which will you prefer and why? maple or birch wood?
- Thread starter jonah
- Start date
especially when it comes to acoustic guitars.maple focuses more on bass and low end, has more resonance, and longer sustain as compared to birch.
birch gives a faster decay and more attack.
however that said, the differences between the both are not much to fuss over. both woods can sound great.
i would get birch as it is cheaper, although maple is the standard.
birch gives a faster decay and more attack.
however that said, the differences between the both are not much to fuss over. both woods can sound great.
i would get birch as it is cheaper, although maple is the standard.
turbochicken
New member
really?
warm and mellow?
the maple i've tried are always bright and has lots of attack, for both guitars and drums.
warm and mellow?
the maple i've tried are always bright and has lots of attack, for both guitars and drums.
plainsman
New member
good call there.
shell plays only a part in the composition of the drum sound. the bearing edges, type of heads used, tuning, play as much, if not greater part of the final drum sound.
for plywood construction,
maple is thought of to be full-bodied sound across the spectrum.
birch, if assuming same number of plies & shell size, will have more pronounced highs and slightly reduced low.
for bearing edges, a badly cut edge will not allow the drum head to sit in properly. mid-range drum kit using select choice of good woods like birch & maple but with poorly cut bearing edge is such a waste of good wood!
one thing to note: if you've been playing on jamming studios drum kits, and lower end drum kits like pearl targets, forums, yamaha stage custom, tama stagestar/imperialstar etc. a mid-range kit of either birch or maple will instantly sound like a 'super' kit.
one regrettable thing is, there's not enough detailed reviews out there of better kits and more 'best practices' of reviewing a kit ie. testing the decibel level, frequency spectrum, qualitative (metrics-based) and subjective (intangible) analysis.
hopefully as the years go by, we can move in that direction! it will be a boon for musicians and consumers alike =)
personally, i'm always interested in the less-used woods: oak, african bubinga, walnut, beech, bamboo.
cheers
shell plays only a part in the composition of the drum sound. the bearing edges, type of heads used, tuning, play as much, if not greater part of the final drum sound.
for plywood construction,
maple is thought of to be full-bodied sound across the spectrum.
birch, if assuming same number of plies & shell size, will have more pronounced highs and slightly reduced low.
for bearing edges, a badly cut edge will not allow the drum head to sit in properly. mid-range drum kit using select choice of good woods like birch & maple but with poorly cut bearing edge is such a waste of good wood!
one thing to note: if you've been playing on jamming studios drum kits, and lower end drum kits like pearl targets, forums, yamaha stage custom, tama stagestar/imperialstar etc. a mid-range kit of either birch or maple will instantly sound like a 'super' kit.
one regrettable thing is, there's not enough detailed reviews out there of better kits and more 'best practices' of reviewing a kit ie. testing the decibel level, frequency spectrum, qualitative (metrics-based) and subjective (intangible) analysis.
hopefully as the years go by, we can move in that direction! it will be a boon for musicians and consumers alike =)
personally, i'm always interested in the less-used woods: oak, african bubinga, walnut, beech, bamboo.
cheers
Composer of Requiems
New member
@Plainsman~
I really agree a lot with that! There's really so many factors that're involved. I've heard that poplar can make really good drumsets if well crafted.
And I'm pretty sure the bearing edge and skin selection and tuning and drumstick choice and all, and the rooms and probably even the positioning of the drums can affect the tone more than wood selection. When I hit my crash, I hear a resonance from one of my toms.
It's not to say that there isn't much difference between low end and high end kits, but sometimes the focus might be in the wrong place.
That said, when it's really a contrast, there IS a difference in material. My snares are both the same size, but the steel has quite noticeably more ring than the maple. And my dream kit is in bubinga.
Some time back I was thinking of doing such a qualitative test. But I realized that because of the HUGE amount of factors, it'll be quite impossible. And most of the results won't really mean much to drummers out there. The most valid, I guess, is the frequency spectrum, and then we'll have to do it again with all the various thicknesses and bearing edges and all to make it worthwhile. And even when you've gotten that, you'll have to consider the acoustics that determines how the sound is projected outwards.
Maybe one day someone rich will get a large, acoustically dry room, custom-make drumsets of all the different materials in every different size, thickness, edge, and so on, and get the highest-end mikes possible and we can finally get nice results.
I really agree a lot with that! There's really so many factors that're involved. I've heard that poplar can make really good drumsets if well crafted.
And I'm pretty sure the bearing edge and skin selection and tuning and drumstick choice and all, and the rooms and probably even the positioning of the drums can affect the tone more than wood selection. When I hit my crash, I hear a resonance from one of my toms.
It's not to say that there isn't much difference between low end and high end kits, but sometimes the focus might be in the wrong place.
That said, when it's really a contrast, there IS a difference in material. My snares are both the same size, but the steel has quite noticeably more ring than the maple. And my dream kit is in bubinga.
Some time back I was thinking of doing such a qualitative test. But I realized that because of the HUGE amount of factors, it'll be quite impossible. And most of the results won't really mean much to drummers out there. The most valid, I guess, is the frequency spectrum, and then we'll have to do it again with all the various thicknesses and bearing edges and all to make it worthwhile. And even when you've gotten that, you'll have to consider the acoustics that determines how the sound is projected outwards.
Maybe one day someone rich will get a large, acoustically dry room, custom-make drumsets of all the different materials in every different size, thickness, edge, and so on, and get the highest-end mikes possible and we can finally get nice results.
plainsman
New member
hehe, composer... properly-tuned poplar shells remind me of joe morello's sound on dave brubeck days...
i'm thinking more in terms of a community, rather than one rich & free guy doing all the work.
after all its more fun when more get involved too, don't you think?
and, many hands make quick work.
it is also likely to be more open & less biased, since opinions will be coming from everywhere & everyone.
we may have a ton of reviews before we know it.
if any one of you's feeling inspired, just whack it & post something up! am sure it will inspire someone else to consider or do something too =)
i'm thinking more in terms of a community, rather than one rich & free guy doing all the work.
after all its more fun when more get involved too, don't you think?
and, many hands make quick work.
it is also likely to be more open & less biased, since opinions will be coming from everywhere & everyone.
we may have a ton of reviews before we know it.
if any one of you's feeling inspired, just whack it & post something up! am sure it will inspire someone else to consider or do something too =)
Composer of Requiems
New member
But we all already have people posting their descriptions of how they hear various sounds all over the internet!
One thing we could try, though, is finding somewhere to get recordings from everyone, then fish out the frequency charts.
Last year I was making recordings with decent laptop recorders and Audacity, then using some freeware to get out frequency charts. I'm not home now, but if I remember, I could fish them out. It was comparing my thick maple warlord valkyrie with my thin poplar tom with a violin. Not a very good comparison but it was just to prove some points.
One thing we could try, though, is finding somewhere to get recordings from everyone, then fish out the frequency charts.
Last year I was making recordings with decent laptop recorders and Audacity, then using some freeware to get out frequency charts. I'm not home now, but if I remember, I could fish them out. It was comparing my thick maple warlord valkyrie with my thin poplar tom with a violin. Not a very good comparison but it was just to prove some points.
