Originally posted by Pegasos
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I'm making some assumptions here, I don't have anything to back it up other than my observations of basketball courts.
Hard maple should be the best choice because it is the densest wood that is readily available in North America. Yes, I know there are much denser woods available; Cocobola and Ebony come to mind, but they're very very expensive. They also make basketball floors out of maple because they are very durable and resistant to dents and wear.
My second choice for a drum would be cherry, which is what I made my drum out of, mostly because I had several hundred board feet of cherry laying around my shop when the idea occurred to me to make one.
Third, and probably the most economical would be hickory.
Fourth would be oak, namely, white oak, and lastly red oak.
Last would be pine because it is the softest but the cheapest by far. It also dents very easily. Hell, you can dent pine by pushing it with your fingernail. I think even MDF would be harder than pine but if MDF gets wet, it's ruined forever.
The bigger question is, would you, or could you really notice a difference in sound between the different woods? I don't know. I suppose the argument could be made that denser woods may even be quieter because they would tend to absorb sound better, I don't know, it may do just the opposite. Perhaps Alan could shed some light on this since he has hit many many more different kinds of platforms than most of us.
As far as vibration goes, I think vibration is reduced with weight, whether it's from the frame and drum itself or in combination with a sandbag. I know for a fact that you can make a significant difference in noise and vibration on every platform I've owned (3 of them) by putting the largest possible sandbag on top.
So, I'm not sure if I answered your question or not, these are my personal observations and opinions. Your Mileage May Vary as they say.
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