UK drummers - open question

As for the bearing edges, you may offer a price for one drum, and the bass drum would be the starting level. Then offer a package after that for two, three, four etc, as long as they were the same cut, as you proposed in your orignal post, but not more for a 14 inch tom than for a 14 inch snare. Its fine as you have it, but once the jig/router is set for all one cut the job should go fairly fast and smooth. I am saying all of this having never done an edge. Just thinking customer A is going to ask why the tom or snare costs more for the same edge when you quote customer B for a 14 inch job.

I wanted to say what a great idea for someone who calls to get a quote on the new Gurus and decides well, not now, saving funds, but then how about a new finish on the old set. I would not get into the badge polishing though. that is very tedious and not worth the price you would be asking. I would do it all time permitting. Replacing snare throw offs, the whole lot.
 
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The Old Hyde said:
when do we get the virtual shop tour???
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In a few weeks time, when it's finished - hopefully :(

HMNY said:
Thanks Andy, I really did not appreciate the amount of work involved, but as you describe it, it makes perfect sense, after all, if you take too much off........
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The time we take, & the steps we go through, are not typical. We only have one standard.

GRUNTERSDAD said:
As for the bearing edges, you may offer a price for one drum, and the bass drum would be the starting level. Then offer a package after that for two, three, four etc, as long as they were the same cut, as you proposed in your orignal post, but not more for a 14 inch tom than for a 14 inch snare. Its fine as you have it, but once the jig/router is set for all one cut the job should go fairly fast and smooth. I am saying all of this having never done an edge. Just thinking customer A is going to ask why the tom or snare costs more for the same edge when you quote customer B for a 14 inch job.

I wanted to say what a great idea for someone who calls to get a quote on the new Gurus and decides well, not now, saving funds, but then how about a new finish on the old set. I would not get into the badge polishing those. that is very tedious and not worth the price you would be asking. I would do it all time permitting. Replacing snare throw offs, the whole lot.
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Good ideas Grunt. The pricing you suggest is about where we're already at. As for doing other work, I don't have the time, nor can I add value above & beyond the next guy. In terms of edges, we certainly do add value.

As for leaving the machine set, if we're doing edges for any customer, we'll only do edges we believe offer the best performance for the drum & the customer's needs. With us, that invariably means the reso edge is different to the batter edge, & we also tend to graduate our edges according to size progression. In other words, every drum is a different setting, although some aspects may be common. Another thing we tend to do, is take several small cuts rather than one big cut. This minimises the chance of breakout & other undesirable stuff. This is especially a risk if plies have not been fully glued, or the inner plies are of poor quality. Again, this is just what we do. The customer either perceives value in that or not.
 
Thumbs up to all of that. You will never make any money though if you keep doing everything the best way. 8+)
 
GRUNTERSDAD said:
Thumbs up to all of that. You will never make any money though if you keep doing everything the best way. 8+)
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True :( If we do offer external bearing edge services, what we charge will just about cover workshop hourly overhead contribution, so no profit as such, but anything that offsets overheads is always most welcome. It's not as if we'll be doing a ton of edges, just the occasional interested customer I suspect :)
 
Is the workshop down your way, Andy or up in Newcastle? Just curious.

I think the charge is more than reasonable. If anything, I'd expect it to be higher. It's a very good idea for a service and I have absolutely no doubt you'd do an exemplary job, as ever.
 
BacteriumFendYoke said:
Is the workshop down your way, Andy or up in Newcastle? Just curious.

I think the charge is more than reasonable. If anything, I'd expect it to be higher. It's a very good idea for a service and I have absolutely no doubt you'd do an exemplary job, as ever.
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Thanks Duncan :) New shop is in Herefordshire. We've split production. Dean running the shell shop in Teeside, & me running the finishing shop here. Lots of building work to get to this stage. I'll show you next time you're over this way :)
 
This may seem like a silly question, but I'm asking as i genuinely don't know - how often do people get the bearing edge recut? It's something I've never even considered.

I really should read up on bearing edges as (forgive me here for being thick!) I don't know what difference the different angles make.
 
