FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions:

Who is ‘Red Rock Drums Australia’?

When you contact us you are likely to be in communication with Mat Duniam. Mat spent years touring and playing drums, and after meeting Roger (back in 2001) started Red Rock Drums. Knowledge Mat gained from restoring and selling vintage drums as a teenager led to his shell designs for the ultimate drum sound, and striking natural aesthetics, being realised by the tremendous craftsmanship of Roger Terrill.

Do we make drums every day?

Roger makes drum shells many days each week, and increasingly more so in recent times, in addition to a variety of other projects such as the commissions for bespoke furniture, doors and cabinetry amongst many other things. Once a month, Mat ventures down to Roger to assemble the monthly batch.

Can we visit the Red Rock Drums Australia manufacturing facility?

This is a tough question. Our manufacturing occurs on Roger's property, and as batches are created only monthly, there are usually time restrictions which affect us having the freedom to host guests. We often prioritise customers who wish to pick-up drums which are being completed at that time. Requests to visit can be made through Mat. Visit requests outside building times may also be considered by Roger.

Where can I try Red Rock drums?

Good question. Check our dealers list on the website, contact them, or if you're in Melbourne and want to make a booking (email or phone) with Mat, you could have a hit of drums currently in stock in his small drum booth.

Do you need any workers?

In short, not really, but we do appreciate those who contact us with enthusiasm asking for work. We have a small group of handy drumming friends, often those who have been customers, who we call on occasionally during heavy batch builds.

How long does it take to make a drum?

Ultimately, a shell can be made in a few days. However, the hardware can take a couple of months to arrive. Hardware orders are processed on average every month, and only parts required for upcoming orders are purchased. For this reason, we suggest it takes 8-12 weeks to complete an order. This also provides us a buffer for potential delays related to our third-party providers, such as any unforeseen delays related to COVID, or perhaps even how Roger and Mat navigate lockdowns.

Do you make your own hardware?

Not yet. We have fabulous relationships with our hardware manufacturers in Taiwan, and have selected our favourite parts from each to furnish our world-leading stave shells. Whilst importing these parts is not cheap, it is much more cost effective than producing custom parts in Australia. This is however on our radar, and we look forward to one day announcing an exclusive line of our drums which has completely Australian-made components. In the meantime, we consider ourselves shell design and manufacturing experts, not expert hardware producers, as this is the heart and soul of our drums.

What is a stave shell?

Like a wine barrel, or a conga, stave drums are made up of multiple pieces (staves) of wood. They are glued and secured together vertically, then turned inside and out on our especially modified lathe. Stave shells use considerably less glue than ply drums, and (because of the vertical direction of the staves) more efficiently transmit vibration between the top and bottom drum heads. Qualities of tone, sustain and resonance, provide brilliant character to our Red Rock Drums. Our drums are often described as needing less effort to activate incredible drum sounds, with more versatile choice available.

Are stave drums louder than ply drums?

Producing drums that deliver more volume is no interest to us. We revel in producing drums which are musical instruments; which resonante and melt into music, to seat the drummer more comfortably in the band sound, to contribute to the richness of a great sounding balanced band. Our round-over bearing edges intentionally taper off harsh frequencies, and our wide flat snare beds reduce cutting penetrating crispness, enhancing the natural woody pop of our snare drums. We can dial in a little more crispness for louder playing environments by putting a double 45 on the bottom edge (enhances snare response) at no extra cost. Our drums produce tones that are welcome in acoustic settings, bringing more beautifully controlled, slightly dryer, cleaner and more pure qualities in the room - like the drums have been pre-EQ'd in a studio.

Do you endorse anyone?

We have a stack of awesome customers who we love and value, and maintain personal connections with. We endorse and support all the projects of drummers who own Red Rocks, giving air-time wherever possible to those who tag us on social media, or make us aware of what they are up to. The golden era of endorsements is over though, let's face it, it was a one-way unhealthy egotistical expectation that a drum company would propel a drummer into fame and fortune. Truly, an endorsement is a drummer buying equipment which they use and love and talk about, because they endorse it. We love what our customers do with our drums, so we endorse their projects. A label isn't necessary to do that. All our customers buy their drums, and choose to play them.

