Tempus shell review
As I mentioned in another review here at the Drumset Connect forums, I've taken up "do it yourself drum building" as a hobby - buying shells and parts from a number of different suppliers, and constructing my own snare drums. One aspect of this which I find very interesting is the chance to investigate different shell designs and shell materials. Early on in my drum building activities, this interest led me to the shells manufactured by Paul Mason at
Tempus Drums.
Even though I'm not a professional drum builder, I've put together about a half-dozen snare drums (for myself and a few friends) using Tempus shells, and I've been quite pleased with each resulting drum. While Tempus does make shells for toms and basses (and sells completed drums as well), my experience with their drums other than snares is limited to a recently-assembled 8x10" rack tom, which I haven't had long enough to warrant including in this review.
Construction
Many drummers have misgivings or misunderstandings when the subject of synthetic drum shells comes up. The first shells that come to mind are often acrylic drums, like
Ludwig Vistalites. These Tempus shells are not acrylic, and do not sound like any acrylic drums I've played. They also differ from other brands of fibreglass or carbon fibre drums, such as those produced (either currently, or in years past) by companies such as Marcato,
Pearl,
Ludwig, and others. Tempus shells tend to be thinner than those of other brands - according to the Tempus web site FAQ, "Fibreglass tom tom and bass drum shells are about 1/8" thick, Fibreglass snare drum shells a tad over 3/16"...CarbonFibre shells are...about 15% thinner and somewhat lighter."
(Tempus has recently added a new shell to their line, combining carbon fibre and kevlar in an even thinner shell. However, I do not have any experience with these new shells, so I will not include them as part of this review.)
As thin as they are, the shells are quite durable, and the finishes are actually built into the shell as part of the forming process, rather than being applied after the fact. This makes it difficult to do serious damage to the finish. I completed my first home-built Tempus snare in 2003, and as of this writing, the finish looks exactly like it did the day I took delivery of the shell. Being synthetic, the shells are essentially invulnerable to climate changes, so there's no worry about leaving the drums out in very cold or very hot weather, and the shells do not expand or contract the way wood shells sometimes do.
The shells I've bought (save for one) have come with bearing edges and snare beds already cut, and so far, every edge and bed I've seen on a Tempus shell is flawlessly cut. For the sake of other "DIY" builders, I'll mention that Tempus shells are very easy to drill, but the fibreglass and carbon fibre do tend to dull drill bits a bit quicker than wood shells do. Use a sharp bit, and you'll be fine.
Appearance
The shells are available in a wide variety of finishes, ranging from solid colors to various glitter finishes, and a type of finish called "alpha," which is essentially a glitter that features many different colors. "Fades" are possible as well, and if for some reason none of the available stock finishes are to your taste, Tempus shells can be wrapped just like wooden shells.
Just about the only negative, in terms of cosmetics, is the seam on Tempus shells, which tends to be more pronounced than seams on wooden or metal shells. My understanding is that this is an unavoidable result of the way the shells are formed in a mold. It's fairly easy to camouflage the seam by installing a lug or the strainer to cover most of it, and the seam is not pronounced enough to cause problems in terms of seating heads or mounting hardware - it's a visual issue.
Sound/Performance
Here's where the drums really shine, in my opinion. The sound of these drums lies somewhere between wood and metal shells. It's not dissimilar to the sound of a good aluminum shell (my 5x14 fibreglass snare puts me in mind of a
Ludwig Supraphonic or Acrolite, although the sound is not exactly the same), but with a bit less "metal" to the sound. Each of my Tempus snares has a wide tuning range (as wide as any other snare drum in my collection), and a good-sized "sweet spot" on the drum head. The carbon fibre shells tend to be a bit darker-sounding compared to the fibreglass version. Regardless of the shell material, my drums all have a healthy amount of ring and sustain - definitely not enough to be a distraction, but enough so that the drum sounds "lively," even in a close-miked recording situation. As with other drums, a switch to die-cast hoops can take away some of this ringing, compared to the sound of 2.3mm triple-flanged hoops. (Wood counterhoops also sound very good on Tempus snares.)
The sensitivity of these drums also is outstanding, which may be a result of how thin the shells are. I've used a variety of snare wires on my Tempus drums, ranging from generic 42-strand sets to 12-strand sets, and I've yet to find a really bad fit in terms of snare wires. I've used my drums for a variety of gigs, ranging from jazz, to Caribbean, to classical, and I've been more than satisfied with the results in each instance.
Value
I gave these drums a "9 out of ten" for value, which is purely a reflection on the fact that they are more expensive than many other shells on the market, and not in any way a reflection on the quality of the product. Tempus shells are definitely more expensive than Keller shells, and a bit more expensive than some other "boutique" shells (Global Drum Company, Joshua Tree Percussion, etc.) However, one way to work around this, especially for the "DIY builder," is to buy shells from the Tempus clearance list, which offers "extra" (but otherwise top-quality) Tempus shells at a discount that makes them competitive with any other "boutique" shells I've found.
As expensive as these drum shells can be, in my experience the resulting snare drum is almost always versatile enough to serve in a variety of situations, diminishing the need to buy several different "specialized" snare drums. I feel confident that, with a good wood snare drum, a good metal snare drum, and one of my Tempus snares, I could cover the vast majority of the gigs I'm presented with.
Customer Service
Every dealing I've had with Paul Mason, the owner of the company, has been a pleasure. E-mails are responded to promptly, and I've yet to have a question go unanswered.
Overall
Clearly, my review of these shells is extremely positive - enough so that I should probably mention that I am not affiliated in any way with the Tempus company, other than being a very satisfied customer. I've put together a number of different snare drums over the past few years, and while I have a number of "favorites" in my collection, I've found my 6x14 Tempus fibreglass snare drum to be the most consistent and most versatile drum in my collection. I'm often asked which snare drum I would keep, if I could only keep one, and more often than not, that fibreglass drum is the one I would choose.
Sound Files 5x14 fibreglass 6x14 fibreglass Pictures (all "home-built" projects)
4x14 carbon fibre, "Ferrari red" finish
5x14 fibreglass, "emerald green glitter" finish
6x14 fibreglass, "alpha/red" finish
6.5x14 fibreglass, "alpha/purple" finish
8x14 carbon fibre, "gunmetal grey glitter" finish
Linear Mode
