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How to Wrap a Drum Shell Part 1

January 5, 2010 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 4 Comments

Using a wrap to finish your drum is a great way to get an outstanding finish in very little time. If you are wrapping multiple drums you should find out if your wrap supplier has specific configurations already cut to size for your drums, if not you’ll need to calculate how much wrap you will actually need to buy to be able to cover all your drums. If you are unsure of how to do this, just ask your supplier to help you figure it out. First you will need to cut your wrap to size. An easy way to do this is to wrap it around your drum shell and mark the edge of the shell all the way around. This shows how to wrap a bass drum. If your wrapping a smaller shell follow the directions below as follows, but you’ll just end up with one seam

(Some wrap manufacturers don’t make wrap to go all the way around large drums, so you’ll end up having to use 2 pieces for larger drums – mark your cut line around the top of the shell)

(What your 2^nd piece of wrap for larger drums will look like, this will go on the bottom of a 22” kick)

You may use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the wrap. Sparkles are a little easier to cut than glass glitter wraps. Plan on sharpening your scissors frequently if you need to cut a lot of wrap. After you cut your wrap to the length of your shell, you’ll need to cut it down to the diameter of your shell. An easy way to do this is to use a flexible measuring tape (for sewing) to measure all the way around the shell and add an extra inch for overlap. Now lay the wrap down flat and measure out that distance and use a straight edge to mark your next cut. Continue Reading....

Makedrums.com | How To Make Custom Drums

December 15, 2009 in Drum Building Resources, Drum Building Tutorials, Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates with 0 Comments

This video shows many of pictures that are included in the book "How to Make Custom Drums" – Over 100 color pictures that visually explain drum building processes! Learn how to build your own custom drums by reading "How to Make Custom Drums"

Drum Building 101 – The Pros and Cons of Tube Lugs

December 9, 2009 in Drum Building 101, Drum Building Resources, Drum Building Tutorials, Drums, General Updates with 3 Comments

Tube lugs seem to be the lug of choice for most “custom” drum companies and for good reasons – they look great on any drum and are usually made out of solid brass which makes them very durable. There is however some characteristics about tube lugs that could make them difficult to work with for the amateur drum builder. You may have noticed that many lugs have an insert inside the lug that can move around slightly to accept the tension rod. Tube lugs do not have this move-able insert so your drilling must be precise.

Also, when you use tube lugs it is a good idea to grab some extra rubber gaskets or nylon washers/spacers to put in between the lug and the shell. They will come in handy if you install your lugs only to find out that the lug doesn’t have enough lift off of the shell for the tension rod to screw in straight. Example: Continue Reading....

Great Drum Tuning Article

December 3, 2009 in Drum Building Resources, Drummer resources, General Updates with 1 Comment

I recently came across a great article about drum tuning technique that I wanted to share. This is a very in-depth explanation of some of the techniques I use to tune my own drums. If you follow Tomas's directions you'll have great sounding drums in no time.

Check it out the full article here – http://www.drummingweb.com/tuning.htm

Here is a very interesting section from the article.

The pitch of the shell

This will impact the tuning dramatically. Each shell will vibrate at a certain frequency. You can determine that frequency by picking up the shell without heads, holding it loosely, and striking it with a soft mallet (you can also do this with the heads on, striking the shell with your knuckle, but it's harder to hear the tone the shell produces without some practice). When the head is being tuned, try starting at a low pitch and gradually increasing the tension (make sure the head remains tuned to itself during this process). You'll notice that some pitches ring right out, while others seems dead. What's happening is the resonant frequency of your shell (the frequency at which the shell vibrates) will either contribute to the vibration of the head, or else it will cancel it out. It's basic wave physics:

Complimentary Waves

Out of Phase

The object is to find those pitches where the shell and head will work together within a range. There should be more than one (maybe even three or four), depending on the quality of the shell.

The pitch of the opposing head

This is very important. Add another wave to the images above, and you get the picture of the complexity a bottom head can bring to the picture. For this reason, some folks just don't use a bottom head. However, the bottom head – if used right – can be an important tool in creating and developing your sound.

You have three options when it comes to the tuning of the bottom head:

The same pitch as the top head.
A higher pitch than the top head.
A lower pitch than the top head.

Each of these options produces a different sound. It's important to remember when raising or lowering the pitch of the bottom head relative to the top head that only a slight variance is necessary! If the two heads are too far appart in pitch, they will cancel each other out and the sound will be dead.

The two heads the same pitch

This will produce a warm, round tone with lots of sustain. "Bong." The attack can be sharp (depending on the tension of the batter head), and the decay will be long, with no variation in pitch as the sound dies. Overtones are usually not affected.

The bottom head lower than the top head

The decay and sustain are diminished somewhat, the sound is rounder, and the tone deeper – even if the pitch is the same (remember, when you raise or lower the pitch of one head relative to the other, the pitch of the entire drum – when struck while suspended – will either raise or lower. To keep the pitch the same, you will have to change the opposing head in the other direction). The pitch will remain constant through the decay. Overtones are minimized a bit.

The bottom head higher than the top head

Here's where things get interesting! The effect is similar to bottom head lower in terms of sustain and overall tone, but the pitch of the drum will drop somewhat through the decay! This is how you get that cool "bwow" sound! (There is another way to do this – see Special Effects below). Overtones are minimized a bit.

Rob Varro, drummer and educator from Ontario Canada, e-mailed me and explained why this happens:

When you strike the top head of a drum, the air inside the drum is immediately compressed. This causes the bottom head to resonate. The top head, for a fraction of a second, is muted slightly by the stick contact. Therefore the bottom head actually produces a full tone before the top head. So if the bottom head is tuned higher than the top head, you will indeed hear the pitch of the bottom head first, followed closely by that of the top head, giving the effect of a pitch bend or "bwow" (I love that word).

Thanks, Rob!

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