which snare to buy?

[IRealBored]

I've been playing drums for around 7 years now and I'd finally like to buy a decent snare drum (max £250), I've found a shop which seems to have some great deals, but even after researching as much as I could for 3 months I'm still spoiled for choice :P

I would like it to be fairly versatile, it'll be played in a metal band and the odd pop show every so often, and I would like to use it for recordings as well as live (it'll be my main snare). I'm usually partial to a deep, fat tone with little ring and good dynamic contrast.

could you guys give your opinion on any of the snares on this site or even give advice as to what material i should go for (maple, steel, brass, acrylic, carbon fibre etc)?

[pastor_bob]

Sorry IRealBored, but the Forum Rules prohibit commercial (retail) links, but don't worry, because you'll still get plenty of advice.

First of all, you'll be looking for a 14x6-8 snare, depending on how deep and fat you want your sound. Also, if you don't want much ring, then I would stay away from a metal snare. I'll leave specific recommendations to others now.

[IRealBored]

sorry about that and thanks anyway, will i set up a new thread then?

[pastor_bob]

No, don't worry about it. I've made the same mistake from time to time. The mods just take care of it for you. If you only had a couple of snares in mind, I would have given you the pics. You can still do that at any time. Instructions for posting pics here are on this thread: http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...ures-7721.html

You might also be interested in this thread: http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...3.html?t=27243

[Shawn76]

I have 2 snares I switch between,which are in my signature.Between the 2,I like the Pearl the best because it has the Die Cast hoops,which I will eventually do with the Ludwig Epic snare.
There is another snare that I have seen a lot of good reviews on from different sites.The ocdp 13x7 maple snare I think it only comes in natural color. I have messed around with the one at the Local GC.They run about $200 US dollars. Not that expensive.When I get the money I am thinking about grabbing one myself.

[Zeta]

I can promise you happiness with an Acrolite. And they are a must have.

Or Pork Pies Bob and Big Black Brass.

[SpatzST]

My first thought is the Mapex Phat Bob. Relatively inexpensive, big deep snare.

[WEe]

PDP Limited Edition Maple/Bubinga 6.5x14" 20ply? 200$ from Ebay, going to get it next week.

[rglassma]

You need to check out two that I would highly recommend:

1) The Tama SLP Series - The bubinga version sounds awesome

2) The Pearl Free Floating Snare Series 14 x 6.5 .

Both snares are great. But, the free floating system is available in Stainless, Brass, Maple shells. In the after market, you can actually have shells made for it that can switch out by just removing the drum head. This will give you the versatility you need to change your snare drum sound. With regard to resonance and overtones, you said you like less resonance if I have interpreted your post accurately. The drum head and tuning have a great deal to do with that. The free floater system is known for allowing full resonance due to the fact that there are no lugs or hardware attached to the snare itself. The degree of resonance can be controlled by using dampening pads (like moon gel) and/or dampening batter heads (like evans genera dry).

They are both incredible drum series for the price. I have seen the free floaters go on ebay and craigslist for as little as 125.00. The Tama SLPs can be had for about 300 usd. Or, in Euros: 225.

[Northern Redneck]

Tico Torres Sig.

[onegourd]

pork pie little squealers are worth a look, (various deep sizes and shell types).

[BigFatDrummer]

My first thought is the Mapex Phat Bob. Relatively inexpensive, big deep snare.

I had the exact same thought. Black Panthers are great value for money whilst also be excellent snares.

My mind then moved to the Pork Pie squealers due to the depth.

But, as has already been said, if you prefer little ring, avoid metal shells.

[Dodeska]

I'd have suggested the Phat Bob too, but as you're here in the UK you won't get one for £250 unless you can find a used one.
Snares generally seem to be quite a bit more expensive over here than in the US.

[ScottW]

I have 2 of the snares already recommended, the PDP limited edition maple/bubinga and the Tama SLP bubinga. Both are great snares and worth checking out.

For the price the PDP is an incredible value.

[Shawn76]

I have 2 of the snares already recommended, the PDP limited edition maple/bubinga and the Tama SLP bubinga. Both are great snares and worth checking out.

For the price the PDP is an incredible value.

Bubinga and Maple wood together would be interesting. Never heard of the combination since both are for lower,deep sounds. Birch Bubinga sounds really good together.

[Drumbledore]

I'd have suggested the Phat Bob too, but as you're here in the UK you won't get one for £250 unless you can find a used one.
Snares generally seem to be quite a bit more expensive over here than in the US.

And here too, mates.

I like the crack and pop of steel for some snares, but if I want just that little bit of warmth, I go for one of my old chrome-over-brass snares, (my Rogers Dynasonic is one fave) and tune them down a bit, sometimes I'll borrow a mate's Pearl Brass Free-Floater or I'll muck around with the tuning of my Tama Starclassic Maple snare.

[ntn2it]

This is an easy question with an easy answer:

Buy the snare that YOU like the sound of. Don't listen to us on a drum chat website. Listen to your gut, through your ears. Go shopping. Spend a whole day trying out different drums. If you really like the sound of Stewart Copeland's snare, buy one. If you like the sound of John Bohnam's snare, buy one. If you don't know what kind it is, use Google. The answers are out there. Good luck!

[caribou]

I have a 13x7 Pork Pie maple snare that I really like. Where I live I don't have the luxury of trying before I buy, so Internet shopping it is. The PP was $300 Canadian on eBay.

[almostmatt1]

this is an easy question with an easy answer:

Buy the snare that you like the sound of. Don't listen to us on a drum chat website. Listen to your gut, through your ears. Go shopping. Spend a whole day trying out different drums. If you really like the sound of stewart copeland's snare, buy one. If you like the sound of john bohnam's snare, buy one. If you don't know what kind it is, use google. The answers are out there. Good luck!

