What wood do you prefer on your kit?

[TheBigElmo]

Thus far in my long drumming career, I've owned 2 kits. A Pearl Export in mahogeny, and my newest, a Pearl Vision in birch. The birch records much nicer I must say, more natural tone from what I've noticed. And the mahogeny was just loud.

What wood do you prefer on your kit, and what does the different woods give you in sound? This is for me to learn, and other drummers who don't know.

[Pearl MCX Man]

Well I have always had maple kits so I realy don't know the difference other than the deep warm sound of maple. The reason for me was that most of the drummers ( idols) that I know use maple and that was the sound that I wanted to attain. I guess it is preference. I hear that birch is better for studio recording. What else can I say.

[marko138]

I dont know anything other than the 2 kits I've owned. Which are a Tama Swingstar made of basswood I think and my Starclassics made of birch. The Swingers have a much lower tone but sound good with EC2 and G1 heads. My SCs have much more cut and high end to them but they really sing.

[TheBigElmo]

I dont know anything other than the 2 kits I've owned. Which are a Tama Swingstar made of basswood I think and my Starclassics made of birch. The Swingers have a much lower tone but sound good with EC2 and G1 heads. My SCs have much more cut and high end to them but they really sing.

yeah I've definitely noticed how much they love to song. so much that I just got coated heads on them, they sound SOOO much better. I use my toms a lot, and they used to bleed into each other and you couldnt really hear the individual beats. It is much more defined now.

[marko138]

yeah I've definitely noticed how much they love to song. so much that I just got coated heads on them, they sound SOOO much better. I use my toms a lot, and they used to bleed into each other and you couldnt really hear the individual beats. It is much more defined now.

I'm using coated G2 batters. I might switch it up next time. Gotta explore my options! Maybe clear G2 or coated EC2.

[Larrysperf]

Birch, but would love to have a birch bubinga kit

[marko138]

Birch, but would love to have a birch bubinga kit

I think I would too!

[late8]

I have both maple and birch kits and I prefer maple.

[kaosotis]

I have both as well, and while I prefer my actual maple kit (Renown) in terms of the hardware, etc.... I think I lean towards the sound of birch. More punch. I love my old Tamas, but I find the G.A.S. building for some newer birch drums.

[Drumbledore]

Well I have always had maple kits so I realy don't know the difference other than the deep warm sound of maple. The reason for me was that most of the drummers ( idols) that I know use maple and that was the sound that I wanted to attain. I guess it is preference. I hear that birch is better for studio recording. What else can I say.

The funny thing is that for a long time I've used mostly maple drums for both recording and live, having used Rogers and Ludwigs. I'm not overly keen on a purely birch in the studio, however having recently bought some Ludwig Epics, which are birch/maple/birch, I'm pretty keen to see what these would sound like under the mic's. But I got to find more of a jazz/Latin group situation to really try them out, as I've got coated Ambassadors on them, cranked a bit tight (that's the reason for having that set.....purely as a small to medium bebop kinda tuned set, if I want to have a more pop/rock kind of sound, I already have the main kit).

Definitely something I'd look into getting, if I were to say get another set, is something a bit more exotic, wood wise. Possibly bubinga, but I'm pretty curious to try something made from our own Australian timbers. Such as what Brady manufacture.

Wandoo Burl


Silky Oak


Or if I could really afford it,there's the Spirit Drums Co. up in Queensland, who manufacture their drums out of Cooktown Ironwood, a pretty hefty timber. By all accounts, they hew these out of a solid log of timber. I'm not 100% sure, but they do djembes too.

[marko138]

Man, those Brady's look elegant!

[Screwy]

I currently only have a maple kit but I've been intrigued by the Tama Starclassic Bubinga Elites and Pearl's Reference series lately.

[Drumbledore]

They sure are Marko. Drool factor 110%! And they even have satin finishes too. But jeez, even here in Australia they are pricey. I could definitely settle for a Brady snare if I couldn't afford the full set.

[marko138]

They sure are Marko. Drool factor 110%! And they even have satin finishes too. But jeez, even here in Australia they are pricey. I could definitely settle for a Brady snare if I couldn't afford the full set.

