Soft wood vs hard wood (SFW)

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Steech

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The preamble
I’m not asking any questions here, just sharing some observations that may or may not be of interest to anyone here. IOW YMMV.

So, over the past 2-3 years I’ve kinda completely bought into the premise that harder wood and thicker shells sound better, play better, and project more than softer wood and thinner shells.

Just about all of the wood-shelled drums that I have owned since around 2018 have met these criteria and starting early last year I went on a hunt to find the hardest-wooded snare drums to further satisfy my needs for hard wood. No joke.

So then at one point about 4 months ago I came across a video of a couple of studio guys comparing the tonal qualities of a range of snare drums and the winner for them was a Sugar Percussion Painted Poplar 5x14 stave snare. It sounded absolutely amazing to me as well and according to the video they were using minimal audio processing.

Below are some hardness comparisons using the long established Janka hardness scale.

My hardest snare, a thick stave shell made by HHG (great company btw): Lignum Vitae wood, 4,500 Janka score (one of the hardest wood species in the world)

Second hardest, coming soon, and also a thick HHG thick stave shell: Kingwood, at 3,300 Janka.

Other snares in Beech (around 1,300) and various Maples (from 890 to 1,100 if I’m not mistaken) and all very thick shells, ranging from 11 to 20 plies.

The Painted Poplar?
Also a stave shell but it looks a bit thinner than the two HHG drums.

Poplar is 540 on the Janka hardness scale. One of the world’s softest wood species.

SO. The verdict.

1. They all sound amazing to my ears
2. The heavier and thicker shells seem to be a bit throatier, dryer, and feel like they have more bottom end.
3. The poplar is more open, has a wider tuning range, a fantastic rimshot crack, and is just as loud as any of the others.

And NO I do not have any sound files for you to compare because anything that I’ve ever tried recording on my iPhone has sounded like total canine excrement.
 
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I’ve got no answer for you here because the only question I found in your post was “the painted poplar?” I think there just might be a thread or two that would help you if you read them but I’m not gonna take the time to find them for you that’s what the search feature is for .good luck I hope someone replies with more than I can give you.

Edit to add: hey Steech! You edited your post so mine makes me look like a bigger idiot than I am!

As if that were possible.

I think the admins should make more rules like to not allow preambles added to the beginning of posts it should be edits at the end like like my oh I lost my train of thought.
 
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I read your observations and can understand the conclusions you’re drawing, but I think the determination of whether those sounds are “good” or “bad” is in the ear of the beholder. You obviously like snare sounds on that end of the spectrum. I can appreciate those sounds sometimes, but they aren’t what my ears gravitate toward.
 
lossforgain said:
I read your observations and can understand the conclusions you’re drawing, but I think the determination of whether those sounds are “good” or “bad” is in the ear of the beholder. You obviously like snare sounds on that end of the spectrum. I can appreciate those sounds sometimes, but they aren’t what my ears gravitate toward.
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Well said.
 
60's Drummer said:
And what sounds good in the studio may not be the best drum for the stage. Genre can determine a whole lot and then the song in that genre can determine a whole lot of what is the best drum to use.
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Yup.
 
Application matters a lot too (obviously). I too prefer thicker wood shell drums, or acrylic/fiberglass, but that’s because I often play without microphones while competing against huge amps in very loud environments. So I need something with loads of head room. If I were recording or playing through PAs I’d be more willing to play thinner shells, which I like for their easier bass response. It’s just that, in my experience, they don’t do well in loud situations.
 
I am in the midst of building a soft maple and white wood Tele. Never worked with this combo, and I imagine it’s going to be a unique voice.

I know in guitars, Poplar can be a bit trebly, basswood can have scooped mids, mahogany is bassy, and hard maple is bright. I have always wondered if a mahogany and maple segment shell wouldn’t give the same benefits as that composition does on a Les Paul?
 
Drdrumdude3009 said:
I am in the midst of building a soft maple and white wood Tele. Never worked with this combo, and I imagine it’s going to be a unique voice.

I know in guitars, Poplar can be a bit trebly, basswood can have scooped mids, mahogany is bassy, and hard maple is bright. I have always wondered if a mahogany and maple segment shell wouldn’t give the same benefits as that composition does on a Les Paul?
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Build one! Sounds interesting to me.
 
It’s so much about what “your perfect sound” is and how you use it. Maybe a harder, thicker shell has more volume and cut but I think at the cost of less body, and less nuance. The vintage recipe of a very thin shell with a slightly rounded edge is magic to me. I think a look at the sound profiles of say an old Ludwig drum vs a 20 ply Ironwood drum would show a more one dimensional sound from the thick shell (but I’ve been wrong before…)

I love the sound(s) of a thin shell and I love that ‘alive’ feel that you get from it. Body, breathy, fat. More whomp than CRACK, more tone than attack, and a clearly identifiable shell sound. When I see words like “cannon” or “cuts through anything” I know it’s not for me. Those sounds have a place certainly, but I don’t enjoy them as much. I can see why some do though, it IS a compelling sound. It’s all so subjective. It’s Billy Martin vs Travis Barker - I absolutely love Martin’s organic sound, but someone else loves Travis’ consistent crACK. They both sound good.
 
I’ve got an 8 x 14 Mcgasser Ebony Stave by Jefferson. He got in a fresh load of wood and said he could select the best from the litter and that drum oh my gosh yes to what everyone saying about Sugar.
 
60's Drummer said:
I’ve got an 8 x 14 Mcgasser Ebony Stave by Jefferson. He got in a fresh load of wood and said he could select the best from the litter and that drum oh my gosh yes to what everyone saying about Sugar.
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I love how Siri renamed Macasser to Mcgasser. And now I’m thinking that I should contact Jefferson about making me one of them. Need to run it by the boss first though, as my GAS has been insane these past few months…
 
I get it, and I'm afraid that what follows makes me sound like a naysayer, but I promise: I get you and you have my support and understanding. :)

That said...

The bearing edges and heads will make a significant difference in all this (and I know you're experienced and know what you're talking about; just making friendly conversation here). I think the only way to explore your tonewood dilemma with any fair and true sense of apples and oranges is if they all had precisely the same cut (and other specs, too, but y'know).

All other specs being equal, I'll bet an HHG poplar will sound more like an HHG lignum vitae than a Sugar poplar would sound like an HHG poplar, and vice versa, if you catch my drift.

Man, despite how that reads, I swear I'm not dismissing your curiosities! Just saying don't obsess, because a given build's bearing edge + head combination has more influence over tone than the shell material. (NOT saying NO influence from the shell material, just comparatively less)

I'm really flailing here. Alright, I'll stop.

Anyway, keep us posted!
 
Steech said:
I love how Siri renamed Macasser to Mcgasser. And now I’m thinking that I should contact Jefferson about making me one of them. Need to run it by the boss first though, as my GAS has been insane these past few months…
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I think the wood is a protected species now and is really like way out there in price.

Maybe I said MacGyver Ebony.

That drum can be used to solve about any conundrum you might find yourself in.
 
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