Acoustic Drums
Acoustic Drums are normally made out of some sort of wood material, usually Maple, Ash, Birch, Bubinga, or Poplar. The type of wood, along with the size of the drum and how thick it’s made determines the pitch or note of the drum, while also determining the tone. Drum heads can also have an effect over the sound the acoustic drums make as well, making it difficult to guess the type of wood by ear, however some woods really stand out when tuned correctly, like Bubinga, with its extremely warm tone, yet extreme attack! If you haven’t heard one yet, or just don’t know you did, go to a nearby store that sells acoustic drums and ask them if they have a Bubinga set! You won’t regret it!
Acoustic drums are extremely simple in design, yet not easy to make. Just a cylinder shape with some lugs, rims, and heads, as well as some way to mount it. The actual process is a lot more difficult though. Here’s a list of the actual steps to make a drum:
- Flat piece of wood needs to be cut to size. (usually it’s several thin pieces on top of each other first[number of ply]
- Wood is steamed and bent until it wraps around to itself, and is then glued.(takes a lot of patience, time, pricision, and sweat!)
- Sanding the drum down is next, and very crucial. You don’t want ridges or bumps! This is also when the bearing edge gets made as well.
- The wrap or finish is applied.
- Using a template for each different drum size, the hardware holes are drilled(Lugs, mounting brackets, and breather holes)
- Drum heads and Rims are added (assuming the lugs were mounted after the last step), as well as any mounting hardware and badges.
Not very many steps are involoved in making an acoustic drum, however it’s an extremely difficult process to master, and I wouldn’t recommend trying it, unless you have money to spend on a wood steamer! Some acoustic drum makers will even go as far as finding the certain pitch produced by the drum shell itself, allowing them to mark it, and then match it up with corresponding notes when selecting other drums for a purchased kit! (Drum Workshop has been known to do this for a while, however, I believe a few others picked it up in the past few years)