DW 6.5x14 Collectors Exotic Tasmanian Blackwood Snare Drum  From DW Drums

John Good’s latest wood find hails from the outback in the form of a Limited Edition DW kit that is crafted at the California Custom Shop from plied Australian blackwood shells with a stunning black sassafras exotic finish. The signed and numbered sets are complemented by a quick Candy Black-to-Natural Lacquer burst and black nickel hardware. Blackwood offers a punchy, warm tonality that is evident in larger drum diameters and their low-end frequencies. Offered in preconfigured 6-piece sets and à la carte snare drums.

Patented X Shell™ shell technology began with a foray into VLT™ or Vertical Low Timbre™ grain technology. In experimenting with alternate ways to cross laminate a shell, the tension on the shell could be greatly decreased if the majority of plies were run vertically, rather than horizontally. Drum makers have always known that shells must be cross-laminated to maintain a shell's structural integrity, so the idea of designing a completely vertical shell to achieve optimal low frequencies was never an option. It was discovered that if veneers were cut at a 45-degree angle and cross-laminated in an X pattern, both low-frequency ranges and shell strength could be accomplished.