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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2019 17:34:40 GMT
Yes you read right. I am in the initial stages of design which will hopefully end up being built in to a glorious sounding drum kit. Only the drums mind you, stands and cymbals and pedals will be used from my present kit as will the hoops (the bit that compresses the skin against the bearing edge)
So what do i know about drum design ? Well quite a lot actually. A good drum must (1) be perfectly round (2) have uniform bearing edges all the way around (the part that touches the skin) (3) be made of good quality materials. Lots of things can flavour the sound from a drum. Depth - deeper equals a fatter note with more resonance. Material used - maple and birch ply are the most popular but other woods are used as well as acrylic, steel, brass, copper, bronze. They all sound different. Types of fittings used - tension lugs and mounting brackets on the shell all add weight and reduce resonance. Some companies have developed free floating designs where nothing is mounted on the drum shell at all. Air vents or none ?
Resonance is the aim of the game here. The complete opposite of hifi design where its control is essential. You can take it too far though - its a balancing act. Tone mainly comes from the shell material used, they all sound different. Metal is often used for snare drums that need to cut through the other instruments in a band. Wood is more mellow sounding in comparison. Maple, birch, mahogany, poplar, ash, cherry, oak have all been used. So has steel, brass, bronze, copper, aluminium, acrylic ...........
So what am i going to do ? Well i dont have molds to make wooden shells from ply so forget that.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 7, 2019 19:53:34 GMT
Sounds like quite a task and then some. Are you planning to do just one kit for yourself or could it become a hobby making bespoke drums for others?
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Post by antonio on Apr 8, 2019 5:08:35 GMT
Good luck with this project Stu.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 5:22:32 GMT
Sozunds like quite a task and then some. Are you planning to do just one kit for yourself or could it become a hobby making bespoke drums for others? Just for me, the market is crowded with custom drum builders. The prices are mostly eye watering which is why diy comes to the rescue again. The world of drums is full of marketing bollox just like everywhere else. Back to basics the old fashioned way. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 5:23:22 GMT
Good luck with this project Stu. Thanks Dave. I might need some. |
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 7:09:26 GMT
Nothing done here. Nothing much done in hifi either. Life a bit busy at the moment what with work and a young family plus a menopausal wife.
Bought a few drums recently. All Pearl export from the early 80's when things were stil being made like they should. Exports are the Toyota Corolla's of the drum world. Cheap, reliable and do the job. No rip off high end stuff here. They are a little tatty and rusty (but fully functional) and are mostly in different colours as i find cheap single drums. It will be what is known as a jelly bean kit. Still need a 22" bass drum and 12" high tom but so far i have a 14" tom, 16" floor tom and a rare 18" floor tom which is the same size as a jazz bop bass drum.
I may refinish them all in the same colour at some point or if i like the jelly bean effect then leave them as is. I have black, green and red so far. Add a white bass drum and blue 12" tom and off we go. I can see a bit of customisation on the horizon. Remove the interior dampeners, re-cut the bearing edges and maybe turn it into a free floating design by removing all the tuning lugs and mount from the shell.
I looked into making my own drums and it is possible but the costs quickly mount up. I cant make the shells , you need very specialist tools for that but i could do the edges with a router table and the rest of it would need to use second hand hoops. The free floating design would be a doddle - long tubes that the tension rods screw in to at both ends. Only thing is the batter and resonant heads will be at the same tension (and pitch) which takes away a few tuning possibilities but removing the hardware from the shell helps it to resonate to its full potential.
So i may just customise these pearl exports. Getting shells made from custom drum makers is very expensive then you have to buy everything else. Much easier to buy something cheap as chips and modify it to taste.
Stu
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 12:28:53 GMT
Decided that once I've had my (now confirmed) shoulder, hand and wrist surgeries, I'm going to learn to play drums at a more reasonable level. I am OK, just rudimentary but I want to be better and haven't played for a lot of years.
I'll keep my eyes open for exports.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 12:30:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 16:09:08 GMT
Thanks for the link. I have already got them in my watch list along with a million other drums. Can't make up my mind. It is often cheaper to buy the drums with all the hardware and heads on them. But if i am making them free floating then i dont need the lugs. Still need hoops, heads and tension rods though. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 23, 2019 16:13:51 GMT
Thanks for the link. I have already got them in my watch list along with a million other drums. Can't make up my mind. It is often cheaper to buy the drums with all the hardware and heads on them. But if i am making them free floating then i dont need the lugs. Still need hoops, heads and tension rods though. Best avatar in any forum  |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 5:27:16 GMT
Thanks for the link. I have already got them in my watch list along with a million other drums. Can't make up my mind. It is often cheaper to buy the drums with all the hardware and heads on them. But if i am making them free floating then i dont need the lugs. Still need hoops, heads and tension rods though. Best avatar in any forum You mean mine ? Spaghetti junction. Jammy no likey though  . It was a Nac preamp bodged by Linnik on pfm. He came up with a modification which was giving every component connected to OV its own dedicated wire back to the star earth. Called it the christmas mod and kept everyone in suspense about it for days before the big reveal. The golden days of pfm. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 24, 2019 5:48:12 GMT
Best avatar in any forum You mean mine ? Spaghetti junction. Jammy no likey though . It was a Nac preamp bodged by Linnik on pfm. He came up with a modification which was giving every component connected to OV its own dedicated wire back to the star earth. Called it the christmas mod and kept everyone in suspense about it for days before the big reveal. The golden days of pfm. Yep, it’s the sort of thing I dream of being able to do. Kinda embodies that old saying about the fine line between genius and madness. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2019 18:29:07 GMT
My vintage ? 1980's Pearl Export drum kit is complete. I got many of them cheap as odd drums in poor cosmetic condition. All for under £150. Now i have 12", 13" & 14" toms, 14", 16" & 18" floor toms and 22" bass. A massive kit. Also i have a very nice 1990' Premier Genista that is almost too good to play, four snare drums and a shed load of zildjian A custom cymballs.
Anyway, pearl kit is all in different colours. Might leave it that way or finish them all the same. Haven't decided yet. What i do know is that all the metal hardware is coming off, holes plugged and a proper free floating, single tension system made out of brass rods from one hoop to the other. That will allow the cheap asian mahogany a chance to resonate to its full potential. Watch this space.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2019 5:03:05 GMT
I know its not strictly a diy kit but the modifications and experiments will be fun. Pity i have a job to stop me getting stuck in.
I don't have the tools to make the wooden shells and getting custom made ones was going to turn out mega expensive. So it seemed like the best thing to do would be buy a cheap vintage work horse (the Toyota Corolla of drum kits) and modify the knackers off it.
There wont be any badges left on it or any way to tell the kits origin when i have finished. The drum snobs wont know what they are .
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. It was a Nac preamp bodged by Linnik on pfm. He came up with a modification which was giving every component connected to OV its own dedicated wire back to the star earth. Called it the christmas mod and kept everyone in suspense about it for days before the big reveal. The golden days of pfm.