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NOBLE & COOLEY
As a company, Noble & Cooley has a rich heritage that is as singular and remarkable as the drums themselves. Founded in 1854 by Silas Noble and James Cooley, the company has been producing drums for over 140 years. We were one of the primary manufacturers of marching drums for the Union Army during the Civil War. Still owned and operated by direct descendants of James Cooley, the Noble & Cooley Company of today is run from the same rustic location in Granville, Massachusetts.

For many years, Noble & Cooley served primarily the toy drum market. It was in 1980 that company vice-president Jay Jones (Great-great-great grandson of James Cooley) decided to enter the professional drum arena. Working closely with designer Bob Gatzen and pulling out of retirement a steam bending machine old enough to have survived a company fire in 1889, N&C introduced the Solid Shell Maple Classic snare drum in late 1983. The drum was a huge success and revolutionized the drum industry to a degree no one could have expected.

It is precisely this combination of innovation and tradition that fuels Noble & Cooley to this day. Attention to detail and the relentless pursuit of perfection are the motivating ideals of our company philosophy. Our commitment to excellence is the reason why Noble & Cooley are called by many "The World's Best Drums."

CD MAPLES
Noble & Cooley is a custom drum shop. We make our CD (Custom Design) Maple drums to your order, not to fulfill any particular marketing niche or price point. These are pro-level drums and so we use nothing but the finest in materials and workmanship. We are a research driven company. What that means is that each drum we make has been painstakingly designed to provide the best sound possible. Any drum, regardless of manufacturer, has its own particular tonal characteristics, and there are certainly many fine drums on the market. Few however, have been so carefully engineered as Noble & Cooley.

Here then is an overview of some of these features and their effect on drum tonality.

PATENTED SUSPENSION SYSTEM: The unique under lug suspension system we offer has a significant impact on the overall sound of our drums. The system creates a "virtual axle" between the two outside mounting lugs. All contact between the mounting hardware and any resonant component of the drum shell or rim is eliminated. This increases both sustain and decay of the drum. The weight of the drum is completely isolated from the tuning rim and head. In addition to the sonic advantages of our suspension method, head changing is greatly simplified and actually convenient. Because the mounting rim is attached to the underside of the lug rather than the tension rod side, drum heads can be changed without complete disassembly of the entire system (very useful if a head needs to be changed on stage or in the studio.)

PLY CONFIGURATION: Unlike most ply shell constructed drums, Noble & Cooley uses different ply configurations for different diameter shells. The vibrational tendencies of a 16" shell are certainly different than those of an 8" shell. In order to maintain a consistent contour of tonal characteristics throughout the wide range of shell diameters we offer, it became obvious that one single ply configuration was not adequate. Extensive research and much trial and error proved the following ply combination to best create the sound we were looking for:

8" - 13" Toms are 5mm Thick
14" - 18" Toms are 6mm Thick
All Bass Drums are 7mm Thick

SYMMETRICAL VENTING: When a drum is hit, the air inside that drum must be able to escape in order to allow the head to resonate. Most drums have a single vent hole placed somewhere on the shell. More often than not, the placement of that hole has more to do with manufacturing convenience than with any tonal considerations. Not so with Noble & Cooley. We researched the impact of venting. We found that multiple venting holes, placed correctly, made a difference not only in the sound of the drum, but also in the feel. Symmetrical venting lends the drum a more consistent rebound at various locations on the head. We also place the vent holes in line with any other holes that need to be drilled in the shell (lug mounting, e.g.). This reduces the inhibiting effect that drilling has on shell vibration. In a nod to aesthetics (and looking good always counts!), we designed our lugs in such a way that allows the vent holes to be completely out of sight.

LUG LOCKING: Noble & Cooley has found a simple, transparent solution to the common and bothersome problem of drum detuning. The lugs are fitted with delrin inserts that create a cold form around the inherent thread imperfections of any given tension rod. This effectively locks the tension rod in place virtually eliminating the usual drum detuning that stick impact creates.

These are a few of the design features of the CD Maples. Of equal significance is the custom nature of the kits themselves. As an artist, you can realize your own voice by specifying the particular drum sizes you want, by choosing our die cast hoops on some drums, flanged on others. It is completely up to you, the player . Your drum kit will ultimately be as unique as your playing style. And that is the point, after all else is said and done!

SS CLASSIC SNARES
The Noble & Cooley SS Maple Classic Snare Drum is an industry legend. It is the stage and studio standard, and few professional drummers don't own at least one of these remarkable instruments. The SS Maple Classic was Noble & Cooley's initial offering in the professional drum arena, and served to establish our reputation as a manufacturer of "The World's Best Drums".

SOLID MAPLE SHELL: The heart of this drum is the shell. We take a piece of 1/4" solid rock maple, hand-picked for grain consistency, and run it through a steam bending process that hasn't changed since the Civil War. A single piece of wood will vibrate far more freely than a piece constructed of multiple plys. Accordingly, a single ply shell will vibrate (resonate) more freely than the multi-ply shells that are most commonly used in drum manufacture. This resonance is what gives the SS Maple Classic it's characteristic warmth and legendary bite.

