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Thread: Which is better Basswood or poplar?

  1. #1

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    Default Which is better Basswood or poplar?

    So does anyone have any idea? im after a cheaper kit to gig and was wondering as far as sound which sounds better?

  2. #2

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    6 of 1, half dozen of the other.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by s_tic_k View Post
    So does anyone have any idea? im after a cheaper kit to gig and was wondering as far as sound which sounds better?

    I've heard and played a lot of basswood kits... they have a lower pitch and sound nice and full when tuned properly... The old Tama Rockstars were basswood and the newer ones (and the older Superstars) are a birch/basswood blend.
    The Yamaha Gigmaker (toss out the toy 101 cymbals and it's a really nice kit) is basswood and they sound really good... so do the Mapex Horizon which are a birch/basswood blend.

    Poplar is used for it's warmth.. often as a "core" wood usually combined with other woods to increase projection... my understanding is that a pure poplar shell would be lacking somewhat in the volume department compared to a basswood, birch/basswood, or even birch/poplar when used in an unmiked gig.

    But be wary... if you buy really poorly made shells it's not going to matter what wood was used.

    Here's Tanner playing his first gig (don't laugh) with his Tama Rockstar kit... has evans ec's over g1's:


    Skip the Pulse, Sound Percussion, Rockwood, etc and look at something like the Tama Rockstar (Seen shell packs at GC/MF for $329) The Yamaha Gigmaker ($399), Pearl Forum or Soundcheck ($399) , The Mapex Tornado (which are birch shells $399)... or even a slightly nicer used kit.
    Last edited by davewilson; 02-27-2012 at 12:46 AM.
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  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by davewilson View Post
    skip the pulse, sound percussion, rockwood, etc and look at something like the tama rockstar (seen shell packs at gc/mf for $329) the yamaha gigmaker ($399), pearl forum or soundcheck ($399) , the mapex tornado (which are birch shells $399)... Or even a slightly nicer used kit.
    +1

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Which is better Basswood or poplar?

    Poplar has been a popular choice by American drum makers for years. The vintage sound of drums made by Ludwig have alot poplar additions in many kits then Ludwig first let be known. Poplar with maple is the foundation of many vintage vibe sounds. Not sure about it standing alone because I've never heard it on its own. Basswood to me is a filler and I have heard basswood shells and its not a drum I'd play, not even as a practice set up.
    All of the lower-mid line gear sounds great compared to the same price ranges from years ago. Theres 450.00 to 700.00 set ups that sound very good and when you figure in every component in the set up your getting a great bang for your buck.
    As to the choosing one or the other I'd go with poplar since my experience with basswood is as a filler and all most always in low line shells. Doc

  6. #6

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    Since his question was about a low priced shell pack that was going to be used to gig with.... I thought it was a good idea to mention some of the well known basswood kits. Yes, they would be considered "low line"... since that is what he was asking about.

    The many thicker-ply basswood shell kits (usually 8 or 9-ply)that have been produced and sold over the many years are well known for decent projection in live unmiked situations.

    The Tama Rockstars were a 9-ply basswood kit that was Tama's best selling kit for over a decade... The Sonor Force 500's and 1000's were also popular thick basswood shell lines... and of course there are many extremely popular birch/basswood kits available new and used.. like the Pearl Vision VB and VBA. Tama Superstars, etc.

    Poplar has been used on and off for drums for many years because it grows fast and has a pretty straight grain... but it doesn't have the resonance of say birch or maple. 100% poplar shells iare a fairly new idea in mass-produced drums.. Pearl used it on the Exports here and there , but like most manufacturers used it mainly as the center plies in "blended" shells.

    Some examples of more recent 100% poplar shells would be the original PDP X7 series (discontinued, bit has a thin single ply of birch on the outside), the current Pearl Forum series, the current Tama Imperialstar... I say "current" because these lines tend to change woods based on price and supply without notice.


    So.. I'll stand by my original answer... blended shells are far more common then either 100% basswood or 100% poplar, but if I had to try to find a low-priced kit to gig with it would be basswood or birch/basswood.
    Of course... with the exception of Tanner's Rockstars ,all our current kits are 100% Maple or Birch.
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  7. #7

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    Default Re: Which is better Basswood or poplar?

    Exports, Swingstars, Rockstars, Accents, 2002's all good decent quality gigging kits.

  8. #8

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    I miss my old Rockstars at times. I thought they sounded great at the time, and probably would have sounded better if I could have afforded new heads all around. Even with stock heads though, I got a really nice tone, and I was truly impressed when I got to mic them up once.
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  9. #9

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    Default Re: Which is better Basswood or poplar?

