Growing Region: Eastern United States and southeast Canada.

Availability: Endangered. Butternut is seriously threatened by overharvesting and disease. As much as 80% of Butternut trees have been lost in some areas. Our drum is made from 100% salvaged wood.

Weight/Hardness/Density: Butternut weighs 3.5 pounds per board foot, maple weighs 3.4 pounds per board foot, and walnut matches its close relative at 3.5 pounds per board foot. Our butternut weighed less than this. There is variation between trees, and these numbers are an average.

Cost: Slightly more than maple. Prices will vary because of the difficulty in obtaining butternut, and will also vary with the quality of the wood.

Habitat concerns: Butternut canker is an introduced disease, which has greatly damaged the population of this tree. It is caused by the fungus Sirococcus Clavigigenti-Juglandacearum. The infection gains entry to the tree through scars such as insect wounds. This kills the bark in the infected area, which can encircle the tree cutting off the trees source of food and water. The fungus can be spread on the tree by rainfall carrying it further down the tree, allowing more damage to be done to the tree. There has been a loss of up to 80% of the trees in many areas.

Comments: Butternut trees can reach a height of 40 to 60 feet and a diameter of two feet. The occasional giant can reach a height of 100 feet. The wood is popular among wood carvers. The nuts have a buttery flavor, which is where the name Butternut comes from. Native Americans used the nut as a source of food, and used boiled tree sap to make syrup. The nut is a good food source for wildlife as well. The husks of the nut are used to make a yellowish dye. The color Butternut refers to a light-yellow brown. US confederate soldiers in the Civil War were referred to as “Butternuts” because of the yellow-brown color of their uniforms.

Timbre/Tonal Color: Butternut has a lower fundamental pitch than our maple comparison drum. The principle note is similar in length to maple, but the butternut is softer sounding. . Overall, the butternut does has more tonal spice and flavor than maple

Dynamic Range : There is a change around mp (medium soft volume) and again at f (loud volume) with more body being added. When the drum reaches ff (very loud) the note dies out and spreads.

Tonal Range : Butternut has a small sweet spot. There were several tonal zones on the drum as you move from center toward the rim. Each “zone” has more over ring, but the note remains consistent.

Tuning Range: The tuning range is smaller than on maple. The drum did not go as low or as tight before choking.

Resonance/Decay: Very similar to our maple comparison drum.

Cross Stick: Cross stick is lower in pitch than maple, with a very similar size to the usable area, and the stick location. Neither the maple nor the butternut cross stick was very impressive. We have done many drums over the past several years and had some great sounding cross stick sounds. This was not one of those great sounding cross-sticks. The rim shot sound has more spread than maple, but it is not as pingy with over ring.

Volume: The volume is similar to our maple comparison drum, but does not have the bright edge that maple does.

Sensitivity: Good. No problems with either drum.

Feel: Very smooth feeling without the brittle feel that maple sometimes has.

Comments: We had VERY high expectations for Butternut, considering how much we like walnut. We think one reason this drum did not perform up to those expectations is that it was lighter, and thus not as hard as most butternut. RB said “tonally I like the warmer tone of the drum with wires off, but with the wires on that tone shifted and I preferred the maple drum sound”.

By Greg Gaylord & Robert “Tree Hugger” Bowler.