Why choose a handmade drum set?
A handmade, Respighi drum set isn’t “like” the set you want. It actually “is” the set you want. Because it reflects you and your choices: from the composition of the set, to its dimensions and tone. No factory-made set can come anywhere near the one you chose for yourself; the one you watched being created.
All our sets are designed and built to sound incredible. They are gems of uncompromising craftsmanship. Their mission is to ensure that every time you sit down at your set and pick up your sticks, you rediscover how really good it feels to let your creativity run wild.
On top of all this, is its unique appearance: your instrument will quite simple be inimitable. Nobody will ever be able to make another one exactly like it.
Why choose a handmade snare?
The snare is to a drum set a bit like what the first violin is to an orchestra; or a soloist to a choir. The snare is given the most difficult parts; and the most delicate or technically demanding ones.
A snare needs to express, power, precision and reliability. It needs to be sensitive, so that it can be played softly or loudly and still respond in the same way. Respighi snares perfectly combine these qualities. The unique way they are built gives them their special tone. The rims are scrupulously crafted, the high-precision snare bed guarantees that the snare wires sound just right.
Why a snare or drum set by Alessandro Respighi?
Because I have chosen to use such a complicated technique to build my drums. It’s complicated because it takes time and skill. Nobody opts for it anymore because it doesn’t make economic sense and it’s difficult to handle. By the way, it’s called “segmented”: basically, the staves are assembled horizontally, not vertically. Despite being time-consuming and fraught with difficulty, this method makes it possible to obtain tonal qualities that I find compelling. The musicians who have chosen me think so, too.
Because I started out as a luthier, and working on stringed instruments gave me the chance to learn a great deal about wood: about its qualities, how to choose it, how to work it and combine different types. Now that’s a luxury that drum factories simply can’t afford.
Because I’ve learnt a lot from working closely with great musicians. Artists who helped me to understand exactly what they need.
Because even if I won the lottery, I’d keep on making drum sets, snares and drums. Actually, I might end up giving them away! It’s what I have chosen to do with my life and so far, it’s what I’ve been best at.
