Over the years a lot of very good questions have been asked with regard to Tempus drums... I thought it was time I tried to address a few of them using this wonderful digital medium. And please, if you don't see your question and its answer here, let me know; I'll reply privately and, if it's pertinent, post the new Q&A's here. Q. What exactly is Fibreglass? A. At the risk of sounding glib, it is quite literally a woven mat made from actual glass. According to one dictionary definition it is "glass that has been formed into fine fibres, either as long continuous filaments or as a fluffy, short-fibred glass wool. Fibreglass is heat- and fire-resistant and a good electrical insulator. It has applications in the field of fibre optics and as a strengthener for plastics in GRP (glass-reinforced plastics). The long filament form is made by forcing molten glass through the holes of a spinneret, and is woven into textiles." CarbonFibre, similarly, is a cloth literally made from strands of Carbon/Graphite; it is a material which, once it's been saturated/suspended in a catalyzed resin, is very light but extremely strong. The same is true of CarbonKevlar which has the added advantage of being almost literally bullet-proof although, of course, I'm quite sure you've never played in that sort of night club... Hemp as I purchase it is a cloth, exactly the same kind of cloth as you'd find being used to make Hemp clothing; because of the way in which I incorporate it into my shells it creates the final, inner layer of each Hemp shell and yields a slightly more porous surface than its three counterparts, and it is this porosity which is responsible for the Hemp line's distinctive tonality. There are two primary reasons for choosing to use any of these materials in a Tempus drum; one is that they each yield the thinnest possible non-metal shells, requiring absolutely no reinforcing rings whatsoever; the other is that each material produces sonic/acoustic properties unlike those of any other kind of drum. The entire aim is to be unique. Q. How thick are Tempus shells? A. It depends on the material used and the shell being built. Fibreglass and Hemp snare drum, tom tom and bass drum shells are all about 3/16" thick; CarbonFibre and CarbonKevlar shells are, respectively, about 30% thinner and proportionately lighter in weight. Q. What are the differences between Fibreglass, CarbonFibre and CarbonKevlar shells? A. Physically both C/K and C/F shells are thinner than F/G shells by about 30%. Sonically, I'm told by those who own various combinations of each that the C/F shells produce a darker, warmer, drier sound than the F/G variety while the C/K shells are similarly darker, warmer and drier than their C/F equivalents. My ears tell me the same thing but it's difficult, if not impossible, for me to be objective. Tempus Hemp shells yield what has been described as the most wood-like sound of all my lines but retain all of the most desirable characteristics of the synthetic shell itself. Q. What shape are Tempus bearing edges? A. The best answer to this came years ago from, as I remember it, Gordy Knudtson, who likened the bearing edges to "the long end of an egg". The shells are really too thin to allow much in the way of precise angular variations - 45 degrees outside, 62 degrees inside, that sort of thing - and, as near as I can tell, very minor variations on the basic theme make no audible difference to the sound of the drum in question. Q. What's that smell? A. It's fibreglassing resin, MEK catalyst, pastes, gelcoats and a number of other top secret ingredients ( the sweat off the craftsman's brow, the blood from the craftsman's fingers, you know the sort of thing...? ) added to the mix. After a while the exquisitely pungent aroma does dissipate but it never really goes away completely. Kind of a trademark, I like to think... Q. How environmentally friendly is the manufacturing process for Tempus shells? A. While it's true that what I do is no threat to the world's forests, this is still industry and, as such, it still consumes raw materials and produces waste to some degree. The Composites Fabricators Association maintains quite an excellent web site (www.cfa-hq.org/) wherein, if you peruse the Technical Resources section, you can read up on what's allowable in terms of emissions, workplace conditions, safety issues and the like. Certainly my factory is well within acceptable parameters but, even so, I work in a full-body Tyvek moon suit sporting complete airport runway quality hearing protection and a chemically rated filter mask... not a particularly endearing sight to anyone who visits the facility but, then again, I don't generally invite company round to begin with... Basically, in building my shells I use resins and gels which emit styrene particles in infinitesimal quantities ( a few parts per billion ); these can, at best, give you a bit of a headache if you breathe in the fumes for long enough. The booth I do most of the work in is exhaust filtered, which catches any particles which don't fall to the floor on their own. I also create dust which rapidly settles to the ground and is subsequently swept up and ends up in, unfortunately, a local landfill site. Leftover shell cuttings are usually mailed out as colour samples to interested parties who then, one naturally assumes, keep them for life as treasured memorabilia to be handed down to their heirs. My resins and gels are derived from oil; thus, not really an imminently exhaustible resource and, if the truth be told, much, much older than your basic Timeless Timber... And Fibreglass is derived from sand, again something we're not short of. And, truthfully, there's only ever been one fatality at my factory, that being a squirrel which somehow managed to drink half a quart of acetone. Since my mental faculties are easily twice that of the average small furry rodent, I figure I'll be OK... So, all in all, not a bad situation vis a vis my contributions to environmental