This is a very fun exciting project that we built. We had a blast building this kit. Watch the video below!
Emily’s new kit.
The best gift a drummer can receive
We have been getting tons of emails about people just like you wanting to stand out and have a one of a kind drum built from something crazy. We have built drums from old pig fences, old flooring, dog houses, from fallen down trees that carried that childhood tire swing in them, old dressers, pianos, tables and old houses. The only limit to what we can build a drum from is your imagination.
If you want to build a once in a lifetime drum that you can’t buy anywhere else, here are the requirements.**
– Size of wood** Minimum 7/8 inch thick, minimum of 3 inches wide. For example, on a 14×7 drum, we use up to 25 pieces of wood cut to 2.5 inches wide, by 8 inches long, and 7/8 inch thick
-Size up the wood to ship**. Example.. (if your boards are 8 ft long cut them into four two foot sections to box up.
-Tell me what you want**. Size, Finish, and hardware color and type.
-The Minimum price** is around $1000.00. Giving me your wood only reduces the price a small amount. The cost in a drum is in the hardware and production time.
-You will be getting a custom drum from your sentimental wood that will last a lifetime, there is a waiting list so please be patient with me.
Drums of war!
On the Ropes with Brian Hill talks about Charles W Bonner,civil war drummer, and William S. Tompkins, drum maker. Brian is an expert in drum history. He is full of interesting anecdotes and facts on historical drums. Watch the video.
If you love history, you need to check this video out. Brian Hill explains why he is so passionate about the drums he brings to the Museum Series On The Ropes.
Thank You So Much,
Michael Outlaw
Best Snare Wood by Genre
One question that we get asked a lot is what snare drum is best for a particular genre of music. This is sometimes difficult to answer for several reasons. First, music and sound is a matter of personal taste so pinpointing one drum for an entire genre is impossible. Second, we make unique one of a kind drums out of woods that no one else in the industry is using so the sounds made from these woods are unique and not always found in a particular genre. Many things go into making the sound you get from your drum such as drum heads among other things. We are concentrating on the wood that the snare is built out of because wood drums it what we do. That being said we are still going to try to answer!
Country music: Country music is interesting because drums were not an original part of country music culture. In fact bands that incorporated drums were considered “impure”. Drums were introduced to country around the 1960s. Country drummers like a full bodied “fat” sound for ballads in older country songs. The newer style of country music plays a lot like rock. The 14×7 maple or birch/maple is a good pick for country. Heart pine is also a good pick. It carries close to the same characteristics and tones because of the tight growth rings in the lumber. This vintage lumber was some of the virgin trees grown in Georgia in the days of our founding fathers.
Rock music: Rock music drumming is a broad area that incorporates lots of different styles like punk, classic, and heavy metal. Drums have been the backbone of rock music since the beginning of the genre providing a solid beat and rhythm to the music. These days with the advancement of drum sets they provide tonal, melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic shading. Black walnut provides a bright, high pitched that is great for this genre with the loud speakers and amp heads. Cherry works well for this genre as well. The harder the wood on the janka scale the better sound you will achieve for rock in our opinion.
Jazz music: Jazz drumming is a mixture of different cultures and their influences over time to Jazz music most notably the African influence. This influence was mostly about improvisation. Oak works nicely for jazz sounds because of the sensitivity of the snare sound you get with oak. You want a wood that will reflect the ghost notes in this genre. Oak is porous and works well for these sounds.
These are a few genres and the drums that we feel do well in those genres. This is by no means an all-inclusive list and as every musician knows bearing edges, shell thickness, drum head type, and size plays a role. The musicians and listeners personal preference also plays a big role. Leave a comment, Tell us your favorite drum for your genre and why.
Wood Bass Drum Beater.
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What does pine wood sound like?
The sound that pine makes!
We were sent two Outlaw snares to review with Modern Drummer, an eight-lug 6×13 in “chestnut glaze” finish, built from the Wilder timber, and a ten-lug 5×14 in “reborn blueberry,” reclaimed from a nineteenth century home that was torn down in 2013. Both drums feature chrome tube lugs, triple-flange chromed steel hoops, a Dunnett three-position roto-style throw-off, an Evans G1 Coated batter and Snare Side 300 bottom, and PureSound snare wires (twenty strands on the 13″ drums and sixteen strands on the 14″). The stave-style shells of these drums are thick and cut with sharp bearing edges. The exteriors of the shells are painstakingly finished to maintain a rustic look and textured feel that hearken back to the buildings from which the drums are built.
