Andy
Honorary Member
This response from Les encouraged me to start this thread:
I'll try to keep this brief, maybe dig into more detail by answering questions if asked, but let me start by saying a highly resonant drum is not necessarily a "better" instrument, it's just another choice in terms of your instrument's character. A non resonant drum is an equally valid choice, indeed, it can be better under some circumstances. I'll continue.
Most drummers perceive a resonant drum as one that offers long sustain. This can be true, but a long sustain can be achieved by just sharp bearing edges & tuning on a drum with very little resonance. Most of what you're hearing in those circumstances is head sustain/decay. Notice how you hear it most from the driver's seat. Close mic's pick it up too, but step out front, even a short distance, & notice how that "sustain" disappears. It disappears because it has no shell tone to back it up. It's a localised low volume thing that only the drummer or mic's hear to any degree.
A highly resonant drum produces a much more dominant fundamental note. This is the note that lasts about one second or so after you strike the drum. It's the very voice of the instrument, & it's a tone you can hear from the other side of the room. It's this affect that really shows the real world benefit of resonance. For example, a very resonant bass drum with a ported reso & muffled heads will still produce a stronger fundamental tone & a longer note, compared to a less resonant drum with the same setup, yet they both have little - no head sustain. It's all about the length & dominance of that initial note.
Of course, a non resonant bass drum will produce a higher pitch, will cut more (often termed as projection) because it offers a brighter sound & is slightly louder. Again, a most valid choice, but very different to a highly resonant drum. In a non resonant drum, that initial note is much shorter. This is because the shell is more difficult to excite.
Let's choose Les's specific example - Moon gel. Many drummers ask, why do I need a resonant drum when I want little sustain & I use Moon gel to keep my drums focussed? The answer is simple, you may want a focussed sound, but you still want tone - right? It's shell resonance that fills out the tone with both a more defined fundamental as well as a range of lower overtones, rather like a chorus. It's what contributes to the drum tone being satisfying & "phat". Moon gel puts the brakes on the head, it doesn't affect the drum's tone.
Ever noticed how a drum's tone carries better to the audience when it's tuned higher? Of course, there's an optimum point, but this affect happens because the drum's shell is more readily excited at medium - high frequencies than it is at very low frequencies.
So, shell resonance is much more about how the drum sounds than it is about how long the head sustain lasts for. Of course, the interplay between different elements & the results obtained are much more complexed than my little explanation, especially with respect to overtones (both the ones you want, & the ones you don't want), but I'll leave it at that unless there's specific questions.
Subjectivity? MOONGELS are selling very well thank you.
Shell resonance/head vibration two different factors/things??? You're talking hocus pocus to average Joe Drummer.
I'll try to keep this brief, maybe dig into more detail by answering questions if asked, but let me start by saying a highly resonant drum is not necessarily a "better" instrument, it's just another choice in terms of your instrument's character. A non resonant drum is an equally valid choice, indeed, it can be better under some circumstances. I'll continue.
Most drummers perceive a resonant drum as one that offers long sustain. This can be true, but a long sustain can be achieved by just sharp bearing edges & tuning on a drum with very little resonance. Most of what you're hearing in those circumstances is head sustain/decay. Notice how you hear it most from the driver's seat. Close mic's pick it up too, but step out front, even a short distance, & notice how that "sustain" disappears. It disappears because it has no shell tone to back it up. It's a localised low volume thing that only the drummer or mic's hear to any degree.
A highly resonant drum produces a much more dominant fundamental note. This is the note that lasts about one second or so after you strike the drum. It's the very voice of the instrument, & it's a tone you can hear from the other side of the room. It's this affect that really shows the real world benefit of resonance. For example, a very resonant bass drum with a ported reso & muffled heads will still produce a stronger fundamental tone & a longer note, compared to a less resonant drum with the same setup, yet they both have little - no head sustain. It's all about the length & dominance of that initial note.
Of course, a non resonant bass drum will produce a higher pitch, will cut more (often termed as projection) because it offers a brighter sound & is slightly louder. Again, a most valid choice, but very different to a highly resonant drum. In a non resonant drum, that initial note is much shorter. This is because the shell is more difficult to excite.
Let's choose Les's specific example - Moon gel. Many drummers ask, why do I need a resonant drum when I want little sustain & I use Moon gel to keep my drums focussed? The answer is simple, you may want a focussed sound, but you still want tone - right? It's shell resonance that fills out the tone with both a more defined fundamental as well as a range of lower overtones, rather like a chorus. It's what contributes to the drum tone being satisfying & "phat". Moon gel puts the brakes on the head, it doesn't affect the drum's tone.
Ever noticed how a drum's tone carries better to the audience when it's tuned higher? Of course, there's an optimum point, but this affect happens because the drum's shell is more readily excited at medium - high frequencies than it is at very low frequencies.
So, shell resonance is much more about how the drum sounds than it is about how long the head sustain lasts for. Of course, the interplay between different elements & the results obtained are much more complexed than my little explanation, especially with respect to overtones (both the ones you want, & the ones you don't want), but I'll leave it at that unless there's specific questions.