Product Close-Up Stellar 3-Ply and Walnut/Bird’s-Eye Maple Wood Hoops Superbly built options for achieving drier, warmer drum tones. The folks at Stellar sent us two pairs of wood hoops to review. Out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the great attention to detail given to the construction. The hoops were very cleanly made, with smooth joints and no gaps or bumps. I found it difficult to even feel where the seams were located. The first ones I checked out were 14″, 3-ply bird’s-eye maple, with hoop claws, and I put them on a 5×14 mahogany snare. The hoops immediately gave the drum a fuller, richer tone, with a fatter backbeat, thicker-sounding rimshots, and a very sweet, pleasing rimclick sound. They’re extremely light, which reduced the overall weight of the drum, and their hooks added an old-school, vintage look. The hoops caused the tension rods to sit a […]

October 2015 Issue