George Way Drum Co. ?

Jeremy Bender

Platinum Member
Anyone own or play these? The more I learn about these kits and listen to them the more impressed I get. Here's an example of the walnut shells in what appears to be a bedroom with just a few mics. Pretty nice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRvT_fzqoF8
 
George Way was truly a master builder. He has past away as we know but his legacy lives on.
 
George way drums were bought out by Camco in the late 50's, but Ron Dunnett bought the name and the tooling for the "Tuxedo" style lugs and other hardware about 5 tears ago ,I believe the kit in the vid is a Dunnett George Way kit.

Great sounding drums from that video IMO.
 
George way drums are very high build quality, as they are made by Ron Dunnett. They have a very classic, resonant, full bodied sound, and I would put them in the catagory of C&C drums.
 
Wowee! Those drums sound fantastic, don't they? George obviously knows the Way to build drums.

The real star of that video, though, is the drummer. I can't imagine a better drum part to that song. I think this is the first time I've ever used the word "sensitive" to describe a drum part, but there you go. Ace job.

One question, though. From where in the heck cometh this "trend" toward leaving wingnuts off the cymbal stands? I'm seeing it more and more - it's "strongly trending" on internet videos.

Monkey see . . . .

GeeDeeEmm
 
Talk to member mendozart here on DW. He was a representative for the George Way drums at NAMM. I saw a kit he had there that they used for a Canadian Led Zeppelin party, and it was awesome. If I had the money I would've bought that kit on the spot!
 
I like this video better, simply because there's less overt processing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-3lQFvtWmo

Ronn's done a great job on these. Go light on hardware, choose an appropriate shell, & this is what you get. A classic case of intelligent design focus results as opposed to marketing lead features - & you can hear the difference. I'd buy one :)

Lightweight constructions bring their own vibe to the party, & open up a world of possibilities that heavier (standard) drum constructions can't get to. The George Way set's offer a great quality & economical opening into that sonic world. We take that a lot further with In-Tense, & even further with Origin series, but the cost of that extra journey is substantial. There's some great design out there too if you really want to major on simplicity & low mass. Try this kit from Finnish builder Wacco for example :)
 

Attachments

  • wacco.jpg
    wacco.jpg
    60.2 KB · Views: 1,179
Last edited by a moderator:
Andy the idea of the thinner shell resonance always intrigues me, all things being equal (construction method, shell thickness, hardware mass etc...) how would you describe the sound characteristics e.g. tone color, response, dynamic range- of maple vs walnut vs mahogany?
 
Dunnett's Geo. Way drums are a real treat. Great warmth & boom, and they sing at a more 'jazz' tuning. I have 4 of the snares including a lovely 6.5x14" steambent maple. :)

Bermuda
 
Nice sounding and looking set. To my knowledge these drums are now made in southern British Columbia.
Good to see George Way's name live on, and labelled on a drum kit. He was an innovator, and his designs and efforts were ripped off or mistreated in 'partnership' with folks at Camco and Rogers.

http://www.waydrums.com/history.htm
 
Andy the idea of the thinner shell resonance always intrigues me, all things being equal (construction method, shell thickness, hardware mass etc...) how would you describe the sound characteristics e.g. tone color, response, dynamic range- of maple vs walnut vs mahogany?
Thanks for asking such a simple to answer question Jeremy - NOT!!! ;) ;) ;)

All things being equal, so as not to derail this thread, here's the abridged version using your categories:

Maple:
Tone colour = fairly bright highs, pronounced midrange, balanced lows, medium length note.
Response = that's a construction issue.
Dynamic range = broad, but hugely influenced by other factors

Walnut:
Tone colour = muted highs, balanced midrange, enhanced lows - short length note.
Response = that's a construction issue.
Dynamic range = medium, but hugely influenced by other factors

Mahogany (African):
Tone colour = balanced - slightly muted highs, balanced upper midrange, enhanced lower midrange & upper lows, balanced lows, medium length note.
Response = that's a construction issue.
Dynamic range = broad but hugely influenced by other factors

Hope that helps :)

Back to Ronn's excellent drums please.
 
"Back to Ronn's excellent drums please."

Thanks for the quick and thorough response Andy. The reason I'm wondering is if I place an order for one of Ronn's kits, I want to make certain I get the sound I'm searching for (somewhere between maple and mahogany I reckon).

Ronn's George Way drums along with C&C Custom are some of the best kits I've heard on this side of the Atlantic. IMHO :)
 
Talk to member mendozart here on DW. He was a representative for the George Way drums at NAMM. I saw a kit he had there that they used for a Canadian Led Zeppelin party, and it was awesome. If I had the money I would've bought that kit on the spot!

I did help out Ronn this year at the NAMM show, as he hurt his back and was unable to attend. I did get a good, up-close look at these drums and they are very impressive. Carter McClean is a great, tasteful drummer, who has some great vids on YouTube, showcasing the George Way drums.
 
All things being equal, so as not to derail this thread, here's the abridged version using your categories:

Back to Ronn's excellent drums please.

I recall a tone-wood chart somewhere in one of my luthier books. I'll try to dig it out to see if it's similar to how tone-woods apply to drum shells. I imagine there are both similarities and differences, especially considering I haven't encountered a spruce drum set yet.

I checked google and found something similar, but simpler (less detailed) than the one I remember. I'll raid my attic tomorrow.
 

Attachments

  • taylorwoodcurves_zps983cf322.jpg
    taylorwoodcurves_zps983cf322.jpg
    56.1 KB · Views: 4,412
"Back to Ronn's excellent drums please."

Thanks for the quick and thorough response Andy. The reason I'm wondering is if I place an order for one of Ronn's kits, I want to make certain I get the sound I'm searching for (somewhere between maple and mahogany I reckon).

Ronn's George Way drums along with C&C Custom are some of the best kits I've heard on this side of the Atlantic. IMHO :)
Happy to help. Both makes you highlight have produced focussed designs within their range of drums. Such design focus always delivers a more distinctive & coherent result IMO. Good luck with your choice :)

I'll try to dig it out to see if it's similar to how tone-woods apply to drum shells. I imagine there are both similarities and differences,
Similarities & differences indeed between guitar & drums, not least of all, structurally.

Note the comment on inclusion of the dotted lines in the chart. Something that applies very much more to solid shells than it does to ply shells :)
 
George way drums were bought out by Camco in the late 50's, but Ron Dunnett bought the name and the tooling for the "Tuxedo" style lugs and other hardware about 5 tears ago ,I believe the kit in the vid is a Dunnett George Way kit.

Great sounding drums from that video IMO.

For the record,George was an innovator,but a lousy business man.Camco,at the time,was a hardware manufacturer,and didn't make drums.There was a hostile take over of the George Way drum company by Camco,so Camco really didn't buy him out so to speak.George was also promply handed his hat,and shown the door.

Steve B
 
I've seen some grumblings that these kits are in-fact made in APAC, and not in Canada as the badge would imply. There appear to be a number of ban-hammer incidents on Ron's forum when people ask about or imply the geographic origin of the drums...

Does anyone have the low-down on this (for real and not speculation)?
 
Back
Top