    Poplar is like a cheaper form of maple or birch, whereas basswood is a cheaper form of mahogany or bubinga. Poplar specializes in mid and high frequencies, while basswood specializes in mids to lows. Either one are decent woods for people starting out and needing a good but affordable substitute to the higher quality upgrades to these species of wood. I think you'll get a much better sound out of the big 3 - mahogany/maple/birch, but you can still make basswood or poplar kits sound pretty good. In my experience I had to work a bit harder at tuning and head choices to get the same quality sound my maple kit gives than my old poplar kit. With all this kept in mind, it's more of a question of which frequencies you're after because both poplar and basswood tend to sustain around the same amount. If you plan to tune higher and see yourself playing jazz a lot, i'd go with poplar. If you like to tune lower and want a bigger darker sound for rock/metal i'd get basswood. If you want to be cheap but do a sort of customized thing, you could use a poplar snare on a basswood kit!
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  10. #10

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    Pretty much all of the Pearl Export and Forum series from around 2003 on to the end of the Export Series used 100% poplar. When I bought my first kit toward the end of 2003, it was right at the end of the Export/Export Select (Lacquered) series before they started doing the EXRs with the cool wraps.

    There are a lot of drummers who bought and gigged Exports in the 5-6 years they were still producing them prior to the Export line being discontinued - they were one of the most popular mid level kits sold.

    I always liked the sound of Exports, and poplar is referred to as "poor man's maple" on various drum websites. For toms and bass drums I think it works great, but there was always something a bit lacking in the Export/Forum series poplar snare drums IMO, and I can remember that being one of the chief complaints from those drums on the forums.

    I'd like to get a good set of used Exports to gig with - I'd use them without hesitation.
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  11. #11

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    Thanks for the info from everyone now i get it, so i think i might go with Basswood, the band is country/rock so im thinking warmer tones would probably suit it more, ill show the kit but be warned its not pretty, im thinking if i get it to take the wrap off and finding a blue sparkle wrap

  12. #12

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    I've got a Sonor Special Edition kit that has Basswood shells and it sounds good.

  13. #13

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    I have a Sonor 503 Series 9ply basswood kit that I got 8 years ago for $200. As a practice kit, it works fine. They are a good entry level drum. I have used it for playing outdoors when it was completely mic'ed up and it sounded ok. This morning I tore the old deep red wrap off it and started staining the shells. Tomorrow, I will start putting a finish coat on them. Yeah, yeah....I know.....pics or it didn't happen. They're coming.
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  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by trickg View Post
    Pretty much all of the Pearl Export and Forum series from around 2003 on to the end of the Export Series used 100% poplar. When I bought my first kit toward the end of 2003, it was right at the end of the Export/Export Select (Lacquered) series before they started doing the EXRs with the cool wraps.

    There are a lot of drummers who bought and gigged Exports in the 5-6 years they were still producing them prior to the Export line being discontinued - they were one of the most popular mid level kits sold.

    I always liked the sound of Exports, and poplar is referred to as "poor man's maple" on various drum websites. For toms and bass drums I think it works great, but there was always something a bit lacking in the Export/Forum series poplar snare drums IMO, and I can remember that being one of the chief complaints from those drums on the forums.

    I'd like to get a good set of used Exports to gig with - I'd use them without hesitation.

    My Export Pro's were made in 1993...they were the first Pearls to use the new tom suspension mounts (I.M.S. later changed to I.S.S.).. and they had black aluminum bass drum hoops. I think they had hit the one million production of Exports by 1995. I can't imagine what they were up to by 2003. I know my friend had an ECX but those were an all maple shell.

    I guess I'm getting old... I still consider anything after the turn of the last century new...

    I ate a Tony's Sausage and Pepperoni pizza the other day and it tasted the same as it did when I was 8 years old and I used to give out free samples at my Dad's store. That was 42 years ago.... here's a picture of my tiny face from 1970, two years later I got my first drum set.
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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by ntn2it View Post
    I have a Sonor 503 Series 9ply basswood kit that I got 8 years ago for $200. As a practice kit, it works fine. They are a good entry level drum. I have used it for playing outdoors when it was completely mic'ed up and it sounded ok. This morning I tore the old deep red wrap off it and started staining the shells. Tomorrow, I will start putting a finish coat on them. Yeah, yeah....I know.....pics or it didn't happen. They're coming.
    What do you use to stain the shells? i mean is it like just a normal spray or what? that might be a cheaper option

  16. #16

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    s tic k,

    I used A stain that I mixed myelf. It is part pecan, golden oak, and mahogany made by Minwax. It is a redish brown color. I am using gloss lacquer over the top and just applied the first coat today. Jeesh, my house stinks right now! It's 30 degrees outside so I may need to do the rest of the coats outside when it warms up. My wife's gonna kill me!

    The grain of the basswood is rather "blah" and it took the stain rather blotchy so I had some touch up to do. Overall they don't look terrible, but these are just cheap drums that I use for practice anyway so I'm not overly concerned. My main goal here was to see how much better they sound without the wrap on them. That wrap was only applied with tape at the seam. I can see why they wrapped them also as there are a couple of "football patches" in the outter ply as well. LOL! I'll post pics of these when I'm done. You'll get a laugh out of it, I'm sure. I did.

    ntn2it
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  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by ntn2it View Post
    s tic k,

    I used A stain that I mixed myelf. It is part pecan, golden oak, and mahogany made by Minwax. It is a redish brown color. I am using gloss lacquer over the top and just applied the first coat today. Jeesh, my house stinks right now! It's 30 degrees outside so I may need to do the rest of the coats outside when it warms up. My wife's gonna kill me!

