Interesting looking kit, David. The multiplication of portholes is a bit distracting to the simplicity.
SonoRon wrote:
M For sound though I remember hearing Nathaniel Townsley's GMS kit on a modern drummer DVD years ago and it sounded mind blowing!
The only thing I know about GMS is that I know an exceptional player who swears by them. Along with enthusiasm for the drums themselves, his face shone when talking about "GMS's willingess to work with" him. He found them very flexible, including putting a 30º rather than 45º on a kit they were building for him. Not enough to hug the company over, but clearly they are customer oriented. I still can't tell who builds their shells, which leads to the assumption that they are not.
Canopus is very peculiarly Japanese. They pay inordinate attention to The Ventures, as only Americanophiles can be expected to do. Canopus interest in lathe turned snares makes them interesting, and there are a full variety of shells and materials to explore. Unfortunately, their website is opaque, and I gave up before long.
Craviotto makes some very nice equipment, good looking, and I am coming away with the notion that, if you want a 'solid' shell, the closest approximation to it, without the incredible cost and fragility of a turned log, would be the steam bent single ply, which they produce.
Those who watched the "Buddy" link posted by Kelly will have noticed the difference in wood tone when the stick is tapped in the middle or at the very end. That is because the cells in the wood are lined up with the direnction of growth. A tap across the grain moves very slowly and sounds soft and dark by comparison to one along the grain, which is very sharp and bright. Using just one sheet of wood (or using a hollowed out log) is the only way to get that kind of singular response through a shell, although clearly things are more complicated inside a drum. I am not commenting on whether it is better or not, because I don't know; but I do imagine the purity of tone from the wood, not compromised by glue, is more clearly manifested in that type of construction.
Does Ayotte still exist? Can't find a website.
