What's the difference between the number of ply wood in the shell?

[MichaelR]

I'm planning to buy a keller shell online and putting on the lugs, hoops, finish, etc. It's going to be a 14x7 snare.
What's the difference between the number of ply wood in the shell?


4-ply
8-ply
10-ply

 

[Nodiggie]

generally the less plies, the more resonance and lower tone

more plies less resonance with higher pitch and projection. the 10 ply shell is a good common thickness for a snare drum you are building.

 

[Andy]

Shell thickness has a far greater affect on the sound than the number of plies, although generally, the lower number of plies for a given thickness is preferred because less glue is used.