What if my drum falls apart?

Well for starters, it probably won't, unless you drop it. We have only ever had a few problems with wood staves twisting and shells cracking in different climates around the world, and we have fixed those issues at light-speed at full expense to us. Our customer service is the bees-knees, and we have been told this a million times. We work with natural products, which are unpredictable, but will solve anything quickly.

What if I actually dropped my drum?

Yep, this has happened, we have been phoned by a couple of customers actually crying. Would you believe it though, Roger is a wizard, and has made it look like it was never dropped with a complete fix. The disclaimer is that Roger often isn't sure it is possible, but tries his best. There may be some cost involved, but nothing obscene. Maybe some postage costs too.

But hold on, you said you have a lifetime warranty?

We do, we can fix things as long as we are around. Let's call it a limited lifetime warranty though. If you are the first owner of your drum/s and something fails beyond your actions, we will take full responsibility for resolving the problem quickly. If you are not the first owner, we will make an assessment of the problem, and discuss with you whether you might need to contribute a little payment to resolve the problem or not. Make sure you ask for honesty from the people who helped you load-out last Friday night though...

So… what have we learned about those drums which failed?

For starters, drums we made in our very early years are still good, drums we have sat in front of full walls of windows in the blistering Australian summer are still good, and drums we have sent to fancy tropical high-humidity and freezing bloody cold places around the world are still good. Unfortunately though, we have also had a few fails over the years due to shrinkage of less stable woods, and drying of green woods, which we thought we were all over but weren’t at the time. These fails were extremely embarrassing and expensive for us; frankly we are still absolutely gutted for those customers and all our hard work.

Wood is both hygroscopic which means it gains or loses moisture as the humidity of the surrounding air changes, and anisotropic which means it does not swell and shrink in a perfectly uniform manner.

So… what have we learned? We have made a detailed database containing shrinkage ratios of woods we use and common woods that others use, as well as data on humidity levels in a range of countries and regions within countries, we have learned which timbers we should be concerned about and why.

During construction we also ensure that the weather is not high humidity when drums are glued up, as this stage is the last and most important opportunity for us to control the shell’s ultimate integrity long-term.

All timbers we use have normally been kiln and/or air dried, and have all reacclimatised to the Australian Standard AS2796 (9%-14%) with the average moisture content ranging between 10%-12%. We ensure our stocks meet this, however, due to the nature of wood and the open grain of the bearing edges, the ‘sealing’ of our drum shells during polishing can only do so much to reduce the moisture levels changes in the timber. All timber, in all products including drums, from all manufacturers, experiences moisture level changes; our focus has been to ensure all stages along the way mitigate all the risks possible.

Fun Fact: Whilst the primary goal of an air conditioner, such as in a studio, is to cool the room down, the process also constantly dehumidifies the room. This is something to keep in mind when trying to achieve that ideal 40-50% humidity (up to 60% ok).

Does the HYBRID design change the drum sound?

Ultimately it is the wood on the inside which either deflects (harder timbers - bright) or soaks up (softer timbers - warm) the frequencies which bounce around inside the shell after the drum is hit. The added layer of the external timber on the stave is probably imperceptible to the human ear, but we imagine it does dry up the drum sound subtly. The qualities we hang our hats on, with vertical transmission of vibration, for tone and resonance is still maintained.

Why do you talk about resonance and sustain, aren't they the same?

Not really. Resonance describes how the drum sings, how vibrant the sound is. Sustain describes the length of the note when the drum is struck. Resonance is a quality drummers dream of, especially across multiple tunings, no matter how long the note is. Sustain can be awesome and musical, but can need taming sometimes too. Red Rock drums exude great resonance and sustain, and the good news is - when you own a Red Rock you have options; you can always tame sustain by using thicker drum heads or accessories, but you can't add them in to a drum that doesn't have them.

Should I buy a Red Rock drum?

Yes.

Should I buy more than one Red Rock drum?

Yes.