Before you watch the video above, you must understand the terminologies. These are often the terms used to discuss the small screws and hardware found on the drums itself. Below is a comprehensive list of terminologies that you would hear frequently. 

Shell: The drums itself are often called the drum shells. 

Source: Wikipedia

Drum Head: The skin in which you hit. Drum heads differentiate into the batter and resonant, batter being the side which your sticks hit on and resonate being the bottom head.

Tension Rods: These are the small little screws that you often use your drum key to tighten/loosen, to tune or change the drumhead

Drum Lugs: The small little hardware at the side that receives the tension rods

Rims: The metal hoop, which then tension rods go through. When you tighten the tension rods, the rims help distribute pressure along the drumheads to create different pitches.

Throw off, Butt: A set of hardware found only on the snare drums. The throw-off and butt set tightens or loosens the snare wires to achieve the snare drum sound.

Vent Hole: Small little holes at the side of the shell to allow air to articulate in and out of the drums

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One of the most significant factors that affect sound would probably be the size. You would probably know that what we consider standard snare size is a 14″ X 5.5″—the reason so it's because it's the most commonly found size along with all kits. The size of the snare also allows it to be pretty versatile among many genres.

Generally, the width of the circumference of the shell affects the pitch of the drums. The most apparent difference and indicator of that probably would be between your first tom and bass drum. The massive difference in the width of the drums results in a drastically different pitch.
The next factor that most people would look at would be the depth. For snare drums, the depth mainly affects the articulation (or sensitivity) of the drums itself. The deeper the snare, the less articulation there is. However, it can then be compensated by some changes in your hardware, as you will soon find out below or in the video.

Materials for drums vary widely and splits into two main categories – wood and metal. In each of its categories, you will find vastly different subtypes, and each produces a different tonality. Some commonly used materials are:

Wood – Maple, Birch, Poplar, Basswood.

Metal – Brass, Steel, Aluminium

Some more exotic or materials that cost more and have a unique and distinct sound are:

Wood – Bubinga, Walnut, Mahagony

Metal – Bronze, Copper, Bell Brass

Watch the video above as we discuss briefly the difference between metal and wood snares and what kind of materials fits your style of playing better.

Now that you have understood the different terminologies of the different parts, we can then dive deeper into what shapes the drums' sound. You would be surprised that the material and size are not the only two factors that affect the drums' tonality. The type of hardware you choose can help you to achieve your perfect drum sound as well. Some common examples are:

Rims/Hoops: There are many different kinds of hoops on the market, ranging from flanged to diecast to S-hoops. Generally, as we have discussed in more detail in the video, the thicker or heavier the hoops are, the less resonant there is, resulting in a "drier" sound.

Tension rods: the amount of tension rods also affects the sensitivity and accuracy of the tuning range of the drums.

Snare wires: the more strands there are on the wires, the more sensitive the drums would be. Watch the video to find out how snare wires can compensate for deeper drum shells in terms of sensitivity.

There are tons and tons of different drums out there. The myriad of sounds that you will hear when choosing snares is endless. It is the reason why having a goal in mind is the most important. Before you embark on your journey to find your perfect snare, make sure you listen to tons and tons of different snares to find the kind of sound that fits you. Thanks to youtube now, you can have heard all kinds of snares with just the click of a button.

Once you know the type of sounds you are looking for; the next step is to research the size and materials that give that general sound. Once you have achieved that, you can go into the more minute details like the rims.

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There are tons and tons of options out there if you are looking to get your first drums. The essential part when digging through piles and piles of information is to have an end goal. Once you have a goal (in this case, your perfect sound), the journey becomes much clearer. It is the first and most crucial step in buying drums. We have touched on many points in this video and article, but this is not all there is. We only managed to scratch the surface of what you need to get the sound you want.
In the next topic that we will cover, we will discuss different drum heads and how they affect the sound. So remember to check back every week!

Suppose you find that this article's information is confusing, or you need more in-depth instructions and explanations. We highly recommend that you attend Pantheon Percussion Snare Tuning Workshop. You will be taught in detail all that matters to a drum's sound in an intimate close group setting. The best part is that it is free! Check out Pantheon Percussion below for their next workshop date!

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