22" x 12" bass drum - 2015 Origin photo's / spec's

Andy

Honorary Member
A nice weather day for the first time in a while, so I thought I'd take some shots of the latest Origin series kit we've just completed. It was a bit windy, & the bass drum is so light, I had to be careful it didn't blow away ;)

Spec's:

Sizes:
22" x 12" bass drum. 15" x 12" floor tom. 12" x 8" tom.
(14" x 7" In-Tense series English ash & ovangkol snare also pictured)

Shells:
All un-drilled segmented solid beech with ovangkol centre band. Tom 5mm thick, floor tom 6mm thick, bass drum 7mm thick. Bearing edges are all part round over with graduated radii + truncation angles depending on drum. Different peak radii on batter & resonant sides.

Hoops:
1.6mm triple flange on toms. Guru signature segmented ovangkol on bass drum.

Shell hardware:
All proprietary Guru ultra low mass T6 aluminium - chrome plated. Stainless steel M5 (30TPI) tension screws.


Note: The last picture shows the tom disconnected from the RIMS mount.
 

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WOW. I haven't said it in a while, but these just exude complete craft and thought. Every little detail is a master's work unto itself. And I bet they sound okay too! ;)

I'm guessing the choice of 1.6 hoops was for mass reduction? You might be interested by Pearl's Fat Tone hoops, if you haven't heard of them.
 
So are those lugs only tension mounted? I see no screws holding them on to that lip.

If so that's a very cool design.
 
So are those lugs only tension mounted? I see no screws holding them on to that lip.

If so that's a very cool design.
There's no drilling through the shell, but each lug sits on two 4mm stainless steel locating pins that are secured to the external reinforcement ring. There's no loading on those pins, just tension loading on the external reinforcement ring.

I bet they sound as good as they look.
They sound better than they look ;) ;) ;)

I'm guessing the choice of 1.6 hoops was for mass reduction? You might be interested by Pearl's Fat Tone hoops, if you haven't heard of them.
In this instance, yes. I wanted to keep this one very open, but without the use of wood hoops. I'm aware of the Pearl hoops, & they sound cool. I haven't tried them to date. We are working on a new super light wood hoop that we hope to feature very soon :)

Very nice looking drums. Clean lines and great finish.
Thank you. The finish is multiple applications of shellac & wax = old school :)
 
As I was asked the weights elsewhere, here they are:

22" bass drum c/w spurs = 7.7Kg (16lb 8oz)
15" floor tom c/w legs = 4.7kg (10lb 5oz)
12" tom = 2.2kg (4lb 13oz)
14" In-Tense snare = 3.1kg (6lb 13oz)

Beech is a little heavier than English ash used in the In-Tense snare.
 
One question, one comment. Is the stripe around the drum an inlay into the staves, or does each stave have this piece in it? And I think 14 inches is small enough for my eye. The bass drum looks like an over sized snare on it's size. I love this kit and all others you have done for sure but just feel the 12 is a bit small. I have no doubts that you have them engineered so that the sound is not a problem .

Edit. And now going back and looking this is a segmented drum so......nevermind.
 
I can't stand any more of this gorgeousness, it's too much to contain.

I have to turn away...until my darkness grows.
 
One question, one comment. Is the stripe around the drum an inlay into the staves, or does each stave have this piece in it? And I think 14 inches is small enough for my eye. The bass drum looks like an over sized snare on it's size. I love this kit and all others you have done for sure but just feel the 12 is a bit small. I have no doubts that you have them engineered so that the sound is not a problem .

Edit. And now going back and looking this is a segmented drum so......nevermind.
Yes, segmented Grunt ;)

On the depth. Of course, this is a similar ratio to a 26" x 14", but also, our segmented hoops don't extend beyond the shell as far as standard single flange hoops, so they're always going to appear that bit more slender.

12" depth on this drum is deliberate. We had much acclaim with our 12" deep 20" bass drum in the previous series, & sonically, this is in a similar vein. The idea of the whole kit is to deliver big clean tone, but in a compact footprint, & lightweight too. The 12" deep floor tom is an extension of that approach.

Sound wise, this bass drum has a very defined fundamental. The Origin design sees to that, but it's depth reinforces that vibe. What surprises many is the amount of deep tone from this drum. It can really thunder, yet always musically. Difficult to describe really, you'd need to hear it in person, but it's certainly distinctive :)

I can't stand any more of this gorgeousness, it's too much to contain.

I have to turn away...until my darkness grows.
I wish I could bring this over for you to try Larry. I'd be very interested in your opinion in comparison to yours.
 
I have been seeing Guru drums parade through this forum, and have listened to every vid clip. How you come up with something better periodicaly is just beyond me. Singing drums. I am going to go home, listen to the clips again, the sob uncontrollably. My cat and wife will look at me with disgust. So be it.
 
Again,where art meets function.Just stunning Andy,and no doubt ,they sound as good as they look.Huzza!

Steve B
 
How you come up with something better periodicaly is just beyond me.
Thank you :) TBH, with the exception of the recent Tour series, all the R&D was completed a couple of years ago. It was fairly extensive & exhaustive, so we have a lot of real world information to draw upon. New configurations are all based on the same series design principals, but we have the luxury of being able to vary many things to obtain different results, but always with a strong focus.

Again,where art meets function.Just stunning Andy,and no doubt ,they sound as good as they look.Huzza!

Steve B
Thanks Steve, & yes, they sound exactly as we wanted them to sound :)

That is pure beauty.
Thank you :)
 
Stellar work as usual Andy. I can imagine that continually designing and building the finest instruments possible must make for a very satisfying life.

Your ongoing commitment to preeminence in your life's work is very inspiring to me (and I'm sure a lot of others). Thanks for that.
 
Stellar work as usual Andy. I can imagine that continually designing and building the finest instruments possible must make for a very satisfying life.

Your ongoing commitment to preeminence in your life's work is very inspiring to me (and I'm sure a lot of others). Thanks for that.
Thank you so much :) Keeping focus against a business background that's really tempting you to cut corners is a tough ride, but the satisfaction of knowing the result is as good as it can be is a good feeling.
 
Stellar work as usual Andy. I can imagine that continually designing and building the finest instruments possible must make for a very satisfying life.

Your ongoing commitment to preeminence in your life's work is very inspiring to me (and I'm sure a lot of others). Thanks for that.

+1
Absolutely.
_______________________

Neal
 
+1
Absolutely.
_______________________

Neal
Thanks Neal :) Biggest issue with this kit is getting players to try it. The automatic assumption is its only suitable for jazz because of the depths. Wrong, wrong - WRONG! All doubts are dispelled the moment you touch it :)

The shallow floor tom is included for a reason too. Believe it or not, & especially at lower tunings, a shallow floor tom can often produce more bottom end than a deeper one, especially on an ultra pure fundamental kit like this. There's a number of reasons for that, but a big one is the drum's proximity to the floor, & that's where a shallow floor tom really scores.
 
Beautiful work Andy - as always I might add.

I had in mind of visiting the UK again (it's not that far and I've only been to London), must certainly plan a visit to you as well.
 
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