THE SHELL

Fortune Drums sound begins with shells of the highest grade Northern rock maple. Timbre matched shells of various construction types are offered for your musical needs at any dynamic level. Plied shell options include 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 ply shells with and without inner rings. Shells are available in standard or custom depths. Fortune Drums also offers barrel stave lathe turned snare drums in various domestic and exotic woods. No filler woods are used in Fortune drum shells. These inferior wood plies inhibit shells from resonating to their potential. This means truer sounds and greater efficiency whether played acoustically or in sound reinforced environments.

THE INSIDE

Several labor-intensive processes create the unique Fortune Drums sound. Semi-hard oil finishes are applied by hand and allowed to permeate the pores of the wood. The oil is then sanded from the surface and wax suspended in a polymer is hand applied. This wax coat is then buffed to a satin sheen. The semi-hard finish in the wood pores yields incredible attack yet the face of the resonating chamber is soft finished for warm, rich tonality. Each drum is voiced to the correct blend of attack and warmth by adjusting the ratio of oil to wax.

THE OUTSIDE

Drums are a sound and a visual experience. Only the finest finishes are applied to Fortune Drums. Stain colors are custom mixed from raw color pigments for the richest hues of any color you desire. Fortune Drums painted finishes are catalyzed urethane based to assure protection without heavy layers of material, which impede the natural vibration of the drum shell. Finishes are offered in everything from satin oil to ultra high gloss. Special finish effects are available and are priced according to the complexity.

OTHER FEATURES

Fortune Drums bearing edges are custom contoured for optimum response. A cyano-acrylic coating is applied to the edges for maximum transference of vibration between the drumhead and drumshell. Snare beds are hand cut and shaped to create the sound and feel characteristics best suited to your snare drum. All drums are precision drilled and assembled to your specifications for personalized placement of your choice of hardware and mounting systems.

These features represent a system of drum making which attains the highest level of technical performance while maintaining craft integrity.

REVIEWS

Real 2 Reel Studios’ comments on Fortune Drum snare(s):
My first exposure to a Fortune drum was Phil Ehart’s (Kansas and Native Window) Fortune snare. That snare was used extensively in the Native Window recording sessions. Our entire staff was blown away by the sound. We contacted Dale and had him make a 14 x 4.25” for our studio. The sound of our snare is incredible. Whether the heads are cranked tight or not, the snare maintains outstanding attack and body. It’s no exaggeration to say the two best sounding snares I have EVER heard were both made by Fortune Drums.
Steve Rawls – Real 2 Reel Studios

Having played, listened, tuned and tampered with drums in and out of the studio for nearly half a century, I have observed much. Our 14 X 4.25” Fortune Snare, I affectionately call the “Mega Piccolo” or “Big Pic”, is an essential instrument in our snare drum arsenal. It is capable of crisp clear tones that respond to the most delicate touch, much like a concert piccolo and is by far the most sensitive snare when played with small sticks, rods or wire brushes. Also, I must mention; any jazz drummer who uses a side stick across the rim and other combination stick/brush/rod techniques is in for a pleasant surprise AND it’s all recordable without any “special mic’ing”, allowing the most tasteful of drummers to “work” it. When you increase the mass of the stick, this drum responds in a full spectrum, it gets louder across its tonal range, rim shots add mid/bottom and crack like a whip! I can hear the tone of the wood on this drum, I can tune this drum and it sounds great with “off the shelf” heads. What a novel concept! Thanks Fortune Drums!
Bill Turpin - Real 2 Reel Studios

This snare sounds awesome right out of the box. With most snares I'll spend time tweaking EQ's until I get the right blend of body and crack. With the Fortune and my trusty 57's I know I'm getting the perfect blend with no tweakng involved.
Jonathan Beckner – Real 2 Reel Studios

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