health and well-being. Q. Can I get a catalogue? A. While I do now have a small brochure available it's essentially a piece designed for distribution at trade shows and serves primarily as a reference to the Tempus website; it contains only a small percentage of the information available either on this site or through the MySpace and FaceBook sites. Q. Aren't Tempus Drums expensive? A. This all depends on your needs, wants and perspectives. As a high-end product Tempus Drums fall somewhere in the middle of the scale, cost-wise; there are many other manufacturers whose top line drums cost as much as twice ( or more ) what mine do. On the other hand, if you're looking for a budget-priced kit this is definitely the wrong place to be looking. If, however, you want a totally unique synthetic shelled instrument which will outlast you and several generations of your descendants... Q. Can I get Tempus Drums with a wood veneer on the outside? A. It can be done but I don't offer that option ( or wraps, for that matter ). I have to ask; what would be the point? Such a process would only detract from the basic function and effectiveness of a seamless, dense and very thin shell. Q. It looks as if you've added a lot of new finishes in the last year or so; how do you decide what to offer? A. The finishes that I offer are those which my customers ask me to create. Since all Tempus drums are made to order - literally custom built - and since every customer has a personal preference in so many detailed areas, it's lucky that I'm in a position to be so flexible when it comes to custom finishes. It's generally as simple a procedure as having the customer send me a sample of the colour to be matched, me sending that same sample off to my brilliantly talented lab technicians (well, not my technicians, exactly, but it sounds impressive... ) and leaving them to it for a day. When it comes to Glitter finishes, the same process applies, except that I can more easily choose the nearest matching metalflake from the hundreds in stock at my supplier. So, really, if I've added "new" finishes, it's because you all have such excellent tastes in these matters. Q. What kind of hardware do Tempus Drums come fitted with? A. Tempus has its own line of exclusive signature lugs, both in the original/classic and newer mini-lug options and all available in either chrome or black but, at the moment, doesn't have a line of stands/mounts; as a result, your drums can be fitted with whatever brand of mounts, spurs, legs etc. that the customer desires. The only specific items I install as standard equipment are the wonderful throw-off/butt combination made by Ronn Dunnett and, since 1987, my beloved Evans drum heads. For alternate mounting hardware configurations, prices are available upon request. Q. How long does it take for my drums to be built & delivered? A. It typically takes me about 10-12 weeks from the day I receive a deposit ( 50% of the order's total cost ) to build an order, pack it, seal the boxes and call the truck but I cannot be certain of this; as with all custom work delays can occur, especially in cases where items such as specialized mounting hardware have been requested and, thus, must be awaited - such commodities and their availability are, obviously, beyond my control. In addition, shipping times can vary from a few days to a few weeks depending on distances to be covered, air vs. ground travel, which Continent you live on, the inconsistencies in various Customs clearance processes and so on... I do everything I can to ensure a reasonable delivery time but I cannot ultimately make firm promises; every single Tempus shell is hand-crafted by me and me alone starting with the basic raw materials. My drums will only be shipped when I feel that they are complete, correct and ready to go. Q. Whatever became of the tradename "Milestone"? A. I own it; as of 2003 drums bearing the Milestone badge and logo have been available, either as add-ons for older existing kits or as brand new sets, from this factory. The first of these was the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Milestone Snare Drum which was shipped c/w the original die-cast hoops (as fully corrected and now sold by Noble & Cooley,) a Levy's Leathers bag, Milestone T-shirt and restrospective CD. The Milestone badge now being applied is the brass w/black lettering model, the direct predecessor to the Tempus stainless-steel badge in use since 1985. Pricing for both lines is identical, and Milestone Fibreglass drums can now also be purchased in the all the original sizes and in all of the original Milestone finishes. Q. Who endorses Tempus Drums? A. Officially, nobody. Endorsement programs are notoriously difficult and costly to run and, in all honesty, I just haven't the resources to manage such a task. Tempus Drums do tend to get included in the arsenals of a lot of players who own a wide range of equipment made by a variety of manufacturers ( most of whom do have endorsements with major manufacturers ) but I don't think that there are many players out there who use my instruments exclusively. And, of course, any list I might give you would undoubtedly, though unintentionally, leave out some truly dedicated players who should have been mentioned; after all, the word "endorser" does seem to carry the connotation of the "notable" or "celebrity" player and, to be sure, there are a great many Tempus drummers out there who, while not household names, are full time professional traveling musicians. And, of course, there's the very real possibility that mentioning those big names would simply look like a vain attempt to pad out the list. Where, then, does one draw the line? With this in mind, and in the hopes that nobody either on or off the list takes offense, here's a catalogue of those players - and some of their employers - who have, at some point or another through the years, owned one or more Tempus drums ( and, with any luck, some of 'em still do... );