There are many different kinds of woods and synthetic materials out there that can be confusing when choosing- maple, birch, mahogany, acrylic, beechwood, poplar, ash, carbon fibre, fibreglass.

 This can be very disconcerting for a parent or someone buying their first drumset. All these materials have different sound properties and may exceed or not meet your specific requirements.

 The most common "pro quality" woods are maple, birch, beech, and acrylic. MAPLE is a warm sounding wood that has nice mid and low frequencies.It is probably the most popular and consistent sounding wood and is great for recording and live miking.  BIRCH has a more upfront sounding timbre that "hits quickly" then dies off. ( the frequency grid looks somewhat like an upside down pyramid). These are good drums for recording because the wood has been described as naturally equalized. They are also great on stage. ACRYLIC is the see-through "plexiglass" that was made famous by John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. The material Acrylic is the hardest of the plastic family and because it has no pores like wood is more sound reflective and slightly louder. It has a dry, focused sound that is popular now more than ever. The shells CAN be more fragile if not handled with care but like any professional quality instrument, if treated correctly and not abused, will last longer than any wood drum. The material is less flexible and will not tolerate hard knocks and drops from heights that a wooden drum might be able to withstand. Look for cracks and spiderwebbing in prospective used purchases. BEECHWOOD is another exceptionally good wood for live and recording as it has been said to be a good compromise between maple and birch. The timbre of the wood has a good all around sound with good amounts of warmth and projection.

Some of the "mid grade" woods used in drum making are poplar, mahogany, basswood.  POPLAR is used in the popular pearl export series and in core plies of some of the pro brands such as ludwig. It is a softer wood that has lots of warmth but with that warmth comes a lack of projection that in louder unmiked stage settings may make your drums come across slightly quieter or even muddy sounding. This wood is still a good bargain for the prices they command and as a beginner or intermediate drumset wood, you will be pleased with the sound.  MAHOGANY has different levels of quality, and therefore different prices attached to it. The most common source for mahogany is from the Phillipines. This is a softer mahogany and the quality is lower. This is OK for warmth and dark sounding drums to get that classic sound from the 60's and 70's. The higher quality Mahogany comes from africa , it is harder and while still retaining that warmth, it has more volume and projection.The prices tend to reflect this quality as few manufacturers use african mahogany (pearl does in its top end drums)      BASSWOOD is used in many types of beginner and intermediate drums such as taye, tama, sonor. This wood is medium in hardness and tone and is definately one of the better "softwoods". It is often used in combination with other wood plies to soften the tone and make it more pleasing to the ear, such as on tama's swingstar drums - (birch/basswood) . Any of the materials that I have listed will make for a satisfying sound for your future drumset. But PERSONAL TASTE is still the main ingredient for a happy purchase. Consult any person at your neighborhood music store and they will be more than happy to direct you to the brand and level of drum within your price range that best suits your needs.       armed with the little bit of knowledge I have given you and their professional advice you should have no trouble getting what you like and need. Dont be afraid to ask questions, and try them out. Drums are a major purchase that you will be stuck with so you best be sure you like them. You wouldnt buy a car with out starting it up and test driving it. Also ask questions such as what drumhead combinations will sound best with the drum. And what tuning ranges will open the sound up best for that particular wood and size drum, as tuning and drumhead choice are major contributers to how good or bad a drum will sound. But that will be another column altogether.

Hope this helped in some way and if you do your homework you shouldnt be disappointed in your purchase.Good luck and happy drumming!!!!!!!!!!