imo it was either too boomy or too middy... no happy point. So cherry comparatively is very much more controlled and balanced while still obtaining the tone.

(The volume is mostly a product of stave vs ply as far as I know)

I am considering bubinga or paduak 14x7 snare. Maybe I should consider cherry as well.

[taylorplaysdrums]

I am considering bubinga or paduak 14x7 snare. Maybe I should consider cherry as well.

well, consider construction too, but I'm a fan of cherry : )

btw paduak would have some wicked attack from what I understand!

[trkdrmr]

well, consider construction too, but I'm a fan of cherry : )

btw paduak would have some wicked attack from what I understand!

I am waiting for the Zambizzi report on his new paduak. He will be able to compare Pad vs bube and I can decide.

I understand some ply cherry snares can sound metallic (bright?) but the renown purewood kit I tried was warm.

I do not want a snare that is all cut, it has to have body and low end.

Here is what I read of a ply cherry snare:
Timbre/Tonal Color: Cherry is focused with good body. It has predominantly mid frequencies with some high and lows giving it a full, rich, textured sound. It was brighter than our Maple drum. A big sounding drum. When tuned high, it has a slight metallic quality.
Dynamic Range: Articulate from PPP to FFF. The character sound of the drum did not change from low to high volume.

Bubinga:
Tonal Range: Has a small sweet spot extending approximately 1.5 inch from the center, allowing for numerous sound options.

Tuning Range: Favors a looser tuning. Bubinga goes low, but loses overtones when tuned high, becoming more mono-tone.

[Crazy+Hands]

wow...fantastic craftsmanship. I wanna try out that cherry snare.

[konaboy]

That is an incredible looking kit!

[zambizzi]

Gawd...that's absolutely hideous... :)

That's an incredible looking finish, nice choice! I'm sure you'll find the tuning range on these drums far more expansive than the ply drums you were playing, along with superior sound, etc.

You would need to compare bubinga staves to cherry staves to be fair, however. ;) I have my snare cranked pretty high on the batter side now...it hasn't lost a thing! :D

What brought you to the cherry decision, BTW?

[ermghoti]

You know, I am not big on bursts/fades, but that is breathtaking. I wouldn't change a thing (except to ship them to my house :p).

[trkdrmr]

You know, I am not big on bursts/fades, but that is breathtaking. I wouldn't change a thing (except to ship them to my house :p).

The good thing about this "burst" is the subtlety. I really don't like bursts that are 90% black with a slight peek at the color.

This burst is just enough to contrast the wood, and expertly well at that.

[taylorplaysdrums]

What brought you to the cherry decision, BTW?

a very long and drawn out process, haha

Basically I chose it so I could move between styles and switch out drums or retune and always have a good sound. Also the consistency in tone across volume was a huge + since I love dynamics and ghost notes, haha

and yeah gotta compare stave to stave otherwise it's not fair ;)

In regards to the metallic sound... I don't know b/c it doesn't get pongy which is what metallic means to me, and it is warm

also, the bubinga didn't become that monotone at high tunings imo, but it did favor the looser tuning a bit...

[taylorplaysdrums]

The good thing about this "burst" is the subtlety. I really don't like bursts that are 90% black with a slight peek at the color.

This burst is just enough to contrast the wood, and expertly well at that.

I totally agree... I hate that, and Frank specifically made sure that it wasn't like that, haha

[randomhero243]

its.... its too beautiful. i cant not look at it... its stunning. idk what to say..


how much would that gorgeous art cost one...... i love it and i dont even own it.

[timmdrum]

The L-arms come with memory clamps. Even though they never come loose and fall, a memory clamp would stop them if they did.

Well, if you have to remove them every time the drums come off the mounts, then they're no longer serving the "memory" part, they're just locks. ;) Just lower the stand & turn the L-arms right side up. If the stand won't go low enough, you're short. Just kiddin'- you could get a clamp-on double mount & attach it to a cymbal stand, & presto- any height you want.

[trkdrmr]

Well, if you have to remove them every time the drums come off the mounts, then they're no longer serving the "memory" part, they're just locks. ;) Just lower the stand & turn the L-arms right side up. If the stand won't go low enough, you're short. Just kiddin'- you could get a clamp-on double mount & attach it to a cymbal stand, & presto- any height you want.

I don't want to advocate upside down l-arms. I'd never, ever do it---especially with a kit that is essentially functional art. At least the memory clamps would be like an emergency brake for a sliding drum, if it happened.

