Apparently wood isnt important in drums

StaggerLee

Silver Member
So just read this over at the pearl drummers forum, thoughts?
PYRRHO
There is no such thing as 'tonewood'. Wood is chosen based on availability, cost, workability, and finish properties. Only after the shell has been designed, the target demographic identified, and projected returns analyzed... is there any consideration given to the perceived sound of a drum... and that is the role of marketing...not engineering.

While wood does matter a little...say very dense bubinga vs very porous luan...it's about the hardness, density, thickness, and rigidity of the shell... not the specific species of wood used. Thickness, glue, and ply layup has a far greater influence on tone than the specific wood used. There is no such thing as the "warmth of maple" or the "projection of birch"... utter drivel. The variety and quality of maple and birch used in drum making is such that the specific hardness, density, and porosity of the varieties overlap considerably.
 
Would be nice to have a source of the statement.
 
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I totally agree, for the most part. When the band is cooking, no one has ever uttered the phrase "It sounds to me as if the drummer is using a birch/bubinga hybrid shell...."....pretty much everything to do with drum marketing is complete bs..."...special heat compression process",...etc., etc., - give me a break.

Ill take it a step further - most modern day "middle of the road" kits sound just as good as top of the line. "This band is really great, but it sounds to me as if the drummer is using an Armory or some other similarly priced kind of kit..those definitely are not Pearl Masters series."

"Honey, I heard this great new recording on the local jazz station today, but I was really bugged by the drumkits bearing edge angle, and it sounded to me as if the oversized lugs were inhibiting shell resonance as well. And to top it all off, they were definitely not DWs".

That stuff really happens, right? (flame suit on!)
 
I agree with this completely. Heads and tuning are going to influence the drums sound way more than the shell's wood.
 
No flame suit needed here. From the back of the room, "wow, that one lug must be at least 1/2 turn loose from the rest." Lots of marketing considering everyone drools over a Ludwig metal acrolite, "found all over the web for $125.00," and then spend $1200.00 for some exotic wood. Variety in collecting and owning different looking snares is grand, as is my collection of watches, none of which cost more than $100.00, but over the guitars and the fact that no one can see them, makes one wonder.
 
Sounds like Hello Kitty will make a killing this year.

Personally, I'm still getting those USA Customs.
 
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There is another drum forum?

Seriously, C'mon.....Compare the George Way walnut sounds to 3 ply some 'other woods'....when all other factors the same. And the wood differences are huge when speaking of non-ply drums.
 
While the difference in sound qualities of maple vs birch vs xxxx may be slightly exaggerated, this line of thinking is just as exaggerated. Pearl provides an excellent ability to hear this as they ship the Masters MCX and BCX using same exact shell makeup, bearing edges, shell hardware, and heads. If you can't hear a difference between a 12" tom in those two lines, I don't know what to tell you.

Now, are those differences audible 30' away with the band playing, maybe, maybe not. But under microphones or playing acoustically by yourself? I think so.
 
While wood does matter a little...say very dense bubinga vs very porous luan...it's about the hardness, density, thickness, and rigidity of the shell... not the specific species of wood used.

Given that different woods possess some of these different factors, then the type of wood does make more of a difference than the assessment suggests.

Then again, can I tell what wood is used by listening to a drum? No, I only know if the drum sounds good to me, or not. How sad for me. :(

Bermuda
 
By this argument, does that mean the wood in guitars doesn't matter either?

I think quite a few guitarists would disagree with that statement.

I remember a few years ago I bought my first guitar. Because I wanted electric I figured wood didn't matter. I said that to a GC rep in Los Angeles and got about a fifteen-minute lecture on the subject.
 
There's a member here who is also on the Sonor Museum forum and he set up a test of three sets of medium maple, beech and birch. All under the same mics.
There's a noticeable difference, and the difference is exactly as the wood is described.
Now, whether those differences are enough for anyone who would use dampening on their heads is another matter.
For me, with the choice of those three I would always choose birch and never maple.
 
So just read this over at the pearl drummers forum, thoughts?
PYRRHO
There is no such thing as 'tonewood'. Wood is chosen based on availability, cost, workability, and finish properties. Only after the shell has been designed, the target demographic identified, and projected returns analyzed... is there any consideration given to the perceived sound of a drum... and that is the role of marketing...not engineering.

While wood does matter a little...say very dense bubinga vs very porous luan...it's about the hardness, density, thickness, and rigidity of the shell... not the specific species of wood used. Thickness, glue, and ply layup has a far greater influence on tone than the specific wood used. There is no such thing as the "warmth of maple" or the "projection of birch"... utter drivel. The variety and quality of maple and birch used in drum making is such that the specific hardness, density, and porosity of the varieties overlap considerably.

