Rick Van Horn in Modern Drummer August 1999 issue describes our process beautifully.

"Spirit Drums of Australia has taken the concept of a solid wood shell to it's simplest form. Their shells begin as solid segments cut from tree trunks . Each segment is already in roughly cylindrical form, and the drum shell is formed by latheing away the inside and outside of the that cylinder until the desired dimensions of diameter and thickness are achieved. The resulting shell is a single , seamless piece of wood, absolutely unchanged from the way it existed within the living tree."

The shell
Turned from Ironwood to a wall thickness of 12mm (14/32") ; the shell has a bearing edge of 40 degrees. The inner surface of the shell is carved to enhance acoustic performance. It is left to season after turning and then is coated with eight different layers of coatings to assist its structural stability. All layers are hand sanded between coats and Spirit Drums finish the shells with a clear satin finish to show off the natural beauty of this unique timber. We guarantee our shell's under the whole range of playing conditions.

At Spirit Drums no expense is spared in producing the highest quality instruments, from the custom made solid brass lugs to the stainless steels nuts used in assembly. We also offer a lifetime guarantee on all our shells.

The Hardware

Lugs
Spirit Drums have designed and make our own custom lugs, which due to their design always remain perfectly aligned as well as requiring only one hole per lug. On the 6 1/2" models they are mounted low on the shell to give four inches of pure shell. They are turned from solid brass on a CNC metal lathe to very small tolerances and after polishing they are chromed or for special orders polished and clear powder coated to retain lustre.

Hoops and Snare switches
The hoops for the 14" and 13" models are die cast with 10 lug, 8 lug and 6 lug hoops for our 14 ,13 and 12 inch models respectively. Due to availability and supply problems our 12" hoops are pressed steel. All are chromed but we can arrange for gold plating to order.

We offer the Nickel Drumworks Piston style strainer on all models. This strainer was designed by Greg Nickel and is used by many top companies including DW, Spaun, Ludwig and Ocheltree snares. Many believe it to be the best available and has an action so smooth it has to be seen to be believed

"A solid body resonates more than a laminated one " Rick Van Horn

 
 

 

 

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