Iron City Drumworks Hardwood Counterhoops™:

Iron City Drumworks is proud to offer what we feel are the finest aftermarket hoops on the market today. These hoops are crafted of domestic and exotic hardwoods to exacting tolerances, resulting in unmatched durability and clarity of tone. Rim shots positively pop. Cross sticks take on a clave like tone that will cut through like never before. And, your drum will looks like a million bucks!

Each hoop is constructed of ten segments of hand selected wood, finger jointed for reliable strength, and machined round to within 1/64". Tension rod heads are countersunk to avoid splintered and broken sticks. Snare gates are machined to allow clearance at a wide range of tunings, without reducing the strength or integrity of the hoop. Hoops are currently available in Maple, Cocobolo, Bocote, and Bubinga, with more species coming soon including Purple Heart and Ebony.

Other manufacturers use ply construction to produce their hoops. We feel there are two major drawbacks to this approach: high glue/wood ratio and delamination. Ply construction uses a much higher glue/wood ratio. In a 14" batter side hoop ply constructed hoops have more than 500" of glue surface area. By contrast, an ICD hoop has less than 25" of glue surface area, resulting in a much cleaner tone. Delamination can also be a problem with ply hoops. A leading manufacturer makes each hoop from 12 plys of maple. Unlike ply shells, ply hoops are subjected to stick impact directly. With each rimshot or cross stick these laminations are subject to considerable force. Over time this stress can cause the glue joints to fail and the plys to separate. ICD hoops are made with 95% less glue surface area than with ply construction; resulting in a hoop of superior strength and beauty.

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