    The grain of the basswood is rather "blah" and it took the stain rather blotchy so I had some touch up to do. Overall they don't look terrible, but these are just cheap drums that I use for practice anyway so I'm not overly concerned. My main goal here was to see how much better they sound without the wrap on them. That wrap was only applied with tape at the seam. I can see why they wrapped them also as there are a couple of "football patches" in the outter ply as well. LOL! I'll post pics of these when I'm done. You'll get a laugh out of it, I'm sure. I did.

    ntn2it
    im sure it will look nice by the sounds of it, thanks for all the info, would love to see some pictures of yours when done for sure! since you said the basswood didnt look too shabby, do you think it would make this thing look quite ugly because of the hoops? im putting thought into it maybe just a wall sheet sticky thing will do the trick haha lol at the football badges
    Last edited by s_tic_k; 03-01-2012 at 04:51 AM.

  18. #18

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    After finishing my Sonor 503 series drums, I have come to the conclusion that basswood itself does not make an inferior drum. I found that the cheap hardware and drum heads associated with entry level kits is what makes them sound inferior. Case in points; 1. The hollow metal lugs with springs inside vibrated and made the drums sound ringy. A cotton ball inside to dampen that vibration made a world of difference. 2. The thin single ply clear heads sounded "papery thin and weak". A set of Evans EC2 over G1's took care of that problem. 3. The bearing edges were cut really rough. Nothing a bit of sandpaper wouldn't fix. 4. The wrap used on these drums was not bonded to the whole surface of the outer ply so it was free to buzz and/or dampen the vibrations of the shell. Peeled and refinished ($20 and a couple of days time) fixed that problem.

    I guess what I am saying is that in the end, it is the fit and finish and attention to detail that can make a cheap set of drums sound good, regardless of what species of wood is used. I have heard maple kits sound bad, and now I have heard a basswood kit sound great. Something to think about when looking into an inexpensive starter kit or second kit. I'm sure all of this would hold true for poplar drum shells as well.
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  19. #19

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    I don't mean to be bias here but why waste your money on Poplar or Basswood and then kick yourself in the Arse in the future. Spend a little bit more and get Maple or Birch and you will be much happier. This is only my opinion.

  20. #20

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    MCX Man,

    I would tend to agree with you but with all of the used drums that are sitting in people's basements/garages/attics that are made of basswood and poplar this is a viable question. These old kits whether thay are from Sonor, Ludwig, Gretsch or Tama are inexpensive for the first time buyer or even for the guys who are looking for that old school sound for their cover band. Maybe this isn't a matter of "If you could only have one kit, which wood should you get?" type of question. I hate to use the word "vintage" on this website more than once in any given post, but since I already did, how about all the people looking for info on restoring these "old" kits. They might have questions about the basswood as well.
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  21. #21

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    The "which is better" question frequently comes up and it has a purpose but with that there are going to be a plethora of answers and justifications. Are some things better than others? Sure. But when comparing these kinds of woods in a set one isn't really any better than the other. They each have their own qualities and characteristics. For sets made from these woods the sound of the drums will tell you what is "better."

    Now, if you're comparing birch or maple with those others woods and you ask which is better then the majority of people would say birch or maple. I won't get into the reasons but there are many.
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  22. #22

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    Default Re: Which is better Basswood or poplar?

    Basswood, but if you get a good deal on Birch, $ would be similar and typically sounds better, but, you may have a birch kit with good heads poorly tuned and it will suck. A basswood kit with nice heads and tuned may be (more than?) enough for a gig...
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  23. #23

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    I don't believe there is a better or worse regarding these wood types. They are in the same general price group, it's just one wood gets you one sound while the other wood gets another. Along with lauan they are all woods that do the jobs of their upper tier sound relatives, but slightly less quality and costly. To demonstrate my point a little better, here's a little diagram I made of lower level vs higher level woods:

    (lows) lauan ----- mahogany
    (mids) basswood ----- maple
    (highs) poplar ----- birch
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  24. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by cKracKen View Post
    Basswood, but if you get a good deal on Birch, $ would be similar and typically sounds better, but, you may have a birch kit with good heads poorly tuned and it will suck. A basswood kit with nice heads and tuned may be (more than?) enough for a gig...
    thats now my goal, i have my eyes on a yamaha stage custom birch for $400, pretty much the best deal ive seen yet and its raven black so itll look sweet with my Paistes :D

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Russ View Post
    I don't believe there is a better or worse regarding these wood types. They are in the same general price group, it's just one wood gets you one sound while the other wood gets another. Along with lauan they are all woods that do the jobs of their upper tier sound relatives, but slightly less quality and costly. To demonstrate my point a little better, here's a little diagram I made of lower level vs higher level woods:

    (lows) lauan ----- mahogany
    (mids) basswood ----- maple
    (highs) poplar ----- birch
    So according to this, the ideal would be a mixed kit. Say...Mahog bass drums, small toms birch, med toms, Maple, and large toms Mahog, birch snare.

    all the best...

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