The goal with this drum was to make an instrument that sounded great, and had the aesthetics to match.
We started with some beautiful genuine mahogany with some very interesting grain patterns. Mahogany is always an excellent choice for musical instruments, it's an incredibly stable wood, and as we all know, Mahogany's been used heavily in some of the best and most celebrated drums to date. Mahogany provides a warm, woody tone. It does really well in low and medium tunings, has a fat, wet, buttery feel to it... An excellent back beat machine. And tuned up high it becomes bright, articulate and crispy.
To add some subtle visual Intrigue to the drum we inlaid a thin band of chemically patina'd copper in the center of the shell.
The shell is approximately 3/8" thick, enough mass for a powerful and punchy attack, but thin enough to allow for warm, woody undertones, and a buttery smooth stick-feel.
The bearing edges are an inner cut 45-degree chamfer, and the outer cut is a smooth quarter inch roundover. The round over allows for excellent shell to head contact, as well as a nice warm, fat, round tone. Where the two cuts meet there is a mildly sharp Apex that allows for just the right amount of pleasant overtones, and crispy articulation.
The shell is finished on the entire inside of the drum and on the edges with our house Blended mix of waxes and oils, and the outside has three coats of high-quality nitrocellulose lacquer.
This drum features a fairly deep and wide snare bed. this snare bed should prevent all unwanted snare buzz and give the snare wires a nice cushy pillow to sink down into the snare side head.
I really believe that sometimes keeping things simple can make for the best instruments. I hope you agree with us, and if you do, you will love this snare drum as much as we do.
Sam from HHG