Prof.Sound's Drum Tuning Bible v3
Drum Woods
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Drum Woods In Detail

 

We’ve all heard terms like basswood, luaan, maple, birch, beech, falkata, Philippine mahogany, African mahogany, etc.  Most of us can relate to common woods like maple, birch, beech, and we even have an idea of what “color” mahogany is.  But do we really understand why these are used?  We (drummers) really don’t put the role of the wood in perspective. 

 

Sound is subjective.  The marketing concept used by manufacturers, coupled with finish and function leads all of us to believe that more expensive is better.  In reality the manufacture puts together a package designed to being a drum to market at a price point.

 

The purchase price is a function of manufacturing cost relative to market value (demand). What this article should do is help understand why some drums are more expensive. Much like furniture, it often has little to do with function, but sometimes a big impact on sound and finish.

 

People assume lots of things about drum wood and its effect on sound.  Some common assumptions are:

 

·         The interior layer of the shell is all that matters to influence the sound of a drum. By this I mean within the shell construction you can have any wood you want on the other layers and if the interior layer is maple, it will sound like an all maple drum. This is really not true, but the interior layer does affect the tone you get. 

·         The exterior layer is all that matters. So if you use anything you want on the interior and core layers, the outer layer is the most important grade and species that will influence the drums sound. This is untrue as well but again, the exterior layer can affect tone and obviously the look of the drum.

·         The shell has to be all one material to matter. So, make the drum up of all maple, birch, etc. in layers and you have the resulting woods sound inherent in the drum. This is mostly true, but the thickness of layers, how bonded, etc. all influence sound.

·         The drum shell must be solid material of all one species. As a purist approach, this is the truest of statements one can make because depending upon construction, it allows the wood to emit tone unaltered from its natural state. Some have actually carved a donut shell out of very large logs, which depending upon thickness can create weak points in the shell and wastes material as drums get large.  So bending materials to form a shell are the next best thing and obviously bending thicker walls takes more skill and time, hence very costly to create.

 

Any two or more manufacturers of drums will sound the same if all aspects of the kit are the same.

 

To create a different sound (or price point) you must change something about the drums construction.  While there are different hoops, there aren’t that many all that different from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Most use the same form and often the same materials, with few exceptions.  Mounting systems and hardware look different, but most have found ways to get the same function these days and they require substantial effort to alter design once put into production. 

 

So if you are a manufacturer, and you want to alter your product for appearance, sound and cost, wood is a good place to begin experimenting.  If it’s easier to tool, cheaper to buy, easier to come buy and the result cannot be detrimental to sound and finish you are competing with, it gets incorporated in the line.

 

 

Construction and Its influence on Sound:

Drummers are becoming more educated about sound and with that more demanding. Things of different mass densities are known to vibrate differently.  Wood and the construction used (shell thickness, plies, type, edge treatment) is the mass of a density that will influence the tone of the drum most.

 

To create a drum from true mahogany of the US or Honduras variety can be very expensive. Counterparts that have very similar sound characteristics are basswood, poplar and lauan, all of which are less expensive.  So from a manufacturer’s point of view, to reduce manufacturing costs, you might choose to use one of these wood substitutions.  However, appearance may be an issue and the ability to finish it may be in question as well if you used it as an outer layer. So if a drum shell has 80% lauan, and 20% something else like an inner play of Albasia falkata and an outer ply of birch, you can hypothesize that the lauan will be effecting the tone more so than will the “something” else, and given it’s the sound characteristics of mahogany, to some degree, you can reason out that the drum will have a nice low-end with reasonable midrange punch and bright overtones.

 

The interior treatment of the drum will highly influence the tone, such as the relectance (or lack thereof) of the stick slap on the drumhead, or snare sound on a snare drum.  Lauan is a very stringy, porous wood that will lead to a rough appearance and not finish very well once bent.  The result would be a drum with little reflection of the brighter tones, essentially a very lifeless tone that doesn’t carry very well.  To counteract this, a ply of a dense, non-porous hardwood that will finish very smooth may be added such as maple, or again to keep costs down, a birch or Albasia Falkata because they not only have the characteristics sought, but look attractive as well.

 

The exterior is mostly appearance related, although anything that can add mass and dampen vibration will again influence sound (i.e. tom mounts). An easy thing to target here is the hardware and most drummers notice when toms are mounted to the shell.  This is an easy target for illustrating the effect of something that can dampen shell vibration and influence sound.  What we don’t always focus on is the exterior layer of the shell itself. 

 

Laminate materials being essentially heat set resins, do not have much in the way of attractive sound characteristics. They do offer extremely durable finishes that widen the choice of appearances possible.  They are heavy materials from a bulk density viewpoint, and will inhibit the transmission of sound around the circumference of the drum, but aid in the transmission of sound at 90 degrees to the heads. This may exactly what you want if you are a high volume player.

 

In subtle ways, some designers believe that the application of paints and various other finishes influence the tone as well.  This has merit when you consider that as you add resins to bond plies, you are also filling pores within the wood and also inhibit its ability to vibrate at different frequencies. How much this influences sound will depend upon how many plies and finish treatments.  The same happens when finishes are applied.  Some believe the application of wood oils are better, others believe its their so-called “vintage” finish. Others don’t think it matters at all.  What’s better?  I suspect that will be up to you in the end based upon what you want to hear. 

 

What frequencies get effected?  That all depends upon these combinations of variables, but is sort of boils down to this:

 

·         Thinner drum shells resonate easier and generally lead to a very open sounding drum.  A good examples of this is the Premier Genista. 

