No products in the cart.
ABOUT 101 DRUMS
Our Story
101 Drum is a Swedish drum builder based in the south of Sweden, in a city called Helsingborg. We specialize in creating drums out of new materials, with the utmost quality and design. As you would expect from a Scandinavian product.
The story began in the early 1990s, when founder Ola Bengtsson, and his father, had a dream to build drums. And not just any drums. They wanted to build the best drums in the world.
A brainstorming began – the drums not only had to sound great, they also needed to be suitable for heavy use on the road, in the studio and on stage – the requirements of any hard working drummer.
Father and son got their dream going, and built a few drum kits. The passing of Ola’s father would eventually put the project on hold. It wouldn’t be until a few years later that Ola would revisit the project. He couldn’t let the dream pass, so he decided to put together a team of people with the right knowhow to take the project to the next step.
He met Hampus Hansson – a drum nerd, who worked at the local music store. Ola told him about his ideas and the drums he and his father had built. Hampus saw the potential and was immediately hooked: these great sounding drums, with an intriguing manufacturing process, were hard to overlook.
Ola also reached out to former co-worker Paul Nielsen. His rich experience and insight in the music business, both as a musician and together with numerous bands “behind the scenes” was invaluable. Even Paul saw the potential in 101 Drums, and decided to get on-board.
The Shell
Over time, the process of making drums has changed drastically, always improving the methods to meet the requirements of more demanding drummers worldwide. We took a step into the future with our processing, looking at alternatives to wood. What we have been searching for is materials that have better sound qualities, sturdier construction and less environmental impact than traditional wood drums.
Our manufacturing facility specializes in working with a wide variety of materials with extremely high precision and tthorough quality controls. The first shell to leave the factory is a very thin and sturdy 2.5 mm shell with integrated 5mm reinforcement hoops. It is incredibly lightweight, around 700 grams. This is very hard to achieve using wood, as it is a living material it will change due to weather changes and other natural forces. The shell we are presenting is made from a wood fibres but with much sturdier composition than wood and traditional wood drums. Meaning it will not change over time or be affected by natural forces such as humidity and temperature.
Initially we offer standard sizes, 10”, 12”, 14”, 16” and 22” drums. Other sizes from 4” up to 54” drums may be requested by special order.
What you don’t get with our shells is the species-stereotypical flavour of each wood. The characteristics unique to maple, birch, mahogany, or any other wood type. However, while the clarity of the tone may lead to some to suggest, lack of character. The hardness and thinness of the shells, result in a sound that verges on that of metal snare. While synthesized, these shells are still predominantly wood, meaning you could argue you are getting a blend of both wood and metal qualities in one neat package.
Our mission
We strive to make the best drums ever made. But how does the best drum ever made, sound? Well, that’s up to you. Our goal is, however, to present a wide variety of drum shells, and custom made shells, hoping to get as close to “that sound” as possible.
Yet, this isn’t our only mission. It is equally as important to us to create products with an exceptional build quality and precision. By implementing a technology that enables us to build drums in new ways compared to traditional drum builders, we are able to bring fourth drums without tensioning the shell; thus giving a deeper tone, with more low end. This is only a small part of our continuous process in refining drums for drummers, musicians and technicians worldwide. Our mission actually reaches even further.
The world, as we know it, is changing. The human impact on the environment is huge. Therefor we choose to work with resources that are made from recycled materials, for a more eco-friendly approach, rather than wood or other conventional materials used in drum manufacturing.
Our ultimate vision is zero environmental impact, and yet still produce the best drums in the world, not only for your own musical preference, but also for future generations
