THE GOOD SNARE THREAD

Hey, I don't get the chance to try out snares very often and would just like to get a feel for what I should be looking for on the rare occasion that I do. Currently I play for a melodic punk rock band, so I want a snare with a sharp crack which would be achieved best by a metal snare. A slight ring would be ideal, but I'm not fond of annoying overtones. To be more specific, I'm looking for a snare that gives me a sound similar to that of Adam Carson's of AFI during their hardcore Black Sails in the Sunset era only sharper.

Some day, when I update my set (whenever I get enough money) I plan on purchasing a birch set, possibly yamaha, mapex, or sonor. Basically, what I'm saying is the snare should blend well with punchy birch toms. Any suggestions?

Also, if someone could highlight the differences between metal snares (i.e. brass, steel, etc) I would be very grateful.

Those maple Dynasonics were pretty rare and scarce, even back when they were new. Both Buddy and Gene used them for a while. Gene had a long-standing Slingerland endorsement so he put Slingerland lugs and the Slingerland badge on the drum so that from a distance you thought it was a Slingerland. Back in 1988 I saw a blue sparkle one in a little music store near Pittsburgh but didn't have much money at the time.

I would reccomend a Ludwig Black Beauty, but I am already aware that most of us don;t have $600 lying around at home. If you have $600 and want to spend it on a BB, I highly reccomend it. I have played on one and it is literaly the perfect snare. That would be my reccomendation, but I know some of us have other things to buy.
The only snare I own (other than my stock Yamaha snare I got with my horrible kit) is a Pork Pie 12x5 Little Squealer. Although it is not made by an American (as Pork Pie's slogan suggests) it is a damn fine snare. Some of you may be saying "wow a 12" snare as a main snare? Thats too small!". Beleive me, I went through the same thing. When I bought it, I was just going to use it as a side snare, but then I tuned it up and got the nicest pop and crack out of it. Needless to say, It is a great main snare. If you play more jazz, then I would not reccomend it. If you play more metal, punk, funk and rock like I do, this could be an ideal main snare. If you have ever heard Chris Adler's (Lamb of God) snare, that is in the ballpark of what you are getting with the Pork Pie.
Other snares that I would reccomend would be the Mapex Black Panther Maple snare. I like the 13x6 size, but any size is good in my opinion. It is very full, and has a nice pop. To me, it is the perfect combo of the Black Beauty and the Little Squealer.
The Black Beautys cousin, the Ludwig Supra-Phonic is also amazing. Ever hear of Keith Moon, John Bonham or Jon Theodore? They all use the Supra-Phonic even though they had the ability to use the Black Beauty. It is THAT good. I like the big 14x6.5 size, but the 14x5 size would do well in any players arsenel of snares.
All in all, it comes down to what YOU think is best, not what I reccomend you. Go to Guitar Center or a local music store and try out as many as you can to get the feel for the snare that you really want. Happy choosing!

-Connor

I own two snares at the moment, 14x7" Tama John Tempesta signature (brass) snare, and 13x6" Mapex Black Panther Maple in Transp. Black. Both really nice snares. The Tama is very loud, meaty, great for those heavy backbeats, awesome rimshots. A deep, metallic sound, works best for loud music. The Mapex is my latest addition, it has a really nice crack, very nice overtones. It is quick and has a very cool "pop" to it. It is quite loud as well, maybe not as much as the Tama, but still, for a wood snare. I play mostly metal though, but I would like to recommend these to anyone that might be interested.

Crydevil said:

Probably posted numerous times already, but Ludwig Supraphonic is my current snare, and I gotta say, I'm not buying another one anymore.

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Is there a big difference in Supraphonic from year to year?

Does anyone know What the point is of Orange Countys offset lugs. I know OC makes top quality stuff and there must be a reason for it?

RogerLudwig said:

I had the pleasure of owning and playing this Rogers WMP maple Dyna-sonic for 35 years before selling it in May. The money I made paid for an entire Ludwig Custom Maple kit with two snares: LM400KTM (5x14; hand hammered, tube lug, millenium strainer) and a LS401TM (5x14; WMP, tube lug, millenium strainer)

What can I say; I love all of them!

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Thats a great color on the Dyna-sonic

nfiora said:

Does anyone know What the point is of Orange Countys offset lugs. I know OC makes top quality stuff and there must be a reason for it?

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I wish I knew too! I bought a 7x13 red sparkle snare from GC a while back and I love it! I also have a 7x13 Pork Pie Pig Lite snare coming to me hopefully by next Monday. I started gigging on Tuesday nights with a band I used to be in. The drummer that replaced me lets me use his kit (kept in band trailer) and he has one of those snares. I fell in love with it.

