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Additional Information
To craft the finest drums in the world takes more than a just a
commitment to quality, innovation and the art of drumming itself. More
than anything else, it takes a passion for creating drums as sonically
distinctive and visually unique as the drummers who play them.
Featuring American Rock Maple logs grown in the forests of the
Northeastern United States and Heartwood Birch logs carefully selected
for their exotic appearance, each drum kit is a work of art begun by
nature and hand-finished by DW.
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DW craftsmen begin forming the drum shell by laying up
two to three plies of thin wood veneer that are cut to DW’s
specifications from select maple or birch logs on site at the mill. Each
ply is placed in cross-grained directions, adding strength and stability
to the shell. The strength, consistency, thickness and roundness of the
shell, along with the type of wood used, are the prime factors in
determining the quality of sound the shell will produce. Once the
plywood has been heat pressed under extreme pressure
each lay-up is then trimmed to the exact length required to form the
specified diameter of the drum shell with no gaps or overlaps in the
seams. The craftsman then applies a thin layer of specially formulated
adhesive to both sides of the core plies and hand rolls the shell,
staggering the seams for strength before they are placed in a
diameter-specific circular press. A combination of
heat and pressure forms the wood into a round, consistent and uniform
drum shell.
Thin maple reinforcing hoops are then added to the top and bottom of the
shells, and the shell is once again pressure heated to secure the hoops.
While thin-shelled drums have a deep, warm tone, the addition of
reinforcing hoops helps increase the strength of the shell at the point
of greatest tension and raises the pitch of the shell to increase its
articulation and projection. DW reinforcing hoops are graduated so that
their depth increases as the shell’s diameter increases.
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Once the shell is completed, a master drum technician
begins the TimbreMatching™ process by tapping the shell to hear its
fundamental pitch at the point where the shell resonates most freely
. With the basic pitch of the shell determined,
a “family” of snare drum, tom-tom and bass drum shells are chosen to
fill the high, middle and low positions in the kit’s frequency spectrum.
Each TimbreMatched™ set of drums assures minimization of pitch overlaps
and maintains the desired intervallic relationships. The shells are also
inspected for consistency and richness of grain. Just before final
assembly, a digital tuner is used to find the exact note-value of each
shell. The note is stamped on the inside of each shell, indicating the
drum’s tuning “sweet spot” and later becoming a convenient reference
point for tuning. The kit is then labelled so that its individual drums
will remain together from this point on.
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Following TimbreMatching™, one of the five different types of DW
Drum finishes is applied to create the custom look and maintain the
custom sound that have made DW Drums famous. Each of these five styles,
FinishPly™, Satin Oil, Lacquer, Exotic Lacquer and Lacquer Graphics has
been developed to provide drummers with the widest variety of finish
choices available, while at the same time protecting the shell and
providing the stunning appearance that is synonymous with a DW drum.
FinishPly™ finishes have become a very popular Collector’s Series®
finish option due to the durability of the laminate and proprietary
manufacturing techniques that insure the drums achieve DW’s superior
tonal characteristics. Satin Oil drums are an excellent choice for
studio applications. They are hand-sanded to smooth the surface and
enhance the wood grain,and are then given a
vintage-style, low-lustre treatment that is applied by hand to color,
seal and protect the wood. Whether Exotic, solid, stain Specialty or
Graphics, Lacquer finishes remain a staple finish choice for many of the
world’s top players. Lacquer can require over a dozen separate steps
that include staining, spraying, sanding and buffing, depending on the
color and transparency desired. Following the
completion of spraying and sanding, the shell is buffed to a mirror-like
gloss using a combination of hand and patented machine buffing
techniques. For Exotic Lacquer finishes, a veneer
of rare highly figured wood is cut to size and used as the outer ply of
the outside lay-up during shell creation. For Graphics, the drums are
custom airbrushed in one of five available Graphics finishes. Regardless
of the finish selected, all DW Collector’s Series® drums pose the same
quality construction and superior sound that have made DW The Drummer’s
Choice® for decades.
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| Once the finish is applied, DW craftsmen
continue the production process, which consists of several steps that
further refine the kit’s sound producing capabilities and prepares it to
become a complete musical instrument. The first phase of drum production
is the multi-step application of each drum’s vitally important bearing
edges. The shape, position, consistency and uniformity of the bearing
edges are critical because the quality of the edges will determine how
efficiently the head will vibrate. Ultimately, this is what makes a drum
truly “sing”.
The edging process begins with grinding the shell on large sheets of
sandpaper to achieve a perfectly level surface, then cutting the top and
bottom edges at a precise angle and position. Using specialized table
routers, DW’s expert craftsmen cut somewhat sharper angled bearing edges
on snare drums and tom-toms than they do on bass drums, bringing out the
snare drum’s and tom-tom’s upper frequencies and attack and the low-end
and punch of the bass drums. A 3/16-inch countercut
is applied to the outside of the shell to provide a more concentrated
narrower edge for better articulation. In conjunction with the slightly
undersized diameter of the shell itself, this countercut creates a more
traditional floating-head system, optimizing the head-to-shell marriage.
Since the quality of the bearing edge is so important in determining the
quality of the drum’s sound, DW’s edges are inspected and re-inspected
at regular intervals to ensure their perfection. The new, optional ESE
(Enhanced Sound Edge) employs an even sharper angled bearing edge that
is cut on the resonant side of 8” through 13” toms only and can provide
an even greater resonant characteristic if desired.
Snare beds are then added to the snare drum, and the holes for lugs,
vents, badges and mounts are carefully measured and drilled using a
variety of conventional and computer-controlled manufacturing equipment
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Once the drum kit has been created, it reaches the
final step in DW’s custom drum making process, final assembly
.This is where custom hardware in chrome, black chrome,
satin chrome or gold is installed.
In assembly, the drum kit is first equipped with rattle-free air vents
and a numbered badge. DW’s trademarked “turret-style” lugs are then
attached to each shell using torque wrenches that are set to tighten the
lug screws without choking the shell. To achieve maximum resonance,
rack-toms receive DW’s custom-designed, patented STMs (Suspension Tom
Mounts) complete with TB-12 mounting brackets. Floor toms feature TB-12s
with unique resonant floor tom legs that are also designed to promote
maximum resonance.
Bass Drum Muffling Pillows are then placed in the bass drum, while
optional MAY Internal Drum Mics are factory installed. It is also at
this point that the top and bottom sections of Edge Snare Drums are
added to their wood centers.
Nearing the end of assembly, each drum is equipped with specially
designed, crimped-hoop/Clear-Coated heads. Toms and snares then receive
heavy-gauge, cold-rolled steel, proportionate counterhoops and bass
drums receive matching wood hoops and die-cast claw hooks. Snare drums
also receive a patented DW Delta or swivel throw-off and custom DW
TrueTone® snare wires as well as optional die-cast counterhoops.
Finally, to facilitate increased tuning range, DW’s patented True-Pitch®
tension rods are installed.
The one-of-a-kind drum kit is then tuned by hand ,
carefully inspected and packed for shipping. A DW Collector’s Series®
drum set can be played right out of the box and, just as any fine
acoustic wood instrument, will mellow and sound even better with age.
It’s an investment that can be coveted for years and rest assured no
detail has been overlooked. Quite simply, it’s your style, your sound,
and your set. |
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