Ty Steele (Drummer, composer, teacher)

As of September, 2013, I have officially endorsed Bootleg Drums of Atlanta, GA for their superior craftsmanship, customer service and attention to detail.


I have been working steadily with Bootleg Drums since February of 2013 to produce what I consider to be the most outstanding drumset I could have dreamed up. Bootleg has a real leg up in the industry. Matt Higginbotham cares for drums, drummers, the craft drumming and the drum industry, and are highly knowledgeable, quick to respond and aim to please.

When I first unpacked my drums into my workshop studio,

I was amazed at the quality of the craftsmanship. I had picked out every last nut and bolt in 45-day ongoing dialogue with Danny. So, I had a suspicion what they were going to look and sound like, as you can imagine. As I should have been, I was somewhat anxious up to the day of delivery. However, I was more than breathtakingly surprised by their stunning outcome.

Still, I wanted to know what they sounded like. That is, afterall, what I worked so hard with Danny to achieve. I had an exact sound in mind. I wanted it smooth, with low overtones, resonant and clear. Of course, they had to be tuned to my liking.

I have printed below, the exact tuning of my drums, for your perusal, sans the kick drum, which is a special prep & tuning method I have that I shall not disclose here:

Tom	Top/Batter	Bottom/Resonant
16	E2		A2
14	A2		D3
12	D3		G3
10	G3		C4
8	C4		F4

I then spent the better half of 2 hours precision tuning them with my iPhone application. I had been a Taye advocate for over three years (as of this writing). I loved, and still do, the sound of my Taye drums. But I was shooting for better in designing these particular drums. So, with a somewhat matched tuning (the equivalent Taye’s were a 1/2 step lower), I did an immediate comparison between Taye and Bootleg. I was stunned. There was no comparison! Bootleg won hands down. My wife noticed immediately. My band members noticed on the drums’ debut gig. The sound engineer noticed. I have owned custom DW’s, Yamaha Stage Custom Noveau (birch/falkata/mahogany), Tama, et al. But nothing compares to these. They have a warm resonant pitch that fills the room.

I use Evans 360 heads.
My drum specs are:
Wood type Maple (janka 1450)
Wrap:10-ply
Finish: Matte
Stain: Cabernet
Snare: 14×6 Stave Bubinga (janka: 1980) with Zebrawood (janka 1575) stripe/inlay (Round over to 45°) with 14″ blaster 20 strand and Trick throw-off, royal mahogany stain, and beveled wood hoops
Bearing Edges: Double 45°
Hardware color: brass
Suspension mounts: DSS Isolation Mount
Hoops: Triple Flange

Drum	Size (DxW)
K:	20x22
FT:	16x16
FT:	14x14
RT:	9x12
RT:	8x10
RT:	6x8
SN:     14x6.5

Please contact Matt Higginbotham for info.