Thicker vs. thinner shells?
A. Contrary to popular belief, thinner does not mean more resonant. Thicker shells project more. Sure, the pitch increases as shell thickness goes up, but you’re not playing the shell, you’re playing the head. Try this experiment: string up a super thick Les Paul guitar with a low E string. Now string up a thin archtop with the same string. Surprise! They both tune to an E. The thinness—or thickness—of the shell does not determine the drum’s pitch. Thin shells are muddy and park the heads in one tonal place. Limiting. Thicker shells, however, provide a far greater tuning range. Which is why our Organic Series shells are 3/8″ thick and our Ply Series shells are a minimum 10 plies with optional 10-ply reinforcement rings. More expensive to make? You bet. We make real drums. Want toys? Consider everything else.
