SPIRIT 6.5x13 Ironwood
Solid Snare Drum
I just
spent quite some time over the last day or two really getting to know the 6.5x13
SPIRIT snare drum owned by Nick "soulbelly" Amoroso. Nick so graciously sent me the drum,
(and I in turn simultaneously sent him my Canopus Zelkova for his perusal -
we'll await his report).
 Well the
Spirit drum is GORGEOUS. It's made of Ironwood, a wood so dense (and heavy) that
it makes even Jarrah and Sheoak (also from Australia) seem like balsa wood!!!!
The wood has the same tonal appearance & hue as bubinga, without all the
figuring. It's done in its natural, reddish brown matte finish.
The inside of
the shell is hatchmarked with a chisel, apparently to break up the sound waves -
I'm not sure of the physics there.
The
bearing edges look to be about 45 degrees, and are moderately rounded, in
contrast to most of today's drums with sharp edges. The Spirit logo is branded
onto one of the side panels. There's a vent opposite that, with a thick, chromed
grommet. There are eight tube lugs, having a unique and appealing design, and
attached with a single post which is insulated from the drum with a leather
washer. The strainer is a black NickelWorks - today's industry standard.
16-strand Puresound wires.
The
heads Nick had on it were Aquarian Texture Coated and Aquarian Classic Clear
snare side. Nice die cast hoops with cutouts for the snares - no bridge. That
was sorta nice, because I think you could actually change snare side head
without removing the snare wires.
OK, now
I'm going to be brutally honest. Remember that this drum goes, I believe, in the
vicinity of $1,000.00 - correct me if I'm wrong.
The drum
is very potent, as I expected it would be. It is a fabulously well crafted drum,
and very attractive as I've stated, etc., but not at all for me - remember, that
I'm coming more from a jazzer's standpoint than Nick is, though. The shell is
just TOO dense for me, yielding up a sound almost as
if it's made from a
hard, compacted resin plastic, if you get my drift. It had oodles of "crack" and
bite to it, no doubt. It'd work fine in a loud venue for projection. But there
was no real warmth to this wooden drum, and the snare sound never "married" the
shell sound.
I also
missed a certain pinpoint articulation without snare buzz, that I couldn't seem
to pull out of the drum, even at higher tensionings of heads, snares, etc. The
drum lacked that fat tonal underbelly and gutsiness that I'd demand from a 6½"
depth shell. In contrast, the Zelkova gives you that in spades.
I also think
the Spirit people should fashion their bearing edges sharper, but I wonder then
if the edge would be prone to chip easily owing to thebrittleness of the dense
ironwood.
I would
also suggest a thinner made (less dry sounding) batter head such as an Evans
coated G2 or a Remo coated Ambassador or even a coated Diplomat if laying into
the thing isn't the idea.
All in
all, a real piece of craftsmanship, but I favor the Zelkova, hands
down.
Nick, I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to try out
your snare drum. Forgive my critique, I'm trying to be "subjectively objective"
for potenial buyers of these rather expensive instruments. I'll be VERY
interested in hearing what you have to say about the Zelkova.
o-----« Mark Polis
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