Looking for a great sounding 4" snare

bud7h4

bud7h4

Silver Member
Either 14x4 or 13x4. I've seen videos of Tama's SLP brass and maple 14X4 piccolos and from what I can tell they sound amazing. They seem to be discontinued and I've only found two or three used ones for sale around $450.

Has anyone here played these? What else should I look at in this price range?

Edit: I own the Pearl 13x3 Maple piccolo and love it.
 
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I have a Crush C4 14x4 cast copper snare. You want to talk about pop...the combo of the thick cast shell and the shallow depth makes it sound like a gunshot when you lay into it. Depends on what you want, sound-wise.
 
I think the PDP Eric Hernandez 13x4" and 14x4" sound pretty good. The styling isn't my cup of tea though.

This is one of my favorites, but it's not a 4" depth. It can definitely do everything a piccolo can do and more.
 
Pearl Free Floating snares are great. I used to use an older 3.5" brass snare with the extended snare wires and it was capable of a really wide range of sounds.
 
Not your exact dimensions but the pearl 13x3 snares are all fantastic (steel, brass, and wood) and the Mapex 14x4 and 13x4 steel budget piccolos are also great drums that sound and feel far above their price range (average $60). Don't be off-put by the low prices, these are great drums. Cheap enough that you could buy and try a few and sell of what you don't like.
 
roncadillac said:
Not your exact dimensions but the pearl 13x3 snares are all fantastic (steel, brass, and wood) and the Mapex 14x4 and 13x4 steel budget piccolos are also great drums that sound and feel far above their price range (average $60). Don't be off-put by the low prices, these are great drums. Cheap enough that you could buy and try a few and sell of what you don't like.
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I'll second the 13x3 piccolo. Spent some studio time with one (black steel version) at the request of the engineer and just loved it. I had to retune the thing after every take, but I can't say if that was the drums normal tendency, if it was just extremely used and worn out, dont really know. But it sounded fantastic. Recorded really well too.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
I'll second the 13x3 piccolo.But it sounded fantastic. Recorded really well too.
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Anything high-pitched with a short note is going to record better than the opposite. But I agree, piccolos can really have an appealing sound. I remember playing a steel Ludwig 13x3 in youth orchestra. It sounded a lot better to me than the Acro we had in the junior high bandroom.
 
The Legend Phosphor Bronze 4" X 14" is a killer snare drum! They are discontinued, but I picked up mine used for $275 including shipping.

Although not in your size specs for a few more bones you can purchase a new Beier 1.5 4" X 15'" snare. Unbelievable versatile snare!

Although not in your budget constraints, the best wood piccolo snare drum I have ever heard is the 3-7/8" X 14" Noble & Cooley SS Classic Cherry.
 

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roncadillac said:
Not your exact dimensions but the pearl 13x3 snares are all fantastic (steel, brass, and wood)
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MrInsanePolack said:
I'll second the 13x3 piccolo. Spent some studio time with one (black steel version) at the request of the engineer and just loved it. I had to retune the thing after every take, but I can't say if that was the drums normal tendency, if it was just extremely used and worn out, dont really know. But it sounded fantastic. Recorded really well too.
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I should have mentioned that I own the 13x3 pearl (maple). Great sounding snare.
I've decided to get the Tama SLP 14x4. Haven't heard one in person but after listening to as many demos as I could find and reading the stellar customer reviews I think I'll be happy with it.
 
You might also want to consider the Pearl 14" x 4" maple snares. The discontinued "J. R. Robinson" snare is a great one as well. It has a 14" x 4" maple shell, die cast hoops and a wide enough snare bed to take 42 strand snares. Rob Bronw has a tuning video out on YouTube that features one. They are discontinued but you can find used ones at a good price. I used one for years in the studio and the engineers loved it!
 
I've got a number of 4x14 snares and I find them all interesting.

Mapex Brass Master
Taye copper
I've got a bunch more.
If you're interested, check out my channel.
 
rstange1 said:
There's a beautiful vintage Yamaha SD-493 snare (4" brass) for sale over on DFO.
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I was looking at that snare earlier, I believe that's Drum Guy. I ended up buying his Tama S.L.P. Black Brass snare.

pgm554 said:
I've got a number of 4x14 snares and I find them all interesting.

Mapex Brass Master
Taye copper
I've got a bunch more.
If you're interested, check out my channel.
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Thanks for that! Great channel, what a collection! I watched a few and found myself forgetting about the drums' sound and concentrating more on your drumming!
 
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RickP said:
The Noble and Cooley Maple SS 14 x 3 7/8” would be my recommendation . A truly superb snare drum with a huge tuning range . Phil Collins used one for years .
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I would add to Rick's suggestion the custom alloy (cast aluminum) 4.75x14 N&C snare. Dry, sensitive, cutting. Great!
 
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