My last purchase was a brass snare, 14x6.5 made by Taye. It's my first brass snare drum. The price was $200 dollars including tax, new. Love it!!!
I have wanted a cast brass snare for a long time now. They are generally way too expensive, so I was even gearing up to cast my own shell. For those who are not well versed in drum shell construction, a cast shell is made by pouring molten metal into a sand mold, then turning down to correct size, thickness on a lathe. There are no seams, just solid drum shell.
I found this today for such a great price it had to leave the store with me.
5X14 Pearl Reference cast brass with die cast hoops. This drum sounds so fat and deep, I have heard thinner sounding 8" deep snares. This drum is phenomenal!
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http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...168#post379168
My last purchase was a brass snare, 14x6.5 made by Taye. It's my first brass snare drum. The price was $200 dollars including tax, new. Love it!!!
That is a stamped and welded thin shell. Still brass and I am sure it is nice, but far from a cast shell in all aspects including price. Bare cast shell can run $600+
This one lists around a grand.
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
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Love the brass snares. I used to have a Pearl free floating brass snare.
Yes I have one too, and a Ludwig stamped bronze, a TRS copper and bronze. And I sold a thicker rolled and welded brass snare. All in a different league. Sonor makes a nice cast shell snare, I think they are over 1500. When you learn the labour involved in the process, the prices make more sense.
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
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I'm on a look out for a brass and a copper snare for the collection. Great purchase man!
Last edited by signia fan; 05-06-2015 at 08:51 PM.
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Very cool!
Maybe a stupid question, but would it be possible to construct a decent sounding snare (at home) from cast aluminum? I'm thinking; carve a foam blank from a solid block of styrofoam, bury it in sand, pour the molten aluminum (as in aluminum cans) then chuck it up in the lathe and turn it? I suppose aluminum would be a waste, since you can buy a good used Acrolite for $100. What about turning one out of a piece of cored Bronze bar stock? Or maybe Delrin, UHMW ? I suppose that would be no different than just using a piece of PVC sewer pipe. What about 3D printing?
-Brian
"Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"
Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!
"I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham
Now you are talking my language N2
Absolutely doable. I have enough scrap cymbals and pennies for the metal. I have a satellite dish and some mirrors which was or is going to be the solar death ray. This device can burn at 6000 degrees, more than enough to melt brass.
I got to find a ceramic pot for the crucible, and might get some kiln bricks and build a little oven to hold the heat long enough to melt the whole works.
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
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Congrats on the brass snare. I got my first brass snare last year (Ludwig Black Beauty) and I can now appreciate what all the fuss was about regarding brass snares - they really do have an amazing sound, my favorite for sure.
Another rolled, stamped, welded shell, although they price it like it is a cast shell.
I may have to dig up some video on what a cast shell is.
If anyone actually is interested, look up American cast shells, they do aluminum shells, but you can learn about the process. Also a new company out of Bosnia Hersogovina I think? Oriollo drums. He actually has the honesty to admit, he sub contracts a local foundry to forge the raw shells, and he finishes them in his machine shop. Go to his site and he has some great video showing the process.
The TV show "how it is made" shows the Sonor cast brass snare being made. They also contract an outside business to sand cast the raw shells.
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
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So if it was a "sheet of brass" how did it become a cylinder?
Maybe they have an electronic brass brazing technique that hides the seam well through the turning process. It was still a flat sheet, formed into a shell, and it is thin, hence the rolled edges and the centre rib to give it rigidity.
I am not knocking the black beauty. They are great sounding drums. I think Ludwig charges way too much for what they actually are though. They offer the Joey Kramer model, to me has more options like the die cast hoops, and is half the price. I am sure their were discussions in the Ludwig boardroom, and it is business smart to keep the price on the companies flagship model high, if only to keep the mystique and awe alive.
I expect to get hazed by my sacrilege, but I do know drum construction, and I also know the huge population that truly believes Ludwig's brass is more special than anyone else's brass and add the magic fairy dust, no one can possibly build a better brass shell.
I also am not saying this Pearl is the worlds greatest. It is pretty awesome, but the Sonor shell is thicker still and I would not doubt it has a good chance of kicking this drums butt. There is also the mega dollar "bell brass" and "cymbal alloy" cast snares. I am not educated enough yet on the composition of metal mixes to really know or say if they really add any advantage to sound or playability. I tend to think no, because they are simply a different mix of brass, bronze, copper etc. and I think the base metal is more affect by how it is put together, formed. Similar to wood shell drums. I love stave shells, and they are not stressed and bent into shape like steam bent shells are. This tension changes the characteristic, and the same concept applies to metal that is bent and forced into shape as opposed to melted and poured.
Last edited by signia fan; 05-07-2015 at 10:24 AM.
click to see my kit re-veneer/finish
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I understand the difference SF. I don't think it is possible to take a sheet of brass and make a seamless shell. The two edges of the sheet have to be bonded together in some fashion and yes, they may be able to hide it well enough to call it a "seamless shell".
If I am understanding correctly, a cast snare shell is poured, in liquid state, into a form creating the shell and then lathing it down to the desired thickness.
Last edited by Markadiddle; 05-07-2015 at 05:02 PM.
Thank You, we have a winner!
It is a lengthy specialized process, and I totally get the steep price.
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And Micheal, our resident drum hoarder from overseas recently acquired 3 snares from the Reference line up. He also has one of those Tama Bell brass $3000 snares. I think I would ask him to give his opinion on the difference and if the difference matches the value between the reference cast and the Bell Brass cast.
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Actually Signia, the truth is, Ludwig really does spin a seamless shell from a sheet. In order to understand it, you have to understand how a Mobius strip works. In itself, it's kinda mind boggling and I don't fully get how it is done. Without somehow physically melting the metal together, it would be costly and almost impossible to weld a shell that cleanly, meaning no visible joint.
all the best...
Brass has a very unique sound. I'm not familiar with a lot of brass snares but I do know some timbales are also made from brass. No idea of the process. There are also some from Meinl that use cymbal bronze but I think it is B8, not B20. The brass timbales I have heard sounded very nice.
Last edited by Markadiddle; 05-07-2015 at 06:27 PM.
So I did a little digging on to the spun, seamless shell, and found a good video on how they are made.
http://youtu.be/FmtW280Je_8
The process is similar to a metal pot or bowl is formed, starting with a sheet of metal, and trimming it into a circle. It is then placed on a lathe, and the metal is pressed against a jig, or mandrel (not sure what the correct term is there). The flat bottom is then trimmed off and the bearining edges are rolled over.
Hope that helps the discussion.
@signa fan, love that snare.
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