Solid shells.

[drmtech12345]

Ive done some research and looked at Block, Stave, Ply, Steam bent, etc. from many angles. What I feel at present is that I would like to hear what a drum lathed out of a solid block would sound like. Done in this fashion it could be thinner than a stave or Block, and there would be no glue what so ever. Any suggestions???

 

[BrianOwens]

I would recommend 1-ply steambent maple shells. I have played them and they are outstanding. Just ask 'TopHatJohnny'

 

[drmtech12345]

I would recommend 1-ply steambent maple shells. I have played them and they are outstanding. Just ask 'TopHatJohnny'

Cool. Thanks. I had a Craviotto Steam bent Maple Snare that I got cheap and tried out. I liked it. I have read that steam bent has a different sound than a solid due to the bending, and I don't have thousands to spend on a steam bent kit right now. My thought was to make one solid shell, one at a time, and see what each sounds like. I already am familiar with the steam bent drums, and I have a nice collection of vintage shells.

 

[sonorguy]

There are a few companies that make solid shell (hollowed out log) drums. The one that comes to mind right now is the Canopus Zelkova. Also, stave shells can be tgaken down pretty thin. I've gone down as thin as 3/16" without any problems.

 

[drmtech12345]

There are a few companies that make solid shell (hollowed out log) drums. The one that comes to mind right now is the Canopus Zelkova. Also, stave shells can be tgaken down pretty thin. I've gone down as thin as 3/16" without any problems.

Thanks for that commont. I had been wondering how thin a stave could be taken down. 3/16 is plenty thin, so that could work for me. To me a "Built" drum is not just a shell someone got from a supplier and then added stuff to it. That to me sounds like "Custom". To me it's a shell also that someone actualy made. Anyone with money can just buy something. Not as much creativity in that though. I have no problem with an all stave kit, except that I wanted thin shells. I may try making my staves for the toms with a bit of a longer glue surface area at the joints--Taper back the the ends that meet for a little more surface area contact. I would then go thicker on snare and bass drum probably.

 

[Dave H.]

Ryan Payne makes the best single ply steam bent shell I have ever used. He made a shell for me that GMS built up & I have to say it is my favorite snare I have owned.

Dave H.

 

[atomicmorganic]

I have a snare drum that is turned from a single block. Maple. It is about 3/8" to1/2" thick. I don't think it should be turned any thinner for fear of cracks. I bought the shell from Ronn Dunnett who I think had a few of these that came from Taye. I put 10 tube lugs and a Dunnett R2 on it and fitted it with wood hoops from Stellar. Very impressive drum. Looks and sounds great!

 

[mike17]

Luka percussion makes solid shell drums.

Luka

 

[drmtech12345]

Kool. Thanks.

 

[GrooveSuperfly]

When I say " solid"- then I mean holow log out of trunk. Not steambent, nor stave segment or block drums.
In my research I found those :

-Luka made solid snares. I am not shure igf they built sets...?
-Spirit made solid snares , and few sets.
-Canopus, Zelkova is solid snare
-Braddy made a few solid snares.
-Antonio drums, build slid snares AND solid sets.


Here is pict of my recently arrived Antonio snare.

Its 14x 6,5, made of severalhundred years old croatian Elm, ( elm is "relativs" to Zelkova tree) thick 5mm and rerings 15mm ( Rerings is not glued, they are curved out as shell, from one single piece.

And I am waitinh to rest of my Elm hollow-log set
Unfortantly . toms will take aprox 4 - 5 month , and kick few more. So far I have to enjoy my new snare.

To answer first question - how I find ( and I have been read a lot ( hmm. there is NOT lot of info att all) on internet, and contacting people with solid snares...):
If you go from low to high ( tuning range, vibrate, focus, punch it will go: 1-Ply 2-SteamBent 3- Block and stave segment/ they ARE different stave and segment to sound charetersitic) and finaly 4 - soild ( holow log).

Glue harm wood to resonate free. Glue does not "colour " the sound.
( let us say that wood is ultimate for drums. just try to forget steel, plexiglas, fiberglas, and other materiall for few seconds...)

Whats make Steam "better" than ply ( this is generaly, ther is better ply tah bend drums), is that there is much less glue,compare to plydrums. Just 2 glue pints- in the seam and for rerings.

Whats make stave better than steambents- Less glue in contact with drumheads, compared to steambentdrums- that allow vibrations easier go in to the wood.

Whats make blockstave DIFFERENT from segment is that verticla grain in wood have same direction as ( this will be hard to explain with my bad english ) air that is moving from batter to resohead. And wood can easyer transport that vibrate too, and vibrate is even traveling throu that vertical grain ( sounds stupid - but I have read ( not studdy it by my self) from LOT of wellknown drum bilders aboyt that)

And finaly, the Holy Grail among the drums, Soild shells.

It simply have ALL benefits from all drumtypes. No glue att all, even reings is without glue - focusring transport sound throu wood.
Vertical grain have "right" direction.




