GearPipe is now the exclusive distributor of Outlaw Drums! What does that mean? Soon we hope to have Outlaw snares in your local drum shop, but for now GearPipe is the only place on earth to buy a high quality Outlaw stave snare drum, built from heartpine reclaimed from tobacco barns, plantation homes, mills or bridges built before 1900.
For those of you who are ready for a snare drum of this quality, we’re eager to welcome you into the Outlaw family.
View Products or call for more info: 720.295.0446
The Outlaw Drums Story
Our story begins in 1860s Georgia. Young Charles Edward Wilder joined the renowned Georgia 17th Infantry Regiment, fighting as a Private for the Confederacy in the US Civil War. The 17th Regiment was famous for fighting in many of the Civil War’s most important battles, including the Seven Days’ Battle, the Battle of Second Manassas, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
After the war, Charles received a 10 acre plot of land, along with two mules, outside of Albany Georgia, as payment for his service. The land was covered with virgin long leaf pine trees that had sprouted and then been allowed to grow untouched on the property for more than 200 years. These trees served as timber for the house Wilder built in the early 1880s, and for over a century, this house was called a home.
By the turn of the next century, the wear and tear became too much and the house was torn down in 2006. As luck would have it, on the day the house was disassembled, Michael Outlaw, a custom furniture builder and avid drummer, was driving through town. Always on the lookout for interesting building materials, Outlaw asked the landowner if he could save some from the landfill. The landowner obliged and Outlaw loaded his truck up with as much as he could. When he returned to his shop, the beauty and the aroma of the rare wood, now over 300 years old, inspired him. He wanted to build a snare drum that was unmatched by others, and this heart pinewood was the perfect fit.
Since that day, Outlaw has continued to search for more opportunities to reclaim wood from barns, houses and mills built before 1900 to make his unique Outlaw Drums. He gives this American wood a new lease on life, so when you purchase an Outlaw snare drum, you know you are not just getting a superior instrument, but a piece of history.
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Our Stave Snare Drums
We think our stave snare drums are the highest quality, best sounding drums in the world.
The heart of Outlaw stave snare drums is the wood. Old-growth heartpine, reclaimed from tobacco barns, plantation homes, mills or bridges built before 1900, gives us a level of quality unmatched by other drum builders.
In their previous lives, this wood stood firm against wind and rain, endured the constant punishment of work boots, falling toys and family pets, and supported the machines that built America. There are stories in this wood; stories that deserve to be preserved.
That’s why we created the Outlaw Weathered Series. Run your fingers across one of these snare drums and you’ll feel the deep grain. You can see the years of use. You can almost hear those stories. This is American wood, reborn.
Sound Samples
Custom Drums
We love building custom drums, and would love to hear your ideas. We can build your drum from heartpine or traditional drum woods, and will customize your hardware and finish. We can even use wood you already own. Have a piece of wood with sentimental value? We’d love to turn it into a family heirloom!
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Why Heartpine?
The Wood that Built America
Heart pine has been called the wood that built America. It provided the floors at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home, built the keel of the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) and the caissons of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was even employed in the construction of Independence Hall.
Most old-growth heart pine, trees that towered over America when the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, was harvested over 100 years ago. Today, the only way to access this wood is to reclaim it from tobacco barns, plantation homes, mills or bridges built before 1900.
Centuries of Growth
Today you can buy lumber referred to as “new heart pine.” These trees take only about 15 years to reach maturity and have, at most, 3-5 rings per inch. In comparison, the virgin heart pine wood used in Outlaw Drums is 300-500 years old and has 40-60 growth rings per inch.
Over the centuries these trees were compacted naturally, producing a harder, denser wood which creates the fuller sounding, louder drums. Nature also provides the deep reddish color of heart pine. It takes about 100 years for the wood to turn this color, and it gets deeper with age. 450-650 years in the making, Outlaw Drums are upcycled pieces of American history unlike any other!
American Wood. Reborn.
Although we like to experiment with other woods, reclaimed heart pine is the primary wood used to build Outlaw stave snare drums. Not only do we love giving this wood a second chance at life, but we think the centuries of maturation make heart pine the best sounding tone-wood for our instruments.
Each stave snare drum is unique, because the characteristics of the wood are preserved within the instrument. Original nail holes and saw kerfs remain visible on some drums, while on others, the 19th century nails have survived, still set in the wood. Whenever possible, we leave these artifacts on the drum, to honor its history.
In addition to the natural tonal characteristics of old-growth heart pine, the stave construction of our snare drums also contributes greatly to the deep tone. Built using wood blocks instead of plies (plies held together with layers of sound-dampening glue), our snare drums allow sound waves to travel through the drum shell with minimal interference, creating the best sounding snare drums we’ve ever heard!
View Products or call for more info: 720.295.0446