Audio only snare drum comparison between...

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
My 2 best sounding snares. A 3 year old Black Beauty, the brass on brass millennium model. The one with the solid brass die cast hoops top and bottom and the brass tube lugs....and...

A new Guru snare drum that I secretly got a few months ago. I haven't mentioned it formally until now. (I'm wearing a tuxedo) It's a yummy 14 x 7 steambent ash In-Tense drum with a regular die cast hoop on the top and a 2.3 mm bottom hoop. I use the same Puresound wires on both drums. I tuned them both as close as I could get them. They are essentially headed the same, but... the Ludwig has a well worn coated Emp over ambassador snare side vs a much newer by comparison coated G2 over Hazy 300 on the Guru.

On the recording the Ludwig is drum A and the Guru is drum B. I was going to make it a guessing game out of it but decided to do a straight up comparison so you can hear for yourself the difference between a Guru snare and a universally beloved snare drum. That didn't come out as intended lol. It's something that you won't get on Andy's vids.

There's a noticeable sonic difference. It's a quick and dirty recording, 1 take, done with a handheld Olympus LS11

Even though you can hear the difference on laptop speakers, use headphones if you can.
 

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Larry,

That's a really useful side by side comparison. Nothing fancy but it definetly does the job and quickly too. I really like the sound of the BB. Maybe even more useful might be benchmarking against a Ludwig Supraphonic as I would imagine most drummers have encountered this so can get sonically centred.

Anyway thanks
 
The BB was on my stand at the kit. I'm a righty so the Guru was to my left behind the hi hat. The Guru has more personality by a mile. It sounds noticeably scooped EQ wise whereas the BB is almost the opposite with regard to the midrange only.

FWIW, the Guru is so interesting sounding to me, as I'm playing it. It really has a unique voice. I know that's a cliche, but it's a new sound to me. I like it not just a little more than the BB, easily a couple magnitudes above that. It's really hard to describe, you really have to play it side by side. Hearing it by itself....there's nothing to compare to. It really shows off the differences when there's something to contrast against.

Hey, some will like the BB over the Guru, and that's great. The BB seems more present, but in person, it sounds pedestrian by comparison. Mass produced.

I haven't looked forward to playing a drum in some time, and I'm about to in a few hours, so gotta go.
 
Very useful and informative. Both are nice, in a subjective way I guess i hear more 'character' in the wood drum. Not a great word to use but...
Am curious do you always tune all your snares that high?
 
Yea, that's my tone. I like lower tunings at practice, but at a gig a sound resembling a gunshot is my goal.
 
They are both wonderful sounding drums.

I have to say, for me, the Ludwig has a slightly better sound. (Sorry Andy!) I just have a thing for Ludwig snares and that BB just has "that sound". Great resonance and tone.
 
Larry, you're listening to the snare drums live and state that "I like it not just a little more than the BB, easily a couple magnitudes above that." That's a very fair assessment. However, what is your response to the "recorded" versions?

To be blatantly honest, the "recorded" Ludwig sounds much better - at least to me (again, sorry Andy). I'm sure that the recordings do not do justice to either drum and that they both sound much better live and in person.

There's too many variables and a lot of bias when it comes to listening and hearing drums.
 
I was going to make it a guessing game out of it but decided to do a straight up comparison
Larry, just as well you didn't, I would have got it wrong! ;)

I too have to be honest, in that recording, I prefer the sound of the Ludwig. Overall, the recording quality is fairly harsh. I'm listening through my reference headphones, & there's very little about the tone of the Guru I recognise. It sounds hollow. Non of the strong fundamental that's usually present is coming through. There is one point in the recording when you hit the centre of the head that sounds familiar, but other than that, it's all snare & no body.

I'm convinced it's the recording. I'm even picking up some modulation on the Guru sound.

Sorry to sound negative Larry, I'm really trying not to be, but honestly, I've never heard a Guru sounding like that. The Ludwig doesn't sound great either, but it is the better sounding drum in this recording. Is the camera/mic position different between the two drums?
 
Sounds like the GURU is suffering from poor (or at least not the same) mic placement.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I'm glad Andy chimed in here because he seems to agree in this case that the BB sounded better in a way. This recording just didn't capture the Guru in all of its sonic glory.
 
Rather than offering up reasons for this and that maybe the BB is just a better drum (to my ears under this mic in this room with this player). If I was lucky enough to be in the studio with these two drums it would be an easy decision of which to go with.

I state herein in I own neither a BB or a Guru !
 
I thought the BB sounded exactly like a snare is supposed to sound like.

The Guru not so much. It sounded like its needs a slightly lower tuning to really shine.
 
For mine the BB is clearer , the Guru is muffled like its in a hessian bag, but notwithstanding that the BB also sounds very thin and "tinny" wheras the G has a recognisable warmth to it, despite the hessian bag effect.

I did pay more attention to the drum rolls than the accents, to me the accents sounded like a west indian steel drum and it did neither drums a favour in the recording. I accept they would sound different "live"

Although the BB has a very focused sound I dont like the "thin metallic" undertone ( hard to explain its like a surface sound over the top of a fundemental tone that you can hear "underneath" kind of like a glass of wine...there is the initial taste and then you can taste the "body" of the wine )

The Guru has a muddy overtone but a much warmer undertone.

Using the Wine anology the BB would be a merlot and the Guru a Shiraz.

