Its hardness is best described as medium-hard. Its density is well and truly hard enough to give a bright crack when placed under tension. It is also a wonderfully resonant wood that has very rich, distinct, warm tones.

Maple has a very good blend of deep lows, as well as balanced mid and high range frequencies. Maple is very hard to beat as a great all round shell type.


Birch –
The popularity of birch has grown considerably in recent times, as the tonal characteristics of this particular wood seem to match the needs of many drummers.

Its hardness sits pretty much in the middle when it comes to woods used in the manufacture of quality drums.

Birch has an even distribution of high and low end frequencies (greater highs, yet not as much in the low end as maple). This gives a great cutting, dry tone when played at high volume. At low volume, low-end frequencies and resonance become far more noticeable.

If projection is what you are looking for, then Birch should be near the top of your list.


Exotic Woods

At Sleishman, we recommend a number of different woods that are ‘exotic' by nature and are sourced only on the basis of their proven ability to make great sounding drums.

We will continue to add to our exotic range over time. If there is a particular wood type you wish to have made as a Sleishman drum, feel free to contact us and we will do our very best to accommodate your request.

Padouk –
We have found padouk is a fantastic wood type for our drums- particularly snares.

It is sourced out of West, Central and East Africa and belongs to the rosewood family.
Many tuned percussion instruments such as the marimba and xylophone are made using padouk, as it has a bright, yet full tone with great resonance and projection (basically, padouk wood is already a musical instrument before it is even worked on!).

It is relatively light in weight, yet has a density slightly higher than maple.

It has a natural bright ‘red brick’ color that looks quite striking. Padouk has been a personal favorite of both Don and David Sleishman for many years now and both still use their padouk snares as first call drums.

Jarrah –
An amazing hard wood sourced out of Western Australia.

Jarrah has a very high range density and as a result gives a massive amount of ‘cutting power’ to snare drums and very good projection. Its low end fundamentals are an absolute bonus for tom tuning as you can go way down and still get a great note.

Its frequency range is huge! Crisp, clear and full of warm organic tone.

Australian Blackwood –
We have found shells made from blackwood only to be little beauty’s!

Blackwood is found in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales and is a very workable hardwood.

It has a nice deep resonance and plenty of sustain thanks to its dense, but not too dense grain structure. Snare drums made from blackwood seriously bite and like maple, blackwood has a great balance of low, mid and high end frequencies.