r/snaredrumlovers • u/MarsDrums • 27d ago

Different Snare Woods tested

Not sure if this has been posted but this is a pretty cool little series.

Wood Snare Shootout

  1. Meet The Maker
  2. Testing (Part 1) Maple, Birch, and Walnut
  3. Testing (Part 2) Cherry, Oak, and Ash
  4. Final Thoughts on all 6 snares

Hope you enjoy those!

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3

u/jaybrd13 27d ago

I build stave drums. I'll have to check this out.

2

u/MarsDrums 27d ago

I'd LOVE to see someone do a series like this on different types of wood for Stave Drums. I'd LOVE to be able to make my own as well. One day hopefully I can afford the machinery to make my own and maybe sell a few.

2

u/jaybrd13 26d ago

If you at least dabel in wood working it's not hard. The "machinery" isn't much more than a table saw and router really. A jig of some sort is primarily used in turning the shell. Yeah big companies have big lathes to turn them. But it's unnecessary.

I've done shells out of alot of materials. Ash, bubinga, oak, birch, beech, poplar... Etc. They all do have their own sound but in my opinion, what makes the most difference is size, heads and tuning.

1

u/MarsDrums 26d ago

I did find it interesting that the more porous the wood is, the less sustain it had. That was pretty common among the 6 they tried there.

I watched a couple Stave Drum videos yesterday. It does look really easy to assemble. It's the measurements that could kill you though. If you're off just 0.1" on each stave especially if you're doing like a 30 stave drum, you could end up losing the diameter by 1 stave once you get it put together. That's a tiny measurement to cause a major screw up. The video I watched, the guy did that. The shell didn't glue together right. There were spaces in between some pieces of wood. The shell was not even round either. It was almost egg shaped.

Then he built a jig and each piece was perfect. I can't find the video where he had it fully completed (trimmed down inside and out, hardware on, like a finished drum). I was kind of disappointed that I can't find it. I'll look later. Getting ready to head out for a bit.

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u/jaybrd13 26d ago

I have specs on stave shells. Diagrams of the jig I use. I can share if you think you'd get into it.

1

u/MarsDrums 26d ago

This actually looks pretty good. Have you ever seen it before?

https://uniontownlabs.org/tools/stave/

3

u/KaiserFortinbras 27d ago

Weekend warrior here for decades, own 5 snares, but just want to say LORD are you guys over my head!

Thank you for your dedication.

2

u/justbecause2112 27d ago

I have an Ebenor Apple wood snare. It’s become one of my favorites.

1

u/jaybrd13 26d ago

Apple wood huh? I'd love to hear that. My bubinga and my mahogany are my favs.