Got me thinking about drums.
I hope someday to buy a set of Keller shells and do my own finish,
make a drilling jig for the hardware and build out my custom killer
set. I recently sold off my 7 piece Yamaha Custom black lacquer Maples
with a dozen Zildj cym's. I miss it. I think I need to work on my
dying skiils so I can do a cool sunburst type coloring like on a strat
when I build my own.
http://www.kelleratthecore.com/vintage_maple.html
If I ever go with Keller, it will be the vintage mahogany shells.
All those Keller maple shells sound the same, but I've great things
about the mahogany.
I've been making my own snare shells for snares, from staves.
I think you'd be surprised at how easy they are for a woodworker.
I'm staring on some solid wood hoops.
Some day, I'll end up getting a machinist's lathe and turning my own
lugs.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
My mid-eighties Gretsch kit (which has the coveted maple shells made by the
now-defunct
Jasper company, and for which Keller now has a nearly identical replacement) has
a complete
complement of rack toms (8x8, 10x8, 12x10, 13x11, 14x12, 15x13; I haven't used
them all at
the same time in years) and one 16x16 floor tom. I really like running a 10&12
rack and
14&16 floor tom configuration, but I don't have a proper 14x14 floor tom (which
I LOVE but
are IMPOSSIBLE to find) and neither the 14x12 or 15x13 rack toms are doing it
for me. For
quite some time now I've been seriously toying with the idea of getting a 14x14
shell from
Keller to make a complementary floor tom for that kit, but I've yet to take the
plunge. I'd
be looking at trying to match the "walnut" color on those shells and the smooth
lacquer
finish that Gretsch is famous for; methinks it will be a bit of a challenge in
more ways
than one.
BTW, you can see the kit in question here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/sets/72157603970680808 /
Yes, I have two examples of stave shell snares that I've made on my Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/sets/72157603974228673 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/sets/72157604599305593 /
I'm currently building a second kit that I can keep at home to practice on (I've
only just
had that one Gretsch kit for the past 25 years or so). I'm making it out of
Black Walnut
(not really my first choice, but I have a bunch of it that I don't know what to
do with)
using stave shell construction. Starting with a 20x15 kick that's all glued
together and
just about ready to go on the router-based turning jigs; the first jig cuts the
outer
surface down to a perfect cylinder, and the second jig trims the inner surface
to the
correct thickness with respect to the outer.
I heard that! Most of the lugs available from today's drum building supply
houses are
absolute crap. I'll probably spend the next few months on eBay trying to snag
enough
vintage Gretsch lugs to finally put the kit together...
--
What percentage of the driving populace do you suppose actually
understands the rules of engagement at a four-way stop?
Which rig, the turning jigs or the finished kit? :-)
Start drivin', man! If anything ever brings you to Austin you're certainly
welcome to stop by. In the meantime I'll see what I can do about getting some
pictures taken to document the process...
--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
Really beautiful kit and very well cared for.
Yes, big rack toms are the hardest piece to get a good tone. They are
often sour. Over the years I've had maybe 6 or 7 big kits, 7,8, 10 and
even one 12 piece monster. I am real good at finding deals and pretty
good at selling them again when I don't have space, etc. I think every
kit has had at least one sour big rack tom. I've had varying success
trying different types of heads, etc and I can usually flatten out the
bad overtones. They always record well, just sound sour from the
drummers seat.
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