[taylorplaysdrums]

Just so y'all all know... DW hardware does not come with memory clamps for the L rods, and if they were supposed to then I have a complaint to file, haha

[hateplow]

Another perfect kit. I really love the grain on this particular one.
This forum is the best thing ever to happen for Frank's business. He should start donating a percentage of each kit to Bernhard. :)

[sacco]

This is probably the most beautiful of all the beautiful Unix set I've seen!

Taylorplaysdrums, you are a very lucky man!

The other cool thing is that their tuning range is a lot wider than ply drums, and with ply drums, I had to tune into a sweet spot to get good tone, but with these, there is no sweet spot... it's just, find the tone you like! Admittedly though, stave took a little while to get used to because it's so different, and I still don't think I've even unlocked their true power quite yet. It really is a whole new realm of drum (not to sound cliche.)

Yes, stave sets are definitely something else, and based on my experience (about twenty years playing stave sets) I can confim that their tuning range is much wider than the one normally available with ply sets.

[Jon_Gwon]

That's absolutely beautiful work Frank, that fade is very tasty.

Congrats on the new kit Taylor, You'll be drooling over those badboys for years to come.

I'll be joining you in club UNIX soon enough... the countdown has already begun.

[hateplow]

That's absolutely beautiful work Frank, that fade is very tasty.

Congrats on the new kit Taylor, You'll be drooling over those badboys for years to come.

I'll be joining you in club UNIX soon enough... the countdown has already begun.

Nice Avatar. Kep rules.

[Ekim]

Sweet...

That gives me an idea. A whole band with matching Les Paul Honey Bursts finishes! :D

Seriously, gorgeous job.

[Deathmetalconga]

Now you've done it. Ply drums are now dead to me. Stave drums really amaze me. This kit is stunning... no other way to describe it. I just can't look at standard construction the same way anymore.

I am waiting for Zambizzi to get his paduak snare. Once I can hear it, I am going to decide between a 14x7 bubinga or paduak.

I predict you will order a stave kit, likely from Unix, in the next six months. I've played Zambizzi's kit and it is to die for.

Once you play stave or solid shell, there is no going back to ply. A DW and a CB700 seem identical if they're both made of ply.

[drumhead61]

OMG...SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL that is the hottest looking KIT I have seen...FRANK YOU ROCK. And as for the finish I hate fades so for you to make one that I love is phenomenal to say the least. EXCELLENT WORK.

[PlaysforFun]

It's like a fine piece of furniture......Now that's "custom"

[Trip McNealy]

Indeed!

Very beautiful!

How does one go about getting a custom Unix snare drum made? What is the lead times on something like a single snare drum?

[Unix]

Indeed!

Very beautiful!

How does one go about getting a custom Unix snare drum made? What is the lead times on something like a single snare drum?

well you email me, and we figure it out.

[Trip McNealy]

well you email me, and we figure it out.

Simple enough :) I will be in touch!

[divingdrummerdean]

I'd be afraid to get near 'em!

They are beautiful indeed.

ddd

[timmdrum]

Question for the stave players/makers- are there any stave kits with finishes that don't show the wood grain? I'd never cover the grain on those beautiful kits that Unix & others are showing here, but I'm wondering if there's anyone making any with less attractive grain patterns, or maybe even mismatched (in grain, not wood type), that ended up painted, or with sparkle finishes, etc?

[Unix]

Question for the stave players/makers- are there any stave kits with finishes that don't show the wood grain? I'd never cover the grain on those beautiful kits that Unix & others are showing here, but I'm wondering if there's anyone making any with less attractive grain patterns, or maybe even mismatched (in grain, not wood type), that ended up painted, or with sparkle finishes, etc?

You mean like this...

[timmdrum]

Yeah, pretty much, haha! The posted photos of stave drums on here have piqued my curiosity, although I don't think I can afford any. Do the sonic advantages of thinner shells (as generally accepted with ply shells) apply to stave shells, i.e. thinner = lower fundamental note & more resonance? What's the thinnest a stave shell can be without being too fragile for use as a drum? (I do understand that thinner = less glue, due to the glue layers being perpendicular to the shell width, but is there any other reason stave shells are so much thicker than ply?)

[mdrumt]

My first post, I have been admiring your unix drums for awhile know....this is one amazing looking kit! I bet it sounds brilliant too!