Canopus Zelkova

[Gajdzin]

It's 1:00AM in Poland, but I can't sleep, because after more than one month in the USA my internal clock tells me it's early afternoon I was on a business trip in Arizona for 4 weeks, then a week in NYC, finally a few days for myself - I chose to spend those on the road, driving from Morristown, NJ to Portsmouth, NH. Why Portsmouth? I wanted to see the Appalachian autumn colors, and perhaps try out a snare or two in Drum Center of Portsmouth, famous for its YouTube reviews of hi-end snare drums (if you haven't seen them, go to YouTube and type "DrumCenterNH" into the search engine).

The shop is not as large as warehouse-sized Drums World in San Francisco, but what it lacks in size it makes up in density - I have never seen so many high-end snare drums in one place! And don't even get me started on the drum kits... But my goal was specific: Canopus snare drums. The owner, Shane Kinney, must be the largest Canopus dealer in the USA. He stocks their incredible maple snares, the metals, the exotic carbons, and, of course, the famous ZELKOVA. Probably the most unique drum in the world, it is cut from a hollowed-out trunk of a Zelkova tree. No plies, no reinforcement rings, just a solid piece of a tree trunk!

I fell in love with this drum even before I heard it, because I have lived 10 years in Japan and was always fascinated by taiko drummers at local festivals. All taiko drums are made that way: from a hollowed-out section of a tree trunk, and they have the same, slightly barrel-like shape, as the Zelkova snare. Trivia corner: the largest taiko drum I have seen was in a temple in Kyoto and it's diameter was almost as high as... me. Imagine the diameter of the tree it must have been cut from!

Shane is extremely friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, and you will not feel any pressure to buy and leave as you browse through his impressive collection. Here's myself (left) with Shane (right), last Tuesday



The one empty slot on the Canopus shelf, in the upper right corner of the photo, is where the Zelkova used to sit. Now it sits on my snare stand, here, in Warsaw

Actually it was NOT love at first paradiddle. The Zelkova is very unique and nothing like my other, more "normal" snares. It has a voice of its own and I had to browse through several other drums in Shane's collection before I felt comfortable with it. I tried two single ply Noble and Cooleys (maple and their latest: the tulip wood) and two stave drums by Brady, from Australian hardwoods. I realized that buying hi-end snare drums from exotic timbers is not easy. Not all of them will fit all tastes. Each is really unique.

The Aussie hardwoods were not my taste. I guess I'm more into thinner shells. The Noble and Cooley maple was lovely, but not THAT different from other maple snares I have in the studio. The tulipwood I might grow to like if I spent more time with it.

If I didn't already have 3 other maple snares, I would probably end up with Canopus Soft Maple (also single ply, with reinforcement rings). It is the sweetest sounding maple snare I have ever played. Plus, it's considerably less expensive than the Zelkova. But there was something magical about that taiko-like Zelkova snare, it's been working its magic on me, and when Shane run over from behind the counter to tune it (he heard the bottom head being out of tune and rushed to correct it), I was sold. And so was the drum

Here are the pictures of my new love:






Pls note the grommet-less vent (Canopus believes: the less metal the better), the lovely wood grain and the nice surprise on the top head: "Aid Japan", meaning: a portion of the sales will go to helping the Tsunami victims.

How does does the Zelkova sound? A bit pre-equalized. Crisp highs, and solid bottom. And the bottom does not disappear when you crank it up, which is quite amazing. An incredibly versatile snare, actually. But with a character. The zelkova timber does not sound like maple. It's got its own solid, thick, decisive character, and I love it.

Which doesn't mean I won't be back to Portsmouth the next time I'm in the USA. That Soft Maple snare was divine... And the Shleishman drumsets...



PS. For sound samples of a Zelkova snare check out the Canopus web site: http://www.canopusdrums.c...nare/index.html and YouTube: Canopus 6.5x14 Zelkova Solid Shell Snare Drum - YouTube

[joeq]

looks gorgeous

then I googled the Price!

someday....

[AKCSTUDIO]

I am a proud owner of one also in my studio a 6.5x14 it records awesome!!

[Gajdzin]

Originally Posted by joeq

looks gorgeous

then I googled the Price!

someday....

That's exactly what I was always saying about hi-end drums. And then, two years ago, I was diagnozed with thyroid cancer. And I realized that putting off my dream gear until "someday" may not work, because that "someday" may not happen... Carpe diem! While it lasts

[chrisso]

I owned one for a while.
It never got much time on the kit in the studio. Producers seemed to prefer my other snares.
So I sold it. never looked back.
Craviotto makes the best sounding high-end snares IMO.

[muziekschuur]

No drum makers in Poland?

[Gajdzin]

Originally Posted by muziekschuur

No drum makers in Poland?

Only one that I'm aware of: http://www.bertrand-drums.com

I did once look for someone to re-cut bearing edges on a tom. No luck. Here, if you don't like the sound of your drum, you sell it on eBay and get a different one...

Plenty of luthiers, though, if you'd like a hand-made violin, viola, cello

[muziekschuur]

I did look at that polish drum kit manufacturer. Looks like they make some fabulous pieces.... You might wanna visit that company yourself.

[Gajdzin]

They are way up in the North, on the sea coast... Maybe one day, when I'm visiting the seaside

[JulianFernandez]

Congrats on the new snare, man! And nice review!
Post clips when you have them!

[Jax]

Very nice snare, congrats! I think you have a good philosophy as well.

Are you sure you were at a place called 'Drums World' in SF? I don't know of such a place. Maybe it was a different store, because there's no warehouse sized drum store in the city.

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by chrisso

I owned one for a while.
It never got much time on the kit in the studio. Producers seemed to prefer my other snares.
So I sold it. never looked back.
Craviotto makes the best sounding high-end snares IMO.

I have a cravvie 6 1/2 maple sitting on a session right now..great stuff.
so fat yet focused..helluva crack & volume .kinda the best of all worlds for a wood drum.

[Gajdzin]

Originally Posted by Jax

Very nice snare, congrats! I think you have a good philosophy as well.

Are you sure you were at a place called 'Drums World' in SF? I don't know of such a place. Maybe it was a different store, because there's no warehouse sized drum store in the city.

Sorry, it was "Drum World", not "Drums World". And in 1996 it was HUGE - I counted 48 drum kits on display. They had this great shell comparison station, where they hung in a semi-circle 12" toms from most of the kits in the store, all with the same heads and tuned the same way, so you could really compare the tonal differences of the shells. Also, along the left wall of the store there were separate rooms for Paiste, Zildijan and Sabian. And at the very end of the store the snare drums kingdom.

That was in 1996. I know, because I spent a substantial part of my honeymoon in that store (also at the Starving Musician's and Sam Adato's), which my wife couldn't forgive me for many years tutt

Now I just googled it and found a "Drum World" at 1220 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94402. I believe this is NOT the same store - the logo is all different (I still have the original Drum World T-shirt they gave me as a freebie at the time) and judging from Google Maps Street View, it's tiny compared with where I was spending my honeymoon

PS. In 1996 I bought a very unique snare drum from Drum World SF, with completely free floating shells, nothing bolted to them (pre-Sleishmann The heads were tensioned by a very heavy, custom die-cast rim assembly that was sitting freely on top of the shell, pressed down onto the top bearing edge only by its own weight. Same with the bottom head assembly. So you could quickly swap heads and shells during a gig. It came with three shells of three different depths. Unfortunately I sold it when my son was born a few years later.

I wonder if someone could shed some light on the fate of the original Drum World SF and that incredibly unique snare drum that I could never find on the internet in later years...