It's depressing

stillgroovin

Senior Member
Why are the good snare drums soooooo damn expensive? I'm a married guy with a house, and kids and all the responsibilities that go with it. I am also lucky enough to have fallin in with a great club band that I gig with on weekends, mostly for fun Maybe i'm whining here but why do you have to be a millionaire to afford a decent snare these days. My kit is great but not the greatest however the snare that came with it is just crap. Is there anything out there for less than $300 bucks that isn't crap.?
 
The Pearl Sensitone snare drums are very good, and they're less than $300. I've still got mine, a brass alloy, and I believe it cost $250. It sounds great.
 
Ludwig Acrolite 14x5

eBay has always had plentiful in the $90-150 range. Don't let a few nicks or smudges, etc scare you. Pick one up used and restore it with some Flitz and elbow grease and you will have an awesome snare. A Remo Coated Vintage A batter head works remarkable with it IMO.

I use mine EVERYWHERE. My Supraphonic sometimes takes a back seat to it!
 
Ludwig Acrolite 14x5

eBay has always had plentiful in the $90-150 range. Don't let a few nicks or smudges, etc scare you. Pick one up used and restore it with some Flitz and elbow grease and you will have an awesome snare. A Remo Coated Vintage A batter head works remarkable with it IMO.

I use mine EVERYWHERE. My Supraphonic sometimes takes a back seat to it!

I totally agree. My Acrolite is the favorite of my collection by far!
 
Is there anything out there for less than $300 bucks that isn't crap.?

That's where the used market comes in real handy. I got a couple of really nice snares for under $200 off of craigslist. I also happened to pick up a DW/Craviotto snare for $250, just being in the right place at the right time.

There are a bunch of new snares, too, that are under the $300 range that are pretty good, as I'm sure more people will post about. It just depends what your definition of "good" is.

V V V V V Once again, my signature says it all!!!
 
So you guys really like the Acrolite, huh? I've seen them on E-bay but someone told me not to buy one because they were student drums. I'll tell you that the price is right!!! Any particular year? are the older ones better?
 
Why are the good snare drums soooooo damn expensive? I'm a married guy with a house, and kids and all the responsibilities that go with it. I am also lucky enough to have fallin in with a great club band that I gig with on weekends, mostly for fun Maybe i'm whining here but why do you have to be a millionaire to afford a decent snare these days. My kit is great but not the greatest however the snare that came with it is just crap. Is there anything out there for less than $300 bucks that isn't crap.?

There are literally mountains of snares out there for $300 or less. There are a lot of good snares for $200 or less...for that matter. Shop eBay or just walk into Guitar Center. I got a Pork Pie Brass Patina snare for $250 right off the shelf...and it's killer. I saw at least a half-dozen others sitting there for less than that, which also sounded great.
 
So you guys really like the Acrolite, huh? I've seen them on E-bay but someone told me not to buy one because they were student drums. I'll tell you that the price is right!!! Any particular year? are the older ones better?


What !!! ???

Now take this advice for cash, browse eBay or Craigslist and get yourself an Acrolite in good condition (+/- 100$) and start to believe there's a god for us poor drummers.
 
I bought a brass Mapex snare a couple of years ago online from 2111 percussion. I think it sounds great and it was around $175.
 
Snares I've purchased/built for less than $300:

6.5x13 Yamaha Oak Mushashi
5.5x14 Tama Starclassic Birch
5.5x14 Pearl Sensitone Custom Stainless
5x14 mid 60's Ludwig Supraphonic (beat to hell, still sounds godly)
5x14 mid 60's Slingerland Aluminum
6.5x14 Pork Pie BBB (best value on the market with die-cast or S-Hoops and 42 strand wires and a coated CS head!
6.5x13 Yamaha Brass Nouveau
4x14 Yamaha Coliauta sig - maple
6x13 Tempus Fiberglass
10x14 Ludwig Stainless
10x14 Fibes acryllic
5x14 Brass Vollan

ALL of these drums are great. Most of them weren't too good looking if they were used, and all of them needed heads and some needed minor fixes and wires.

A big +1 on the Acrolite. They were cheap, and the later models were student pieces, but don't let it fool you, it's a must have in any session drummer's arsenal. They are really "poppy" and don't have the greatest range.

Best "all in one" is a 5x14 Ludwig Supraphonic... year doesn't matter. The Ludalloy (not brass) model might be the most recorded drum in history and they are so versatile it's stupid.
 
Why are the good snare drums soooooo damn expensive? I'm a married guy with a house, and kids and all the responsibilities that go with it. I am also lucky enough to have fallin in with a great club band that I gig with on weekends, mostly for fun Maybe i'm whining here but why do you have to be a millionaire to afford a decent snare these days. My kit is great but not the greatest however the snare that came with it is just crap. Is there anything out there for less than $300 bucks that isn't crap.?

There has never been such a wide selection of high-quality new drums at very competitive prices. There are plenty of excellent snares in your price range.

Also, check out Craigslist, eBay, pawnshops and newspaper classifieds. I think half of the drum sets ever made are on Craigslist and you can get some great deals.
 
check out the Pork pie squealer maybe ( i think thats what they are) on musicians friend very nice highly rated snares for under 300$ i believe
 
amdrumparts.com

For $297, I bought a 10 ply, 14x7 Keller shell with nice tube lugs, diecast hoops, and a pretty decent strainer. They drill the holes and cut the edges, you just apply a finish and assemble. The result? An amazing sounding, high quality drum for extremely cheap. I received it within 7 days of ordering it. Most any custom drum company uses Keller shells, and even DW until about a decade ago. In my opinion, it is pretty much a waste to buy drums from a big name company when you can get the same quality, apply whatever finish you want, in any sizes you want, with any hardwear, for less than half the price. I'm extremely pleased with my drum, which sounds equal to my buddy's Sonor SQ2. Definitely something to think about. There are other sites that sell raw shells and hardwear as well.
 
Yes, that drum is for real... That is also pretty cheap for one of those. It's either beat to crap or is cracked (a known issue with these drums).
 
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