It was almost as if no
one had imagined it possible to fit wood hoops onto any
other drum besides a bass drum, at least not until Ayotte
proudly unveiled its first batch of WoodHoop kits in the
early '90s. Drummers were dumbstruck when they saw those
classy wooden rings encircling equally classy wooden
shells. Ayotte's timing was impeccable, coming right when
drummers had begun to turn to more retro drum set
designs. That momentum sounded the beginning of a trend
that spurred various drum companies to introduce their
own wood hoop models.
Today the wood hoop look is part of the scenery, like
sparkle finishes and suspension mounts. And the latest
contender to offer it as an option is Spaun, the stalwart
Southern California drum company that established itself
in the '90s as one of the brightest stars among custom
manufacturers. Its version successfully works many of the
company's existing design features into a tastefully
understated application of the wood hoop concept. We were
lucky enough to get a chance to check them out.
Our Kit.
Spaun sent over a five-piece outfit with a 22" x
18" bass drum, 14" x 5" snare, and
10" x 8", 12" x 9", and 14" x
12" toms. All the drums featured 8-ply birch shells
without reinforcing hoops, and 10-ply maple counterhoops.
Spaun uses maple for its hoops because it is a harder
wood, and therefore can better withstand repeated stick
impacts (which is a good thing, since I'm a heavy
hitter).
All Spaun shells feature the company's unique double 45º
bearing edge, which moves its comparatively sharp contact
point slightly closer to the center of the head and away
from the head's collar, similar to the way a timpani head
is aligned. Our toms were fitted with Evans Genera G1
coated batters and clear resonant heads; the snare had a
G1 batter and an Evans 300 Snare Side Hazy resonant head;
and the bass drum came with Evans' EQ3 heads. (Spaun
drums come standard with Evans heads, although other
brands are available upon request.)
The company built its reputation on exquisite paint jobs
that range from high-class finishes to nutty, eye-popping
design work. Our test kit represents the former tactic,
with a Tobacco Burst finish that introduces the natural
beauty of the wood in degrees, allowing the grain to poke
through in the center of the shell, while the stain grows
increasingly opaque as it spreads out toward each bearing
edge.
Many companies would fit natural-finish hoops onto such
drums to show off the fact that they don't have metal
hoops, but Spaun took a different approach with our kit.
Instead they chose to finish the outside of each hoop
with the deepest color on each drum - just a shade
lighter than a flat brown - thereby resolving the fade,
which begins in the center of the shell and ends on the
hoop. It was an elegant choice, but since Spaun worked
with a variation of brown rather than a splashier color,
the kit actually requires a close examination to fully
appreciate the artistry of the stain. From a distance the
shells can almost be construed as solid brown, offset
only by those darker hoops. But the workmanship is
impeccable, and I fell in love with the look. Still, the
defining characteristics of this finish might be a bit
too subtle for drummers who want to make a bold
statement. To each his own.
Tensioning Hardware.
All five drums feature Spaun's solid brass lugs. Its
two-piece design consists of a hefty, solid turret and a
threaded insert that receives the tension rod. The insert
is held in place by a hardened set-screw that provides it
with a bit of wiggle room. This design is handy on a wood
hoop drum, since, unlike typical steel hoops, these don't
have an integral method for accepting tension rods.
Instead Spaun employs a simple claw-style tension-rod
receptor, sort of a scaled-down version of what you find
on most bass drums, which is held in place only by the
grip of the tension rod. So if you break a head onstage
and need to make a quick change under duress, you won't
need to worry about aligning the claw receptors in a
precise parallel line with the lug, because the insert
will compensate for any slight variance in positioning.
The lugs are attached with a single bolt, and are
isolated from the shell with a black nylon spacer that
virtually disappears from sight when set against this
finish. It's a very nice detail that makes each lug
appear to "float." Our 10" and 12" toms were
fitted with six lugs per side, the 14" had eight,
and the snare and bass drum had ten. Hard as if may be to
believe, we actually enjoyed the process of changing
heads on these drums, since the hardware has a cool and
classic design that works with ease. We have only one
minor gripe about the tensioning hardware that came with
our kit, and it is purely cosmetic. Since the tension rod
receptors are all chrome-plated, we would have preferred
for the lugs to be finished similarly (Spaun does offer a
chrome-plated version of its lug). It would have helped
to pull together the entire look of these drums if the
finish of the tensioning hardware matched.
Other Hardware.
All three toms came supplied with generic RIMS-style
suspension mounts, and the bass drum didn't have a tom
mount. I know it's blasphemous to say in this day and age
of resonance worshippers, but I really prefer good old
bass-drum tom mounts and floor tom legs more than
cymbal-stand or rack mounts. For one thing, I honestly
don't believe that the sound of the bass drum or floor
tom is sacrificed by the added hardware. Plus I have
never been able to get used to the bouncing toms that are
inherent with cymbal-stand or rack mounts. But you can't
deny that racks and stand mounts are currently the
preferred mounting method, and Spaun is only trying to
give customers what they want. This isn't the first time
I've had to admit that I'm a crusty old fart.
