Sound focus rings?

animolar · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 11:58 am Post subject: Sound focus rings?

I am looking to buy a Tama Starclassics kit and need to know from someone who is an experienced player [5+ years exp] wheter or not to buy a kit with sound focus rings. I play rock, but am a percussion major in college, so I also play jazz. Any tips, advice?
Thanks

TAMAGOD · Sea Monkey Joined: 26 Feb 2002 Posts: 11

I have played for six years, and the sound focus rings are great for rock on The rockstar but not on the classic..But the starclassic are great for jazz and percussion.

crowley35 · Posted: Fri May 23, 2003 10:13 am Post subject:

Sound Focus Rings mute your drums slightly. I personally love the sound of Starclassics with Sound Focus Rings. They completely eliminate the need for any external muffling. All I do is tune the heads for pitch and the sustain is perfect with no help.

If you play jazz, I would say go for the Sound Focus Rings, but since you play rock as well, its a little more up in the air. If you play your current drums wide open with no mutes, you might want to stay with plain shells, but if you use any mutes at all, I would highly recommend the Sound Focus Rings. I would also recommend the Gold Sunburst finish.

kenny@sabarese.com · Not So Newbie Joined: 08 Sep 2003 Posts: 9 Location: NJ

what i have seen done is putting the rings inside the drums on the bottom head...this mutes less than putting it on the top head...and then they won't fall off while you are playing...

crowley35 · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2003 10:32 am Post subject:

The rings are part of the drum shell. What you're talking about are called donuts. The Sound Focus Rings are extra plies at the bottom and top of the shell on the inside that help to mute and "focus" the sound, leaving less need for dampening.

Premier Artist · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 6:15 am Post subject:

This is interesting! The history of the focus ring goes way back to the late 60's/early 70's when the drum manufacturers realized that thin plies meant more wood resonance (and this was a trend at the time), so they started building drums with thinner shells. One problem on the early thin shell sets was that they didn't keep a perfectly round shape, due to the thinner shells.

The soultion to this was the focus ring. The trend turned at the late 70's, drums got thicker shells and the focus rings became unnecessary. Now, thin shells are modern, again. But todays advanced techniques and hi-tech manufacturing processes proved that focus rings aren't needed to keep a perfectly round shape, but it provides a more focused sound, so today the focus ring functions as a sound altering alternative instead of a needful shapeholder.

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TonySz · Tadpole Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 29

What I'd like to know is HOW does one tell if he has sound focus rings on a drum? I called Tama and was told by tech support that the shell is thicker at the ends of the drum. Does that mean the shell is tapered/graduated at the ends or is there a seperate strip of wood mounted on top of the inner shell???? I'd like to pick up another bd and would like to ensure I get the same bd as what I have now.