This excerpt is taken from the complete article that appears in the April 2016 issue, which is available here.

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Bucks County Drum Company

Semi-Solid Bebop Drumset

A winning shell combo blending the roundness of ply with the power of solid.

 
Bucks County is a custom shop located thirty-five miles north of Philadelphia in the small borough of Perkasie. The company offers drums with just about any type and size of ply shell in any lacquer, satin, stain, or wrap finish. What sets Bucks County apart from general drum assemblers, however, is its unique patent-pending semi-solid drum shell, which fuses an interior solid steam-bent shell with a 5-ply maple exterior and 5-ply maple reinforcement rings. The bearing edges are cut so that the drumhead sits solely on the solid portion, which helps gives the drums a strong, vibrant, modern tone, while the maple plies increase warmth as well as strength, consistency, and durability.

We were delivered a gorgeous bebop kit to review that comprised an 8×12 rack tom, a 12×14 floor tom, a 15×18 bass drum, and a 6.5×14 snare. All of the drums have a satin tung oil finish over a wenge veneer and black-nickel hoops and Gretsch-style lugs. The drums have solid cores of a different species, strategically chosen to make each drum as sonically balanced as possible. Let’s take a look at each piece individually before we test them in action.

Check out a video demo of these drums below.
 
Michael Dawson
  
For the complete review, check out the April 2016 issue, which is available here.