SoundLab No. 2: Drum Solo Walnut Segment-Shell Drum Set
by Brad Schlueter (Drum! Issue # 106 | April 2005)

Spare No EXpense! Greg Gaylord has been making drums since 1991, and has quickly earned the reputation of being one of the finest and most uncompromising custom drum makers in the States. These drums differ in many ways from those of every , other small drum manufacturer. Most small companies don't make their own shells, usually opting to buy them from Keller produces, Inc. While Keller makes excellent shells, there is an unavoidable similarity among many small companies' drums. Drum Solo is different. Gaylord uses a variety of exotic woods to create his drums, including familiar species like hickon', walnut, purple heart, apple, birch, cherry, and maple. He also uses many woods I've never heard of, like wenge, Ankle kok, narrah, granadillo, and jotoba. Each has different sound characteristics.

Gaylord is extremely environmentally conscious about the source of the wood his drums are trade from, and prefers to use salvaged, reclaimed, and Forest-Stewardship-Council-(FSC) certified woods. The kit for this review was constructed from a salvaged Claro walnut tree located a couple of hours from him, which was old and dying, and had to be cut down for safety reasons.

Most custom drum makers either buy stock lugs, or have their lugs made for them. Since Gaylord worked for many years as a machinist, he manufactures and even polishes his own tube-brass lugs. I le even applies the shells' lacquer finishes himself, and feels hands-on craftsmanship is the best way to make a superb musical instrument. His company's name, Drum Solo, is a subtle reference to the personal attention he gives to every drum he makes.

Construction. There arc four commonly used methods to construct wooden drum shells. These include multiple-ply, single­ply, stave, and segment-shell manufacturing methods. The most common wood shells are multiple-ply (plywood) drurns.

Almost all of Keller's shells, and those made by the large drum companies, are made from multiple veneers of wood glued together. The presumed disadvantage with this construction method is the large amount of glue used between each ply. An 8-ply drum shell has seven layers of adhesive between each sheet of wood. According to Gaylord, adhesive doesn't resonate; it absorbs high frequencies, and dampens shell response.

Single-ply shells are made from a single piece of wood, often steam bent into a circle, and then glued at the seam. "These shells have the unfortunate tendency to go out of round over time. Reinforcing rings are often used to help keep them circular, but these rings also dampen resonance, and raise a shell's pitch.

Stave-constructed drums are made a bit like a wine barrel, with planks of wood aligned and glued vertically. This method is commonly used in the construction of congas. The advantage is that it results in a resonant shell, with much less glue used than in multiple-ply shells. It also allows for the use of several different woods in a shell. These can be used to blend the sonic attributes of each wood, while resulting in an attractive vertically striped drum.

Though Drum Solo offers multiple-ply shells from maple, birch and maple/gum (i.e., Jasper's Gretsch shells), Gaylord favors the final method, segment-shell construction. With this method, the drum shell is built like a brick wall, with overlapping horizontal blocks of wood glued to forth a very resonant and strong shell. The shells have a butcher block look. Compared to a typical multiple­ply snare shell, which according to Gaylord's calculations can use over 1,960 square inches of adhesive, his segmented shells use only 22 square inches of adhesive for the same size drum. This type of construction can combine woods unavailable in plywood shells to result in a specific sound or look. Both stave- and segment-shell drums tend to have relatively thick shells compared to plywood-shell drums, which usually results in a higher shell pitch.

What I Got . The kit sent for review was a tour-piece segment-shell drum set made from Claro walnut, finished in a waterborne glossy topcoat that is very hard, yet reveals the color and grain of the wood underneath. Its impossible to overstate the beauty of these shells. Time and attention was given to alternate the grain patterns of each rich walnut segment, resulting in a striking drum that always seemed to grab the light in interesting ways. This is a truly stunning, obviously high­end kit.

The kit featured a 22" x 18" bass drum, a 12" x 8" mounted tom, and a 16" x 16" floor tom. The 14" x 7" snare had a slightly different

shell composition from the rest of the kit - a Claro walnut and cherry combination segment shell. It too was incredibly gorgeous, with dark walnut bands on the top, bottom, and middle of the shell that alternated with two lighter bands of cherry. Wow!

