C&C Custom Drums Europe

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Gladstone Shells

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells

Gladstone Drum Shells are the product of decades of vintage drum building and restoration from the people here at C&C Drums. We take our knowledge of ply thickness, special wood configurations and combinations, the history of vintage shells, and apply this knowledge when creating our amazing and unique drum shells.

When designing our shells, we wanted to focus on one main objective: less glue, more wood. This leads to the one of a kind sound of our drums. Our standard 6-ply Maple shell for example contains over 30% more wood than a typical 8-ply Keller Maple shell. These thicker plies give a lower fundamental tone, which in return provides a warmer sound. Gladstone’s objective is as simple as it is convincing.
With the following we’d love to give you an insight into the making of our beautiful Gladstone Shells.

Making

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 1

Our shells start with large pallets of wood sheets. We are constantly working to make sure we build our shells with the highest quality wood. The simple reason behind this is: perfect shells start with perfect wood.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 2

These sheets are then cut down into smaller sections. Each piece is hand cut to the exact specification of each shell.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 3

The pieces are then grouped together according to shell size, thickness, and configuration of the desired shell. Once grouped, these pieces will stay together until the shell is completed.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 4

Before the molding process can start, glue is applied to the wood sheets by hand. As much glue as needed but as little as possible to give you the best sound possible.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 5

The sheets are then stacked in the correct configuration and placed into the mold.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 6

After sitting in the mold for a predetermined time and temperature, the raw shell can be removed from the mold.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 7

Once removed from the mold, each shell is hand sanded. This removes excess glue from the molding process and gives the shell it’s bright new look.

C&C Drums Europe - Gladstone Shells making process

Step 8

Finally each shell is trimmed down to the desired depth and is then handed over to one of our C&C drum builders. We’re happy and proud to provide today’s drummers with the amazing sound our very own Gladstone Shells!