The physics of drumming.

Sparkboss

Senior Member
Hey guys! And gals..

Lately i've been pretty curious as to how all of the physics of a drumset actually work. Of corse we all know how the basics work, vibrations here and there cause things to rattle which cause more sound waves etc. etc... But i'm looking for the in depth information!

Unfortunately with all the searching that i've done - i can't seem to find a nice guide, or description on how different drums actually react to different vibrations! The information that i've been really curious about is how different woods, numbers of plies, wood combonations of plies, the wood grain direction of each ply, or even numbers of lugs will effect the sound of a drum, and which of all these variants will compliment which genres of music.

Has anybody else managed to find a good description of these at all? I figured it would be very helpful to contact somebody who makes drums, but i don't really know anybody who does that!

If any of you know a good article, or know a lot on the topic, please share the information here, and surely we'll all benefit from the advice we share!

Thanks in advance guys!
 
Judging from the thread title I thought that it's about the motions, angles etc. I was wrong.
Isn't it more about "The physics of drums/drum manufacturing aspects"?

There is a book exactly on the "physics of drumming" but it seems that's not what you're interested in on this specific thread.
 
I encourage you to use the search feature on this forum. Many drummers have asked very similar questions, and they have been answered in previous threads. Everything from ply combinations, wood combinations, grain orientation, stave/segmented/steambent shells, to lug gaskets, lug shape/size/weight, fundamental tone, head collar profile, you name it.
 
Alright, i'll do a little bit more searching.

I've had no luck thus far - i think that i still need to familiarize myself with the drummerworld search engine a little more
 
The range of questions you're asking equates to a massive amount of information. Even if such a guide was available, I doubt it would be sufficiently comprehensive to cover any eventuality. It would also be open to challenge, as many of the findings would be based on a human perception of benefit/difference, and that in itself is subjective.

More than any other reason, those who really have the knowledge, would be guarded in effectively handing over hard won data, especially if it's the result of true R&D/A-B testing.

I do understand your confusion however. Sifting through the often greatly exaggerated marketing claims & conflicting views put out by manufacturers is nigh impossible without first hand knowledge.
 
Sweet, i think i've found what i'm looking for!

Think we could get a mod to close this post so it doesn't waste space? :)

Thanks guys!
 
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