My 5x14 Pearl Sensitone Premium Maple surprised me. It's probably the best value I've ever had. Excellent hardware, build, tone, everything. And very affordable. A fantastic drum.
/Magnus
That Ludwig bronze is not underrated by anyone as far as I can gather. It's actually highly lauded by pretty much everyone.For me the most underrated metal snare would be the Ludwig Bronze Supra in both smooth and hammered versions.
What drums did you order? I have a segmented heart pine on order and can’t wait to get it. Should be finished soon.Outlaw Drums, out of Georgia, USA. They’ve been around for a while but are still largely making drums for custom orders. These fellas are doing some amazing things with wood, sometimes using woods not known for drum construction, sometimes building drums from reclaimed lumber harvested from demolished barns, old gymnasium benches, etc. They’re making two drums for me and have kept me updated during the builds. These guys are as passionate about making their snares as their customers are about playing them.
I'm picking one up for $100 too. Now waiting for the international shipping (the same cost as the drum itself lol). ?I have had a Premier 2000 aluminum snare laying about for a couple of years and yesterday I finally decided to bring it to a rehearsal, only because I was too lazy to get my usual snare; the Premier was already in a bag. It is a really good snare drum with a nice snare sound all the way from the centre of the drum to the rim. Great drum for $100!
What drums did you order? I have a segmented heart pine on order and can’t wait to get it. Should be finished soon.
I have a cheap Supreme well tuned with new heads and new strainer and wires: well, wow!Most cheap steel snares sound great, even with stock heads and snares.
Nice! Maybe you can start a thread with your thoughts on them? I’m interested!segmented heart pine and segmented purple heart. One arrives tomorrow
According to this video, the Tama Silverstar snare may be underrated? It sounds pretty darn good in the video. Can anyone else corroborate this?
You're right, this 12x5" Silverstar sounds pretty darn good for what it is, even without the upgrades. It has a nice open metallic ring for a wood snare. Nice lows and upper-end crack. New heads, wires and possibly hoops could make this a killer little snare.I had a Tama 12x5 silverstar birch snare drum, stock it was very snappy and responsive but a little thin and flat. I swapped the stock 1.6mm tf hoops for 2.3mm hd tf hoops, Tama wires for puresound blasters, Evans 3 mil snare side, and either a coated g12 or calftone batter (depending on engagement... Most of the time calftone, 'rock' not jazz) and that drum came alive! Dramatic increase in volume potential as well as overall dynamic range, best cross stick sound for a 12" I've ever had, ear splitting rim shots, and a noticeable increase in the "sweet spot" of the 12" drum making it much more versatile as a primary drum. So stock: great drum especially for practice, back up, or side snare. Upgraded hardware and heads: an impressively versatile and functional main drum.
Tama SLP Aluminum