Not Every Drum Kit Sounds The Same

  If you are like me you love music and as a drummer I live to play music. Most people don't take into consideration that the type of instrument has a huge impact on what the song is going to sound like. For example, an entry level drum kit isn't going to sound like a DW kit. This doesn't just apply to drum kits, it goes for guitars, basses, pianos, etc. But in this blog we are just going to talk about drums and what different variables effect the sound of the kit.

    So like I said not every instrument sounds the same and this definitely applies to drum kits. Some popular drum brands are DW, Gretsch, Ludwig, PDP, and Pearl. Now that's just a select few of different types of drum kits. In my opinion they all sound great, I myself own a PDP drum kit.

    Some main variables that impact the way the drums sound would be the type of wood that is being used, how thick the wood is, the size of the drum, and the types of drum heads that you can choose from.
Lets start out with the types of wood, there are three main types of wood that most drum kits use and they are Maple, Birch, and Mahogany.

Maple- Slightly boosted lows with smooth mid and high frequencies for all around purpose.
Birch- Boosted high frequencies, slightly reduced mids, and a good low end punch.
Mahogany- Extremely rich low end frequencies, with sweet smooth mids and a slight roll-off in the higher  frequencies.

     Now lets talk about the thickness of the drum. Basically, the thicker the shell, the higher it will sound. The thinner the shell, the lower it will sound. The thickness is measured in plies, which is just a layering of sheets of wood. For example a drum that was labeled 6ply would have 6 layers of wood. There are thin, medium, and thick shells.

Thin- (4 ply, 5mm) enable relatively easy energy transfer from the heads to the shells causing the shells to vibrate. This vibration causes a very rich "wood" tone to the overall sound. .
Medium- (6 ply, 7.5mm) stiff and resist energy transference from the heads. Has less shell vibration then the thin shells. Drums made to this thickness are ideal for general-purpose applications.
Thick- (8 ply, 10mm and 10 ply, 12.5mm) designed to allow most of the player's energy to be focused to an audience. These drums are ideal for stadium venues and other events requiring high sound pressure levels.

     The bigger the diameter of a drum, the deeper it will sound. For example: a 16 inch floor tom will sound much lower than a 12 inch tom. The depth of the shell also effects the tone. The deeper the shell, the lower the sound and vice versa. A deeper drum will also be louder and therefore project more. A shallow drum won't project as well, but it will have better resonance and a create a more pure tone.

     So there you have it, a basic guide on what effects the sound of the your drum kit. Keep in mind these are just a few variables to take into consideration before you buy a drum kit. 

-Rhys Chartier GCSC Digital Media