AVA - Drum Builds
- Thread starter AVA
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jaykaydrums
Silver Member
absolutely gorgeous!!!! <3
AVA
Active Member
Thanks! Appreciate the comment!!
AVA
Active Member
Hi. Here's a few recent builds.
13x7 leapordwood slim-stave with a red stain and double black fade.
Also a 14x6 Walnut Straight-Stave.
This one has full round over bearing edges on the batter side. I'm using the custom tooling I had made for bass drums and toms to do this.
Eats up those unwanted overtones.
Thanks!!!
Craig
13x7 leapordwood slim-stave with a red stain and double black fade.
Also a 14x6 Walnut Straight-Stave.
This one has full round over bearing edges on the batter side. I'm using the custom tooling I had made for bass drums and toms to do this.
Eats up those unwanted overtones.
Thanks!!!
Craig
Craig..hang with me here. I've listened to a Spaun 6x13 maple cedar face drum on YouTube that really spoke to me IF that is what the drum sounds like while actually playing it. I like 13s that sound like 14s..i know..just get a 14 then. I dig the room a 13 gives you and don't want 14s anymore..im so spoiled by the comfort. I've heard Sonors Benny Greb 13s but can't go with those. I've heard 13" shootouts from Drumcenter of Portsmouth..didnt like ANY. Don't like the Gretsch Mark Schulmann. Loved..the Brady lemon scented gum as played on YouTube's UK drumshop...the black snaredrum no longer available. I'm not 100% anti diecast hoops but so far don't care for them especially on 13s. I'm wondering why the Spaun sounds so big and open for a 13 unlike all the others and lots of body. We absolutely need to have a beer together and go over all of this. What is the possibility of you creating a 13 of my description. Thanks.
incrementalg
Gold Member
The leopardwood snare looks stunning! I'm not familiar with that wood at all...How would you describe the tone of leopardwood?
Edit: I found the video on your site. It sounds really buoyant...not sure if that makes sense...it sounds great!
Edit: I found the video on your site. It sounds really buoyant...not sure if that makes sense...it sounds great!
AVA
Active Member
Hey. I hear ya. I not exactly familiar with that drum your referencing though.
My aim for my slimstave model is to get nice body to the sound but also have the ability to crack and have presence when required and not choke under pressure.
This is my opinion, a shell that that has a rigid structure has great presence, will be loud and really cut, guess what shells are rigid? Really thick ones. They won't choke but have the ability to throw that sound and handle a heavy hand.
My slim-stave model has this ability as the rings are super thick 3 ply construction. They have little to no flex.
The shell is only 5mm thick and unable to be a shell on its own.. It's a flimsical piece that has no structural integrity.
Add the rigid rings and you have something quite unique, a drum that behaves like a thick shell but has much added body to its tone. I've built loads of thick shells. They sound great. I've noticed that you really have to thump the shell hard to hear it's note. It will have a higher note vs a thinner shell. My slim-stave shells also have a high note but it will sing with lightest tap of your fingertip.
So, does any if this info sound appealing?
AVA
Active Member
Thanks. I try to demo everything wide open. Just so a general tone can be heard. Few moon gels and it all changes anyways!!
Leapordwood is hard dense wood.
Sounds good and looks pretty spectacular!
Craig...playing devils advocate here have you ever looked at your shell builds and thought wow..i went overboard here with the exact plied reinforcement rings..the exotic woods and the oddest depth etc etc. Have you ever heard a simple built plied shell that made you think you went to chefy on some builds?. Such as an iron chef creating the world's most involved cheeseburger only to feel that he secretly preffered a Hardees Frisco burger?. Your drum builds are a work of art!..you just look at them in awe thinking Craig is a drum building genius. I'm very curious if you've ever built the simplest of shells thinking whoa..this is the best sounding drum I've ever made but I can't tell anyone 
.
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Flea.Bite
Member
They said contentment is the enemy of greatness.Craig...playing devils advocate here have you ever looked at your shell builds and thought wow..i went overboard here with the exact plied reinforcement rings..the exotic woods and the oddest depth etc etc. Have you ever heard a simple built plied shell that made you think you went to chefy on some builds?. Such as an iron chef creating the world's most involved cheeseburger only to feel that he secretly preffered a Hardees Frisco burger?. Your drum builds are a work of art!..you just look at them in awe thinking Craig is a drum building genius. I'm very curious if you've ever built the simplest of shells thinking whoa..this is the best sounding drum I've ever made but I can't tell anyone
AVA
Active Member
Most built to order, then if there is a little down time, I'll just get some shells going, I have a few stores that take my drums so I can get them out of my basement and in front of people. There's always 1 or 3 orders in the pipe so that's great for me.
Kits eat up time and they can put snare builds on hold a little. Technically I need help, but I don't have anyone I would trust/allow to help.
AVA
Active Member
Craig...playing devils advocate here have you ever looked at your shell builds and thought wow..i went overboard here with the exact plied reinforcement rings..the exotic woods and the oddest depth etc etc. Have you ever heard a simple built plied shell that made you think you went to chefy on some builds?. Such as an iron chef creating the world's most involved cheeseburger only to feel that he secretly preffered a Hardees Frisco burger?. Your drum builds are a work of art!..you just look at them in awe thinking Craig is a drum building genius. I'm very curious if you've ever built the simplest of shells thinking whoa..this is the best sounding drum I've ever made but I can't tell anyone
Haha this is quite funny!
I have customers who will request a "normal" stave shell, this I call my Straight-Stave. Straight inside wall, no rings etc. Still has the faceted outer shape though. Maybe they feel that there's no need for any of this extra effort either! The drum sounds great, they are happy! But, this is how many other drum builders build, and I want to be different.
That's the only reason I do it.
Everyone knows that stave drums sound great, but, they can be susceptible to moisture and can be quite fragile if mistreated. With both these factors being a major concern I want to try and next level my products. Anyone with a garage, a table saw, some wipe on oil from Home Depot, and able to take decent pics will now be selling stave drums.
Hopefully people can see the extra effort I put in. Now I'm not saying my drums sound any better than anyone else's, but I have put tremendous effort into every single aspect of my drums.
A well built drum, no matter the material will sound good and have its merits, I've threatened to make a snare out of a pallet to prove this point.
It could end up with a BFSD on it anyways lol... funny, I knew a lad who had a Pearl free floater. He turned the shell upside down so the flat edge was the bearing edge. Loved how it sounded!
AVA
Active Member
Haha I love this!
AVA
Active Member
Hi all. Here's a selection of recent completions. Got some anodized aluminum shells on the go. Everyone is obsessed with the patina vibe these days so I had to try something different.
I like how they turned out though.
Also a cast bronze, Bubinga and a rainbow poplar with wood hoops.!
Have a great week out there!!
Thanks
I like how they turned out though.
Also a cast bronze, Bubinga and a rainbow poplar with wood hoops.!
Have a great week out there!!
Thanks