Larrys voice on the other hand has the tone and depth of a bottle of Invalid Port..... (hehe)
 
Larrys voice on the other hand has the tone and depth of a bottle of Invalid Port..... (hehe)

Yeah I'd always imagined he'd sound like a whiny little bi-otch but he actually sounds a bit like Brian from Family Guy which is pretty cool.
As for the snares- has Uncle Larry achieved the impossible and actually made a Guru sound bad??
 
I am really perplexed. You guys think the Guru sounds bad, but to me, the guy who played them both side by side, there's just no contest. The Guru....if you think of an EQ that is in the shape of a smile, that's the Guru, and the BB EQ would be in the shape of a frown with lots of harsh midrange.

So color me a little disappointed. Originally, I wasn't planning on making any recordings, I just wanted to hear for myself. Well I was so blown away by the differences that I decided I wanted to share it. Just for the record, the Guru tone makes me giddy. GIDDY! Snare drums never did that to me. I am so in love with the tone, you have no idea. The BB doesn't even come close to making me feel giddy.

At the gig, the drum sits so well in the mix. It speaks so clearly but at the same time blends so well. It fits in the mix perfect for my tastes. I am totally ecstatic about it in every way.

Andy mentioned a hollow quality....I totally agree. And that's the exact quality about it that I love so much. It's an expansive sound. I am crazy in LOVE with that tone. Am I the only one?

The only thing I can say is that hearing the drum when you are in the same room gives a vastly different feeling than simply hearing it on a recording. There's a huge disconnect here and I can't explain it. All I know is I am crazy in love with my Guru snare drum and can't wait to play it again tonight. It's the most unique sound I ever heard and it's my most favorite snare drum that I ever played.

I really wish you guys could play them side by side instead of just listening to them side by side. I think it might change your mind.

But hey, if not, whatever. You guys can have the BB's. But you will have to pry my Guru from my cold dead hands lol.
 
Larry you son of a dodgy bottle of port... if you read my post I think you will find I pretty much agree with you ... I am devestated that youare so busy staring into gurus vents in a lustful way you overlooked my complex yet meaningful analysis....sigh.
 
For mine the BB is clearer , the Guru is muffled like its in a hessian bag, but notwithstanding that the BB also sounds very thin and "tinny" wheras the G has a recognisable warmth to it, despite the hessian bag effect.

I did pay more attention to the drum rolls than the accents, to me the accents sounded like a west indian steel drum and it did neither drums a favour in the recording. I accept they would sound different "live"

Although the BB has a very focused sound I dont like the "thin metallic" undertone ( hard to explain its like a surface sound over the top of a fundemental tone that you can hear "underneath" kind of like a glass of wine...there is the initial taste and then you can taste the "body" of the wine )

The Guru has a muddy overtone but a much warmer undertone.

Using the Wine anology the BB would be a merlot and the Guru a Shiraz.

Larrys voice on the other hand has the tone and depth of a bottle of Invalid Port..... (hehe)

Being all serious and not laughing out loud, I don't get the hessian bag thing. Muffled is not a term I would use to describe the Guru...at all. I agree that the BB is more present in the mix due to it's midrange-ey (IMO) tone. It's a more "rude" sounding drum by comparison, again, IMO.

I never muffle my drums, so that all the overtones can contribute. I like overtones and won't muffle them out. Hearing just a snare drum, you get an abundance of overtone, which all get swallowed up when the band comes in. I don't understand where you get the muddy overtone from either, but hey, to each their own. It's almost as if we were speaking about 2 different drums. Did you listen with headphones?

You guys just have to hear it up close and in person to get the real flavor. I'm kind of dissapointed that this recording had the opposite effect from what was intended, but that's no fault of anyone's, except maybe my own.

Anyway...and it's not because I own the drum and paid a lot for it, I really do prefer the tone by a mile to the BB.....recorded, and up close and personal. I am completely ecstatic about it and all you guys are raining on my parade lol. But that's OK, honesty trumps agreement everyday with me.
 
Snare drum B on this recording doesn't sound like the other captures of Guru snares I've heard.

It's funny, though; just goes to show our tastes are very subjective. The fact that you like the sound of drum B on this recording is evidence that our tastes just vary. As long as you like it, what we think doesn't matter.
 
Maybe Bernard Purdie was actually playing one of the drums and Ringo was playing the other. Now we just need to figure out who was playing what and whether or not Larry's recording was overdubbed in a New York recording studio.
 
So color me a little disappointed. Originally, I wasn't planning on making any recordings, I just wanted to hear for myself. Well I was so blown away by the differences that I decided I wanted to share it. Just for the record, the Guru tone makes me giddy. GIDDY! Snare drums never did that to me. I am so in love with the tone, you have no idea. The BB doesn't even come close to making me feel giddy.

You should be happy no ones accusing you of being biased for dropping thousands on a GURU kit.



I really wish you guys could play them side by side instead of just listening to them side by side. I think it might change your mind.

Hey now, don't put the burden on us.


All I know is I am crazy in love with my Guru snare drum and can't wait to play it again tonight. It's the most unique sound I ever heard and it's my most favorite snare drum that I ever played.

Oh wait, here's a little bias action.



The BB sounded like it benefited from the recording IMO, or more accurately, the GURU was handicapped by the recording, that came across clearly.
 
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