NODAL POINT LUG MOUNTING: Sound, as every grade school student knows, is produced and travels as a wave pattern. Although not nearly as apparent to the naked eye, a drum shell vibrates in much the same manner as a guitar string. By placing the lug post at the nodal point of the shell's natural wavelength, the intrinsic tone-creating vibration is virtually unaffected by the mass of the lug. The shell rings true. Instead of all drumhead sound, the shell itself adds to the ultimate tone of the drum. Nodal Point technology is a Noble & Cooley patent. Our choice of low-mass brass lugs also serves to counter the inhibiting effect mounted hardware has on shell vibration.

SNARE SYSTEM: Of obvious importance to a snare drum is the snare system itself. This includes the snares, the throw-off and the snare beds. Our patented cam-action snare wires are designed to allow very tight tensioning without choking the bottom, resonant head. They also will vibrate beautifully at medium and loose tensions. This creates a very versatile drum that can be tuned up or down as the playing situation or material requires. Our brass throw-off is smooth, simple and elegant. The snare wires are engaged or disengaged quietly and evenly. It is cast of low-mass brass and lacquered to a brilliant finish.

BEARING EDGE: Arguably the single most important aspect of drum crafting, the bearing edge is the point of contact between the shell and the drum head. It is the accuracy of the bearing edge (perfectly flat, no nicks, marks, etc) that will determine the drums tone and tunability. All of our custom drums have hand cut bearing edges that are checked and rechecked on a machinist's grade granite flat (true to 1/10,000 of an inch). This exacting process is an art; a perfect edge takes serious time and experience to create, and makes the difference between a good drum, and a great drum.

The Solid Shell Maple Classic snare drum is a 14" drum, with die-cast hoops. It is available in 3 depths. Piccolo (3 7/8"), 5" and 7". It is also available in any of our beautiful UV finishes.

ALLOY CLASSIC SNARES
A number of years ago, Noble & Cooley and the Zildjian Cymbal Co. joined forces to produce a legend, the Zildjian Alloy Snare. This drum was built of Zildjian's secret cymbal alloy, and has become one of the most collectible drums on the vintage market. The demand for that drum, and the experience we gained in its development and manufacture, prompted us to develop the most recent addition to the Noble & Cooley line of high-end snare drums, the "Alloy Classic".

This drum is well on its way to becoming one of our most popular products ever, and with very good reason. It is a great sounding drum, and incredibly versatile. It is appropriate for virtually any musical style, and can be tuned for countless voices and effects. It is available in three sizes: 43/4" x 14", 6" x 14", and the recently introduced 53/4"x13". Colors are available in any combination of black or "nude" finish shell with black or chrome hardware.

CAST ALUMINUM: Unlike most metal drums, the Alloy Classic is built of cast aluminum, not rolled sheet metal, or sliced from tubing. This process renders a more porous shell, and the resulting sound is denser. It has much more character than most metal snares. By tuning the heads high, you can still realize the "crack" or "pop" of a metal drum, but at looser tunings the sound of the drum can approximate the warmness of a wood shell.

CONSISTENCY: The Alloy Classic shell is machined after casting. Lathing and CNC machining produce a drum of incredible consistency. The bearing edge and shell dimensions are kept to a very tight tolerance. When you hear an Alloy played somewhere, and then go to your local dealer to buy one, you will own the drum you heard. Your expectations will be fulfilled (if not exceeded).

HARDWARE: The Alloy Classic uses the famous N&C brass throw-off and patented cam action snares. The lugs are low-mass brass tube style lugs, and the rims are die-cast. The hardware is all black powdercoat, but can be chromed for an additional charge.

This is a remarkable drum. It is currently owned (and used regularly) by some of the biggest names in drumming. If you intend to own just one Noble & Cooley snare, this is the one to look for.

CD SNARES
The CD line of snare drums was designed to compliment our CD Maples drum kits. These snares are built of the same shell ply as the kits, and offer many of the same design features. The are available in 12", 13" & 14" diameters, and are offered in either 4 ½" or 6" depths. These powerful snare drums combine such features as solid tension casings, solid brass throw-off and butt-end, die-cast hoops, symmetrical venting and special bearing edge/snare bed design. The result is a versatile, and responsive custom snare drum at a very fair, and competitive, price point.

SE SNARES
The SE or Special Edition snare drum borrows many design innovations from our other drums to create something unique and brand new. The staggered lug configuration is based on Bob Gatzen's experiments and success with the Noble & Cooley/Zildjian 380th Anniversary drum. These nodally-mounted lugs more equally distribute the head tension over the shell making for a more responsive drum and more consistent tuning.

The SE features a 7 ply maple shell and available in a 53/4"x13" size. SE drums are built with flanged steel rims only and all hardware is a special black chrome finish. The rim choice is by design intention; the flanged rim lends the drum the warmer, softer, "spongy" characteristics which define its unique voice.

The SE drum features our cam-action snares and is available in any of our finishes.

All information and images on this page ©2006 Noble & Cooley Drum Co.