Hallo alle!
Ich bin Gianfrancesco aus Mailand, Italien...(ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch also kann ich etwas hier anschreiben und verstehen!)
Also, ich habe meine Trommel mit italienischen Holz gebauen, hier ist die Erklärungen in Englisch Sprache (entschuldigung! Ich wurde den Text aus Deutsch wunschen )
During the last 10 years and more I have worked on a project in making my own handcraft snares.
The snare drums I make are built using a 10 year seasoned Red Spruce from Val di Fiemme with a particular quality named "maschiatura" given a unique sound table. The maschiatura is a particular characteristic found on 10 out of 100 trees and it is the same quality searched by Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati and many others in antique violin making.
During the summer season I do a trip near the Alps to select the right trees to collect and to cut the boards to make the cylinder.
After the cutting the boards are seasoned then planed by hand and calibrated to form the shell. Since Red Spruce is a soft wood the boards are steamed and then bent to form the shell and then two maple from balcanian reinforcement rings are added. I call these bass bars as they add some qualities to the sound.
After this, the shell takes a particular traditional woodworking on its inside to harden the surface and to calibrate the sound.
In a second time, the edges and the snare beds are cut by end. I agree with Roberto Spizzichino in saying that the handcrafting manufacture is what create a unique instrument, so my snare drums are totally made by hand, no automatic machines are involved in the processes.
The finish, that I call "Cremonese" is something very unique you won't find anywhere as it is totally cooked by me following the old italian traditions and a particular receipt.
This kind of finish, that I solely work during the warm season, will let the instrument to age and to improve the sound, like an old violin.
The color of the finish are almost identical to those of violins, but also trasparent clear. The airvent hand turned and made of italian walnut changes its size with the size of the drum to allow a correct air pressure inside the shell.
The hardware is mainly handcrafted by Adrian Kirchler remembering vintage style drums (tube brass nickeled lugs and old style strainer). Also the badge is made by Adrian by chisels.
The hoops can be brass triple flange, die cast, 3mm single flange, classic single flange and special wooden hoops made of italian woods.
Also, since I am the only builder and luthier, the drums are unique exemplars and different one from another and they have different names.
Here is the website but only available in italian at the moment:
http://gmbottegartigiana.wordpress.com/ (it will be soon available in english and german!)
Here some pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49642171@N00/with/5867056080/
Here my last snare drum made for a New York drummer:
http://gmbottegartigiana.wordpress.com/news/
Was meinst du?Sagt mir!