Wood Sourcing

Ash is a practical wood due to its strength, hardness and weight. When used as core or as part of a combination of plys, it can add strength and durability to your shell.

Birch is a heavy wood with a very fine grain, and is considered one of the most widely used woods for veneer and ply. Very light in color, it takes stain very well, allowing you to truly customize your shells.

Arguably the most popular hardwood in the United States, Red Oak features a straight grain with a coarse, uneven texture. It's strong and responds well to stains and finishes.

Ribbon Mahogany is a beautiful, consistently striped grain, and for this reason is often used as the outer plys in shells. The wood is extremely common in musical instruments due to its uniform texture and good natural luster.

Cherry offers beautiful colors, from rich red to creamy white. The wood has a fine, uniform grain and a satiny texture. Our Cherry is hand-selected and rotary cut to our desired thickness from the forests of Michigan.

Gumwood is moderately hard and offers a very close-knit wood with fine texture. It makes a great core wood and is a throwback to the classic drum shells.

Mahogany is a reddish-brown wood with a beautiful, consistent grain, and for this reason is often used as the outer plys in shells. The wood is durable and easy to work with due to its close, straight-grain pattern and lack of soft grain.

Maple wood is incredibly strong, looks great and stains nicely. Our Maple is hand-selected and rotary cut to our desired thickness from the forests of Michigan.

Poplar is a straight-grained, light-to-moderate wood with a uniform texture. Poplar is seldom used for its aesthetic, but instead is more functional as a core option.

Walnut is a desirable wood due to its strength, grain and color. This hardwood is resilient with a moderate texture, and makes an attractive, classic shell exterior.

Teak offers a very dense, exotic aesthetic with great color variation. Typically brown in color often with darker streaks, this is a prized wood for its unique presentation and durability.

Birdseye Maple is not a distinct species of Maple, but is instead named for its growth/grain anomaly. Known for its rare, decorative properties, Birdseye Maple is a wonderful option for a truly unique shell aesthetic. Colors can range from creamy, light amber to deep, reddish and dark brown hues. Our Maple is hand-selected and rotary cut to our desired thickness from the forests of Michigan.

Our Bubinga is ethically sourced from sustainable farms in Africa. Bubinga is valued because of its strength-to-weight ratio and beautiful, decorative detail. A pure Bubinga shell like our Signature Series is a great option, or Bubinga can be used in concert with other hardwoods as a custom order.

Curly Maple's defining characteristic is the unusual, curly design of its grain. Intriguing, three-dimensional patterns give the appearance that the grain is curling along the ply. This makes a showstopping shell due to its unique aesthetic. Our Maple is hand-selected and rotary cut to our desired thickness from the forests of Michigan.

Just like our Bubinga, our Waterfall Bubinga is ethically sourced from sustainable farms in Africa. The Watefall Bubinga ups the aesthetic ante with its unique wave pattern, and therefore makes a showstopping shell or complete kit.