Members ToneGrail Posted November 17, 2006 Members Share Posted November 17, 2006 What do you prefer and why? I had a gig recently and the snare wired harness on my wooden snare broke. So I borrowed a metal snare from one of the other band's drummers. The thing was so much louder than mine even though I have mine tuned really tight for maximum crack. So this prompted me to order a metal 6.5 inch deep by 14 inch diameter snare from MF and it should be arriving today. I think I'm still gonna use my wooden snare on the recordings because it sounds great, but it just can't compete volume wise with the metal snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted November 17, 2006 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2006 I have always preferred wood snares, yet I have pretty much always played metal ones. My Acrolite (which I've used forever) doesn't sound like the average metal snare, it's drier and darker... But the next snare I get will definitely be wood. Metal snares usually sound "pingy" to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sidereal Posted November 17, 2006 Members Share Posted November 17, 2006 I found that the type of material doesn't always correlate with volume. I have a very mellow brass snare and a very loud maple. You have to factor in hoop types (wood, metal, die cast, triple flanged), diameter, depth, and the manufacturing process. Each snare is a very individual thing. Preference? It's like asking whether I prefer sushi or chicken tikka masalla. Depends on my mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the DW Posted November 17, 2006 Members Share Posted November 17, 2006 Originally posted by ToneGrail ...The thing was so much louder than mine even though I have mine tuned really tight for maximum crack... Sounds to me like you have the head so tight that it's choking the drum. You may find that if you back off the tension, the volume will come back, though you'll lose that high end 'crack'. If you like that high end crack, you may want to consider getting a piccolo snare. I just bought a Pearl steel 3 x 13, and that thing cuts like a knife! edit: but to answer your question, I like wood snares myself. My other snare is a 4 x 14 Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute, and I love that snare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cqc6 Posted November 17, 2006 Members Share Posted November 17, 2006 Hey, I am a huge fan of wood snares- I own- GMS 10th ann. Snare- Birdseye 1 piece shell 6.5"x14" One of 2 made in that size. All the others were 5.5" deepGMS Grand Master- 6.5"x14"GMS Grand Master- 5.5"x14"Custom made- 5"x14"Pork Pie- 5"x12 The only metal drum I own is-Nobel & Cooley Alloy Classic- 4 7/8"x14" Its a great snare- it tunes to a bunch of different tones. Very great recording snare. Its great live also- Its very loud! Wood snares are really my thing. The N&C is a killer snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneGrail Posted November 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2006 Originally posted by the DW Sounds to me like you have the head so tight that it's choking the drum. You may find that if you back off the tension, the volume will come back, though you'll lose that high end 'crack'. If you like that high end crack, you may want to consider getting a piccolo snare. I just bought a Pearl steel 3 x 13, and that thing cuts like a knife! edit: but to answer your question, I like wood snares myself. My other snare is a 4 x 14 Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute, and I love that snare! How do you tell if it's choking the drum? Is there a quick and easy way to tell? BTW, my metal snare came in today but I can't really try it out in my apartment I'm gonna go to the practice spot tomorrow and tune the thing. It seems like the heads are really loose, probably for shipping and storage. I just replaced the wires with a double-wide snare wire, which should also help. I like having the cut of tight heads, but I think a picolo snare just doesn't have any thud to it. To me, it sounds like beating on a garbage can lid. I guess I just want to have the heads as tight as possible without choking the drum. Does anyone know how to determine this threshhold? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the DW Posted November 18, 2006 Members Share Posted November 18, 2006 Originally posted by ToneGrail How do you tell if it's choking the drum? Is there a quick and easy way to tell?....Does anyone know how to determine this threshhold? Well, I don't think it's a finite point. The tighter you make the head, the more you choke the drum. Try backing off the tension in small increments until you find a point where you're getting more volume, but still have a high enough pitch for the 'crack' you can live with. I'm assuming that you know that the best way to get a nice 'crack' from your snare is to do a consistant rimshot. If you are relying on the batter head alone to do it for you, you'll always have to compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kabaalk Posted November 19, 2006 Members Share Posted November 19, 2006 Hmm... this reminds me... My friend has the same Pearl snare as me... I went over to his house to tune his set for him, and got a creamy, buttery, crackly sound out of his snare. I went home to try it out on mine... No go. I considered swapping them when he wasn't looking for like 2 weeks... So...Uh... I guess the moral of the story is that it's a whole combination of things. Heck, your snares could be too tight or loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.