Dodeska said:
This may seem like a silly question, but I'm asking as i genuinely don't know - how often do people get the bearing edge recut? It's something I've never even considered.

I really should read up on bearing edges as (forgive me here for being thick!) I don't know what difference the different angles make.
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Not silly questions at all. It's not a requirement to have your edges recut as a matter of maintenance, only if they've become damaged, or otherwise become in poor condition. In some cases (more than you'd imagine), brand new drums have poor edges, or sometimes a player wishes to change the characteristics of the drum/drums.

I could write a book on bearing edges - literally! It's a fairly simple yet complexed subject when taken in context with other relevant subjects. The only thing I can tell you without question, never change bearing edge configuration without considering all aspects of the drum's construction, & it's intended use.

"Rule of thumb" - a sharper edge will deliver more cut & head sustain, but typically less shell tone. A more rounded edge will produce a more mellow attack, is typically easier to tune, produces a shorter note, & more shell tone. There are multiple caveats & exceptions though. It's really not that simple. You'll see all manner of descriptions of different edge forms. The angle that's often quoted is used as a simple description that differentiates one manufacturer / series from another. Those quoted angles (30 degree / 45 degree, etc) are mostly irrelevant, although a more shallow angle typically (but not necessarily), has a slightly higher ratio of head to shell contact. It's the very peak / crest of the edge that really matters, &, to a lesser extent, the amount of contact between the shell & the outer edge of the head.

Hope this helps.
 
keep it simple said:
Not silly questions at all. It's not a requirement to have your edges recut as a matter of maintenance, only if they've become damaged, or otherwise become in poor condition. In some cases (more than you'd imagine), brand new drums have poor edges, or sometimes a player wishes to change the characteristics of the drum/drums.

I could write a book on bearing edges - literally! It's a fairly simple yet complexed subject when taken in context with other relevant subjects. The only thing I can tell you without question, never change bearing edge configuration without considering all aspects of the drum's construction, & it's intended use.

"Rule of thumb" - a sharper edge will deliver more cut & head sustain, but typically less shell tone. A more rounded edge will produce a more mellow attack, is typically easier to tune, produces a shorter note, & more shell tone. There are multiple caveats & exceptions though. It's really not that simple. You'll see all manner of descriptions of different edge forms. The angle that's often quoted is used as a simple description that differentiates one manufacturer / series from another. Those quoted angles (30 degree / 45 degree, etc) are mostly irrelevant, although a more shallow angle typically (but not necessarily), has a slightly higher ratio of head to shell contact. It's the very peak / crest of the edge that really matters, &, to a lesser extent, the amount of contact between the shell & the outer edge of the head.

Hope this helps.
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Thanks for that. I'll have to have a more in-depth look at it all.

Matt.
 
Here are a few examples.
 

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I know of a few guys who offer edge recutting in the UK (Richard Newby, Gareth Heely and the guys at Highwood to name a few) - but if you can offer something they can't then there's always room. Plus if you have a set up to handle it and can take the additional workload then why not, right?
 
Netz Ausg said:
I know of a few guys who offer edge recutting in the UK (Richard Newby, Gareth Heely and the guys at Highwood to name a few) - but if you can offer something they can't then there's always room. Plus if you have a set up to handle it and can take the additional workload then why not, right?
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Thanks Netz :) I know these guys well, & they know what they're doing - no doubt. We don't bring anything unique to the party other than our own way of doing things, & the appraisal/advice that comes with it for free. Edges the Guru way, & to Guru standards, is the only statement I can make. It's then up to the customer to decide what's most appropriate for their needs. For example, if I had a £500 kit, & the edges needed recutting to original spec, I'd be choosing a much more economical alternative to our offer.
 
I would personally be first in line to have you guys do my kit. my edges are dinged and need it for sure. you know, there's a long story behind my kit which im sure you would love to hear. it was destined to be thrown in a dumpster.....
 
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The Old Hyde said:
I would personally be first in line to have you guys do my kit. my edges are dinged and need it for sure. you know, there's a long story behind my kit which im sure you would love to hear. it was destined to be thrown in a dumpster.....
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Happy to oblige - one condition, you post a picture of you playing the kit adorned with chimes ;) ;) ;)
 
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