Global Drum Company review
Over the past few years, the idea of "do it yourself" drum building has caught on among many drummers. There are many sources for drum shells and hardware, allowing amateur drum builders to design and assemble their own snare drums and drum sets, including
Global Drum Company, whose shells are the subject of this review. (Global also produces shells for bass drums and tom toms, and sells complete kits; however, my experience with their products is limited to snare drum shells, and I will limit my review to those snare shells.)
Global Drum Company specializes in what are known as "segment" shell snare drums. Rather than constructing shells using multiple plies of wood, which is the approach used by most "name brand" drum companies, as well as the ubiquitous Keller shells used by many custom drum builders, segment shells are constructed by layering blocks of wood, not unlike bricks in a wall. This picture of a walnut shell by Global, shows this construction method clearly:
Once glued together, the shells are cut down to size on a lathe, to produce a shell like the one shown above.
I've put together four snare drums, using Global Drum Company shells, including:
6x13 walnut -
5.5x14 monkeypod (also known as "raintree") -
6x14 tiger maple -
7x14 purpleheart -
As evidenced by the photos, Global offers a variety of different tonewoods, presenting options beyond the tried-and-true woods like maple, birch, and mahogany (which are also available from Global). It is also possible to order shells which have two or more different tonewoods - such as a purpleheart shells with a center band of maple. While I like all four of the drums pictured above, for the purposes of this review, I'll use the tiger maple as a comparison drum, since most drummers have experience with at least a few maple snare drums.
Workmanship - The shells which I have bought from Global Drum Company have come with the bearing edges and snare beds already cut, and with the shell sanded and ready for finishing. In my experience, the craftsmanship on each shell has been outstanding. The bearing edges are consistent and clean, and the beds are evenly cut. My only complaint is not so much a matter of something being done wrong - it's a personal preference of mine. The standard Global snare bed cut is a bit deep for my tastes, and on three of the shells, I've gone back and altered the beds, making the ramps (the part that angles from the flat center of the bed to the original edge cut) a bit wider and more gradual. Their standard edges are a double-45-degree cut, but other edge shapes are available as well.
(The shape of the snare beds, and my preference for a different shape, is the reason why I lowered my grade for "features" from a ten to a nine.)
Appearance - As shown above, the shells have a distinctive "butcher block" look to them, as a result of the segment construction methods. Some drummers like this, and others do not. I personally like it, but everyone's tastes are different.
Sound - Compared to plywood maple snare drums, my tiger maple generally has a fuller tone. One standard reason given for this is the amount of glue used in the making of the shell. Shells made of multiple plies require a great deal of glue in their construction - a layer between each ply of wood. Segment shells, like stave shells and steambent shells, use nowhere near as much wood, and in my experience, are more resonant and offer a fuller tone than plywood shells.
Customer service - The owner of Global, Matt Wille, is a pleasure to deal with. E-mails are responded to promptly, as are inquiries about drum shell prices and availability sent via the Global web site.
One thing I've noticed with these shells - they seem to require time to "cure" before they sound their best. I've noticed with all four of my drums, that while the drums sounded good when first assembled, they sounded noticeably better several months later. I'm not sure if it's the tension on the shell once the drum is assembled, or if it's simply a matter of the wood aging, but I've learned to allow for that "curing" of these drums.
Overall, I've found these shells to be as good as any other shells I've dealt with, either for DIY drum projects or when buying a completed drum, and better than most. I recommend them highly.
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