[floatdude]

I would like to start this topic out about marching drums and the weight problem most drums have.

Especially quads and the 3 bottom bass drums.

Here at 2 Cool Percussion, I've been working on getting the marching drum weight down a lot.

Using carbon fiber to lighten the load on your back.

I know most drummer don't care about the weight, as long as it looks cool and sound good, that’s what count.

But I put it to out to you that there is a weight problem in most major marching drum manufacture.

If weight is not a problem then march and play a 60 lbs set of quads/six with lots of cymbals on it 10 miles in parade up hill and tell you back feels fine at the end of the parade, I don't think so.

"I know that drums don't weight that much"

But most people bear with whatever weight of the drum are, only to have future back trouble later in life.

Marching drums have gone heavier not lighter over the years.

So that why I am working on building marching drums that are much lighter (Snare drum --10 lbs --), (quads / six pack --under 10 lbs--) and bass drum under 10 lbs as well.

With the drums made of all carbon fiber it is possible and be affordable too for schools.

I have made carbon fiber snare drums and quads and bass drums all under 10 lbs which look cool and sound good too.

Hopefully someday to have them on the market, but as a small company it hard to do.

And going to a larger major drum company with the idea only to be """ripped off""", has already happen.

I'm still working on the day that it makes it to market is my goal and to have it made in America which sadly few marching drums are made here in the states.

What you guy take on marching drum weight ?

[Gary Matczak]

Sound quality and ability to resonate and project are the keys IMO,............after that, the lighter the better,..............

[friceox]

Is it possible for you to get patents and such?

[floatdude]

 friceox, on 21 February 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

Is it possible for you to get patents and such?

Yes I did start the patent process. But I can change the design, even if the company that ripped off my design copys my design.

Beside even if the other company does copy my design, there will be one more company promoting carbon fiber marching drums as a new way of doing drums, I would not be the only one saying all carbon fiber drums are the way to go.

Is not the way I would like to see that happen but I try to put a positive spin on it.

This post has been edited by floatdude: 21 February 2012 - 05:03 PM

[CANDRUMMER]

We Alumni Corps drummers aka Old Farts would WELCOME something lighter BUT it has to SOUND like a drum not a tabletop!!!!!!!!!!

[floatdude]

 CANDRUMMER, on 21 February 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

We Alumni Corps drummers aka Old Farts would WELCOME something lighter BUT it has to SOUND like a drum not a tabletop!!!!!!!!!!

The snare drums are capable of high tension, but you can use plastic heads (Remo Power Stroke top and Remo ambassador bottom), for that fatter sound.

But it has to be strong for high tension heads too.

This post has been edited by floatdude: 21 February 2012 - 05:02 PM

[friceox]

what about that super light aircraft aluminum? Could a drum be made out of that if flatted and rolled into a shell?

[floatdude]

 friceox, on 21 February 2012 - 08:17 PM, said:

what about that super light aircraft aluminum? Could a drum be made out of that if flatted and rolled into a shell?

Carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum. Trick Drums makes drum set out of aluminum, they are very cool looking, but very heavy.

[mobrien]

I do enough drum building that I can tell you the weight isn't in the shells, it's in the hardware. A 10/12/14/20 set of shells will weigh about 20-24 pounds in the box. Once I add the steel to those shells, the weight triples.

That being the case, carbon fiber shells will make no appreciable difference to the carry weight, and would only sound bad on tenors and basses when compared to a natural wood shell (snares, who can tell the difference with a Kevlar head...). If tenors switched from rolled steel hoops to cast aluminum hoops, and from six and eight lug designs to five and six lug designs (easy enough to do with cast hoops), that would make some difference, I suppose. Bass drums are gonna weigh what they're gonna weigh - two pounds won't make a serious diff to a conditioned marcher. You could go to shallower basses, but you lose resonance and volume by doing so.

[floatdude]

With my design ( 2 Cool Percussion), there are no lug casing, to weight it down. There is a carbon fiber flange molded into the carbon fiber shell inself all the hardware attaches to the flange.

All six shells 10-12-13-14- and 6-8 spock drums; weight of a total of 2.3 lbs.

The rest of the weight you lift is the weight of the heads, standard triple flange 2.3mm rims, and tension rods and washer and the back bar.

The back bar of the quad is made of all carbon fiber too, but with 4 bolts and nuts attaching to number 3 and 4 drum and the j hook attachment to the back bar

The drum shells are all carbon fiber and have the same length front and back as like a Pearl and Mapex quads.

Just one of these quads are louder than two normal heavy quads. But everyone says these sound like wooden drums.

The bearing edge and the lenght of the shell both front and back and tuning them right are the key to make them sound great.

This post has been edited by floatdude: 23 February 2012 - 09:13 AM