Before I begin, I did a search on "vertical grain" and didn't see relevant results from it. Could be my lazy eye(s).
<seinfeldvoice>What's the deal with DW's vertical grain strategy?</seinfeldvoice>
I put it to you that this is the sort of topic which could (and hopefully will) elicit metric tons of quality methane (read hot opinions) from the mental digestion systems of the many highly-evolved and opinionated drum connoisseurs out there.
I have often special-ordered DW drums to create custom kits (I like deep floor toms on legs - 14x14, 16x16, etc.). The broken glass floor tom I got recently was vertical grained. I wasn't particularly happy - it was a detail I didn't cover with my vendor, but I assumed that I'd be getting the old-school normal maple shell.
So I've got this thing...and it bugs me. I'm going to put a coated head on it so I don't see the verticalness. How will it hold up after 20 years (guess we'll have to find out). Is it more prone to damage from a blow to the side or to the bearing edge? (Wife could toss it out in street or the samsonite gorilla could attack me at a gig - you never know...).
And what about the sound, REALLY?...?
I am convinced that, given that mine is "bound up" with wrap and has die-cast hoops, I would wind up tuning it to the same note as a normal (horizontal grain) drum and, if I had them side by side, that I could not sense an appreciable sonic difference between them.
<seinfeldvoice>I mean, you'd think they have an ulterior motive or something the way they are biased toward them for larger drums. I think they're taking advantage of us, somehow!</seinfeildvoice>
<kramervoice>Those 8@$TARDS!</kramervoice>
Has anyone done an A/B comparison and detected anything measureable?
Don't reply and say "mine's great and tunes low and nice - boffo" - that's my situation already. I want some geeky comparison info if its out there. (I guess double-blind randomized testing is a lot to ask for...).
Sorry for this - hope it doesn't suck too much time from the drummerworld talent.
cjrtrio.
PS:
In defense of my die-cast hoops: I like how dw shells sound with rolled hoops (very musical), but they outperform other shells in the die cast hoop world too. I frequently like to go at my toms with rimshots like they were timbales, and get all sorts of nice wack sounds out of them with die cast hoops. You can hear the shell talking. Hitting a rolled hoop sounds like you're hitting a porcelain sink or something - "denk". Just not good for me in that arena. (While we're on that subject, Tama die cast zinc hoops are by far the best if you like a stout hoop that lets the stick/head/shell do the talking.
<seinfeldvoice>What's the deal with DW's vertical grain strategy?</seinfeldvoice>
I put it to you that this is the sort of topic which could (and hopefully will) elicit metric tons of quality methane (read hot opinions) from the mental digestion systems of the many highly-evolved and opinionated drum connoisseurs out there.
I have often special-ordered DW drums to create custom kits (I like deep floor toms on legs - 14x14, 16x16, etc.). The broken glass floor tom I got recently was vertical grained. I wasn't particularly happy - it was a detail I didn't cover with my vendor, but I assumed that I'd be getting the old-school normal maple shell.
So I've got this thing...and it bugs me. I'm going to put a coated head on it so I don't see the verticalness. How will it hold up after 20 years (guess we'll have to find out). Is it more prone to damage from a blow to the side or to the bearing edge? (Wife could toss it out in street or the samsonite gorilla could attack me at a gig - you never know...).
And what about the sound, REALLY?...?
I am convinced that, given that mine is "bound up" with wrap and has die-cast hoops, I would wind up tuning it to the same note as a normal (horizontal grain) drum and, if I had them side by side, that I could not sense an appreciable sonic difference between them.
<seinfeldvoice>I mean, you'd think they have an ulterior motive or something the way they are biased toward them for larger drums. I think they're taking advantage of us, somehow!</seinfeildvoice>
<kramervoice>Those 8@$TARDS!</kramervoice>
Has anyone done an A/B comparison and detected anything measureable?
Don't reply and say "mine's great and tunes low and nice - boffo" - that's my situation already. I want some geeky comparison info if its out there. (I guess double-blind randomized testing is a lot to ask for...).
Sorry for this - hope it doesn't suck too much time from the drummerworld talent.
cjrtrio.
PS:
In defense of my die-cast hoops: I like how dw shells sound with rolled hoops (very musical), but they outperform other shells in the die cast hoop world too. I frequently like to go at my toms with rimshots like they were timbales, and get all sorts of nice wack sounds out of them with die cast hoops. You can hear the shell talking. Hitting a rolled hoop sounds like you're hitting a porcelain sink or something - "denk". Just not good for me in that arena. (While we're on that subject, Tama die cast zinc hoops are by far the best if you like a stout hoop that lets the stick/head/shell do the talking.