They look really nice. Man, there are just some down right gorgeous drums being made right now.

[Russ]

Based on what i've played, I prefer maple for practice and general use. I wish I had a birch kit for recordings and drum covers though, for when getting the right sound really counts. I've also been real interested in beech lately, from what i've read it sounds like something I would really enjoy playing for all usages due to it's balance between the various frequencies.

[Kazaamski]

I don't think it makes much difference. You can take a 300 dollar sound percussion kit, or a 10k dw kit. You are still limited by a 15 dollar drumhead and your ability to tune.
I have a dw kit. Collectors maple. And a premier kit. 3 ply birch (i think). Hard to compare just based on the woods themselves. I favor the premiers right now, solely because I like the drum sizes more on my premier kit. FAST toms are totally overrated.

[TheBigElmo]

I finally set the kit back up after putting on the new Remo ambassador coated, and I LOVE the way they sound. Still a lot of punch, but not NEARLY as much ring to them as I did with the pinstripes. I will probably continue to use the coated heads for a while

[quikstang2]

I love (real) mahogany for its depth and fullness (walnut is a good substitute). Birch is also a great wood, especially if you can get it in super thin shells. That's probably my favorite. I've got a maple kit now, which I love too.

I'd love to try aluminum and carbon fiber too.

[jafo]

I like my Gretsch Catalina Maples, but My ultimate wood in a kit would probably be Mahoganey. Probably one of Gretsch's Purewood Mahoganey kits. I like the low tonal sounds from that kit. Plus they just look awsome.

I wouldn't mind a Gretsch Purewood Beechwood kit either. The Beechwood sounds alittle more punchy or has alittle more attack than the Mahoganey and the tone is alittle higher than Mahoganey. But they still sounds awesome and I think the best looking wood out there in a kit.

The Purewood series is pricey and they are built in limited editions. Two drawbacks, but the main point is sound and they sound great.

Gretsch Purewood Beechwood kit....

[rickthedrummer]

I've noticed in the last couple of years, that a lot of topics are about the wood that sets are made of.

The set I have is a set of Ludwigs that I bought in '72 and are made out of mohogany. I have a wide tuning range, from very high and bouncy to very deep. Most of the tunings that I've messed with were all done with Ambassadors and Diplomats.

The last couple of months I've messed with different brands, Evans and Aquarian. What I've found, is that with some tuning, I can get pretty much the same sound from the Ambassadors and Diplomats that I got from the Evans and Aquarians.



Point being, given how acoustics affect drums, I doubt that if you took different sets made of different woods, and put the same heads on them, and did a blind test, there would be very few if any, that could truly tell them apart.

On a couple of my videos, I've had a couple of people remark that they like the sound of my toms.

Now my basic set is mohogany. I added 2 toms that are acrylic, 1 tom (a Accent) made out of whatever wood, another tom that, outside of being Ludwig, I'm not sure what it is, and a 16x16 cheap no-name floor tom I picked up for $40 brand new, and with a little tuning, I can blend all the toms to fit with the mohogany set, and I doubt if anybody who didn't know which was which, could tell the difference.

If you are out and hear a set of drums that you like the sound of, and someone tells you they are made of birch, mohogany, maple, whatever, buy them.

Drums are loud, that's a given, I can soften the sound of my drums by, obviously, playing softer, and harder by playing harder. I have friends of mine that are drummers, most with 30+ years of playing behind them, and they can't tell the difference unless they actually get close and see the drums in person.

If you like the sound of a set of drums that happen to be made from mahogany, and you were sure you wanted maple, buy the mohogany ones, in the long run, you will probably be happier, and if you know how to tune, you can get just about any sound you want.

[kyle102565]

i have an old mahogany kit and a poplar kit, both have evans G2s on them, both sound the same.

[john gerrard]

The above post by Rickthedrummer is spot on. We are all, to some extent quilty of ADVERTISING! Another thing that I have noticed on this and other forums is that once one person makes a quote it is soon repeated on other threads then all of a sudden it becomes a fact, no matter how wrong it was to start with.

