As snare drum players in a local pipe band, our children struggled to hold the weight of current high tension snare drums. Furthermore, with such a weight pulling them forwards, I was concerned that they may be suffering, in terms of their physical development.
Having looked around the main manufacturers for a lighter weight drum, it became apparent that the weight issue was not being addressed. So, together with an engineering friend, I set about looking at what was causing the problem, and then tried to figure out if there was a way around it.
When looking at different methods of drum construction, the problem of high tension, without excessive weight, had to be addressed.
To this end we looked back at how the present-day drum had developed, and what factors had driven the many changes that it has seen.
Pipe band drummers have always required a drum that can be heard when played next to a 'screaming' bagpipe, and this has resulted in a high pitch drum fitted with a second, internal snare, which is in contact with the underside of the top skin.
Furthermore, when drum skins are tensioned higher, there are more discernable taps for any given unit of time, a feature on which pipe band drummers pride themselves.When woven Kevlar was introduced for drum skin manufacture, it was found to be capable of withstanding enormous tension, and was an instant success. Indeed, failure of these skins is usually by way of this material pulling out of its retaining ring, instead of innate failure of the Kevlar.
|
It soon became apparent that the tensioning systems used to tension the Kevlar drum skins, was the major factor in the increase in weight that had occurred since their introduction.
If we were to produce a lighter drum, some radical changes in the tensioning method were required.
We have employed light-weight materials thoughout the construction of this drum.
The final design now incorporates our unique drum shell system.
We also felt that current mechanisms for attaching the drum to the harness, were dampening the resonance of the instrument. Our drum attachment has ‘pin-point’ contact only with the tensioning hoops.
The top snare on the Super XTS is also a new concept. It provides height and tension adjustment, but is less than half the weight of its contemporaries.
In summary, the Super XTS is a truly free-floating, high tension, twin snared marching drum. It is fully resonant with excellent tonal and dynamic qualities.
It weighs in at 4kg.
|
