Provided are interchangeable bearing edge rings for drum shells assembled with traditional lug holders. Different bearing edge rings can be inserted in between the drum shell and the drumhead to change the sound of the drum during play. Some embodiments provide a modified drum shell with top and bottom rims that have a groove. Bearing edge rings with complimentary slits can be inset in the grooves in order to change the drum bearing edge and sound as desired. Alternatively, the bearing edge rings can have support extensions instead of the slits for coupling to unmodified drum shells. The support extensions extend downwards from either side of the ring and are separated by a distance equal to the width of the drum shell rim. The support extensions straddle the drum shell rim to retain the position of bearing edge ring over the drum shell rim.