Transforming Raw Planks to “Perfect” Circles It all started with a few innocuous text messages: “How would you like to attend one of my snare classes and maybe write a little article about it?” asked Jefferson Shallenberger, founder and master craftsman at Santa Cruz–based Sugar Percussion. “Sure,” I responded. “That sounds like a great idea.” And just like that, I—a drummer/journalist with zero woodworking skills—had agreed to fly to California for three days to attempt to build a stave-shell snare from scratch and to document the entire experience for the world to read. Self-doubt? No doubt! But I knew I had to go. I mean, how often does one get a chance to observe the intricacies of a master artisan at work, let alone be actively involved in the process? Having inspected and tested Shallenberger’s gorgeous and impeccable drums several times over the years, I knew that I—along with the […]

October 2020 Issue