Features. The bass drum featured matching snood hoops, short chrome-plated brass tube lugs, and retractable spurs. The 20 tension rods are drum-key operated, and not T -handle style rods. Unfortunately, the chrome-hoop butterfly-style claws don't have rubber gaskets. I'd prefer die-cast hoop claws with gaskets to help protect the hoops from gouging and wear, though the look of a modern die-cast claw with a classic tube lug may have been an aesthetic concern. There is a rubber pad to protect the hoop from your bass drum pc(Ld. The kick's shell was 1/2" thick, and as you might expect, is a bit heavy.

The toms and snares have Delrin washers, though the bass drum had metal washers. The floor tom has steel hoops, hinged leg mounts, and memory locks. The 12" x 8" tom has a black powder-coated RIMS mount. Both toms were 3/8" thick and have 4j-degree bearing edges.

Tile eight-lug snare has 2.3mm steel hoops, small double-sided tube lugs that attach to the shell at two points, PureSound snare wires, and features the Trick 007 strainer. I love this sturdy custom throw-off. It's smooth, quiet, and unlike some, apparently unbreakable.

Solid brass tube lugs are quieter than swivel-nut designs, which can be all advantage in the studio. Gaylord feels that since brass is a musical metal, its overtones may subtly enhance the sound of the drums. The lugs are well made, have an appealing classic look, and operate smoothly. The engraved chronic­plated badges are mounted unlike any others I've seen; they are attached so they float just above the shell's surface, to both minimize shell contact and enhance tone. Is this meticulous attention to detail or overkill? Who knows, but its probably better to err on the side of excess.

Sound. The 22" x 18" bass drum is a great rock kick drum. It has a deep pitch, with ample attack and short sustain. I wouldn't hesitate to use this drum in any style except perhaps jazz - it's just too big sounding for anything but a big band gig. In that application. I'd change heads to something with a bit more hang time. As it is, the drum would record well for rock, pop, funk, or metal, anti might not require a noise gate with the supplied head combination (see Details, Details).

The beefy 14" x 7" snare has a full and woody tone, and won't ever Ile mistaken for a metal mare. It was on the dry side, especially when tuned up and hit dead center. Tuned lower, it would work perfectly on a ballad. The drum was sensitive from edge to center without being too crisp. The tonal change from edge to center was dramatic. It was dry near the center, but lively with lots of harmonics singing when played near the edge. Rimshots were loud and cutting without too much ring. Rim-clicks were the same with a bright and woody tone. The drum was forgiving of a slightly misplaced stick and delivered a very usable tone within an inch or so of the best spot.

The 12" x 8" tom can work as either a high-pitched jazz or reggae tom or, tuned down, had a great full tone with great sustain. As it decayed the tone remained remarkably the same (sonic toms have a faint yowl sound as they decay). The tuning range was pretty wide too, and it could go fairly low for a drum its size and maintain its tone. 1 noticed that the sound was somewhat directional, and the tone sounded its fullest directly over the drum.

At first, the 16" x 16" floor tom troubled me. I kept getting a boingy sound with lots of attack and not enough tone. I tried a number of different tunings, and eventually switched the supplied head to a clear Remo Ambassador, which worked much better. The drum had lots of attack, and a relatively short amount of sustain for a floor torn. The tone seemed even more directional than the small tom, also sounding its fullest and richest directly over tile head. That might have something to do with the relatively , thick shell or its segment construction. It should work very well with a microphone in the studio.

The Verdict. . The only downside of getting this assignment was that the drums were so nice. l was atraid to take them out of my house for fear of damaging them. If I owned them, I'd get over that. It turns out this is going to he Gaylord's personal kit. The only remotely negative thing 1 earl think of is that Drum Solo drums may be guilty of excessively high standards, and ridiculous attention to detail. And unfortunately, this level of craftsmanship doesn't come cheaply. These drums make no compromises in design or finish. No matter how light hits them, they reflect a lively assortment of brown and golden hues. Of course, they sound good too. Not only arc these drums superb musical instruments, they are made in the most environmentally responsible manner possible. I only wish I could afford them.

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