Birch vs. Maple Bass Drum

[towndog]

Yep, Gadd does it. I’ve done it. My Tempus bass drum was always the soundman and bandmate pleaser. I’ve mixed that bass drum up with all kinds of Toms over the years.

I had a Tempus fiberglass kick once that I liked - wish I never sold that kit. I have a Bello fiberglass kit now - toms are OK but the kick sounds great. Small sample size but my experience with 2 different fiberglass kicks and they both were great sounding

 

[HalldorL]

i have a very odd theory that humidity effects how we hear sound. I used to notice that my old (maple) Ludwigs would sound very different some days...you got rained on so the humidity was high...I could be totally off....also...sometimes I think people hear things differently when they know its new. If you only ate the greatest steaks everyday you might love some chicken after 2 weeks of porterhouse.

When I moved from Iceland to the Netherlands back in 1995 I took my then Brady kit with me. It’s a humid country and I did notice a difference in sound, for the better. So I think your theory makes perfect sense.

 

[SonorBart]

Here's a pic from an outdoor gig last night with the Frankenstein/Orphans kit with the Delite BD. Everyone really likes how it sounds, so I'll do our remaining month of outdoor gigs with it.

 

[groovemastergreg]

P.S. We got rained on both nights, but the kit was easy to wipe down. Plus, I pulled the drums and hardware out of the cases on Sunday to wipe down again and dry in the sun.

It is always nice to see someone who knows how to take care of their drums.

 

[groovemastergreg]

When I moved from Iceland to the Netherlands back in 1995 I took my then Brady kit with me. It’s a humid country and I did notice a difference in sound, for the better. So I think your theory makes perfect sense.

I've lived in Texas all my life, and in the parts I've dwelled it's ALWAYS humid. Moreso near the Gulf of Mexico where the winds blow, but that's of small comfort, as the winds are hot like from a hair dryer, but at least it keeps the sweat moving with the wind. I have played my kits on numerous windy beachside locales in Galveston, Boliviar Island, North Padre Island and Corpus Christi, and South Padre Island, on numerous times over the past 50 years. After every Gulf (of Mexico) gig, I'd wipe my Fiberglass Tempus shells down as well as clean all hardware, rims, etc with a metal cleaner. I ALWAYS took one of the Tempus kits I owned over the past 37 years to Salt Water gigs. Only my metal shell Pearl Steve Ferrone made the trips to the Gulf. Wood drums stay at the Casa or rehearsal facility, which I greatly miss having a heavily air conditioned rehearsal facility.

It's less humid by maybe 10% in Austin, but the hills, big trees and big buildings block a lot of the breezes that blow through here. It's a rare day when it's good weather but with a healthy wind to help keep the band cool at an outdoor Austin gig between May and October/November. It's a rare day when it's "unseasonably chilly" in those time frames.

Iceland looks really cold! lol. That's even worse that it's humid cold. When we're talking snow on the ground, I prefer a dry cold. That's the only way I could live in a very cold climate.
Walking to a breakfast restaurant in Aspen, Colorado in June when it's about 45 degrees was an easy task for me in shorts and a t-shirt, and just a wee bit chilly, which made me walk faster. By the time I finished breakfast, the temps were highly tolerable on the walk back to the condo. In Texas, that 45 degrees would have a wind chill amounting to 30 degrees, and you would be more than a wee bit chilly walking that same distance in Texas Gulf Coast or Central Texas. REAL COLD. West Texas and north West Texas are where it starts to be a dry cold.

 

[Level42]

i have a very odd theory that humidity effects how we hear sound. I used to notice that my old (maple) Ludwigs would sound very different some days...you got rained on so the humidity was high...I could be totally off....also...sometimes I think people hear things differently when they know its new. If you only ate the greatest steaks everyday you might love some chicken after 2 weeks of porterhouse.

It absolutely does! I did a high school science fair project on this. I used a Peavey SP2 PA cabinet in a marked spot in an open field and made RTA and SPL measurements under different temperature and humidity conditions over the year and graphed it all. Won the gold medal! Wish I still had those charts.