Sound:
-Snare is VERY VERY responsitive.
-Have no typical sweetspots ( my dont have it) , sound vell everywhere - strange , I am still not use to it .
-Loud for a wood snare.
-No rings att all ( ok, almost.). But much much less than other wood snares I have own or played on.
-No "usaly" crack.
-But LOT of boddy, instead for crack. That "body" instead just incresse, and increase when you are expected it to go over it to crack. All way, and seems never stopp...
-And you never chock snare.
-Amzaing tuning range- from low, deep, to high tuning - eerything works.
- Very "punchy"- lot of "attack".
-"Sing" long time ather you smash it.

But still - very UNUSALY sound, and feeling to play. You just like it. Or hate it.

Maybe bullsh*t, but thats how I expiering my snare, when I compare to other wood snares. And I must edmit ( you say so? ) that I have NOT play all sanres in the world att all. So I am not the best expert. ( But I hade a few snares a drumkit throug my life)

 

[StickHead]

I have an entire drum kit that is stave(Bebop)and all made from ONE TREE ! The tree was an very old figured blackwood
(cousin to the Koa tree)from Tasmania Island south of Australia .The company that produces these very rare gems is Fidock of Australia .The sound is simply beyond any manufactured drum kit out there !

 

[homeby5]

A few years ago I had a friend of mine who was going to ship me a big piece of wood from his Koa tree in Hawaii. Anyway, I searched long and hard and decided to go with this guy to make them for me.
Spirit in the Wood
He was right here in US, is a very nice guy and spent plenty of time with me. He also has large enough tools to make a 26" kick, because I was going with a Bonham sized kick. He LOVES his profession. Anyway, the wood didn't work out but if I ever get another chance at solid kit built, I would use him. BTW, you don't have to ship him your own wood. He has plenty on hand.

 

[tgregorek]

the problem with solid wood is you need to get wood that is well seasoned. Wood shrinks as it dries. I wouldn't try with anything less than 20 years old. Unseasoned wood will crack and split and warp. My father mad furniture out of solid wood and some of the pieces have split and warped over the years. what I would do is laminate several solid pieces together changing the orientation of the grain with each layer. that will give it stability.

 

[RickP]

Gary Noonan makes solid snares, I remember reading an excellent article in Rhythm Magazine about 10 years or so about them.They gave it an excellent review.
Gary males wonderful drums, especially his brass snares. If they are good enough formSteve Gadd to buy two.......

 

[RIDDIM]

the problem with solid wood is you need to get wood that is well seasoned. Wood shrinks as it dries. I wouldn't try with anything less than 20 years old. Unseasoned wood will crack and split and warp. My father mad furniture out of solid wood and some of the pieces have split and warped over the years. what I would do is laminate several solid pieces together changing the orientation of the grain with each layer. that will give it stability.

This matches what other woodworkers have told me.

 

[atomicmorganic]

I don't know how old the wood is in my solid shell, but I have been playing it for over a year now, and no evidence of cracks or deforming. 1/2" thick maple shell. Turned from one piece of wood.

 

[Ron_M]

the problem with solid wood is you need to get wood that is well seasoned. Wood shrinks as it dries. I wouldn't try with anything less than 20 years old. Unseasoned wood will crack and split and warp. My father mad furniture out of solid wood and some of the pieces have split and warped over the years. what I would do is laminate several solid pieces together changing the orientation of the grain with each layer. that will give it stability.

This matches what other woodworkers have told me.

I believe the wood has to be dried in a very controlled environment, and (fuzzy memory alert) takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 1/2 years. That was one particular manufacturer ( may have been Brady).

 

[GrooveSuperfly]

Zelkova snare is on the market since 80:s. Solid shell of Zelkova, a kind of Elm tree.
They do not crack, when dry. Question is how many crack BEFORE they get drie?!?!
Problem is for builders, UNTIL they dry, lot of them crack. So its simply to much jobb to produce drums that way.

 

[DrumART Jim]

FWIW, I have a Zelkova and a number of solid Luka shells that I've built into snares myself and there are no finer wood drums in my opinion (subjective to be sure) than truly solid drums. They can do damn near everything.

Someday soon I plan to sell most of my 75+ snare drums and drum kits and buy a solid-shelled Luka kit that I will keep forever and hand down to my son. We already built one of the Lukas into a drum together (finish work thanks to Jeff at Carolina Drumworks) called the "DadAndy":

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150307484015608.562702.666525607

Great project!

--Jim.

 

[GrooveSuperfly]

FWIW, I have a Zelkova and a number of solid Luka shells that I've built into snares myself and there are no finer wood drums in my opinion (subjective to be sure) than truly solid drums. They can do damn near everything.

Someday soon I plan to sell most of my 75+ snare drums and drum kits and buy a solid-shelled Luka kit that I will keep forever and hand down to my son. We already built one of the Lukas into a drum together (finish work thanks to Jeff at Carolina Drumworks) called the "DadAndy":

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150307484015608.562702.666525607

Great project!

--Jim.

Everyone I have been talked with (throu internet) , that OWN a TRUE soild drum,, says like you.
I have been often it to the Lukas homepadge and was look at those geourgeous stuff they made


If you are planing to get new tru solid drum, take even a look at AntonioDrums. ( The man who ivented remote HiHat .


I just love that "Andy and Dad" signature!!!!