The 6×13 has one of the original nails in the shell, and the vent is actually a 1″ bolt hold. The 5×14 drum has a cool-looking blue/chestnut finish on the inside and outside of the shell that was applied meticulously by hand to match the weathered look of the building from which it was build. Outlaw’s .125″-thick “forest guard” metal badges are modeled after the shield worn by the U.S. Forest Service, which was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 to preserve the country’s natural wonders. All of these features combine to give Outlaw snare drums a world-class appearance with a lot of history and vibe.
Sonically, both drums were bright and snappy with strong articulation and nice snare response. The 13″ turned out to be the more versatile of the two. It sounded very lively and popping tuned very tight, while a medium tuning brought out an open, all-purpose voice. Lower tunings produced a fat and punchy sound with a nice pitch bend in the sustain. The 5×14 had a similar overall tone, but it performed best at medium and lower tunings, where the natural brightness of the thick pine shell was counter-balanced by the depth and punch created when the heads were at a lower pitch. Even detuned all the way, this drum still had a strong, sizzling presence. No muffling was required on either snare during our testing.
Outlaw also uses smaller pieces of reclaimed timber to make wooden bass drum beaters, and custom snare racks are available. Drum collectors, take note!
Michael Dawson
Talk about a special build!!! Must see!
Talk about a special build!!! Johny Ligon asked us to build something in honor of his dad. We used some lumber his dad worked with and some from one of his homes. Mixed in some medals and dog tags and this was the result!!! Thank you Johny for this one of a kind opportunity!!!! Watch Video Here
Outlaw Drums
When Michael Outlaw first decided to try using building-reclaimed lumber from a centuries old building, he, by chance, chose the original estate remains of a former Confederate veteran. That soldier, Charles Edward Wilder, enlisted in the 17th GA Infantry, part of Benning’s Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. Upon returning from the War, Wilder built his home from the wood of the native pine trees that grew on his land.
At that time, those trees were over 200 years old, dating back to the 1600’s. Trees of this age and type provide extremely hard and dense wood with a very tight grain pattern. Taking up residence in a building for 150 or more years would also provide even-curing and drying to that old timber.
With all that in mind, it made perfect sense to me that those historical origins should not be forgotten, but rather, celebrated. I suggested to Michael that he should make a special set of drums celebrating those early roots by embedding Civil War Era bullets into the shells alongside all-else that makes Outlaw drums so special.
Putting our minds together, it was decided to make the first drums a matching set of snare drums. We took into consideration that many aspects of the drum design should there-fore be mathematically kindred in order to achieve balanced, complimentary instruments. That philosophy played out well. The Primary Snare measured 6” x 14” with ten tube lugs, the Secondary Snare at 6” x 10”, had six tube lugs. Construction of the shells was to be a stave design with reinforcing rings for added strength. Michael uses what I think is a very interesting bearing edge that seems like his own “hybrid” approach, falling somewhere between a rounded vintage edge and something more modern. Whatever he considers it, I have to feel that along with everything else he does, helps to creative that “Outlaw Sound.”
Both drums were made from the same board of reclaimed lumber. In doing so, we would absolutely know that they were of the same tree and survived under the same conditions. The idea was to timbre-match the drums as close as possible, making them a matched set.
Hardware for both drums was employed with the same strategy. The 2.3 mm counter hoops, retro tube-lugs and air vent, were all black nickel-plated. Matching Trick 3-position snare strainers and butts were mounted along with PureSound Snares. Outlaw Drums impressive maker’s badge that mimics the U. S. Forrest Services badges rounded out the metal parts.
For these first two drums of the series, I was able to find a set of Civil War Era bullets that matched as close to the specs that the drums were designed too. All four bullets were wood-struck: two hit dead-on, producing a mushroom shape, the other two hit at about a 45 degree angle. Two of them were Confederate and two were Union bullets. This would allow me to place one Confederate and one Union bullet to a drum, each with a different configuration.
To finish off the design, we went with a rough wood exterior and an aged white and blue plaint motif to give that weathered look that harkens back the history of an old building. Showing through the weathered paint is the bare, natural wood, again exemplifying the age of the wood and the building it must have come from. A dab of dark, blood red paint was applied around each bullet-strike, to high-light the projectiles. The blood-color was also added to help represent the terrible cost and history of the conflict. When all three a hues are taken into consideration, the drums fly the colors of both sides of our History: red, white, and blue.
