Bo Eder
Platinum Member
I think it's time for another Bo-epiphany. There's something about this 13" snare drum I just got. I'm wondering if those of you who own 13" snares along with 14" snares are noticing the same thing.
My maple 13" Artwood snare seems to come alive when I play it. The head being smaller, doesn't have to be tensioned so much to get to the upper register, and therefore feels more forgiving when I play it. It's plenty loud, so I'm not concerned about the volume I get, it just feels much different when compared to my 14".
This is the first time I've owned a 13" snare and I'm feeling a little dumb for not having tried one until now. Being a 6.5x13, it feels really throaty too, like I can feel the fundamental note it's producing, which is high enough, but the tension is looser, giving in to the stick more on the backbeat. Consequently, when I play my 14" (of course, it's a 5x14 brass, and very different), to be in the same range tone, the tension is a bit higher, so the head feels more like a tabletop. To get that nice semi-mushy backbeat feeling, I'd have to loosen the head down to a tone I don't like (it's too low) - which wreaks havoc when I go to play pretty buzz roll passages and rudiments.
I'm not saying I'm hating my 14" snare, I just didn't think they'd be this different. I'm tempted to try a 13" snare in the same size but made of a metal to see if this theory holds true on that. But the 13" is really easy to tension and get to the tone I want, and it even feels better under my hands. It's the 1980s Weckl theory of using small toms tuned down all over again, but in this case, it's really applicable to everything because it's applied to snare drums.
And of course, there's the size factor. Being a smaller player, that one-inch-less diameter of the drum really makes it easy on the leg spread to the pedals. And somebody told me the cross stick sound is a bit weaker but I haven't experienced that when I cross stick. Anybody out there experiencing the same thing when comparing their 13s to their 14s? Or am I just crazy?
My maple 13" Artwood snare seems to come alive when I play it. The head being smaller, doesn't have to be tensioned so much to get to the upper register, and therefore feels more forgiving when I play it. It's plenty loud, so I'm not concerned about the volume I get, it just feels much different when compared to my 14".
This is the first time I've owned a 13" snare and I'm feeling a little dumb for not having tried one until now. Being a 6.5x13, it feels really throaty too, like I can feel the fundamental note it's producing, which is high enough, but the tension is looser, giving in to the stick more on the backbeat. Consequently, when I play my 14" (of course, it's a 5x14 brass, and very different), to be in the same range tone, the tension is a bit higher, so the head feels more like a tabletop. To get that nice semi-mushy backbeat feeling, I'd have to loosen the head down to a tone I don't like (it's too low) - which wreaks havoc when I go to play pretty buzz roll passages and rudiments.
I'm not saying I'm hating my 14" snare, I just didn't think they'd be this different. I'm tempted to try a 13" snare in the same size but made of a metal to see if this theory holds true on that. But the 13" is really easy to tension and get to the tone I want, and it even feels better under my hands. It's the 1980s Weckl theory of using small toms tuned down all over again, but in this case, it's really applicable to everything because it's applied to snare drums.
And of course, there's the size factor. Being a smaller player, that one-inch-less diameter of the drum really makes it easy on the leg spread to the pedals. And somebody told me the cross stick sound is a bit weaker but I haven't experienced that when I cross stick. Anybody out there experiencing the same thing when comparing their 13s to their 14s? Or am I just crazy?