looking for new metal snare.

dholz

Member
I'm looking to get a second snare drum. preferably metal as my current snare is an all maple pork pie. I mainly play rock and worship music. i play an all maple PDP set. I have a 14x7 pork pie snare. my parents are looking for me to make a Christmas list.
I've been looking at maybe getting a pearl sensitone, a ludwig acrolite or something.

any suggestions would be appreciated, as i have never used a metal snare before.
 
what is your budget? since your wood snare is 7" depth I would not suggest going lower than a 6.5" depth on your metal snare. If you are on a lower budget I would suggest The ludwig Supralite 6.5 x 14 Ludwig LW6514SL. they can be found on e-bay for about $180 delivered, you will not find a better new metal drum in that price range.
 
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Not knowing your budget, an Acrolite or Supraphonic will do whatever you ask of it. the new 6.5 Acros will go toe to toe with any aluminum drum out there. Why buy another companies imitation when you can have the real deal from Ludwig? If money is not a real issue, and you have a wood drum, I would get a Ludwig bronze supra, pricey, but incomparable.
 
The Ludwig Supralite or Acrolite would be good places to start you on your new metal shell fascination. These are both good sounding reasonably priced snare drums.
 
sorry. for type of metal i'm not really sure, I don't have much experience with metal snare drums. budget wise id say lower budget. 2-3 hundred bucks or so. if that helps..
 
anyone know about these pearl sensitone elite snare. long and mcquade has em on for 350 with a titanium nitride coating. look pretty cool.
 
sorry. for type of metal i'm not really sure, I don't have much experience with metal snare drums.

In that case, aluminium is a great "middle of the road" metal and certainly what I'd recommend to someone who wasn't quite sure exactly what tones they were after. It's an excellent starting point for a first metal snare IMHO. Obviously, it depends on the particular drum, but as a general rule it is a versatile metal that usually sounds good across a wide range of tuning and never seems to be out of place in most musical applications. "General purpose" is a good term to describe aluminium I think. It offers less ringy overtones than more "lively" metals like brass or steel, which can often be a little too much for those with less experience with metal shells.

A Pearl Sensitone is a great choice, an Acro is also worth looking at due to the fact that they can be found so cheaply. But to my ear the ultimate aluminum drum is a Supraphonic......a used one should fit your budget and it's the kind of drum you keep forever and it'll fit in pretty much any musical situation you're likely to find yourself in.
 
So your in Canada huh? well that changes things a bit, the Pearl sensitone are fine but remember steel snares can be a bit ringy, aluminum is a little drier so is bronze, brass is great for snares as well but ringy. you might check these out as well. Best thing to do is go try some out and see what you like.

http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/6685/Drums/Acoustic/Pork_Pie_Percussion/Big_Black_Snare.htm

http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/2323/Drums/Acoustic/Tama/Steel_Shell_Snare_6_5_x_14.htm
 
well it seems there's a lot of choices to look at. i might have to go into the local store and just try out a bunch. i guess it all comes down to personal preference, but ill definitely take a look at all the suggestions I've gotten so far.
 
well it seems there's a lot of choices to look at. i might have to go into the local store and just try out a bunch. i guess it all comes down to personal preference, but ill definitely take a look at all the suggestions I've gotten so far.

Not sure what your store will have, but another way are to listen to many recordings on you tube, and there are some great ones out there of different snares, well miked, no EQ etc. Some even do comparisons, side by side.
Sure their sounds will also depend on heads and tuning but so do the ones in stores.
 
Hi guys! Does anyone know who can make me a custom bronze shell? I'm after a certain thickness and size, possibly hammering (not sure yet), but I can't find a place to ask for it. :'(
 
Hi guys! Does anyone know who can make me a custom bronze shell? I'm after a certain thickness and size, possibly hammering (not sure yet), but I can't find a place to ask for it. :'(

Start a new thread with that very question. The direct approach is the best.
 
Hi guys! Does anyone know who can make me a custom bronze shell? I'm after a certain thickness and size, possibly hammering (not sure yet), but I can't find a place to ask for it. :'(

Why? What is missing from all the current bronze drums out there?
 
Depending on how deep their pockets are, ask your parents for either a Ludwig Supraphonic Bronze 6.5 X 14" snare drum (hammered or smooth; your preference) or a Dunnett Classic Stainless Steel 2N Beaded snare drum. Any of those are keepers.
 
Why? What is missing from all the current bronze drums out there?

They are mostly thin shells, I'm looking for a thicker one (2mm min)

Depending on how deep their pockets are, ask your parents for either a Ludwig Supraphonic Bronze 6.5 X 14" snare drum (hammered or smooth; your preference) or a Dunnett Classic Stainless Steel 2N Beaded snare drum. Any of those are keepers.

Thank you for your assumption! I don't need to ask them for anything, I'm running my own business for quite some time now, and it wasn't yesterday, when I celebrated my 30th. It's been years!

Regarding the snares:
Steel: no way (never liked the sound)
Ludwig Supraphonic: If I'm not mistaken, thats below 2mm also.

I heard a thick bronze snare once, fell in love. Now, I have the budget for it too. (But not for a super high end one, so... no Sonor or DW in that thickness)
 
They are mostly thin shells, I'm looking for a thicker one (2mm min)



Thank you for your assumption! I don't need to ask them for anything, I'm running my own business for quite some time now, and it wasn't yesterday, when I celebrated my 30th. It's been years!

Regarding the snares:
Steel: no way (never liked the sound)
Ludwig Supraphonic: If I'm not mistaken, thats below 2mm also.

I heard a thick bronze snare once, fell in love. Now, I have the budget for it too. (But not for a super high end one, so... no Sonor or DW in that thickness)

Sorry about that! I assumed you were much younger.

I felt the same way about steel drums as well until I heard the Dunnett Classic Stainless Steel 2N snare drum. Game changer for me. Bought one outright.

That being said I also prefer bronze snare drums. In that case try to go audition a Joyful Noise Beacon Bronze 6.5 X 14" snare drum. You may really dig the sound. It's on my short list.
 
Sorry about that! I assumed you were much younger.

I felt the same way about steel drums as well until I heard the Dunnett Classic Stainless Steel 2N snare drum. Game changer for me. Bought one outright.

That being said I also prefer bronze snare drums. In that case try to go audition a Joyful Noise Beacon Bronze 6.5 X 14" snare drum. You may really dig the sound. It's on my short list.

That's - again - not what I'm looking for. I could not find a source to tell me the thickness of the shell, but in a thicker shelled snare, I'd go for a straight shell. This one is... not sure about the correct english term, but - beaded(?). I think that is the correct term.

As I said, I'm looking for a manufacturer, who I can discuss with what I'm after, and can create it. The ones on the market simply either don't do it for me, or waaaay to expensive.
 
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