Have you driven a band lately?

The best or nothing.

Long before Mercedes Benz began using this slogan, it was our mantra. Since 2001, it has been the driving force behind everything we do.

Let’s face it, there is a proliferation of custom drum companies out there. They appear in every acronym combination from D to W to G to M to S. What they really offer comes down to color options.

To stand out in this cluttered environment, you better have something more to offer than a fancy finish. That’s why Ford gives you the choice of drum series:

• Organic (solid, one-piece, steam-bent from 3/8ths-inch thick to 1/2″-thick in over 40 wood species—both domestic and exotic)
• Ply Series (100% north American maple or birch in 10/10 or straight 10-ply configuration)
• Maverick Series (10-ply North American Maple with our exclusive BTS finish—the most durable, road-worthy finish in the world)

Unlike other drum companies who set up a router one way to arrive at an overall “acceptable” bearing edge, we painstakingly cut graduated bearing edges — the appropriate bearing edge for the size and type of drum to maximize tuning range and projection.

Then there is our lug. This proprietary design is wrought from aircraft aluminum and houses a solid brass insert that provides true axial alignment. That’s the key to precise drum tuning. This lug will never rust or pit. It also costs nearly 10 times that of the average lug found on other custom drums.

Heck, even the screws we use are far superior — solid aircraft stainless. Attention to detail can be seen in every aspect of a Ford drum.

Now let’s talk about what you readily see. The finish. We offer virtually unlimited finish options including gloss or satin lacquer, fade, burst, exotic veneer, custom graphics, or the myriad of wraps currently available to all drum companies. Moreover, we are the only drum company in the world to provide a line of drums with our exclusive BTS elastomer finish with Kevlar®. This virtually bullet-proof finish is the most road-worthy in the world. No more worries about transporting your drums in a hot car. Or the fear of a roadie knocking over a mic stand into your beloved bass drum.

One size fits all is fine for t-shirts. Not for drums.

Conformity helps other drum companies in making profits (now that’s something to think about). We’re making custom instruments that are destined to become heirlooms. So, if you’re intent on capturing your own sound rather than settling for one determined by the drum company, you’ve come to the right custom shop.