How a drum looks is a very important quality in its desirability. But most importantly, it needs to be a great sounding drum as well. With Outlaw Drums I certainly have a winner here. The stave shell construction of hard, aged Heart-Pine wood, gives these drums a very reflective, lively sound. That “lively” quality is a very controlled openness, void of any unpleasant overtones or ringing.
While being incredibly sensitive, they are earthy and warm, loud and responsive, crisp and deep. These drums have a powerful presence to them so they won’t be lost in a mix, nor do they have any unpleasant, over-powering tendencies. Especially well suited for outdoor stages and loud environments, but versatile and sensitive enough for any application.
The secondary snare worked out especially great! Tuned properly, it’s a higher octave version of the primary snare. Very effective for accents, effects, or adding grace notes. When needing to maintain a subtle backbeat, it becomes a thinner, smaller sounding version of an awesome snare drum.
Outlaw Drums Heritage Series brings a lot to the table with these superior instruments. No detail was over-looked. For those who identify drums with history, this is something you’ve been waiting for. For those who just want a really bad-ass set of drums, well, Outlaw has something for you too. Outlawdrums.com.
Benny Greb: The Art & Science Of Groove – Drum Lesson (Drumeo)
- Benny Greb is One of my favorite drummers of all time! We want you to become the best drummer you can possibly become. If you are like me when I see other great drummers play it makes me want to jump behind the kit. This has a very good exercise that I never thought about Watch in see at 16:18 into the video.
- Our friends at drumeo posted this cool video of Benny Greb that caught my attention. It just keeps getting better and better at Drumeo! There link is on the bottom. “The Art & Science Of Groove”.
Snare Drum types of wood
What kind of wood do I need for my drum? I get asked this question more than any other. After playing 1000s of different wood drums; it’s safe to say I have an ear for sound. Some drummers might like a wet sound (which is a long decay); another might like a dry sound (which is no decay or lingering sound). To each his own. I like a drum to sing and to have body.
Keep in mind that the thicker the shell, the higher it will sound. The thinner the shell, the lower. Stave drums are thicker so they will have a higher sound. Segmented will have a lower sound. This is imperative to know when looking for a drum. It could save you lots of time when you are trying to find “that sound”.
Janka Hardness
This number will determine how well the woods hold up to dents and wear and tear as well as overall density and hardness. It’s basically the amount of pounds that are forced down in one spot on a bearing then measuring how much force is needed to embed the bearing halfway.
Maple wood– Uniform amount of highs and mids, somewhat warm lows. Very bright and punchy. Great for all-round drumming! The industry standard for drums. Janka scale: 1450 pounds of force
Oak: Mid highs, all-purpose with a very quick decay and less overtones. Great work house drum very durable and strong. It’s great for rock, country, pop and R&B music. Janka scale: 1290 pounds of force
Cherry: Highs, forceful midrange, average low end. Responsive and bright. Mild decay. Very good for ghost notes and jazz playing. Janka scale: 950 pounds of force
Poplar: Highs and mids, increased low-end. Great tonal wood with medium to low decay; very dynamic. This wood is a soft hardwood and the sound goes away fast. This is great for punk rock music, less muffling needed. Janka scale: 540 pounds of force
Black Walnut: Identical amount of highs, mids, and lows. This is an all-round wood that is very consistent and fat sounding with great punch. Very dynamic with a longer decay great for jazz, rock, country, and gospel music. Janka scale: 1010 pounds of force
Mahogany: Soft highs, level midrange, warm/rich low end. Lively and warm. Great for studio recording and low light playing. Janka scale: 1070 pounds of force
Heart pine: Matching amounts of highs, mids, and lows. Very consistent and fat sounding with great punch due to the high resin content. Very little sap wood. Mid-range decay. Great for all kinds of music. Rock, country, R&B, gospel, and pop. Janka scale: 870 pounds of force
Douglas Fir: Easy highs and mids, increased low-end. Great tonal wood. This wood can tune deeper than most. It’s a softer wood that moistens the over tones. Great for all kinds of music. Mid-range decay. Janka scale: 620 pounds of force
Chinaberry: Soft highs, level midrange, warm/rich low end. Lively and warm. Great for studio recording and low light playing. Great for all kinds of music. Janka scale: 990 pounds of force
Sapele : Soft highs, level midrange, warm/rich low end. Lively and warm. Great for studio recording and low light playing. Great for all kinds of music. Janka scale: 1410 pounds of force.
PurpleHeart: Uniform amount of highs and mids, somewhat warm lows. Very bright and punchy. This hard wood is very bright and punchy. Janka scale: 2520 pounds of force.
