What are lugs?

Lugs are the parts of your drum that are fitted on the shell in order to connect it with the hoops. Between a lug and the hoop sits a tension rod, which is screwed into the lug in order to tighten the drumhead by pulling the hoop tighter.

Often, the lug also houses a spring and a small screw, designed to hold high tensions. This is needed in drums that have some imperfections: the spring helps balance things out when the tension rod and the lug don’t line up 100% correctly. As our drums are handmade custom pieces, made with an eye for detail, Taran lugs do not need this extra safety mechanism :-).

Types of lugs

But why are there so many different types of lugs in existence? A big reason is that different sizes and types are fit for either toms, snares or bass drums. To help you get a more detailed grasp of the topic, here’s a quick overview of the most common types of lugs. At Taran, we use three types: single point tube lugs, double point tube lugs and single point blind lugs. Tube lugs are lugs that connect, through the tension rod, with both the top and bottom hoop at the same time.

Single point tube lugs

Single point lugs, the name does give it away, only connect to the shell in one single place. They come with less mass, fewer drilled holes and fewer mechanical parts (such as screws or gaskets) and therefore are a little less expensive. However, single point lugs are less fit to be used on normal to bigger sized drums, as the tension of the tightened hoop is spread over less pressure points. This is why at Taran, we only use these single point lugs on piccolo snare drums, where this is less of a problem.

Double point tube lugs

Compared to single point lugs, double point lugs make for a better spread of the stress when tightening the drumhead. That’s why they are a better match for bigger snare drums. This is the type of lugs we use most at Taran.

Blind lugs

Blind lugs only open up at one side and are therefore connected with only one hoop at a time. They are mainly used on toms and on the bass drum. The type of blind lugs used at Taran are single point: we do this not only out of an aesthetical preference but also because the tension in these drum types is never as high as in snare drums, so double point lugs aren’t necessary.

Influence on the sound

But how do lugs influence the sound? There are mainly two influential factors in lugs: the material they’re made of and the number of lugs on your drum.

Lug material

Usually, the hardware on a drum is either aluminum or brass, though steel and even wood lugs also exist. Wood lugs will give you the warmest sound, whereas steel sounds drier. Aluminum and brass however are the most popular, as both metals resonate with the drums in a very musical way. Yet, they come with different sound properties. Aluminum is very lightweight and will give you a drier sound whereas brass is more resonant, resulting in a warmer sound. We’re convinced the latter blends better with the natural sound of the wood, which is why our custom lugs are all made out of brass.

Lug count

Lastly, lug count can make a big difference for your drum sound too. Most drums count about 8 lugs (or 16, in case of blind lugs), though toms often only have 6 and some snares have as much as 10. Generally, it is considered that the more lugs are present on a drum, the better, as this means the tension is spread over more pressure points. If there are too little pressure points, your drum lugs risk wearing out quickly.

Furthermore, the less lugs there are on your drum, the bigger the pressure release on the drumhead in between the points where the tension rod attaches to the hoops. This means you will need to screw your tension rods tighter to tune your drum to the same pitch as one with more lugs. Apart from that, the sound of a drum with more lugs be more articulate as opposed to a drum with less lugs. In the latter case your drum will sound messier.

In other words, the number of lugs, their type and material aren’t solely an aesthetical choice. To achieve the exact sound you’re looking for, it’s worth taking the effort of choosing your hardware carefully.

Curious to find out more about the other parts that go into a drum? Read our blogs on different drum parts over on our website.

To find out more about lug gaskets, read our piece on what lug gaskets do for the sound of your drum.

To find out more about different wood types, read our piece on how the wood type influences the sound of your drum.

Ready to fall in love with our drums? Have a look at our dedicated pages.

Check our snare drums

How different lug types make for a different drum sound