Theoretical Drum Materials

Make an entire kit out of the material used for drum heads XD
 
About a month or so ago, I was bored during church and started writing down materials that I thought could possibly be used to make drum shells, of varying possible quality and sound palette. Here are some:

Cherry
Walnut
Bamboo
Hickory
Pine
Plastic(or resin, whatever)

Since I haven't actually heard a lot of these or even seen some of them, I don't know precisely what they would sound like. So, here is the place to discuss the sounds and give new material ideas.

Beyond the materials, you also need to look at construction methods. A natural whole wood shell is going to sound different from a stave shell, a steambent shell and a plywood shell.

There are some photos of a glass drumset here somewhere, as well as a set made of ice. I've heard fiberglass drums before and they sound stunning. Some people around here are also into carbon fiber shells. Paiste made a set from cymbal bronze.
 
I'd like to hear a drum carved from a whalebone.
With the skin of this guy who owes me $1700.00 as the drumhead.
Personally removed by me.

Wow! Whalebone! Remember in Moby Dick how Captain Ahab had a rain coat made from the foreskin of a whale? That would be a conversation piece! Whale skin would probably be too thick to use for any drum, though.

Tibetans play drums made of human skulls. I have a drum with a fish skin head.

What are some of the craziest things you could make drums and drum heads with? Cast iron drums would be outrageous, but impossible to move. They'd be like piano, just having to stay in one room all the time. But I would like to hear them.
 
My first thought was carbon firbe yet am sure someone tried that. How about Aerogel or carbon aerogel? Remember when they tried 'pure' aerogel for loudspeaker drivers and it was not good sounding is that application, yet as a 'single' tonal pitch drum (with timbre/harmonics/resonant) it may work. Ahh, just went to Wiki, may not be a good idea...

"Due to its hygroscopic nature, aerogel feels dry and acts as a strong desiccant. Persons handling aerogel for extended periods should wear gloves to prevent the appearance of dry brittle spots on their skin."

Matbe it brings new meaning to Spinal Tap:

NIGEL: Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! No one...no one...no! Don’t touch it.
MARTY: Well uh I wasn’t...uh I wasn’t gonna touch it...I was just pointing at it...I....
NIGEL: Well don’t point, even.
MARTY: Don’t even point?
NIGEL: No. It can’t be played...never...I mean I....
MARTY: Can I look at it?
NIGEL: No.
MARTY: Don’t look at it.
 
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nope on that too lol, lexan will instantly start bubbling and separting if you heat it.


I think a seamless lexan shell would have to be formed in a springform mold
 
How about PVC pipe? Anyone try to make octobans out of 6" pvc pipe before?
 
So lexan (of a certain thickness) is bulletproof, but it sounds like you can put a hot poker through it?
 
So lexan (of a certain thickness) is bulletproof, but it sounds like you can put a hot poker through it?

For lexan to be bulletproof it would have to be of a thickness so great that constructing a drumshell out of it at that thickness would probably be impractical. A hot poker will go through it but the immediate area around the hole would bubble up (My idiot cooking staff at my restaurant constantly ruin lexan pans by microwaving them. The lexan itself is microwave safe, but the contents get to boiling point and then the pans bubble up and crack). We use drills to bore holes in the lexan pan tops so we can hang them. Again, i think a lexan seamless drum shell would be possible by forming it in a mold.
 
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For lexan to be bulletproof it would have to be of a thickness so great that constructing a drumshell out of it at that thickness would probably be impractical. A hot poker will go through it but the immediate area around the hole would bubble up (My idiot cooking staff at my restaurant constantly ruin lexan pans by microwaving them. The lexan itself is microwave safe, but the contents get to boing point and then the pans bubble up and crack). We use drills to bore holes in the lexan pan tops so we can hang them. Again, i think a lexan seamless drum shell would be possible by forming it in a mold.

A springform mold? That sounds practically like melting it into a shell form, if heating it up entirely and pressing it into a mold is what's happening.
 
How about PVC pipe? Anyone try to make octobans out of 6" pvc pipe before?


The Blue Man Group has per se. No heads, the 'mallets' hit the holes and thus sending air in such a way the initial strike makes the PVC tube's tone occur. Actually what they did is more akin to a PVC marimba/xylophone. Have played it, it is interesting. i see no reason why the same concept could not be done with a drumhead on top. Just figure out the resonance of the PVC tube and cut to length per the dominating note/tone you want. Remember you'll need to cut the top of the PVC for where the head touches the PVC, many angles and styles to choose from.
 
The Blue man group makes those PVC "drums" telescopic so they can be have pitch changes, I would like to see a telescopic drum set.

Drums made out of recycled cymbals...Danny Carey had a set of those.

Plexiglass, Ginger Baker crafted a kit out of it.

I wonder what ceramic-shelled drums would sound like?
 
Ceramic is good. A kit would be heavy and very breakable, though.

I'm still waiting for inflatable drum sets (complete with puncture kit) to hit the market. That would be nice for storage and lugging.
 
A springform mold? That sounds practically like melting it into a shell form, if heating it up entirely and pressing it into a mold is what's happening.

Lexan isn't heated when it is molded. It's created by a chemical reaction of 2 compounds, bisphenol-a and phosgene. When it hardens the result is a durable polycarbonate (brand name is Lexan). What i suggested is a drum shell shaped mold that you can pour the 2 constituents into. After the reaction, it would be convenient if said mold just seperated by a hinge, like a springform cake pan. The Lexan doesn't stick to anything so it would be a snap and the result would be polycarbonate in the shape of a drum shell, ready for drilling (the edge could probably just be molded).
 
Ceramic is good. A kit would be heavy and very breakable, though.

I'm still waiting for inflatable drum sets (complete with puncture kit) to hit the market. That would be nice for storage and lugging.


Seek and ye shall find.
 

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And for those OutBack Drum Circles.
 

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I wonder what ceramic-shelled drums would sound like?

Probably very interesting yet as mentioned, also a bit fragile. On a kinda related note, Peter Gabriel uses ceramic piping in his larger/main studio's hallways/piano room/etc as he said the 'sound' of the ceramic pipes was better. Peter, King Crimson and others have used this space for recordings. Nice studio called RealWorld and good people.

Nice French press coffee served too...

Anywho, wrote about it at www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/music/realworld/
 
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