·         Thicker shelled drums are dryer sounding drums.  A popular example of this is the YAMAHA Recording Custom series of drum. 

·         Drums which have counter hoops adhered inside are warm, yet have a controlled resonance.  A good example is the DW series of drums.

·         Drum which have no counter hoops tend to have brighter attack and more overall high-frequency resonance.

 

Price and Value:

In the end, the core woods are most responsible for the sound of the kit, but not entirely. Price is a reflection of the ability to get and tool wood into a shell and the end users perception of the value they received. If it cost a great deal but does not sound good to you, then there is little value.

 

All softwood trees are fast growing whereas maple, true exotic US mahogany trees or Honduras mahogany are very slow growing. These trees growing in the wild are about 200 years old when harvested from the rain forest. The reason old growth tree lumber is so valuable is because the trees grew slowly in a dense forest and limited light. The result was fine grain wood. Commercially grown trees are not as dense in grain and therefore, not as prized.

 

In most cases, the costs of the respective sets are warranted. An all maple set is more expensive because it is all maple and maple is expensive. Mahogany sets have dropped off in availability simply because there isn't that much good true mahogany left at a price most drummers will pay and the brighter attack imparted by today’s popular music tends to favor Maple or Birch sounding kits. Birch and beech grow faster and are easier to get, so they get a little cheaper.

 

In the end it doesn't have to be complicated. When you hear what you like within a budget that has the look and finish, you will then know what you are after and can begin the process of finding a kit that comes close to your budget. Try to avoid marketing hype and just sit back, relax and let your ears guide you.

Albasia Falkata:

Woods like Albasia falkata are used as a substitute for American hardwood maple as well because it will finish extremely well and is cheap. To my ear it imparts a bright attack tone and is most appropriate as an inner layer.

 

Maple:

Maple is a general overall warm sounding product, it can reproduce frequencies of the drum fairly well across the spectrum. True slow growth old forest maple trees are most prized due to the narrow growth rings and straight grain. The wood resonates extremely well and the finishes are well accepted. Newer and reforested trees do not have as tight a growth ring habit and are not as prized as old growth timber.  Solid shelled snare drums made of burled or Birdseye maple are very warm in overall tone but also impart a very bright attack.  Maple is generally thought to have very even tone across the spectrum and is prized by many drummers.

 

Mahogany:

True mahogany from USA or Honduras will have about a 20% increase in low frequency resonance over the maple drum, mid and high frequencies will be the same from a reproduction point of view, but because the Mahogany has the 20% low end increase, the perceived tone is warmer. Certain deep red timbers from South East Asia are sold as a 'Mahogany', or 'Mahogany Finish' although they are not true Mahogany from USA or Honduras. It’s most likely called mahogany due either its common appearance (dark red) or due to the nature of the forestation being depleted and the stigma attached to it.  Asian 'Philippine Mahogany' is often sourced from the endangered Dipterocarp forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Dependant on the source tree the timber types are often known as Meranti, Lauan and Keruing.  Hence the name Philippine mahogany.  The species known as Khaya Nyasica or African mahogany are more plentiful yet still endangered and therefore, not plentiful at this time.

 

Birch:

Birch is a very dense tough wood, blond in color that tools well. It will have about a 10% loss in reproduction of low end compared to Maple and about a 20% increase in the high end, with the mid range remaining about the same, so the Birch kit will definitely be a “harder” and “brighter” sounding kit. Birch is derived from fast growth trees that are commonly large in diameter and finish reasonably well. Birch is often referred to as a naturally “EQ’d” drum set.  This came from its popularity when used in recording studios where the attack portion of the sound was an important ingredient in recordings dating back to the late 60’s. It made it easier to get the drums to cut through the mix with minimal effort.

 

Poplar:

Poplar is derived from fast growing straight medium hardwood trees and is a less expensive alternative to Birch and Maple. Its finish can be somewhat green in color and is therefore used in the inner ply layers as substitute for more expensive and less plentiful woods. To my ear it takes on more of the tone of birch or mahogany than maple.

 

Basswood:

Basswood is a great less expensive hardwood that mimics the sound of Maple to some, mahogany to others. Yet it is more plentiful and gives the manufacturer a price advantage.  It in many ways is an upgrade to luaan, or ramin and is often used as a core wood with a bit more of the lower register tone to it than realized out of maple. For this reason I tend to think of it more like mahogany than maple.

 

Lauan,  Luaan or Luan:

By any spelling is a less expensive alternative to woods like basswood and “true” mahogany. To my ear it does not sound like true mahogany, but more like that of birch. This is a inexpensive filler type wood. It is in fact a species of endangered wood called “ramin” and or “meranti”.  Actually, several other woods fall into this category too and are often referred to as "lauan" by various spellings. Lauan is “a coarse textured stringy wood with a wavy interlocked grain pattern, it has a pale creamy-red colour. Light but strong and durable it accepts stain and varnish well and can be polished to a high finish but remains somewhat porous. Red Lauan (Shorea negrosensis) is the mother tree of true Meranti. Natural inhabitants of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, they are large trees; 61.5m (200 ft) in height with a trunk of up to 2m (6ft 6in) in diameter. Asian 'Mahogany' is often sourced from the endangered Dipterocarp forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Dependant on the source tree the timber types are often known as Meranti, Lauan and Keruing.  Hence the name Philippine mahogany.

All rights reserved - J. Scott Johnson, Indianapois - "c" 1999