Choosing the Wood
I had a pretty solid idea of how I wanted the drum kit to sound. I was looking for a wood type that would complement the different styles of music I play; something as diverse as possible and easy to tune accordingly. Jeff is a wood connoisseur and used a dizzying array of adjectives to explain how each wood, with its unique features, will produce its respective sound. He also made sure that I would be happy with the appearance of the wood as it aged.
I was familiar with many of the standard drum wood types used including Birch, Maple, Bubinga, and Mahogany. However, Jeff broke out his arsenal of available wood types to convey each of their audible and aesthetic qualities; the end result for my kit was Cherry wood. I was immediately sold on how he could build my kit from scratch, using a batch of timber from the same tree. There’s a security in knowing exactly how my future kit was going to sound and look, and how each drum would descend from the same “litter”…
Unbeknownst to me, Jeff already had the sizes of my kit figured out. Well, at least the depths. He proposed a theory of how using prime number dimensions were going to allow for the easiest tuning during live/studio sessions by limiting overtones and permitting a much more manageable tuning range. At this point I was along for the ride and really curious as to how my odd sized shells would perform once everything was said and done. The outcome: amazing; we’ll get there soon enough though.
Building
Finishing