+1

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

I've been playing drums for around 7 years now and I'd finally like to buy a decent snare drum (max £250), I've found a shop which seems to have some great deals, but even after researching as much as I could for 3 months I'm still spoiled for choice :P

I would like it to be fairly versatile, it'll be played in a metal band and the odd pop show every so often, and I would like to use it for recordings as well as live (it'll be my main snare). I'm usually partial to a deep, fat tone with little ring and good dynamic contrast.

could you guys give your opinion on any of the snares on this site or even give advice as to what material i should go for (maple, steel, brass, acrylic, carbon fibre etc)?

VERSATILE YOU SAY?? WANTED TO USE IT FOR METAL??? joey jordison snare, i have one, very versatile i guarentee a few will agree with me. Looks cool and sleek to. Its made of steel i think 13x6.5.

[rogersdrums]

I've been playing drums for around 7 years now and I'd finally like to buy a decent snare drum (max £250), I've found a shop which seems to have some great deals, but even after researching as much as I could for 3 months I'm still spoiled for choice :P

I would like it to be fairly versatile, it'll be played in a metal band and the odd pop show every so often, and I would like to use it for recordings as well as live (it'll be my main snare). I'm usually partial to a deep, fat tone with little ring and good dynamic contrast.

could you guys give your opinion on any of the snares on this site or even give advice as to what material i should go for (maple, steel, brass, acrylic, carbon fibre etc)?

when you say "versatile" what do you mean since your main musical venue is metal? For the most versatile snare drum, as far as I am concerned the whole Ludwig supraphonic line is the ticket. They can play high pitched, low pitched, loose snare, tight snare, throaty or swift. The black beauty is about the best but any chrome on brass are almost as good, the hammered brass dryer, the best size I think is 6 1/2 X 14. If you have too much ring use a dampened head

rule of thumb maple tends to sound warm, steel loud and throaty, brass a tad bit warmer and sweeter, hand hammered adds articulation and dryness acrylic anywhere in between, not familiar with carbon fiber. I have a Spaun acylic vented, meanking it has holes in the shell that supposedly allow it to play louder-it is a 13x 5 1/2. It sounds, deep, crisp, beefy, and loud. If you play lighter it is soft. Nice thing about it, it's cheap. Each snare has its own voice including the same snare made by the same company if you listen closely enough. I have a bunch of snares always searching for that "perfect" sound. None have it. My favorite snare is my Longo walnut, second fav is my crav third my luddy bb. The rest including a bunch of vintage luddys fall in and out of rotation-someone mentioned a acrolite-nice cheap snare with great luddy metal sound comes close to the supraphonic line but for a lot less and nice light weight. I have a vintage one from 72 I prefer the vintage ones in this line. If you want a really fat sounding snare check out Dunnett wood snares or even his titanium. He uses a very deep snare bed so the snares typically can't choke so you get great response but a looser sound that can play at a range of tones. I have a stainless steel of his and love it for a classic back beat sound and for recording purposes. There are a bunch of places on line that have sound bites of snares you can hear them and narrow your search-for cheap the spaun, the acrolite are truly awesome instruments. I like the pearl floating snare line too many have mentioned them. I have their Dennis Chambers maple, nice foused snare drum. I prefer flanged hoops for a bigger sound, most of the drums I have mentioned have them except the Dennis Chambers,those are die struck, that gives a more focused sound less overtones. I like the overtones. If you can see snares in person and play on them it is best , but bring someone else to play on it while you hear it from further away then point blank, that will allow you to hear what your audience hears

[IRealBored]

Thank you all for your incredibly informative input and sorry for the lateness of my response, (i got a new computer, lost my bookmarks and completely forgot about the thread). I went to all the drum shops i could find, played everything i could get my sticky fingers on and settled on a 14x6.5 C&C custom brass snare w/ die cast hoops. stuck an HD dry on it and i couldn't be happier.

[Russ]

Try to find a DW collectors, Pearl MCX, Tama Artwood, Mapex Black Panther snare used. There's other good ones, these are just some ideas to start with.

[imnotverygood9]

The Crush Acrylic snare is amazing sounding and cheap.

[Russ]

Not really sure why it hasn't been mentioned, but the Ludwig Acrolite, Supraphonic 402 or Black Beauty are terrific choices if affordable for you. I do not consider the PDP maple w/ exterior bubinga veneer a well rounded snare due to the fact that it's quite thick. This is to be expected when so many plies come into play, you'll get a lot of volume and attack, but not much resonance and tone. The point where these 4 qualities usually meet and balance out is around 6-8 ply. If you're anything like me you've heard hundreds of drum recordings and know the sound you like by now..

I personally feel as though the snare tends to be the loudest drum on the kit due to the wires interacting with the reso head, so I actually like somewhat thinner maple shelled drums. My reason for this is because a thinner shell does not have the same focus and volume that a thicker one does, you don't need it - the snare has this naturally. By opting for more resonance and tone you can boost those qualities while taking a bit of the others down some notches. Actually, you can get a bit of that focus back if you like by using re-rings as well.

I have thick shelled drums, and would really like to have a good thin one someday too. It could be my "not too hot not too cold" go to drum. I have 2 10 ply's, an 7 and a 6.. All awesome drums but I really start to notice when they stick out from the kit too much. And this is what i'm talking out - the snare naturally has it's own volume and projection to consider. The big thick shelled megaphone monsters belong in stadiums and big outdoor stages, not a small practice room. My bass could use the volume though, a lot of tone to it but it's a tad quiet. Thicker shell might work better there, it all depends.