Most versatile wood...Maple, Birch, Mahogany, Oak?

rob42771

Member
If you were to buy a drum set that would nee to be versatile for playing anything from jazz to rock...funk to metal, which wood would be best at allowing for this? And I am not expecting that the particular wood would satisfy every genre...but which would cover off many well?

Thanks,
-Rob
 
I'd say maple. But that being said, I think my Oak Customs can handle anything w/the right tuning and heads...
 
Depends on playing context. For example, across a wide spectrum of genres in an acoustic gig environment, mahogany would probably be the least versatile, but as a recording kit, probably the most versatile.

Versatility is about so much more than the wood species. Of course, the usual head choice, tuning, playing are the biggest variables, but if we're talking things you can't adjust, then shell construction & bearing edge forms are at the top of the list.
 
If I only had one kit, it would be maple. but, heads and drums size contribute much to the overall experience.
 
Drums aren't versatile, drummers are. There's no Jazz trumpet or Big Band trumpet or Blues trumpet, they're just trumpets. The trumpet player is the one who makes it versatile. One drum set, I don't care what wood it's made from, will work for any style of music out there. Assuming the drummer knows how to get the proper tone for the genre of music being played.

Plus the snare and kick are used substantially more than the toms. A bass drum is a low note, there's not a whole lot you can do with it. Not a big diff in a mahogany kick or a maple kick, it's all low notes. Players use different snares for different songs. That leaves all the versatility up to the toms. Not a huge deal IMO. Between heads and tuning, any tom can take on multiple personalities. Instead of asking the wood to be versatile, it really comes down to knowing what tuning and head combos compliment the different genres. So get what you like.
 
Great analogy Larry my girlfriend and musical cohort is a horn player. I'm amazed at how radically different tone can be between players. I'll bet Louie Armstrong would have still sounded like pore gold on a cheapie $90 import horn.

For a versatile kit I'd go with a 20-24" kick ,maybe closer to 20" if you're playig a lot of Jazz, with standard sized toms. As everyone has said, the versitality will more be your playing and tuning skills.
 
Drums aren't versatile, drummers are. There's no Jazz trumpet or Big Band trumpet or Blues trumpet, they're just trumpets. The trumpet player is the one who makes it versatile. One drum set, I don't care what wood it's made from, will work for any style of music out there. Assuming the drummer knows how to get the proper tone for the genre of music being played.

Plus the snare and kick are used substantially more than the toms. A bass drum is a low note, there's not a whole lot you can do with it. Not a big diff in a mahogany kick or a maple kick, it's all low notes. Players use different snares for different songs. That leaves all the versatility up to the toms. Not a huge deal IMO. Between heads and tuning, any tom can take on multiple personalities. Instead of asking the wood to be versatile, it really comes down to knowing what tuning and head combos compliment the different genres. So get what you like.

Great post. It's not the wood of the drums that defines the drummer, it's the drummer who defines the drummer.
 
ref the trumpet players...the trumpet players mouthpiece makes a huge difference. Many
carry several depending on the type of tune being played.
 
Drums aren't versatile, drummers are. There's no Jazz trumpet or Big Band trumpet or Blues trumpet, they're just trumpets. The trumpet player is the one who makes it versatile. One drum set, I don't care what wood it's made from, will work for any style of music out there. Assuming the drummer knows how to get the proper tone for the genre of music being played.

Plus the snare and kick are used substantially more than the toms. A bass drum is a low note, there's not a whole lot you can do with it. Not a big diff in a mahogany kick or a maple kick, it's all low notes. Players use different snares for different songs. That leaves all the versatility up to the toms. Not a huge deal IMO. Between heads and tuning, any tom can take on multiple personalities. Instead of asking the wood to be versatile, it really comes down to knowing what tuning and head combos compliment the different genres. So get what you like.

So in your opening sentence, you state that 'Drums aren't versatile, drummers are'. However you go on to say that players use different snares for different songs...depending on what heads are being used could take on multiple personalities. So although you say that the wood isn't being versatile (which I disagree), you are relying on equipment still for different tones...snares, heads...not the drummer's versatility.

