Going maple? need some input

[Andreeew]

Hi folks. So a friend of mine who lives in Manila offered me his 13x5 Gretsch Renown Maple snare to trade with my Chad Smith steel snare 14x5. I love my chad smith snare but I've always wanted to try and explore maple snares. I've no experience of wood snares except the pearl forum stock poplar snare which I don't use anymore. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Any input about the Gretsch snare would help too

[yohin]

Are there any music stores around you? You could go find some 13" maple snares to try out. But I say, if you're perfectly happy with your steel snare, why trade it away for a snare you might not like as much?

[pastor_bob]

Andreeew, I would agree with yohin. If you love your Chad Smith snare, then you need to keep it until you are sure about a maple snare. Everyone's taste is different, so even if I told you about the great sound of a maple snare, you still might prefer your Chad Smith snare once you heard a maple snare.

Look at it this way: you have a snare that you know you love, and your friend wants you to trade for a snare that you might love. I would call that a sucker's bet. Stick with what you love, and check into maple snares when you can. If you find that you like maple snares better, you can do something about it later. Don't forget that you friend is trying to unload his snare. The other thing to keep in mind is whether you will like the sound of a 13X5 snare better than a 14X5.

[itchie]

is this a trick question?

if i was in your shoes i would never part with my sig snare

[Andreeew]

You guys are probably right I should keep my snare. There are no available decent snares in my area that's why I took an interest in his offer to explore more on wooden snares.

I appreciate the input guys gives me confidence in my decision thanks

[Russ]

my best advice here is to respectfully decline the trade, but offer to buy it off of him if money allows. it sounds like you are quite attached to the chad smith, and it would be bad to part with it because you think a maple snare would be better. if he refuses, you can always get a renown snare later on while still keeping your chad smith.

[nio]

Hmmm, I agree with the others, don't do it. The Chad Smith looks to be very nice snare and a step up from from entry/intermediate level snares. I bet if you borrowed the Gretsch snare for a few days to try out, it would be obvious that yours is the better choice. Rock on !