Pork Pie Snares?

Been studying a lot on snares online, and I know a guy who plays a "Pork Pie" snare. The name itself is so unusual to me, but he raves about it. Thru online research, I now see that many play these. I have heard of Ludwig, Pearl, Sonor, Tama, DW, Gretsch, Mapex, Yamaha, etc., but this one is so NEW to me. Names like, "the little squealer", "hip pig", and "pork rub" are insane! What is the deal with these very unusual but so interestingly named snares...


Anyone on the forum played one or have one?!?
 
Yeah Pork Pie is not that obscure. They're a small company but make great drums, be it custom and mass produced. I have a 13x7 Little Squealer which I think sounds much better than you'd expect for a $150 snare.
 
I agree, it's a silly name but I've grown to like that cute little pig.

The only pork pie I've tried was the 13x7 patina brass. Kinda wish I'd bought it. Awesome little drum.
 
Pork Pie makes great dums! They've acquired a good reputation for great build quality and sound. All of the lines except for the "Lil' Squealer" are made here in the States. I've got a 13x7" Patina and a Pork Rub and both sound fantastic. The Pork Rub is a seamless shell brass snare much like the vaunted Ludwig Black Beauty only at about half the price. The "Hip Gig" line is getting a lot of good press and it has a lot of fans here at DrummerWorld as well. Another popular Pork Pie model is the "BoB". This another brass snare that's getting a lot of love these days. This brand is well worth checking out. Bill Dettamore is a member of this board. He is also the owner of Pork Pie if I remeber correctly. You can email Pork Pie any time and they'll get back to you. I haven't heard a bad Pork Pie yet. Check 'em out!
 
I am thoroughly intrigued!!!!

Been looking at this one:

Pork Pie Rosewood Zebra Maple Snare Drum Rosewood Zebra 6.5x14

Anyone have one?
 

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I had the maple rosewood zebrawood above. Incredible snare.

I currently have a Pork Pie cherry bubinga 14x7, and a Birch mahogany Little squealer. The cherry bubinga is American made and the little squealer is made in Taiwan. Both are the most sensitive, easy to tune snares I've ever used. I almost like them more than my higher end snares.

I don't know what it is about stock pork pie heads since they're just coated ambassador, but man they're amazing. Bill Detamore makes some incredible drums and will answer any questions you send him directly.
 
I had the maple rosewood zebrawood above. Incredible snare.

I currently have a Pork Pie cherry bubinga 14x7, and a Birch mahogany Little squealer. The cherry bubinga is American made and the little squealer is made in Taiwan. Both are the most sensitive, easy to tune snares I've ever used. I almost like them more than my higher end snares.

I don't know what it is about stock pork pie heads since they're just coated ambassador, but man they're amazing. Bill Detamore makes some incredible drums and will answer any questions you send him directly.


Hey, thanks for the info!

Does the Zebra-Wood snare that you mention have a lot of sensitivity as well? I love the finishes on these maple snares. I am in awe of the names on these snares as well..lol..just gets me.
 
Yeah it definitely was. I will add that the import squealer is just as beautiful and sounds just as good as the American made. I wish I still had the rosewood zebrawood maple, but I'm very happy with the 2 I have now.
 
Been studying a lot on snares online, and I know a guy who plays a "Pork Pie" snare. The name itself is so unusual to me, but he raves about it. Thru online research, I now see that many play these. I have heard of Ludwig, Pearl, Sonor, Tama, DW, Gretsch, Mapex, Yamaha, etc., but this one is so NEW to me. Names like, "the little squealer", "hip pig", and "pork rub" are insane! What is the deal with these very unusual but so interestingly named snares...


Anyone on the forum played one or have one?!?

Played a few and they are middle of the road snares.

Not impressed by any of their products and would never own one.
 
I know a fair bit about Pork Pie

Genuine Pork Pies are made in Melton Mowbray.

These sound very meaty but have a top end crust which isn't the same as a patina
 
I like my Big Black Pork Pie snare. It's a great drum at a good price. I've also had Bill Dettamore recut some bearing edges for me, and he does fine work.
 
Good Lord. Look at the lug splay on that. And this is considered "good workmanship" coming from a custom shop?

Nope nope nope.

That's not lug splay. You are just getting misled by the two grain patterns and the reflections on the lugs in the photo.

Pork Pie/Detamore makes good drums. I doubt that he would let a poorly assembled version of that snare in a product shot for his stuff.

I have two Pork Pies. They both sound really good considering I spent less than $300 on each. My Big Black has never let me down.
 
These are top notch snares regardless of the comments above. No pork pie I've ever had has had lug splay. I used a 200 dollar pork pie today instead of my black Beauty or $900 gretsch Stave. That should say something.
 
I agree, it's a silly name but I've grown to like that cute little pig.

The only pork pie I've tried was the 13x7 patina brass. Kinda wish I'd bought it. Awesome little drum.


I have one of these and it's great. They aren't making them anymore, but you can still find them new at some stores. Not for long!

-sheldon
 
That's not lug splay. You are just getting misled by the two grain patterns and the reflections on the lugs in the photo.

Pork Pie/Detamore makes good drums. I doubt that he would let a poorly assembled version of that snare in a product shot for his stuff.

That is lug splay. And it's not an illusion - not in that photo. And I'm surprised, too. I've been looking at snare drums lately, and the two brands that really stand out to me at this point are Taye and Pork Pie. But there is no denying that on that snare in that picture the lugs are splayed. (ie, the lug nuts are positioned far enough from the shell that the tension rods are forced inward to align with the hoop holes.)

GeeDeeEmm
 
Yep, some ugly backwards lug splay, to complement the ugly lugs and ugly shell.

Does lug splay even really matter when you have typical swivel nut lugs? I get how it would be horrible on tube lugs and the like. Is it just because of having potentially less tension rod to hoop flange surface area contact, or purely aesthetic?
 
Does lug splay even really matter when you have typical swivel nut lugs?

The swivel nut 'swivels' to compensate for splay. Yes, there is an upper limit to the amount of splay a swivel nut can tolerate..

@OP:

1: Pick 10/20/30 recordings that you like the sound of the snare on.
2: Figure out, to the best of your ability, which snare was used for each recording.
3: See if one snare appears more than all the rest, or if there's some outstanding attribute.
4: Buy that snare.

In addition, you'll probably learn if you prefer wood over metal or vice versa. You'll learn if you have a depth and tuning preference. Etc, Etc.

Alternatively... Just buy a snare that looks cool and save the box.
 
That's not lug splay. You are just getting misled by the two grain patterns and the reflections on the lugs in the photo.

Of course it's lug splay. Look at the image again. Look closely at the right-hand side, where you can see white between the tension rods and the shell. Any fool can plainly see that's lug splay.

Here, I marked it for you:
 

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