Any chance of maple staves alternating with poplar/gum, just cuz you can?
Andy has stated in the past that he prefers to not mix woods. Which doesn't explain the ash/ovangkol drums. So maybe I got that wrong?
Guys, the reason I prefer not to mix wood species is that it diminishes the prominence of the fundamental, & that detracts from it's species distinction IMO. In ply construction, it's not such a big deal, because the fundamental attributed to the timber species is already somewhat diminished. TBH, grain direction & mass has by far the bigger affect on the sonic response of a ply shell than timber species ever will.
We do make an exception in our range as Larry points out. We add a
small amount of ovangkol to our English ash & beech drums, simply to bring a degree of complexity to the midrange. Both beech & English ash are extremely balanced species.
This be why maple is the staple in the shell world.
Yes, maple has a very pronounced lower midrange "bump" in the spectrum that aids distinction & what's commonly referred to as "warmth". That said, the sheer power of these drums is much more to do with other aspects of the design, allied to the greater resonance from a solid shell. A 10mm thick ply shell is close to sonically dead. Not so a solid shell.
These drums are deliberately short voiced, yet it's the resonance that delivers all that tone. In fact, they're a perfect example of the disconnection between resonance & head sustain. Most won't put highly resonant & focussed in the same sentence, but that's exactly what these drums are. They like being spanked hard, & never choke out dynamically