Mahogany as a drum material which dates back as far as maple.
Good species of Mahogany are very musical woods and are used in
various arenas of percussion from snare drums to Marimba Bars.
Mahogany has full " fuzzy" or warm sound in the lower mid range,
upper low end spectrums
Drums can be tuned to have a focused or very direct note with a
warm resonance.
A great alternative to Maple and Birch if you are looking to warm up
your sound up a bit!
Solid Mahogany shells Vs ply Mahogany shells
Solid shells will have a higher tonal pitch due to their consistency
where as the thinner multi-ply shells have more of a hollowness
about them alongside the resonance and projection of the drum
The ply shells have a more pronounced attack . There are variables in
the ply shell domain as some shells are crafted with very thin plies
and others with heftier plies
Layered or Ply shells are available in a wide range of densities or
plies and can be selected or "tuned" to suit the need of any particular
drum
Maple
Maple as a shell material has well established and proclaimed it's
lineage. Many of yesteryears greatest drums were crafted from maple
and the test of time shows them to be superfluous when crafted well.
Maple by far is the most diversely musical shell. It has an enormous
array of tone, projection and sounds to suit any style and can be
easily achieved with a good selection of heads and a practiced tuning
hand!
The range of workable pitches has really helped maple become the
mainstay. Maple lends to a drum's resonance and projection as well as
a wide tuning range. Maple is used on drums from every avenue of
music and play well as lower tensioned thunder toms or as Bop type
singing toms.
Solid maple shells vs ply maple shells
Solid shells have a large increase in the attack rate versus their ply
counterparts.
Being void and resistance free (meaning there is no glue, no gaps, no
disruption to the solid continuity of the wood), the shell's vibration
and therefore total reaction happens at a faster rate carrying out a sort
of internal "mixing" and presenting the full sound of the drum all at
once. Rim shots, cross sticking and even pattern playing is crisp with
a bright presence and with the drum's tonal body
These qualities do exist in multi ply shells but there are inhibitors in
cross lamination of plies. Toms tune with a very melodic nature but
have less of a possible pitch interval per drum than the solids.
Ply shells on snares and sets do deliver plenty of volume projection
and resonance and carry well in live playing environments
Layered or Ply shells are available in a wide range of densities or plies
and can be selected or "tuned"
to suit the need of any particular drum
Standard Maple Ply shells are offered as 6, 8, 10 ply models in
5"x14", 6 1/2"x14" models
Custom Maple Ply available in 6-30 ply size depth at customers spec
Single ply shells are 5"x14", 5 1/2"x14", 6"x14", 6 1/2"x14" and
7"x14" soon
Variable ply thickness and shell OD's are available
Taiko snares are offered in 10 ply and single ply as standard other ply
lay-ups are special order Custom Maple Ply available in 6-30 ply size
depth at customers spec
Single ply shells are 5"x14", 5 1/2"x14", 6"x14", 6 1/2"x14" and
7"x14" soon
Variable ply thickness and shell OD's are available
Taiko snares are offered in 10 ply and single ply as standard other ply
lay-ups are special order
Birch as a drum shell material is a great wood for seriously
controlling the sound of your instrument to a specified pitch or solid
tone.
Birch lends to a fuller more direct note from the drum and hence the
reason birch drums are enamoured in the hearts of top performing and
recording drummers as well as by full time studio drummers and
engineers.
Birch offers a warm glowing tone under Mic's. Typically viewed as a
rock & roll shell formula of the 80's, birch shells are now revered in
the hearts of all who discover and play them.
When comparing solid birch shells with ply birch shells, basically the
trade off is a sharper attack rate vs a more fundamental natural wood
harmonic. Layered or Ply shells will have a higher tonal pitch and a
more pronounced attack whereas the birch single ply has an even
woodier sound with a fuller body . There are variables as well within
the ply shell domain as some shells are crafted with very thin plies
and others with plies 5 times this size all which will have an effect on
the end result.
This is not that either drum is lacking, it is just the way the scales
balance in comparison.
Layered or Ply shells are available in a wide range of densities or plies
and can be selected or "tuned" to suit the need of any particular drum
Alternate shell materials really have no bounds and just the realm of
possibilities of wood shells are near endless.
Variants in density make each wood have its own particular
characteristics as discussed in other wood selection categories on the site
and page. The range of tonal differences available in the spectrum of
woods make these drums excellent choices for the discerning ear or the
player seeking a particular enhancement over a different species
characteristics
.
Cherry, Oak, Rosewood, Coco bolo and other woods all have their own
particular and noticeable sonic features. When combined with the
particular shell construction method, be it steam bent, stave, segment or
ply , such a vast array of results are possible, it's worthy of intensive
study all in itself.
Just as there is a difference in even the way ply shells sound different
based on the ply lay-up, when you think stave or segment sections, you
can expect different sounds & responses from your shell as well. Stave
shells and segment shells will often have a more pronounced attack and
more mid range frequencies than a like shell in a ply or multi-ply
configuration.
Single ply shells can have random availability. Please feel free to request
information
