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The jaw-dropping finish of the kit is only possible due to its shell-within-shell design

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Though Spaun is a relatively new brand in the UK, it's been in business for the past dozen years. If you know nothing else about Spaun, you're probably aware of its enthusiasm for attention-grabbing finishes. But beneath the imaginative lacquers and wraps sit high-end drums made with care.

A combination of a willingness to experiment and a need to produce ever more original finishes has resulted in the Edgevent kit, whose appearance can only be described as show-stopping.

Build

With a few notable exceptions, Spaun's wooden drums are generally made with thin (5.5mm) maple or birch shells cut with its symmetrical bearing edges. This all-maple Edgevent kit differs from regular Spaun drums as it revisits the shell-within-a-shell concept first devised in Britain by Alan Gilby and subsequently produced by Premier.

"The kick was reminiscent of one of those dance instrumentals where each hit from the bass drum momentarily obliterates everything else"

Drum shells resonate, producing sound and fixing lugs to them only stifles these properties. One solution is to make drums with two shells – an outer shell which holds all of the fittings and a second thinner shell inside, free of any kind of hardware, that can resonate unhindered.

The theory sounds straightforward enough, but putting it into practice involves some ingenious engineering solutions, more of which later. Let's deal with what's missing first...

It won't have escaped your notice that this kit is peppered with holes. This being a twin-shell kit, the holes are only on the outer shells. So, what are they doing there? Well, all drums require breathing holes in order to allow air movement when they're hit.

Normally, these are discreetly located in the centre of the shell, often within the manufacturer's badge. However, while working on prototype Edgevent drums, Spaun discovered that larger holes actually allowed this type of twin-shell drum to breathe more satisfactorily.

The original Edgevent snares, introduced in 2005, featured uniformly-sized holes placed evenly around the outer shell, but they were a sober sight in comparison with the number and size of holes found here.

I can't imagine that the holes are all there for sound benefit. After a certain point, cutting more holes can't make any more difference, but they do make for an outrageous appearance. The name of the holes – Swiss Cheese Vents – reveals their inspiration.

Creating the holes is a slow and laborious process, with a single misjudgement having the potential to ruin an entire shell. Each hole is cut and sanded by hand after the wrap, in this case Green Swirl, has been applied. Currently, Swiss Cheese Vent drums are only available in wrapped or satin lacquer finishes. Spaun says it would consider making an Edgevent kit like this in a high-gloss lacquer, but it would have to be by negotiation.