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By Jon Gosa

ALBANY — It is said, a great artisan reveals that which was hidden and transforms the shapeless into form and function. What others would see as a pile of old lumber destined for the scrap heap or an aged wooden building, grayed from the Georgia elements and barely standing, Michael Outlaw, founder of Outlaw Drums in Sylvester, sees as a work of art.

It is passion that drives Outlaw to search out these old and forgotten timbers, relics of a bygone era, and refurbish them into precision percussion instruments of unique character and resonance.

Outlaw, a drummer himself, as well as a woodworker and carpenter by trade, began building drums as a hobby.

“Basically, it started out as a hobby about 12 years ago,” said Outlaw. “I had an old drum set that I took apart and swapped the shells over with one of my shells just to see if it would work. It not only worked and tuned up fine, but it sounded great. Guys who would come over really got a kick out of the fact that I made my own drum set.”

At the urging of a friend, Outlaw Drums were born.

“A good buddy of mine made the suggestion of starting a drum company and calling it Outlaw Drums after my last name,” said Outlaw. “That sounded like the thing to do, and it had a good ring to it.”

Outlaw spent the next few years experimenting with different materials and production methods, all the while honing his craft and perfecting his designs.

“It is a work in progress,” Outlaw said. “It definitely doesn’t happen overnight. Several of the designs had to be changed as I learned the properties of the wood under stress or how it would react to changing temperature and humidity.”

According to Outlaw, it made more sense, financially and environmentally, to find and use reclaimed wood to build his drums. The older wood, distressed by seasons and time, also had the added benefit of unique physical properties that make his drums both visually stunning and sonically appealing.

“We will sometimes tear down old buildings or houses that people donate to me. We like to go and drag out old boards, like heart pine or whatever we can find, check them with a metal detector and surface plane them, getting them all nice, clean and new again,” said Outlaw. “Basically, we take off the old rugged exterior so we can work with it and start the building process. I prefer to find old wood that we can reclaim rather then having to cut something down or buying wood.”

Because of the properties and characteristics of the materials he uses, instruments made by Outlaw Drums have a slightly different tone and resonance than typical industry-produced drum kits.

“Heart pine is what we find a lot,” said Outlaw. “Those were the trees that were used primarily for home building in this area years ago. The pine has a dense and strong growth pattern. It has a lot of resin in it, which makes a unique drum sound. It is very bright and loud and sounds somewhere between maple and birch, because the resin is very hard and creates that bright sound.

“Normally, the harder the wood is, the brighter the sound. It is louder, brighter and more sensitive. When you use a soft wood, it sounds more muffled, like putting carpet in a room.”

According to Outlaw, when making a quality drum, the production process is just as important as the materials used.

“We’ve found that making sure you have really good bearing edges on the drums, good hardware and that the shell is consistently round is what makes a good drum,” said Outlaw. “Then using good heads and proper tuning turns that into an amazing drum.”

If done right, drums can be made out of about anything, Outlaw said, referencing older ’60s-style acrylic drums.

“Drums have been made out of acrylic, and they are really bright and loud, too. It’s just a matter of getting those edges and stuff done right,” said Outlaw. “We can make a drum out of just about anything. We’ve made them out of an old fence, an old pig barn, recycled boards from the ocean, anything. Things that you would never think could be a drum, we transform it.

“It can turn out amazing, the way we build it and stagger all the joints. There is a lot of planning that goes into it, so we are able to utilize any defects into a unique quality. We actually just made a drum out of an old door.”

Outlaw Drums, a hobby-turned-burgeoning-business, continues to grow and distribute its custom instruments while seeking endorsements from artists and industry recognition.

“We have been getting traffic and have some well-known artists using our drums now,” said Outlaw. “The guys from One Republic use our drums. They got four or five of our snares. Craft and Crowns have a couple drums. Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers tried them out at a recent clinic. Also, Mandisa from American Idol, their drummer has a full kit.

“Todd Sucherman from Styx has a couple of pair. Kelsea Ballerini, she’s a country star, and their drummer has a couple of drums. I got off the phone with Luke Bryan’s drummer a couple of days ago, and he is supposed to stop by and check out some drums as soon as he is in town.”

For more information or to purchase custom drums from Outlaw Drums, visit www.outlawdrums.com or call (229) 347-2853.