HHG Drums 14x7 Surgical Grade Stainless Steel 2019 Brushed Satin

When building this drum I set out with one simple goal. I wanted to make an instrument that would Outlast my grandchildren.

I started with 16 gauge surgical grade stainless steel sheets. Each piece was then cut to size, hand rolled into a perfect cylinder and Tig welded at the seam. After a piece of metal has been properly TIG welded there is no longer a discernible seam, the two halves of the metal are melted into each other in a small amount of additional stainless steel is added to make a flush surface that is as continuous as the rest of the piece of metal. This is a more labor-intensive way to make a metal drum shell, but I believe it is worth the extra time and effort because the results that it yields are far superior to any pressed and spun shell.

The 16 gauge material that I used to build these drums is on average twice as thick as metal used in most commercially available metal drums. Because it is so much thicker, the shell does not need any extraneous beads or bent over edges for concentric rigidity. This allows the shell to be incredibly strong while still retaining the ability to freely vibrate and move as it is played.

The edges of the metal are left unbent. They are hand shape to a full roundover profile and then polished up to 400 Grit for a ridiculously smooth and glossy bearing Edge that allows for easy tuning, and full transfer of your stick in packs to the Shell.

After forming the shell and shaping the edges, all of the holes are laid out by hand and drilled. Every single hole in the drum also gets chamfered inside and out to allow all of the hardware to seat perfectly against the shell.

Finally, snare beds are cut, Again by hand. Using a template, I lay out each snare bed centered perfectly on the screener in the butt plate, slowly grinding The Edge down to the marked line, and then finally hand filing and polishing the snare bed to match the surrounding edges. I use a medium deep snare bed that is relatively wide, and its deepest point is 1/8 of an inch, and its total edge-to-edge width is 4 and 3/4. This allows for a cushy soft spot in the head for the end plates of the snare wires to sink into, what this does is allow the wires to be pulled perfectly snug to the Head eliminating any extraneous snare buzz and producing an unmatched and ridiculously sensitive snare sound.

On top of making the shells by hand for these prototypes, I also made the Hoops. Each hoop is constructed from a single piece of 3/4 by 3/16 surgical grade stainless steel that is again hand rolled and welded. These hoops are incredibly robust when compared to any diecast or triple flanged Hoops. The fact that they are made from 100% stainless steel means that they will never rust or tarnish and will look exactly as they do today 150 years from now. YouTube is precision ground on the edge that mates with the color of the drumhead to provide a perfectly flat reference surface for even tuning. These hoops stick up above the drumhead the same amount as a standard hoop so that the feel when playing them is the same.

Moving onto Hardware, I started with my signature single point lugs. Each lug is CNC machined, featuring a subtle concentric circle profile in the center as well as for radiused fill its around the circumference of the post.

These drums are  also outfitted with an internal tone control mechanism. These are similar to the units found on old Slingerland and Ludwig kits, with a couple of key upgrades to make them more user-friendly. Each mechanism is preset individually at the shop so that it cannot be loosened any further than 1/8 of an inch away from the drum head, that way the mechanism cannot accidentally be loosened to the point where it falls apart inside the drum, also it means that you are never more than one or two cranks away from engaging the muffler to the batter head. Each tone control mechanism features an in-house made CNC machine 6061 aircraft grade aluminum knob that is engraved with the HHG logo.

We have a wide range of strainer options, including premium options like the DW mag throw off, the Trick strainer, or the amazing Inde strainer. Vintage throws are also available! 

Some finishing touches include a diecast chrome air vent, and an antique silver diecast HHG badge, which is attached with some handsome stainless steel socket cap screws, a bit of a special touch and a departure from our usual brass machine screws we use for the badge.

The sound of these drums is unreal. Powerful, articulate, and punchy. They're everything that you want out of a steel snare drum and nothing that you don't, no ridiculous harsh overtones, but a precision and presence that will allow you to be heard over the loudest of guitar rigs or play subtle ghost notes at the most chill Jazz gig.

This drum represents a lot of research and development, blood sweat and tears, and commitment to craft. It is not an off-the-shelf metal snare drum it was mass produced overseas like most of the big brand name drum companies build. This is a one-of-a-kind handcrafted instrument. I genuinely cannot wait to get these into the hands of players. These drums belong under the sticks of passionate drummers.As with all of our drums and listings shown, when you place an order with HHG Drums, your new instrument will be hand-crafted in house, from scratch. The drum shown in the pictures was built for a customer, and now resides with them.