You hit the nail on the head. Most drums, in fact, aren't made of "wood" anymore. They are made of a wood composite consisting of processed wood, glue, heat and pressure. The processing, chemicals and techniques used are at least just as important as the specie of wood, in addition to dimensions of the shell.
 
So just read this over at the pearl drummers forum, thoughts?
PYRRHO
There is no such thing as 'tonewood'. Wood is chosen based on availability, cost, workability, and finish properties. Only after the shell has been designed, the target demographic identified, and projected returns analyzed... is there any consideration given to the perceived sound of a drum... and that is the role of marketing...not engineering.


None of the above statement was applicable to Brady. Sound first, everything else secondary (or not a consideration at all).
 
None of the above statement was applicable to Brady. Sound first, everything else secondary (or not a consideration at all).

Sound is the final product - it comes last, only after everything else has been done first. Only after design, raw material selection, processing, shaping, sizing and finishing, do you get sound. Yeah, top drum makers like Brady obviously know how variations in each of those steps affects the sound, but you only <i>get</i> sound after all those other things are (perfectly) executed first.
 
Im going to go on record with my personal opinion as follows:
1) Wood isnt AS important as people would like to admit. Do different woods constitute different tone? Yes, its been proven by many people using identical drums with only the wood being different. Is it a major difference? Live no, studio sometimes yes.

2) Bearing edges matter MORE than wood type, and more than we realize. Again, having heard some identical drums other than the bearing edge, you can hear a major difference sometimes. Best example is when you hear a sharp 45 degree bearing edge next to a full roundover. Whole different kettle of fish!

3) Shell thickness, choice of heads, finish and hardware mass matter a lot too. Case and point: The Acrolite. There is a discernible difference an acrolite and a supraphonic. The difference is the finish and shell mass, but its enough to make a fairly big difference.

4) Ageing. This is another one, the reason older drums sound better to some people, isnt just the "nostalgia factor", but the fact the pours in the wood are filled with moisture and gunk from age, and this actually does affect the sound.

The main point here, is wood does make a difference, but likely the least of all. For me, contributing to biggest difference to least its:


Heads
Shell thickness
Bearing edge
Hardware mass
Wood
Finish


Its ALL these things that contribute to a unique sound, its why snare drums genuinely all sound very different. Or are you prepared to tell me every snare video by drum center portsmouth is just head choices :p

Lets face it, all of you have a kit you like the sound of, and a snare you really like. You dont upgrade your kit to impress anyone but yourself, you buy because you like sound, and because there really is a difference in drum sound.
 
Heads
Shell thickness
Bearing edge
Hardware mass
Wood
Finish

I agree and that list matches my experience and expectations as well. Maybe with one exception: the finish on the inside of the shell can have a dramatic influence on the sound.

For example, a luan drum with a raw (fuzzy) interior will completely change character if you apply a few coats of hard glossy lacquer (or even just sand it really smooth). Which makes me think much of the difference we can actually hear from common drum wood types may be from the density of the inner ply only, and not as much from the shell resonance.
 
In a side by side comparison, I'm sure I would hear a difference and have a preference.

In a mix with a R&R band playing/singing, my brain loses the ability to isolate those subtle drum tones and I can only hear if they are hitting the drums at the right time.
 
I do think there is a lot of truth to this. I have never listened to a drummer play with a band and been able to tell what brand of drums they are playing, or cymbals he's using without reading the labels and logos. Or listened to a CD and been able to tell what wood their drums are made of. I can sure tell if the drums are well tuned, or heavily muted, but that's about it.

But playing on them, certain ones sounds make me happier, so I play better. (I think) so it would make sense that I'd sound better.

Electric guitarists are the most amusing to me. Sound is made from steel strings vibrating over magnets 3/16" away, but they will lose their minds arguing about what kind of clear coat makes the guitar sound better, or what wood sounds better, right before they run it through so many effects pedals that there is nothing of the original guitar sound left anyways.
 
I believe that the OP's quote is trying to state that the density is the prime factor in determining tone, and that species is of less concern because it is only a rough indication of density. Density can vary greatly within any species (NA Maple versus Russian Maple, African versus Brazilian mahogany).

I'd be willing to say he's poorly worded but correct (for ply drums).

In solid/bent/segmented/stave drums, familial differences in tonewood would become more apparent.
 
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