maple- midrange pitch, full sustain
birch- highrange pitch, less sustain than maple
acrylic- like birch, but less sustain with more volume
Hey y'all. I'm continually poking around drumsets and goodies online and I always seem to come across a Maple with a Birch equivalent by some other brand, etc. I was just wondering what peoples' opinions on different woods are.
stuff like:
*What wood is best for which genre?
*What's your personal favorite wood?
*Where does acrylic fit in?
Anything you want to write I would love to read. Please and Thanks!
maple- midrange pitch, full sustain
birch- highrange pitch, less sustain than maple
acrylic- like birch, but less sustain with more volume
ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
Snares: 4
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theres no best wood, its all personal prefrence, the wood is not the only thing that factors in, the tuning, the heads, the shell size, the shell thickness
i have a birch/basswood kit(VX), its an okay kit, but i really wish i got the full birch set(VBX)
my VX kit is great live though because it has birch in it which makes it loud, and the shells are 6/8, some drummers will buy a maple kit for recording, and a birch set for giging, maple has a warm sustaining sound and birch has a loud quicker sound that cuts well, its hard to explain, if you want to hear the difference id reccomend going to a drumstroe and comparing the two types, if u cant decide which u like better, just choose whatever one is cheaper or has a cooler fnish
whats ur price range? and do u prefer a certain drum company? if u like pearl and want a good priced intermdiate kit, id reccomend the VBX (birch) or the VMX (maple)
Pearl Vision VX jet black
Aquarian heads (Focus-X, Performance IIs, Super Kick II)
Pearl Free Floating Maple Snare
Vic-Firth 5B
Pearl Eliminators
Roc N Soc throne
14" Paiste Signature sound edge hi-hats
16" Paiste Signature full crash
18" Paiste Signature full crash
20" Zildjian K custom dark ride
20" Paiste RUDE china
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I'm not looking to buy anything at the moment but what I've been interested was the Pearl Masters MCX. I'm not sure though now; I'm probably going to do a lot more gigging than recording.
I guess my price range would be up to 2.5k I already have a completely adequate intermediate kit so anything I buy now would be a pro kit.
Last edited by hardrockalternative; 02-28-2010 at 04:10 PM.
No worries gigging with maple. It is a warmer sound, but that doesn't mean it's quiet, just doesn't cut through as much. If you are playing harder stuff, then you might want to consider birch as it is a more pronounced sound, but the differences aren't huge. (I have a birch kit, and a maple kit).
Masters would be good for either gigging or recording, ask Shabutie!
Jesse
1986 Tama Crestar - Lacquered Piano White
2016 Roland TD-25K
2015 Tama Starclassic B/B - Indigo Blue Sparkle
What would be more versatile? Would MCX work for classic rock and metal?
I've always been a fan of high-quality maple drums for live playing. They're warm and still project. Just always remember that despite the wood, many other factors go into a drum's sound.
Not to discount the differences in birch and maple characteristics that have been mentioned, but I think shell thickness, bearing edge, and of course heads all can make a larger difference in sound than wood type alone (assuming equal quality between the kits).
Another point, birch is in no way inferior to maple simply because it tends to be cheaper. To a large extent that represents each wood's cost as a raw material, and of course marketing is a factor.
Tama Starclassic Birch in Emerald Sea Fade 24x18, 13x10, 18x16
Mapex Black Panther Phosphor Bronze 5.5x14
Remo Coated Emperors (or Evans Clear EC2s) over Remo Coated Ambassadors
Remo Coated Ambassador Over Hazy Diplomat Snare Side
Dream Contact 14" Hi-Hats, Zildjian Avedis 21" Sweet Ride, Zildjian A Custom 18" Projection Crash, Wuhan 18" China
Vic Firth 5As and 5Bs/Sound Percussion 5Bs and 2Bs
"Da head of the drum doesn't matter, it's da head of da drummer that matters most..." -Phrogge
I was going to say this also.
I have a birch kit (w/ one ply of basswood) and I absolutely love the sound of it. It's LOUD, powerful, and still has great low end.
But I agree that heads, tuning, shell thickness and bearing edge all make a larger difference on the sound than wood type.
Matt
No question Yohin. There is a fundamental difference, but there are so many variables involved.
I'm not sure about Jason's comment in general, but I can tell you from experience that thick birch shells like my old Tamas are definitely not more controlled in studio than thin maple.
There are so many factors that it should always boil down to playing the drums and liking how they sound. I've had the birch Tamas for so long that I wanted a fairly thin shelled maple kit for a change of pace, hence the Tour Customs. I also put coated G2's on, while the Tamas have clear G2's. There is a huge difference in sound between the two kits, as noted by my bassist recently, but there are so many differences it can't just be attributed to the wood.
Interestingly, the Tamas are in storage and I'm rocking maple for practice and gigs now, with the Renowns! But given that we don't play as heavy music anymore, the maple with coated fits a little better.
Jesse
1986 Tama Crestar - Lacquered Piano White
2016 Roland TD-25K
2015 Tama Starclassic B/B - Indigo Blue Sparkle
I found this weekend, after playing the ddrum maple snare I just bought, that compared to the steel Mapex Ive been playing, I had to hit my drum a lot harder than on my steel drum. It's a 14x6.5 with an Evans batter head. I even have the blisters to prove it.
I loved the sound though!!!
Mapex Mars honey amber 6 pc. w/ ddrum 6.5x14 maple Dominion series snare(purple metal flake!) w/ Sabian and Zildian cymbals and one old Zilco.
Gretsch Catalina Ash 6 pc. w/Sabian cymbals
Two more woods I'm curious about now. Ash and Bubinga, anyone?
Are their certain heads that do a better job of making cheap quality drums/woods sound good? So instead of a head that brings out the true tone of your drum, maybe a head that masks your drum tone in favor of something less...basswoody?
I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be.
I agree on the basswood comment, yohin. Perhaps in recording, the differences would be a bit more exaggerated, but basswood is a tone wood and has certain qualities that can be enhanced by the correct head choice and tuning.
I gave my son my old Sunlite kit which is a lesser wood than my current kits. When I tune it up I am still amazed at the sound I get from it! The kick is a monster with a Powerstroke. It even looks pretty good.
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