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This is my collection. I'm more interested in sound than brand names so I've built a number of them. They are:
Birch with Elm Burl veneer - 4-7/8" x 14". This is my studio drum - very dry. It has four vents and an Aquarian Performance II head which helps it achieve dryness without any muffling of any sort. It has 4 plies of 1.5mm for a total of 6mm thickness.
Birch with Tiger Oak veneer - 5" x 14". This is a lively wood drum, just the opposite of the other birch. It's ringy but it's a nice soft ring, not harsh at all. It has 4 plies of 1.5mm for a total of 6mm thickness.
MDF with Bubinga veneer - 6" x 14". This was the first drum I built. I used mdf because it was cheap and it didn't matter if something went wrong. The drum is made of solid rings of mdf stacked on top of each other. It sounds kind of clangy and the shell is going to be replaced with a walnut shell in the near future (I hope).
Ambrosia Maple 5-1/2" x 14". I just love this wood - every time I show it to someone it gets ooohs and aahhhs. Unfortunately, it's not the best sounding wood. It's better than the mdf but not as nice sounding as the birch drums. It's a 20 stave construction, about 3/8" thick.
Zebrawood 5 x 14". Shell made by Koko at Signature drums - he makes an incredible bearing edge, one of the best I have ever seen. I don't have the free floater any more so I'm in the process of converting it to normal hardware.
Red drum kit. Can't say that I built this kit as much as assembled it. I found the old Japanese kick shell on Craig's list for $5. The toms (12" and 14") are keller shells 6 ply with re-rings. I got the wrap from Drummaker and the hoops from Champagne drum. This is my low volume kit.
Kent 5 x 14". This is made of luan or some similar inexpensive wood. It was the first drum I bought. If you put a heavy head on it, it gets a pretty good deep thud, but that's about the only useable sound I can get out of it. It doesn't reproduce much detailed playing and if you use it with light weight heads it's not a pleasant sound imho.
'70s Supra 5 x 14". Chrome over aluminum. I only owned this for a week before I found out the rim was dented and had to return it to the store.
I left it on the list because I intend to get another one at some point - the Supra is my favorite metal snare ever. Everyone had them when I was growing up and it's the sound I think of in my head when I think of what a snare drum sounds like.
70's Acrolite 5 x 14" aluminum. Lots of people use Acros for all types of music, but to me this drum is best for New Orleans style music. It doesn't reproduce detailed playing very cleanly but that makes it ideal for double stroke playing where you want it to blur together in a musical fashion. It's also great with a dry head for a big deep backbeat sound.
Pacfic 5 x 14" hammered brass. To me these drums are a great deal. You can pick them up for under $150 and they have a thick, hammered brass shell. I got this one for $100 - hard to argue with that.
Birch with Elm Burl veneer - 4-7/8" x 14". This is my studio drum - very dry. It has four vents and an Aquarian Performance II head which helps it achieve dryness without any muffling of any sort. It has 4 plies of 1.5mm for a total of 6mm thickness.
Birch with Tiger Oak veneer - 5" x 14". This is a lively wood drum, just the opposite of the other birch. It's ringy but it's a nice soft ring, not harsh at all. It has 4 plies of 1.5mm for a total of 6mm thickness.
MDF with Bubinga veneer - 6" x 14". This was the first drum I built. I used mdf because it was cheap and it didn't matter if something went wrong. The drum is made of solid rings of mdf stacked on top of each other. It sounds kind of clangy and the shell is going to be replaced with a walnut shell in the near future (I hope).
Ambrosia Maple 5-1/2" x 14". I just love this wood - every time I show it to someone it gets ooohs and aahhhs. Unfortunately, it's not the best sounding wood. It's better than the mdf but not as nice sounding as the birch drums. It's a 20 stave construction, about 3/8" thick.
Zebrawood 5 x 14". Shell made by Koko at Signature drums - he makes an incredible bearing edge, one of the best I have ever seen. I don't have the free floater any more so I'm in the process of converting it to normal hardware.
Red drum kit. Can't say that I built this kit as much as assembled it. I found the old Japanese kick shell on Craig's list for $5. The toms (12" and 14") are keller shells 6 ply with re-rings. I got the wrap from Drummaker and the hoops from Champagne drum. This is my low volume kit.
Kent 5 x 14". This is made of luan or some similar inexpensive wood. It was the first drum I bought. If you put a heavy head on it, it gets a pretty good deep thud, but that's about the only useable sound I can get out of it. It doesn't reproduce much detailed playing and if you use it with light weight heads it's not a pleasant sound imho.
'70s Supra 5 x 14". Chrome over aluminum. I only owned this for a week before I found out the rim was dented and had to return it to the store.
I left it on the list because I intend to get another one at some point - the Supra is my favorite metal snare ever. Everyone had them when I was growing up and it's the sound I think of in my head when I think of what a snare drum sounds like.70's Acrolite 5 x 14" aluminum. Lots of people use Acros for all types of music, but to me this drum is best for New Orleans style music. It doesn't reproduce detailed playing very cleanly but that makes it ideal for double stroke playing where you want it to blur together in a musical fashion. It's also great with a dry head for a big deep backbeat sound.
Pacfic 5 x 14" hammered brass. To me these drums are a great deal. You can pick them up for under $150 and they have a thick, hammered brass shell. I got this one for $100 - hard to argue with that.
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