I really wish that I could have a big auditorium or just a big club with a nice stage and five to six different drum sets of different makes all tuned the same and all played by the same drummer and judged,blindfolded, by some of these people that swear they can tell the difference between North American and Asian Maple. Or tell the difference between a wrap or a natural finish etc. etc. There are a very few exceptional people who have the hearing and ability to distinquish these very sutle differences.

A well made drum, can be made to sound very different from one head to another with good tuning. And while we are on the subject of tuning, so many of us spend big dollars on drum sets, countless hours on practicing drumming and don't know squat about tuning. Take a drum, a drum key and sit down and spend time on learning how to tune and find out what makes a drum sound different with different tunings. Just my thoughts ! John

[jafo]

I've noticed in the last couple of years, that a lot of topics are about the wood that sets are made of.

The set I have is a set of Ludwigs that I bought in '72 and are made out of mohogany. I have a wide tuning range, from very high and bouncy to very deep. Most of the tunings that I've messed with were all done with Ambassadors and Diplomats.

The last couple of months I've messed with different brands, Evans and Aquarian. What I've found, is that with some tuning, I can get pretty much the same sound from the Ambassadors and Diplomats that I got from the Evans and Aquarians.



Point being, given how acoustics affect drums, I doubt that if you took different sets made of different woods, and put the same heads on them, and did a blind test, there would be very few if any, that could truly tell them apart.

On a couple of my videos, I've had a couple of people remark that they like the sound of my toms.

Now my basic set is mohogany. I added 2 toms that are acrylic, 1 tom (a Accent) made out of whatever wood, another tom that, outside of being Ludwig, I'm not sure what it is, and a 16x16 cheap no-name floor tom I picked up for $40 brand new, and with a little tuning, I can blend all the toms to fit with the mohogany set, and I doubt if anybody who didn't know which was which, could tell the difference.

If you are out and hear a set of drums that you like the sound of, and someone tells you they are made of birch, mohogany, maple, whatever, buy them.

Drums are loud, that's a given, I can soften the sound of my drums by, obviously, playing softer, and harder by playing harder. I have friends of mine that are drummers, most with 30+ years of playing behind them, and they can't tell the difference unless they actually get close and see the drums in person.

If you like the sound of a set of drums that happen to be made from mahogany, and you were sure you wanted maple, buy the mohogany ones, in the long run, you will probably be happier, and if you know how to tune, you can get just about any sound you want.

I have some questions then.

Why do companies like DW sink so much money into research and development of different compositions of shells and thicknesses then?

If you could get the same tonal sound out of 3 drum kits from three different woods, then why make and offer three different kits?

From a buisness standpoint, your selling high end kits for more cash at less volume, but with low end kits for half the cash at higher volumes. So why? To cater to a select group that is going to be the minority?

I can say I have not experienced trying to make one kit sound like another. I have heard different kits played and hear tonal differences between two different sets. I did not or had not thought of doing head changes to make one kit sound like another. I've played on Gretsch Renowns and on my Catalina's and they sound different to me. Both had Remos, but not the same combo on my catalina's. Which makes me go back and ask myself the question above. Why sell less for more, when you can sell more for less?

Just questions.

[kaosotis]

Close mic'd on a pro studio recording I think the difference is noticeable. Out and about live, less so. For me, drum size and thickness, bearing edges, and hardware is a much more important factor in sound than wood. My son's Birch/Basswood Superstar Hyperdrives sound different from my Renowns, but there are a lot of differences in the drums.

This goes to Jafo's comment about Renowns and Catalinas. Both are maple (although they might be from different types of maple), and similar thickness and yet I agree they sound different. The difference is in the hardware, die cast versus triple flanged, and even more importantly the bearing edges (30 deg for Renown vs. 45 on Cats).

[Pearl MCX Man]

I agree with all your favorites but you know, we can only afford one kit and that is usually the one you buy first. Once we are into the circle of drums and sounds of different woods then we change our views on our current choice. If I had alot of money I would probably own a kit of every material out there but unfortunatly I can only afford my maple for now.