 

[mydadisjr]

It absolutely does! I did a high school science fair project on this. I used a Peavey SP2 PA cabinet in a marked spot in an open field and made RTA and SPL measurements under different temperature and humidity conditions over the year and graphed it all. Won the gold medal! Wish I still had those charts.

Wow, that is so cool... I love that kinda stuff.

I did two Science Fair Projects with my daughter in middle / early high school.

I just hope I let her do SOME of the work! Electro-magnets and pulleys...

 

[HalldorL]

Iceland looks really cold! lol. That's even worse that it's humid cold. When we're talking snow on the ground, I prefer a dry cold. That's the only way I could live in a very cold climate.

Iceland is actually very dry so we have dry cold. Netherlands however is humid. Lived there for 5 years and never got used to the wet cold in the winter.

 

[groovemastergreg]

It absolutely does! I did a high school science fair project on this. I used a Peavey SP2 PA cabinet in a marked spot in an open field and made RTA and SPL measurements under different temperature and humidity conditions over the year and graphed it all. Won the gold medal! Wish I still had those charts.

Kewl!

 

[felis]

YMMV, but to my ears, birch is to maple as oak is to birch. Speaking in terms of cold/warmth, harshness, length of note, and so on.

I have a kit set up now with a maple bass drum and floor tom, with birch mounted toms. I like that combination.

 

[MikeKnight]

I've lived in Texas all my life, and in the parts I've dwelled it's ALWAYS humid. Moreso near the Gulf of Mexico where the winds blow, but that's of small comfort, as the winds are hot like from a hair dryer, but at least it keeps the sweat moving with the wind. I have played my kits on numerous windy beachside locales in Galveston, Boliviar Island, North Padre Island and Corpus Christi, and South Padre Island, on numerous times over the past 50 years. After every Gulf (of Mexico) gig, I'd wipe my Fiberglass Tempus shells down as well as clean all hardware, rims, etc with a metal cleaner. I ALWAYS took one of the Tempus kits I owned over the past 37 years to Salt Water gigs. Only my metal shell Pearl Steve Ferrone made the trips to the Gulf. Wood drums stay at the Casa or rehearsal facility, which I greatly miss having a heavily air conditioned rehearsal facility.

It's less humid by maybe 10% in Austin, but the hills, big trees and big buildings block a lot of the breezes that blow through here. It's a rare day when it's good weather but with a healthy wind to help keep the band cool at an outdoor Austin gig between May and October/November. It's a rare day when it's "unseasonably chilly" in those time frames.

Iceland looks really cold! lol. That's even worse that it's humid cold. When we're talking snow on the ground, I prefer a dry cold. That's the only way I could live in a very cold climate.
Walking to a breakfast restaurant in Aspen, Colorado in June when it's about 45 degrees was an easy task for me in shorts and a t-shirt, and just a wee bit chilly, which made me walk faster. By the time I finished breakfast, the temps were highly tolerable on the walk back to the condo. In Texas, that 45 degrees would have a wind chill amounting to 30 degrees, and you would be more than a wee bit chilly walking that same distance in Texas Gulf Coast or Central Texas. REAL COLD. West Texas and north West Texas are where it starts to be a dry cold.

This description brings back memories. I used to live between Houston and Austin. Those winter days when it went down to 4 degrees (40F), gloomy with the wind blowing down from Manitoba were just awful.

I was always fascinated by how continental the climate was in Texas for being that far south. I guess that what you get when there are no mountains to stop the artic air from coming down.

I was jamming a few days ago in an unairconditioned stone church and it was 33 dgrees and humid. It felt like all of our instruments were detuned. Drums sounded weird. And I played terrible.

 

[DrumBob]

I've only had two sets with birch bass drums, so I'm now curious about the possibilities of getting another, just to see how I like it. I seem to recall that I liked the bass drums, but not the toms, which were harsh sounding. The bass drums had a deeper quality that was darker than maple.

 

[Elegant drum]

The wood, brand, and size of kick area all very strong variables. Here are the ones I have liked so far:
Tama Star maple 14x24 Fast and well rounded
Ludwig 80's Cortex 18x22 Punchy

I'm not in a place where I like only 14x22 or 14x24, the thinner the better.