Drums that don't sound like they 'should'

bermuda

Drummerworld Pro Drummer - Administrator
Staff member
Have you come across any drums whose sound doesn't quite go with its specs/design or size? Like a piccolo snare that's unusually fat, or a 10" tom that sounds really big?

I bought some Canopus Zelkova snares (5, 6.5 and 8x14") because I really wanted them. I knew that they were nice snares, though I'd never had much experience with them. For those not familiar, the Zelkova is a single piece of carved wood, with die-cast hoops and sharp edges, and the shell curves inward a bit so that the heads 'float' a little. Based on its design, you'd expect it to be crisp with a lot of attack. It can certainly do that with higher tuning, but it's also a surprisingly fat drum with a lot of body, the opposite of what you'd think a solid, fairly heavy, sharp-edged drum would sound like. And that's the 5"! The deeper ones are even more complex. They're very nice snares, but a little too nice to take on gigs.

Bermuda
 
Well, I'm sure Andy could give some intelligent thoughts on this, but the only really unusual thing about the design is how thin the shell gets near the bearing edges. My guess is that the fatness comes from the extra give in the thinnest parts of the shell. I could be wrong, though.
 
These drums that don't sound like they should...How can we be sure it isn't the room causing the enhanced freqs?
 
My experience has been, for instance, I find a bass drum that sounds really good, but the toms don’t sound so good. Or a rack tom sounds great but the matching floor tom sounds horrible. I have not done this, but I could spend some time and put together a great sounding kit using different drums from different drum sets.

We are all OK with using various snare drums and cymbals. Using any ones we like. They don’t have to match in color or size to the shell pack.
Why not mismatched bass drums, and toms?

I have a 12 inch Yamaha Stage Custom tom that sounds wonderful. But the matching 13 inch tom sounds sour. It has funky overtones. Should I spend hundreds of dollars trying to find a good sounding 13 inch that matches the set? Or spend lots of money trying out a bunch of different drum heads on the 13 inch? Maybe............

What usually happens is when the guitar amps and PA and turned on and the venue starts rockin' all this does not seems to matter too much. The only really annoying thing is playing on drum sets that are not mine at the local jams. Most of the time the drummers that own these sets have no clue what a good sounding drum set is supposed to sound like.


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These drums that don't sound like they should...How can we be sure it isn't the room causing the enhanced freqs?

Yep, you are correct Larry. You can never be totally sure what you drum set will sound like in a new venue. It's scary. It's just something that we drummers have to live with. I'm playing at a party next week. I don't even know if we will be playing outdoors or indoors.


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Yep, you are correct Larry. You can never be totally sure what you drum set will sound like in a new venue. It's scary. It's just something that we drummers have to live with. I'm playing at a party next week. I don't even know if we will be playing outdoors or indoors
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I've known a lot of guys who gig a lot and they basically go JAW or dead tuning on their gig toms just for this reason. They got tired of getting it into a particular room and it not sounding as good. Rather than tune to the room they find it easier (and more sound-guy appeasing) to simply run them dead, mic em up and enhance at the board for the room.
 
My Mapex Sledgehammer (6.5x14" hammered brass) has a crazy tuning range. Like paper bag low or tin can high. And it sounds good anywhere along that spectrum, but it's warm and growly, not ringy.
 
I have a 7 x 14 Noble and Cooley Beech SS snare that surprised the heck out of me. My local shop has a 5 x 14 N&C Beech SS in stock and I have played it a few times at the store and it is really crisp and sharp sounding and very loud ! I assumed that the 7 x 14 would sound similar with a lower fundamental. Once I received the drum I was very surprised at how warm and fat sounding it was. It had a nice thick attack with none of the sharpness of the 5 x 14" version. Two very different sounding drums for sure.

I had a similar incident with a 5.5" solid Cherry shell snare I own. I previously owned a 7 x 14 N&C SS Cherry snare and it was a very articulate and crisp sounding drum. I assumed the 5.5" Cherry snare to be even crisper and more articulate. I had the builder of the snare TRS cut the edges of this snare the same as N&C does. The 5.5" is a very fat sounding snare with a thick attack sound. Not like the N&C 7 x 14 at all.
 
While in Portsmouth a few years ago, I 'auditoioned' the 8" deep Zelkova at Shane's suggestion and was quite surprised at the clarity and sensitivity at the lowest playing level I could muster.
I imagine the design/construction/result explanation that Andy gave us was what helped create an instrument like that.
When I really laid into it, it was a beast. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough C-notes in my wallet that month for that drum, but what a killer it was.
I joked that when Genesis calls me to go on tour if Chester Thompson can't make it, this would be the drum to use.
 
I had a 6 lug 5×14 Ludwig Universal that did low and fat way better than any other drums I had, until I started playing 15's that is...
 
While in Portsmouth a few years ago, I 'auditoioned' the 8" deep Zelkova at Shane's suggestion and was quite surprised at the clarity and sensitivity at the lowest playing level I could muster.

I bought my 8" from Shane! It was gently used (looked brand new to me!) and he said it was his personal drum. I think it was $1399, which was less than I paid for the 5 and 6.5" drums.

Each Zelkova is a very magic drum. Much too good for Brown Eyed Girl and Midnight Hour. :)

Bermuda
 
Of course, like everything, it's a combination of factors, but in the case of the Zelcova, rigidity plays a big part. Although the shell is quite thick, it's not that rigid compared to a ply shell of similar thickness), & that lack of rigidity suppresses high tone generation + shortens the fundamental.

I knew you'd know why! :)
 
Each Zelkova is a very magic drum. Much too good for Brown Eyed Girl and Midnight Hour. :)

Bermuda
Kinda off topic, but I filled in for a band and they were picking a song to do next. They asked me if I knew Brown Eyed Girl. I said no. So it was not played
Lol
 
I interpret the question as 1) "what drums sound nothing like the marketing guff"

or 2) "do we really know the correct adjectives when describing sound"

For interpretation 1, I would say all of them. I am yet to play/own a drum that matches their descriptions in the marketing guff. I think it's all bollox until you get it home and play in your own room and situation.

for interpretation 2) I would say no. Every company needs good promotional material to market and sell their drums but in my experience, this just means confusion and muddys the waters.

Personally, I think it's all a crock. They are drums, wood with bits of metal holding a film of plastic over the ends.

All drums have tone, sustain, ring and fatness if you tune them properly with decent heads. The ONLY tangible difference between all drums is the amount of attack.

Attack, after all these years, drum kits, snares, etc, it's the most important thing to me. I need a drum to respond instantly and if it doesn't then it has to go back.

You can mess around with tunings, heads, dampening etc on every drum, but if it doesn't have attack, you will never get it.

So a drum sounding like it SHOULD to me is saying, does it sound like they are telling you. Most of the time I would say no
 
I interpret the question as 1) "what drums sound nothing like the marketing guff"

Point taken, but I was referring to drums that are anomalies, such as a 10" tom that makes a much lower note than anyone should expect for its size. Nothing to do with the effects of the room, its build or specs, or marketing (maple is warm, for example.) Just drums that are different for no apparent reason.

Bermuda
 
Point taken, but I was referring to drums that are anomalies, such as a 10" tom that makes a much lower note than anyone should expect for its size. Nothing to do with the effects of the room, its build or specs, or marketing (maple is warm, for example.) Just drums that are different for no apparent reason.

Bermuda

Well, there's Blaemire/Jenkins-Martin, of course. I still don't get how they're not better-known.
 
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