Custom Drum Builders Week: September 21-27

By Salman Haqqi
Published September 21, 2009

Today, there are literally thousands, of boutique companies, solo craftsmen and garage wanna-bes building custom drums in America and around the world. They are buying or making shells, selecting exotic materials, creating radical paint schemes, and generally pushing the envelope, visually and sonically, of modern drum making. If you can pinpoint a start date for this movement, it was probably when Joe Montineri's custom snares became popular in the '80s, but there have been many builders along the way who have contributed to this growing movement.

We decided to take all of our articles and interviews, and especially, photos, and put them together for one week to honor the custom drum builders. We salute the visionaries, the perfectionists, and the deeply obsessed, all of whom make the world of drumming so much more, uhm, individual.

Our coverage is by no means exhaustive. We're scratching the surface of the Custom Drum Building world, but it's a good start. Here's a selection of stories you'll find on the site this week.

Profile: Inside Canopus: An interview with Japan's top boutique builder.

Profile: Medicine Man Drums of Ohio

Profile: John Dutra is the guru of Guerilla Drum Making

Profile: Udrum Rocks the Cherry Bomb snare.

Profile: Bill Detamore of Porkpie is interviewed.

How thick should a shell be? Very, according to MCD Percussion.

Profile: Kansas City Drum Company.

Profile: Drumskull Drums.

Profile: Battlefield Drums

Profile: Artisan Drums

Profile: MCD Percussion.

One of America's oldest and most successful custom drum builders, Precision Drum Company.