by David Ciauro

DW’s foray into making all-cherry shells aims to meet the needs of drummers who are fans of maple and birch but are looking for a union of the two that yields slightly darker results. DW executive vice president and drum designer John Good states in the accompanying press release, “Cherry is a really resonant wood [with] some of the characteristics of maple and some of the characteristics of birch. It’s an uncommon wood in the drum-making world, and that’s one of the reasons I like it so much.”

We were sent a four-piece bop-style kit, featuring 8-ply all-cherry HVLT (Horizontal/Vertical Low Timbre) shells in satin oil finish with nickel hardware. The kit comprised a 10-lug 5×14 snare with a magnetic throw-off and three-position butt plate, a 6-lug 8×12 tom with no mounting hardware, an 8-lug 14×14 floor tom, and an 8-lug 14×18 bass drum with two DW BPD2 dampening pillows mounted inside, touching both heads. All of the drums were outfitted with DW’s True Hoops, True-Pitch Tension Rods, and clear/coated Remo-made drumheads.

Here’s how the kit sounds when tuned tight. (click here)

 

Here’s how the kit sounds when tuned medium-tight. (click here)

 

Here’s how the kit sounds when tuned medium. (click here)

 

Here’s how the kit sounds when tuned low. (click here)

 

For more on this kit, check out the complete review in the April 2014 issue of Modern Drummer.