Purchasing Snare! need help and advice!

[jeepers]

Take advice from USADRUMMER.

 

[retardedrummer]

Dude,

From what you've been describing so far as to what style of music you play, I'd recommend a Pearl Chad Smith signature snare. Reasonably priced, nice "crack", and loud for what you need to do. I heard one of these live and it's sweet. My personal snare drum is a Yamaha Steve Gadd brass model (black, of course). I chose it because it's versatile, responsive, has a great all around sound for R&B, Rock and Jazz. Brass has a nice tone that's about right up the middle between steel and copper. Wood snares, like maple, have a nice, warm sound. I have a PDP 5 pc maple set, too, and I love it. I don't use the PDP snare that much, because I use the Gadd, but it's a really nice drum all the same. Birch is another wood to check out: it has a tighter tone than maple. If you want a really LOUD wood snare then check out a Yamaha Musashi OAK snare: LOUD and PROUD!

Here's some advice: decide what is your primary music you are playing. If it's loud rock then go with a metal snare drum. You might want to check into a deep shell snare... something that's like 6-6.5" deep. Look at what the pro drummers who are playing your genre of music are using. Check out some of their signature snare drums. Usually you can find a signature model snare drum from a drummer already playing your genre. Don't allow "brands" to dictate what to get. Do your homework and learn the differences between sizes, materials, and head choices. Drum brands are all basically similar, other than finishes, hardware and craftsmanship. A PDP snare sounds just as good as one that's twice the price. If your drum shop allows, check out different snares just to see what's what.

THanks for the very informative advice! Hmm. what if i get a snare which is 13X3"? the piccolo snare ah. used as a secondary snare. ppl say for funk and rock. i dun play hardcore rock. i play funk and rock atcually. but more of rock. want a snare that can be easily differentiated. a nice crack.

 

[evident]

yea piccolo snares aren't usually used as main snares. you're normally see them in gospel, funk, soul, and jazz contexts.

i thought you were looking for a main snare? if that's the case try a brass snare. like USAdrummer mentioned, their "ringiness" lie somewhere between steel and copper. steel snares are great for long-lasting resonating (i personally don't like it). if you play funk then definitely get a wood snare (what type of wood is really personal preference). a lot of people say maple is tonally the best, but i've never had the luxury to test and compare different snares first-hand so i can't really give any good advice.

but if you want to get a piccolo snare as a secondary snare, it's good. but just make sure you don't get it for the sake of having a huge drumset, most drummers nowadays really want to build a bozzio-esque kit. which is cool but really pointless if you're playing in a band context. frankly, i like smaller setups. my current practice kit is a 3-piece kit - one snare, one bass drum, one floor tom. and hats, 1 crash, 2 rides, 1 splash. that's about it. so yea, know what you're getting a secondary snare for..

 

[Magnimas]

THanks for the very informative advice! Hmm. what if i get a snare which is 13X3"? the piccolo snare ah. used as a secondary snare. ppl say for funk and rock. i dun play hardcore rock. i play funk and rock atcually. but more of rock. want a snare that can be easily differentiated. a nice crack.

i dun hv the luxury to own a drumset YET.. but frm wad i found ( i always wander abt the net in search of drums n sound ), i lyk the Mapex Black Panther Walnut 14x6.5 snare.. It sounds perfect for rock to me. Tight n nice crack. doesnt resonant for v long.

 

[bigblackbear]

hey i'm looking for a new snare too. i'm hoping to a sound somewhat to chris adler's snare. it's a pity i missed the drum exchange and missed the chance to try out his signature snare.
but to those who went, does his snare sound somewhat similar to that in his album?

anyway, i'm looking for something that produces a really tight sound with good rims for a crisp rim shot that's good for metal.

i'm also hoping to get a 13" since i'm very used to snares that size. adler's signature is out of my budget since i'm on a tight budget. i'm looking for something less that $250 maybe.

any suggestions?

 

[Magnimas]

oh yea bigblackbear dat reminds me..(thx!).. whr can i find Black Panther walnut and how much does it cost? thx =D i dun realli noe much abt the cost =X

 

[plainsman]

Hi Magnimas,

You can purchase Black Panther Walnut directly from Mapex Singapore Dealer, Pro Musique.

http://www.promusique.com/



Brandon Khoo owns one of the 14x6.5, you can catch the snare in action @ Wala Wala (Holland Village), Thursdays and Saturdays.

I spent some time with the 13x6. It's a great snare, comes with 42-strand snare wire. Not enough time spent for me to write detailed review, may consider a second go in future.




Hi bigblackbear,

From the time spent on the Chris Adler snare thus far, I would say it is quite similar to the snare sound in all Lamb of God albums 1995 and later, maybe with very slight difference in tone. It's essentially built close to the Black Panther snare Chris bought for himself many years ago.

You can read more about it in his interview here:
http://usa.mapexdrums.com/news/news_story.asp?ID=222

From the article, Chris used his Mapex Deep Forest Walnut kit with no triggers on Wrath (2009) album. I'm assuming he used his signature snare.

Comparing Wrath and Sacrament, the sound on the kit is amazing.



I have experimenting with different batter heads - I've tried Coated Ambs, Clear CS & Emperor X heads thus far. Its still with me so let me know if you're interested in a test drive :mrgreen:



Cheers

 

[retardedrummer]

yea piccolo snares aren't usually used as main snares. you're normally see them in gospel, funk, soul, and jazz contexts.

i thought you were looking for a main snare? if that's the case try a brass snare. like USAdrummer mentioned, their "ringiness" lie somewhere between steel and copper. steel snares are great for long-lasting resonating (i personally don't like it). if you play funk then definitely get a wood snare (what type of wood is really personal preference). a lot of people say maple is tonally the best, but i've never had the luxury to test and compare different snares first-hand so i can't really give any good advice.

but if you want to get a piccolo snare as a secondary snare, it's good. but just make sure you don't get it for the sake of having a huge drumset, most drummers nowadays really want to build a bozzio-esque kit. which is cool but really pointless if you're playing in a band context. frankly, i like smaller setups. my current practice kit is a 3-piece kit - one snare, one bass drum, one floor tom. and hats, 1 crash, 2 rides, 1 splash. that's about it. so yea, know what you're getting a secondary snare for..

Yea im getting a secondary snare. not a main one. heard the sound. i really wanna use it for songs. to allow for differentiation of sound. I like how Cobus plays. and i like the way how he uses the seconadry snare. yea.