Wouldn't everyone just buy the same wood for shells if there was no versatility in them and just rely on tuning and heads?
 
So in your opening sentence, you state that 'Drums aren't versatile, drummers are'. However you go on to say that players use different snares for different songs...depending on what heads are being used could take on multiple personalities. So although you say that the wood isn't being versatile (which I disagree), you are relying on equipment still for different tones...snares, heads...not the drummer's versatility.

Wouldn't everyone just buy the same wood for shells if there was no versatility in them and just rely on tuning and heads?

I have to agree with Larry here.The top 5 American drum makers from the 50's to the mid 70's used little variation in drum construction.

Ludwig and Slingerland uses a 3ply mahogany/poplar/mahogany shell,sometime the outer ply was maple,which was used for finishing purposes ONLY.Yet these two brands were used by jazz,rock,pop,soul,funk,prog rock,country, metal,big band and just about any other genre you care to name.

Gretsch changed to thin 6 ply of maple/gumwood and they were also used by drummers of all styles of music.The same with Rogers 3,then 5 ply maple,and Camco.All three of these companies had shells made by Jasper or Keller.Only Slingerland and Ludwig made their own shells at the time.

So you can see that drummers played what they liked reguardless of shell composition,and they went by how their drums sounded.Each brand varied in sound slightly,but could be used in any style of music.

Listen to John Bonhams 3 ply Ludwigs,or Ginger Baker,Ringo,Cozy Powell,Alan White,Roy Hanes or even Joe Morellos drums.All of them were 3 ply Ludwig.It's the tuning,heads and most of all,the skill level of the drummer that creates the versitility in sound.You can use one kit for everything.They all did.

Steve B
 
Wouldn't everyone just buy the same wood for shells if there was no versatility in them and just rely on tuning and heads?

I reckon you are confusing tonality with versatility here. They are two different things. Different woods certainly offer different tones, but that doesn't necessarily make one wood any more versatile than the other. Larry's point is that a good player can make a maple, birch or bubbinga kit work for whatever situation he's using it in.

That's not to say that you're not gonna have a preference for one over another either. It's more to highlight that all the common woods used en masse by the major manufacturers, have been tried and tested over the years as being "versatile".......hence why they sell thousands of the things to be used in recording studios and live stages all over the world. You're safe to pick the one you like best as far as versatility is concerned.
 
If you took Max Roach's round badge kit, tuned the way Max tunes them....and put John Bonham on them and had him play "Rock and Roll" ...they're going to sound like rock drums. It's the drummer that imparts the style to the drums, not the other way around. The reason I mentioned different snares is because they are easily switched out. You are right in implying that certain snare tones work better for certain music. For instance I wouldn't want a deep and loose rock snare tone to play reggae with. I could however tune my deep rock snare really high and tight, and throw the snares off and get a passable reggae sound. So it's tuning skills matched to properly playing the song style, which is all the versatility of the drummer. It's just easier to switch snares since they are so easily switched. Toms aren't as easy to switch out and basically you're stuck with them. So you tune them to the genre of music you are playing, high and tight for jazz and reggae, deeper and looser for rock, etc.

Any drum will work for any style of music if the drummer tunes for the genre and plays the style authentically. The wood type doesn't dictate squat, the drummer does.
 
If you took Max Roach's round badge kit, tuned the way Max tunes them....and put John Bonham on them and had him play "Rock and Roll" ...they're going to sound like rock drums.

I cannot agree with this at all

sorry Lar

it's going to sound like John Bonham playing a kit tuned for bebop
 
But the style will be rock no matter how they're tuned.
 
When these types of topics come up, I always think if the famous drum trio performance of Weckl, Vinnie and Steve Gadd.

All three are playing Yamaha Recording Customs.

Weckl and Vinnie both have the exact same snare drum and exact same drum configuration. Gadd's set up is only slightly different in sizes.

Yet all three kits sound very different due to different heads and different turnings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6b_nBM-V8
 
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