Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

  1. #1
    JosephDrums51 Guest

    Exclamation Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    Hello Everyone,

    I am very interested in purchasing new wood hoop drums. I have heard great things about them and have seen some of my favorites play them live. I am wondering what some ups and downs are... I am mostly concerned about the hoops cracking.

    Any info or wisdom concerning your wood hoop kit would be very cool!


    I am also considering going with a custom company rather than one of the big boys.... Thoughts?

    Thanks

  2. #2

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    Welcome to Drum Chat JosephDrums51!

    I'm no expert on wood hoops, so I'll let someone else do the talking here. I'm sure they'll be along soon, because it's about quitting time for at least half of the US.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





    For coupons and specials, join the Drum Bum mailing list.

    Buy Gifts for Drummers. And don't miss the free Drum Lessons!

  3. #3

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    i've had a pair on one of my snares for 8 years now.... no trouble at all.

  4. #4

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    they take a little more care than a metal rim . make sure to keep your tension equal and dont pound out a ton of rim shots ,and you should be fine .
    Tamaholic

  5. #5

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    Welcome to DrumChat, sir! I coveted an Ayotte wood hoop kit for the better part of a decade. I did eventually get a wood hoop snare.



    I have owned this drum since 2008 and have found rim clicks to be far more satisfying with the wood hoops. I bought a Ludwig Classic Maple kit last year and argued with myself about outfitting the toms with wood hoops down the line. Here are some pros and cons I came up with:

    Pros:

    -As previously mentioned, wood hoops on a snare allow for very satisfying rim clicks.

    -I personally find them to be visually appealing

    Cons:

    -If using the RIMS-style mounts, the weight of the drum will be exerted upwards against half of the hoop unless the drum's weight is supported by the lugs, a la DW, Noble & Cooley, Ayotte, etc. A floor tom with legs and rack toms supported by a snare basket would not experience this difficulty.

    -Although I have not had a problem with my hoops, they are more fragile than the steel and diecast and can eventually crack.

    -Wood expands and contracts with moisture and temperature. Other hoops styles are not as vulnerable to the environment, save metal hoops in a moist, salty environment.

    -Aside from a few generic styles, wood hoops are generally a custom fabrication and as a result are more expensive. Should you damage a hoop, it will be a longer wait and costlier process to replace than a triple-flange steel.

    -The generic steel hoop allows all of the tension rods and washers to stay together as one assembly if the tension rods have a simple elastic band between the hoop and lug. The Ayotte snare pictured required all lugs to be fully disassembled from the shell to change heads. A Yamaha-style wood hoop would also allow everything to stay together, but it comes at the cost of the hoop's structural integrity (holes are now drilled through it)

    Conclusion:

    I decided it was worthwhile to have at least one snare with a wood batter hoop. As for the toms, I use RIMS-type mounts and reasoned that although they would look good, fully outfitting the kit with wood hoops caused more potential headaches than I wanted to contend with.
    A simple, elegant design is good engineering.

    Axis | Ayotte | Evans | Gibraltar | Ludwig | Pro-Mark | Remo | Roc-N-Soc | SKB | Taye | Vic Firth | Whitney| Yamaha | Zildjian

  6. #6

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    Well seems like MrB has the experience with wood hoops and his post is great explanation of his pro's and con's about it. Thanks for posting MrB I just learned something about wood hoops today.

  7. #7

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    I use clawless yamaha-style on one of my snares. Never heard a sound quite like it. It's almost like adding a new level of pure sound to it, it takes away all the metallic overtones that die cast and especially 2.3mm hoops seem to have(understandably). It's like you take wood to echo the sound of a wood shell, and that's all you hear - pure wood tone. Real warm and fat, just the right amount of focus, epic volume, and probably the best crossstick sound i've ever heard. I've messed with rimshots here and there but i'm not too big on them so it works well for me.

    The cons really depend on whether or not you're using clawed or clawless type of wood hoops. If using clawed kind, you may have to do some research and find out which size tension rods you'll use - because standard ones likely won't work because the hoop combined with the claw elevates the height a tad. If you like the clawless kind, don't worry about that as much because the rods you have will likely fit as mine do. They can get expensive however, that's the only major downfall - I think you really get what you pay for here though. Mine seem to hold the tuning a bit better than my 2.3mm's, so I was stoked on that too. As far as the durability goes? It really isn't as bad as you'd think on the clawless hoop types, usually what you're getting is 11-14plies of dense maple. It's not as weak as it's thought to be, it's sturdy and won't letcha down. I have yet to try them on toms, but when I get the money i'm so there.
    ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
    Snares: 4
    RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I wish I was your wife
    Quote Originally Posted by amdrummer View Post
    if double bass is cheating then so is using two sticks

    Forum Rules
    DrumBum
    No metronome?
    The Rudiments

  8. #8

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    I'll give a dissenting opinion.

    I owned a pair of Yamaha wood snare hoops. I tried them on a couple of different 14" snares, and I always felt they removed some of the focus and control of the drum and gave the drums a "poppy" sound.

    I think metal hoops, unless cheap and frail, add necessary stability and control to the sound, while offsetting the woody tone of the shell with the metallic ring of the rims.

    This might be the perfect sound for some people, just not me.

  9. #9
    JosephDrums51 Guest

    Default Re: Custom Wood Hoop Experience

    Wow thanks for all the info guys this is great! much appreciated.

    How versatile can a wood hoop kit be in the studio? Does anyone have experience with recording? I play in many singer songwriter type bands. Usually piano involved. I feel like the wood hoops would compliment the piano very well in the studio and live.

    BUT every once and a while I am called upon to do so heavy hitting music. Would the kit sound out of place when used in these situations in the studio?

    -Thanks again!

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •