articles & reviews

Advantages of Segment Shells
By Greg Gaylord (Music Market November1996)

When drummers see a segment shell for the first time, the reaction is almost always: "It sure is different." They are of course making reference to the six segment blocks which make up each layer of the drum shell.

Most of the drums on the market have a continuous, single form around the outside of the drum. This can be the outer ply of a multiple ply shell, the exterior of the popular single ply shell, or the metal of a rolled or cast metal drum.

The appearance of the segment shell is enough to make it unique, but as drummers, our first concern should be with the sound of the drum, not its appearance.

The principle determinant of sound in any drum is the material used for the shell. Just about any type of wood can be used in a segment shell, but hard woods are usually preferred for their sound qualities as well as their durability.

Hardwoods such as Rosewood, Wenge and Purpleheart are incredibly resonant woods. These woods make great sounding snare drums, which in my opinion also have a stunning appearance.

Segment shells are more resonant than most other shells. This is because there is less material on the drum to impede the resonance, or choke off the drum. Those of you who have insulated a house, or hung carpet in a practice space know that by doing this "insulating", you have decreased the amount of sound that escapes through the walls of your practice space. This insulating works fine for neighbors and practice spaces, but not for snare drums.

A cross section of a multiple ply snare drum will show many layers of "insulation ". The outside layer is wood, usually maple. The next layer is an adhesive, an epoxy of some type. This epoxy is NOT resonant. This is followed by another layer of wood, and then another layer of epoxy, and so on. All this "insulation" hinders the drum from vibrating freely.

There is some adhesive in a segment shell, but it is far less than the amount contained in even a single layer of a multiple ply shell. Because of the segment pattern used, the adhesive covers less than 22 square inches on a 5 x 14 drum that is 3/ 16 inch thick, using three layers of segments. The amount of adhesive on a multiple ply drum of the same size covers 1960 square inches! OUCH!

Single ply shells are popular in part because they do not have "Insulating" plies to hinder the vibration of the shell. The shell is able to vibrate as a unit, not as several different units. These drums have proven themselves over a long period of time to be both durable and great sounding. The always in demand Slingerland Radio King (the first Radio Kings came on the market in the late 1930's) is an example of this sought after sound.

These one-ply shells require reinforcement hoops to maintain shell roundness. This reinforcement hoop has the disadvantage of "choking" the drum.

Segment shells are also less expensive than one ply shells of the same material, and with the cost of wood, this 1. a definite factor. This cost factor allows the drummer to purchase a wood (in a segment drum), and thus a sound, that might other wise be cost prohibitive if it were a 1 ply shell.

One ply drums do sound good, but they do not have the resonance of a segment shell made of the same wood.

The body of sound in a segment shell is controlled by the thickness and depth of the shell. These drums naturally have a high fundamental pitch, so the sound is controlled by how thick and deep the shell is made. This allows the maker of the shell to pursue the desired sound by manipulating the type of wood, as well as the depth and thickness of the shell.

I suspect many of you are thinking that segment shells are not strong. I have heard of stave type snare drums "exploding", but I have not encountered this with any segment style shells.

The design pattern itself is very strong Next time you pass a brick building, look at how the bricks are stacked. It is the same as a segment shell. This pattern was used by ancient civilizations in constructing walls. So before you write off segment shells on an issue of strength, think about how well those ancient walls have held up.

I use a 6 x 14 cherry segment snare drum. The drum has a full, warm sounds, cuts through guitars very nicely, and held up with no problems. It is also the first things people notice about my set usually because of its unique appearance.

The bottom line is this if you are in the market for a new snare drum (or a set for that matter), segment shells are checking into. You may find yourself taking one home.

If you have any comments on segment shells or one ply shells, I would like to from you. You may contact me (more my answering machine) at (415) 898 2647.