This wood is the same wood that I used to build the first real solid snare in 2014. ( See photo) The wood was given to me by someone back then and has been waiting all these years to be released again as a very special anniversary snare. Birch is a great tone wood and in the size of a piccolo it helps to produce a crisp sound with a top response. A colored inlay as a separation between light and dark gives the whole thing its own character. Classic!