Each drum has a single air hole protected by a solid
brass grommet, and a black-and-brass colored oval Spaun
badge placed strategically on the shell. A second
silver-colored badge is attached to the inside of each
shell with adhesive, on which a registered identification
number is hand-written. The bass drum came with two
functional telescoping legs that fold up against the
shell at a 90º angle for transport, and offer the option
of a spur or rubber tip.
The snare came supplied with the ever popular Nickel
piston throw-off, which in recent years proved itself to
be a practical, silent design that is easy to use. But
while the Nickel is an excellent machine, far too many
companies have used it at this point in my opinion. Its
prevalence in the marketplace has rendered it to be
practically generic among custom snare drum
manufacturers. I'd love to see some new variations on
this concept, or better yet, for custom drum companies to
develop their own throw-off designs.
A butt plate made of nylon and steel is operated by
loosening two small drumkey-head tension rods, and a
generic 20-strand set of snare wires complete the snare
mechanism. Both the throw-off and butt plate are attached
to the shell with two bolts.
The Test.
After inspecting every square millimeter of the Spaun
wood hoop kit visually and mechanically, I couldn't wait
to lay a pair of sticks into these lovely tubs. So I took
the Spaun wood hoop kit to two rehearsals with my
heavy-duty power trio. Compared to maple, birch shells
tend to produce a brighter sound with a quick, punchy
decay. But I couldn't help wondering how the wood hoops
would affect the overall brightness and sustain. Here's
what I discovered:
Looking for a big bass drum sound? Spaun's birch kick is
a cannon! Not that it's the loudest bass drum on the
planet, but it speaks with a huge, commanding voice that
emphasizes the impact of the beater with a quick decay
and a very clear fundamental note. This is no doubt due
to the combination of birch shell construction and the
Evans EQ Pad that came supplied with the drum. I never
even had to touch the tension rods with a drum key. It
sounded incredible right out of the box. Of all the drums
in kit, the bass drum is the one that my band mates
commented on the most.
Rolls around the toms produced the anticipated result.
They responded quickly to the stick, with a dry and
focused fundamental tone that exploded and dissipated
with practically no decay. Bang - gone!
Frankly, I felt they sounded a bit one-dimensional at
first, and began messing around with their tuning right
away. I was able to dial in specific notes on all three
toms much more easily than I can with my usual trusty
maple kit, but couldn't quite counteract the lack of
resonance. So I changed the batter head on the 12"
tom to my usual brand - another coated single-ply variety
- and found that it helped open up the sound a bit. If I
owned this kit, I would probably end up fitting clear
batter heads on the toms to maximize the resonance.
Backbeats were big and fat on the snare drum. Press rolls
sounded like paper tearing, with each stroke perfectly
articulated. I love playing rimshots on any snare drum.
But rather than ringing out sharply, as they do on my
maple snare with die-cast hoops, these rimshots produced
a predictably woodier tone. They contrasted nicely with
the center-hit backbeat, without over-emphasizing the
difference between the two sounds. And just as I
expected, cross-sticks were thick and rich with sweet
wood colors.
In retrospect, a power trio is probably not the ideal
situation in which to showcase these drums. I want to
fill up air within the trio format, but the Spaun birch
wood hoop drums naturally de-emphasize the resonance I
need to accomplish that. And by using maple counterhoops,
Spaun chose to boost the intrinsic dryness of the birch
shell, which made me feel like I had to work twice as
hard to pull enough sound out of these drums to compete
with the overdriven guitar and bass.
Verdict.
Therefore you might be a little surprised to learn that I
really loved these drums. That's right, maybe they didn't
work perfectly with a loud power trio, but I could see
using this kit in a live situation that requires softer
dynamics - perhaps an acoustic jazz outfit or folk-rock
band. Or it could become a prized practice set, designed
to have mercy on your neighbors' eardrums. And I could
see how these drums, with their naturally dry attack and
scrumptious woody tones, could become my first choice for
laying down tracks in the recording studio, where
overtone control can be a big issue, and close-miking
picks up every nuance of your stroke.
If I was an R&D dude at Spaun, I might consider
creating either a birch kit with steel hoops or a maple
kit with wood hoops in order to fill the sonic gap
between this kit and Spaun's other maple models.
Nonetheless, the birch wood hoop kit from Spaun is a
first class set of drums with an aesthetic finish that
will cater to drummers who play with restraint.
Details, Details
Model: Spaun Wood Hoop Drums.
Sizes: 22" x 18" bass drum; 14" x
5" snare; 10" x 8", 12" x 9",
and 14" x 12" toms
Price: $4,070
Shell: Birch
Hoops: Maple
Bearing Edge: Double 45º cut
Lugs: Solid brass turret style Spaun lugs with
nylon spacers
Heads: Evans
Finish: Tobacco Burst
Throw-Off: Nickel Drumworks piston strainer
Tom Mounts:
Suspension-style
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