Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 I've have my Pearl Exports for a year now and I can't get my snare to sound good for the life of me. I've tried tuning it, I've had friends come over and do it and it still sounds like ass no matter what. So, my question is, is there any good snares out there want won't put a huge dent in my wallet? I have a buddy who has a Pearl free-floating snare that sounds great but that a little more money than I want to spend right now. On top of that, I'm still kind of trying to figure out what kind of sound I'm after. How are the Pearl Sensitone snares? The aluminum one for $179 doesn't seem like a bad deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 How do you have the Export set up now? Heads, tension, etc.? Also, is the Pearl a steel shell or "wood"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkpunkcaddy Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 if you're willing to spend a little bit more than that, you could find a nice maple snare. pork pie has a few more in production right now and they sound very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted March 5, 2007 Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2007 Get a used acrolite. You can thank me later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkpunkcaddy Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Get a used acrolite. You can thank me later! i don't care too much for the one i have. how do you tune yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 How do you have the Export set up now? Heads, tension, etc.?Also, is the Pearl a steel shell or "wood"? Stock Pearl for reso and I have an Emperor X on it right now. As far as tension goes, I have it as tight as I can get it. This makes me think that there is something wrong with my snare drum though because it still sounds pretty low. It's a wood snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HottKarl Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 I have a kevlar head that is tuned pretty low on my Export snare. I don't use it very often....but it sounds pretty fat when I do. More of an old school sound.... I bought a Pearl brass picolo snare that I have Ambassadors on....cranked TIGHT. Sounds killer....cuts through anything....great for death metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wellhungarian Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Stock Pearl for reso and I have an Emperor X on it right now. As far as tension goes, I have it as tight as I can get it. This makes me think that there is something wrong with my snare drum though because it still sounds pretty low.It's a wood snare. Could you have cranked the hoop so tight that you bent it and it's out of round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Could you have cranked the hoop so tight that you bent it and it's out of round? Thats possible. I didn't even think of that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DrummerDave Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 I also use an Export wood snare and love the sound of it. I actually get a lot of compliments on it. I use the stock Pearl reso and a coated Remo CS on the batter. Good solid crack, yet fat. I tune the reso pretty tight, and the batter what I'd consider medium-tight--to the point where I can "drop" the bead of the stick on it and it rebounds about 3/4 the way back up to the starting point. Guess it depends on the sound you are looking for. Maybe you're looking for more of a crack you'd only get from a metal snare??? I have a Rogers Dynasonic (chrome over brass) that the wood Pearl snare would never and could never sound like (and vice versa). DaveM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted March 5, 2007 Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2007 i don't care too much for the one i have. how do you tune yours? I have found it responds best to medium-high tunings. Acrolites don't seem to "come alive" until you crank them up a bit. I don't like my snare drum tuned super-high, so I usually turn up just enough to where I feel it start to get that lively sound... I'm usually happy with either a coated black-dot or coated Emperor head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walt Disney Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Pearls maple 6'5" Masters Custom doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fesswrx Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 http://www.music123.com/Pearl-Sensitone-Custom-Alloy-Snare-Drums-i16578.musicThis was my first upgrade for my export kit. It sounds good tuned low/med/high and cuts nicely. I no longer have the export but I do still have the Sensitone. Hard to beat for the money IMHO. Fess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 http://www.music123.com/Pearl-Sensitone-Custom-Alloy-Snare-Drums-i16578.musicThis was my first upgrade for my export kit. It sounds good tuned low/med/high and cuts nicely. I no longer have the export but I do still have the Sensitone. Hard to beat for the money IMHO.Fess Thats the snare I was eyeing. What kind of music do you play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 What about the bottom head? Are they both tight? If the bottom is loose, it really doesn't matter how tight the top is, it'll sound like poo. If the resonant head is considerably looser than the top, start turning the resonant's lugs up 1/4 turn each, and then play it. If you like it, stop. If not, keep trying it at 1/4 turns. Personally, I like my snare side head pitched slightly higher than my batter. Also, I really like the sound of a remo powerstroke III on lower end snare drums. It's basically an ambassador with a ring built in under the rim area. You still get plenty of response like an ambassador, but some of the more harsh overtones (especially from lower end metal snare drums) are reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vinniewannabe Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 It sounds like you are choking the drum. Too much tension can make a drum sound smaller. You have to maintain a drum you are using alot...for instance, the snare drum! The heads on your Pearl are dead. Change both the batter and the snare side. Ambassador -weight (medium) heads will work for the batter and snare side. The medium weight heads will help for the sound you are looking for...a nice, high crack. Don't worry about breaking these heads, with the amount of tension you put on them, you won't have to worry about putting dents and breakage. I am assuming you have the same snares on the drum. Change them. PureSounds are great and worth the cash. They seem to really liven up the drum....again, helping with the crack. Don't tighten the {censored} out of the drum. I tune my snare-side head a forth up from my batter head....."Here comes the bride". In other words, the snare-side is tuned up higher than the batter. If I'm not getting enough crack, I just tune up everything on both sides...again, making sure the bottom head is always higher. Just my two cents...try it out. BTW, listen to the other guys....make sure your hoop is not bent or out of round. You'll never tune it if it is. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thingfish Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Get a used acrolite. You can thank me later! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 What about the bottom head? Are they both tight? If the bottom is loose, it really doesn't matter how tight the top is, it'll sound like poo. If the resonant head is considerably looser than the top, start turning the resonant's lugs up 1/4 turn each, and then play it. If you like it, stop. If not, keep trying it at 1/4 turns. Personally, I like my snare side head pitched slightly higher than my batter.Also, I really like the sound of a remo powerstroke III on lower end snare drums. It's basically an ambassador with a ring built in under the rim area. You still get plenty of response like an ambassador, but some of the more harsh overtones (especially from lower end metal snare drums) are reduced. I've tried a Powerstroke 3 before and it was the best head I've used with it so far. When this Emperor X is dead I'm going back to those. I think my reso head is tighter than my batter but I'll check when I get home tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fesswrx Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 Thats the snare I was eyeing. What kind of music do you play? I play a wide range of stuff from Classic Rock, Funk, Alternative, some New Metal. Like I said it sounds great no matter where you tune it. The other guys are right about the tunings but frankly the stock export snare is {censored}ty IMHO. The Die Cast hoops on the the Sensitone are worth the upgrade alone over the stock stamped doubled flanged hoops on the export snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 It sounds like you are choking the drum. Too much tension can make a drum sound smaller. You have to maintain a drum you are using alot...for instance, the snare drum!The heads on your Pearl are dead. Change both the batter and the snare side. Ambassador -weight (medium) heads will work for the batter and snare side. The medium weight heads will help for the sound you are looking for...a nice, high crack. Don't worry about breaking these heads, with the amount of tension you put on them, you won't have to worry about putting dents and breakage.I am assuming you have the same snares on the drum. Change them. PureSounds are great and worth the cash. They seem to really liven up the drum....again, helping with the crack.Don't tighten the {censored} out of the drum. I tune my snare-side head a forth up from my batter head....."Here comes the bride". In other words, the snare-side is tuned up higher than the batter. If I'm not getting enough crack, I just tune up everything on both sides...again, making sure the bottom head is always higher.Just my two cents...try it out. BTW, listen to the other guys....make sure your hoop is not bent or out of round. You'll never tune it if it is. Good luck! I'll give that a shot, thanks! The reso head might be dead. But the batter head shouldn't be, it's only a week old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted March 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 I play a wide range of stuff from Classic Rock, Funk, Alternative, some New Metal. Like I said it sounds great no matter where you tune it. The other guys are right about the tunings but frankly the stock export snare is {censored}ty IMHO. The Die Cast hoops on the the Sensitone are worth the upgrade alone over the stock stamped doubled flanged hoops on the export snare. My buddy, who has the Pearl Free Floater, said the same thing about the hoops. Thats one of the reasons I was leaning towards that snare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notamachine Posted March 5, 2007 Members Share Posted March 5, 2007 pull everything off the rack thats in your price range and try them all. if you're a regular at a certain store then get your guy to help you out. you're the customer and you are always right. I thought I was wrong once but I was mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 buy a Pearl free-floating snare. I was looking at those today and I know they sound killer (Jimmy Chamberlain from TSP used them the first few years). Just listen to "I Am One" from The Smashing Pumpkins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SYMBOLIC Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 I have a couple of things to point out about the sound that you are looking for from your snare. First, is the sound you are looking to get similar to something that you heard off a CD? If so, stop what your doing. You will never get a live drum to sound like a recording due to the EQing and processing that can/is done with recordings. Secondly, is your snare even capable of producing the tone you are after. You may need to do some research about different sized and materialed snares to see what you like best. Maybe your snare isn't able to produce the sound that you are looking for regardless of what you do. Maybe it's out of round, messed up bearing edge, etc, etc. Maybe it's a tuning issue, and you just need to spend some time dialing it in. The things about drums, especially higher end drums, is that they can sound amazing, but it's really easy to make them sound bad if you don't have the tuning skills. Just some thoughts. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jacoe99 Posted March 6, 2007 Members Share Posted March 6, 2007 Stock Pearl for reso and I have an Emperor X on it right now. As far as tension goes, I have it as tight as I can get it. This makes me think that there is something wrong with my snare drum though because it still sounds pretty low.It's a wood snare. That happens on my snare drum as well its just the thickness of the head, on the Remo website on tone it was ranked very dark so ya that should explain it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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