Definately will get some pics up soon.

DANG...there's some nice snares on here...guys, I'm jealous! Keep em coming!

Can anyone tell me what wood rims do to a snare drum?

I have never played one- so I was wondering if they change the sound of the overal tone of the drum? Or do they just change the accents such as rim shots?

nfiora said:

Does anyone know What the point is of Orange Countys offset lugs. I know OC makes top quality stuff and there must be a reason for it?

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Solely aesthetic purposes

synergy said:

Can anyone tell me what wood rims do to a snare drum?

I have never played one- so I was wondering if they change the sound of the overal tone of the drum? Or do they just change the accents such as rim shots?

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Well, I can finally answer this question. They definitely take the high end pitch down a bit and warm up the tone. The rim shot is incredible! I just got my Christmas gift in. Custom Stellar Hoops. They arrived today; the funny part is I caught the UPS guy at the local gas station early and saved him a delivery trip to my place. I am extremely happy and impressed with Jody Lutz' customer service and craftsmanship. He specially cut the L-bracket slots for my groove wedge and he was just a joy to work with. I was not sure what outer ply to go with and Jody suggested Wenge (wengay) and sent me some photos to check out. I recorded a gospel album with this stock snare and liked the tone so much that I decided to trick it out a bit in preparation for shows with The Steve J. Walker Band. I am very excited to say the least. Enjoy the pics.

6x12 Musashi Oak
Trick GS007 (black) throw
Stellar custom hoops (wenge outer ply)

Big Evil said:

Im wanting to buy a new snare but im not really sure what to go for. Any sugestions?

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You might like to check Ahead's brass shell snares in the 6" depth category.

They look fantastic (like Ludwig's Black Beauties do, imho), are built like the proverbial tank, have excellent accessories (Dunnett R2-Class or Trick throw-offs, for instance), perform at a par with anything available out there and, just as important, are very affordable (last year I picked up one from e-bay for $225 and the darn thing looks like new!).
With all of these good features going for them I just don't understand why Ahead snare drums continue to be so underrated, tho...

-elcid

elcid said:

You might like to check Ahead's brass shell snares in the 6" depth category.

They look fantastic (like Ludwig's Black Beauties do, imho), are built like the proverbial tank, have excellent accessories (Dunnett R2-Class or Trick throw-offs, for instance), perform at a par with anything available out there and, just as important, are very affordable (last year I picked up one from e-bay for $225 and the darn thing looks like new!).
With all of these good features going for them I just don't understand why Ahead snare drums continue to be so underrated, tho...

-elcid

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I second that. I was amazed by the heft of the Ahead snares. They were definately solid, and very powerful. They are warm and sound great! They are *well* worth the money.

I feel like this is this best snare drum ever. It's the 8x14 Sonor Signature HLD 598 Cast Bronze. I like it a lot.

CANOPUS ZELKOVA SOLID WOOD SNARE: 5"x14" barrel shaped shell carved from a solid piece of Japanese Zelkova wood. Fitted with eight double-ended brass tube lugs and leather washers. Originally came with die-cast hoops, but I've replaced these with triple-flanged hoops as I prefer the sound of these.


YAMAHA 'ELVIN JONES' SIGNATURE SNARE: 7"x14" 7-ply all Maple shell with 19-ply Maple hoops.

I owe a Yamaha Musashi Oak Snare (13x6.5) and a Ludwig Supraphonic (14x6.5)

but my favorite are Dunnett snare drum,Brady snare drums, and the Akira Jimbo Signature snare and the Sonny Emory Signature snare

My metal and wood:

• Ludwig 6.5x14 Supraphonic Hammered Bronze w/ tube lugs and Millenium throwoff
• Yamaha 5x14 Brass
• Yamaha Maple Sensitive 5x14 in Vintage Finish
• Noble & Cooley 7x14 Classic SS Honey Maple Gloss Finish

mikeg said:

I just got a new (well, new to me) snare. It's a 1950s era,14" WMP Gretsch. I used it last night for the first time at a band rehearsal, and it sounds really FAT! I'm looking forward to playing out with it.

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All bow down to the round badge.
Congrats, you lucky bastard!

I haven't heard much about stave drums here. I've been building them for a few years now and I think they're some of the best sounding drums out there (stave snares in general, not just mine)....here's a 5.5x14 claro walnut snare that I recently sold.