Question about depth

BattleArmor

Silver Member
I read that the diameter determines the pitch, and the depth determines the sustain.

So does that mean that a 16x13 floor tom could have the same pitch as a 16x16 floor tom?

And is 16x13 to short of a depth?

Thanks

P.S. This is for a 6 ply Maple drum
 
I'm not too sure about it, but I'm pretty sure the 16"x16" is heavier and probably sounds longer.
That's what I've been told anyways.
 
I'd actually like to settle this debate, once and for all, myself.

I was reading an article in MD where John Good said shorter toms have longer sustain, yet I've read elsewhere that longer toms will sustain longer than shorter toms.

I recently bought (and quickly returned) a power-tom 80's Ludwig Super Classic kit because the power toms seemed to have no sustain at all, whatsoever.

I now prefer a 16x14 floor tom to a 16x16...the tone seems clearer and sustain seems longer (to my ears).

So, which is it?
 
I've always been taught any time you add depth to a drum it increases resonance and sustain, making the drum sound fuller and deeper. So in theory, the 16x13 would have more "punch" than the 16x16. But I'm sure others hear it differently.
 
I have actually had a 16x14 and a 16x16 and i think the 16 x 16 resonanted a little longer. I would love to know the actual answer though.
 
... any time you add depth to a drum it increases resonance and sustain, making the drum sound fuller and deeper.

I'm not sure if I agree with the first part, but added depth definitely makes a drum sound bigger.

I've always thought that when you add depth to a drum it is generally less responsive, and shorter in sustain as compared to a drum of equal diameter with a smaller depth. Kind of like the difference between a piccolo snare and a 80's 10" deep ballad snare (maybe a bad example).

I now prefer a 16x14 floor tom to a 16x16...the tone seems clearer and sustain seems longer (to my ears).

I agree zambizzi, my Gretsch 14x16 sings, deeply.
 
I do not claim to know what I am talking about. These my assumptions on the subject and I may be way off base, I usually am ;-)

The real question is how does the depth of a shell affect frequency and sustain?

I would think the more wood = less sustain because there is simply more material to vibrate and more material to absorb the vibrations and dampen them.

It seems to make sense to me that a shorter shell would resonate more but at the same time it would produce a weaker sound, less punch. This is what Power toms are all about, they tend to have, well, more power then a shallower tome and cut through the mix more.


I know that the deeper the shell the more force is needed to move the same amount of air as a shallower shell.

I do know the thicker the shell the higher the pitch.



since you mention John Good, according to him, there are two things that happen when you strike a drum.

1, a column of air move down the shell and 2, the shell begins to vibrate from the top down. The whole theory about FAST sizes is that the optimum depth of the shell is the one that allows both the air column and the shell vibration to reach the reso head at the exact same time.

I will try an experiment but I will be a while before I can do it since I still need to sand before I can refinish ;-( . I have a set of standard depth and power depth vintage TAMA superstars. I will try putting the same heads and using a torque tuning key tune them exactly the same. Then I will know the answer for sure ;-)
 
I'm not sure if I agree with the first part, but added depth definitely makes a drum sound bigger.

I've always thought that when you add depth to a drum it is generally less responsive, and shorter in sustain as compared to a drum of equal diameter with a smaller depth. Kind of like the difference between a piccolo snare and a 80's 10" deep ballad snare (maybe a bad example).

I agree, adding depth will make a drum less responsive but richer and fuller in sound.

As for sustain, I think there are a lot of other things that influence it more than depth: shell material, shell construction type, head thickness, tuning, suspension mounting, etc. etc. Shell depth is a minor issue I think.

However, all other things being equal, I believe a shallow shell will have a bit more sustain. A deep shell will produce more tones, which will, to some extent, interfere with each other (producing more overtones and richness) and will tend to cancel each other out. A shallow shell won't have as much interference. While it will produce fewer tones, they will tend to interfere with each other less and hang around a bit longer. But that is just my theory.
 
I read until my eyes hurt.

GREAT site. Thanks alot. I think I might be getting the 16x14. 6 ply maple. I will probably put G2 coated on top and maybe G2 bottoms.

Thanks alot guys
 
My 16x14" sounds way better than my old 16x16". My new 12x7 kills my old 12x11".

If I'd known that to begin with I would have ordered a 16x10" floor tom and will in the future.
 
My 16x14" sounds way better than my old 16x16". My new 12x7 kills my old 12x11".

If I'd known that to begin with I would have ordered a 16x10" floor tom and will in the future.

Personally, I like 12x9 and 16x14...with a 22x18 kick - I have a "special" kit on the way w/ those dimensions. I might also have a 14x6.5 matching snare...also the perfect size. :)
 
I find, in my experience, that shallower toms have more of a "note" and deeper drums have more of a non-tonal "boom". I've never really paid attention to resonance, except when there wasn't a reasonable amount of it.

This is very true and if you ever want to see a sound engineer cringe, take deep toms into a recording studio.

The shallower tom notes are still deep but with shorter sound wave which makes them easier to manage on a recording, the notes don't bleed over from tom to tom as they do with deeper toms.
 
Back
Top