Few battery makers like to experiment with different wood types, orientations and lay-ups as a DW, and now the California battery giant has showcased its latest innovation: Purple Core drum barrel technology.
At the center of the new shell option is a 3-ply core of Purpleheart, which can be combined with North American maple, cherry or mahogany to create a custom sound flavor from a hybrid shell. But the big news here is that DW says Purple Core technology allows for the lowest timbre ever offered on a DW drum shell.
New Purple Core technology sees DW head designer and ‘wood whisperer’ John Good achieve ‘a big breakthrough’ after years of research into getting a lower fundamental tone from a drum, while maintaining the strength and integrity of the hull.
While drum shells with plies with a vertically aligned grain offer lower pitch than the same horizontally aligned plies, a vertical alignment may lack resistance when placed under tension. However, thanks to Purpleheart’s dense makeup, Good was able to create the new Purple Core shells using a single horizontally aligned ply. The result, according to DW: the strength of the hull and a low pitch.
John Good says: “This is a big step forward for us. We had long been looking for a way to make a shell out of mostly short grain veneers, but we wanted it to be something that would stand the test of time.
“The nature of Purpleheart allows us to do this. With a single horizontal crease throughout the hull, we created a drum with a very low frequency, but with all the attack and presence we wanted. I can’t wait for the drummers and engineers to hear it for themselves!
For more information on Purple Core shell dimensions, material and finish options, visit DW website.