Sakae Eco Friendly Snares

JohnnyG

Honorary Lifetime CEO
Staff member
NEW: Japanese Cypress Stave Snares

SDS1450JC (14" x 5") | SDS1465JC (14" x 6.5")

Constructed using segments of compressed, sustainable Japanese Cypress. These stave drums not only look beautiful and unique, they also produce a controlled and tight sound you must hear to believe.
Many years ago, as the demand for housing in Japan was reaching record levels, vast forests were planted to meet construction needs. Conifer trees such as the Japanese Cypress (which does not lose its leaves with the changing seasons) were among the most popular for building materials.
Today, the need for new housing has subsided. As a result, these massive forests have become overcrowded, blocking out the sunlight and endangering the fragile mountainous ecosystem. Japanese arborists have begun removing Japanese Cypress trees in an attempt to thin out the forest and make the ecosystem healthy again.

As drum manufacturer, we have been receiving the blessing of nature for 90 years. It is our hope that we can return the favor by using these sustainable timbers.

SDS1450JC (14" x 5")

SIZE14"× 5"HOOPSRIGHTY HALO 2.3mm
 
I'm interested in what is compressed & why? Compressing wood usually alters / destroys the species fundamental sonic characteristics.

Not wishing to do Sakae down, but - so they got some wood on the cheap because there's a glut of it, & built an eco marketing angle on the back of it. Anyone who knows anything about forestry knows that thinning is an annual protocol in any managed forest.
 
hmmmm.. to my knowledge cypress is a softwood (conifer - in same genus, family as cedars) and not a hardwood. unusual for snare drums no?

though 'compression' may sure make it hard. maybe thats what that is about.
 
Drums don't have to be hardwood to sound good. Look at African Mahogany.

Bubinga is a really hard wood, almost 3x as hard as maple. I have a cheap pork pie snare made from bubinga with a cherry outer ply. Not a big fan. I like the 3 little bears way of selection.
 
but mahogany is a hardwood .....right?

I don't think mahogany is considered a hardwood. It's near the top of the Janka scale. The lower numbers (softer wood) are listed at the top and the hardest woods are listed at the bottom.

Here's an image of the Janka scale and you can see where your various species are situated on it.

http://tinytimbers.com/pdf/chart_janka.pdf
 
I don't think mahogany is considered a hardwood. It's near the top of the Janka scale. The lower numbers (softer wood) are listed at the top and the hardest woods are listed at the bottom.

Here's an image of the Janka scale and you can see where your various species are situated on it.

http://tinytimbers.com/pdf/chart_janka.pdf
Larry, hardwood & softwood designations are botanical, not a statement of hardness. For example, both basswood & balsa are classified hardwoods, yet they're very soft. Mahogany is classified as a hardwood.
 
Oh sorry. I was assuming.

(hits forehead with palm) Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
 
...definitely a self-serving move by sakae, tho, in rebuttal, a good move to educate/sensitize the buying public about the environmental benefits of using locally-sourced woods and other sustainable practices, imho...and it is refreshing to see sakae "spread its wings" now that the tether to yamaha has been broken, again, imho...
 
If the tree grows leaves its a hardwood. If it grows needles its a softwood. There's slightly more to it than that, but its an easy rule of thumb to remember.

Useful! Thanks, I love stuff like this. I'm all thumbs when it comes to rules of thumb.
 
I miss the days of drums being sold on their merit as a proven musical instrument in the ears of the player's who used them (i.e. their reputation).
Now we get to learn about a country's housing market.
Wouldn't buying a used drum be more "eco-friendly" than making a new one?
 
Wouldn't buying a used drum be more "eco-friendly" than making a new one?

...good point...tho the broader issue would be that if a manufacturer makes a new drum to fulfill market demand, then the adoption of sustainable practices could prove beneficial...of course the market could reject such an approach, in which case...oh well...
 
Oh sorry. I was assuming.

(hits forehead with palm) Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Not piling on, but just to set the record straight---
Mahogney, the real stuff, was used to construct PT boat hulls because it was extremely dense and hard and resisted marine life that normally invade wooden hulls.

(Former 1970s PT boat skipper)
 
I'm interested in what is compressed & why? Compressing wood usually alters / destroys the species fundamental sonic characteristics.

Not wishing to do Sakae down, but - so they got some wood on the cheap because there's a glut of it, & built an eco marketing angle on the back of it. Anyone who knows anything about forestry knows that thinning is an annual protocol in any managed forest.

I once owned a DW Super Solid Edge, made of compressed maple and walnut built with some proprietary wood compression process. DW marketed the increased molecular compression as significantly contributing to the drums' sonic character. What a load of malarkey. This drum sounded like a brick. No tone, devoid of warmth. Dead-sounding regardless of head type or tuning.

I own many great sounding (and looking) DW drums so I'm not a DW hater. Big fan actually but that Super Solid was a dog.
 
hmmmm.. to my knowledge cypress is a softwood (conifer - in same genus, family as cedars) and not a hardwood. unusual for snare drums no?

though 'compression' may sure make it hard. maybe thats what that is about.

I would guess the compression would increase density, possibly making a hardwood from a softwood. Even so, there are drum makers making snares out of pine these days, a notoriously soft wood. Played one last year, it sounded pretty good.
 
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