snares: kinds and how they effect the drum's sound

I was lucky enough to score a Pearl Studio Custom snare drum on Kijiji a year or so ago. I've replaced the top skin with a fibreskin, which is wonderful for brushes (which is all I play). The snare itself is missing four strands (two broken when I bought it and I've made sure it's symmetrical by removing their opposites) but sounds okay.

I'm thinking about replacing the snare, though; thinking there might be some advantage to a new one. I know there are a variety of snare materials and configurations but would like to have some idea of their effect on the sound before going to the cost and trouble of replacement. Any thoughts and experience?

I've only used generic steel - Crispy.

Nylon/gut, lo fi snappy/blatty

That's all I know.

Next.

more snares more snare sound, what sound are you going for?

I'm looking to remove my general ignorance.

That said, I guess I'd like a gradual/even onset of the snare sound and rich as opposed to loud/crisp. Some searching has suggested Pearl Ultra-Sound "D" Type might be good for me, but I'd like to hear player experience as well as read advertising copy. Snares aren't expensive, so if I get it wrong it's no disaster but ...

Tuning has a ton to do with it. If I'm not mistaken, wire type only makes subtle timbral differences.

Just guessing at your target tone, assuming your tuning is in the zone, you may want less strands - 16 or less and loose strainer tension.

A lot of that is all about tuning, and not necessarily the snares themselves. A snare drum can make about 643,000 sounds before you even mess with things like shell materials, dimensions, and what kind of snares you're using. In fact, most people would be hard pressed to hear much of a difference between two different types of snares as long as they had the same number of strands.

Start by messing with tuning both the top and bottom heads (with the snares off) and you'll not only hear the pitch of each head, but how they interact with each other. That's your FIRST infinite loop to deal with.

Then play with snare tension with the snares you've got. That's the 2nd infinite loop.

Based on what it sounds like you want (gradual instead of "crisp") it might just mean that you need to loosen them up a little bit.

The only aftermarket snares I've ever used were those 42 strand ones. Adding more snares gives you MORE snare sound, but also increases sensitivity. Even then I only switched 'em out after the original snares started breaking frequently.

Thanks. I've already spent lots of time on tuning, head material and snare tension. I'm at the subtle stage now.

I'm already really quite happy with how my drum sounds, just want to fine tune it.

The more snares you have, the more residual buzz instead of attack. The tighter the snares the more choked the sound. But also the bottom head tight chokes the sound. As said before, it's really combinations that change the effect. For every variable, you require a constant to calculate. We haven't even gotten into snare amounts, but it's safe to say, add a snare wire, and you add a vibration element, which can dictate to buzz, volume, and attack. Oh and by the way, what diameter drum are we talking about...10, 12, 14....see what I mean?

Every variance in physical property creates a new sound unto itself...

The you need to make statements doubting the effect of boutique snare wire.

Try:

All this Puresound crap confirms the fact that drummers are retarded. Or ...

It's a proven fact that all the differences in snare wire are above 8K; too high for musicians to discern.

etc.

Hope this helps.

Ah, in my callow youth, I had thought that asking a straightforward question might result in a straightforward answer. Silly little me; it's the same over at keys. Just as an experiment, I'll try again:

I gather that different snare materials and configurations can make a difference to how the drum sounds but I have been unable to find a source that summarizes those differences. If someone on this forum can explain the differences or can point me to an existing summary, would they please do so. Thanks.

(wish me luck)

If you can hear the difference between steel snares and brass snares, I'm impressed. But then again, I didn't need to post this because you no doubt heard me whisper it from wherever you are.

Your choices are pretty much metal, gut, and how many. Beyond that and you're talking about the smell of colors or some other theoretical nonsense. If your musical genre involves playing quietly with your ear 3" away from the snares with no other sounds bleeding in (i.e. no other instruments in the mix) in an acoustically perfect room, then you need to keep digging. If that doesn't describe your situation, you've entered into the realm where theoretical is no longer practical.

My late father believed that it was a waste of money to buy good rye or vermouth to make manhattans because their quality was lost in the mixing. I disagreed then and I disagree now.

May I suggest:

Snares are not very expensive. Maybe you should buy one with a lot of strands, mount it, then a few at a time, cut off strands and see what effect it has on your sound, all other factors being equal. You may find that your ideal sound is achieved with exactly the number of strands that originally came with the snare.

I think what everyone is trying to say is that there are so many personal variables between drums, tuning, heads, etc., that it is not something that can be experienced in print. Maybe it's the kind of thing akin to "you had to be there." Know what I mean?

Good luck and Merry Christmas!!

I agree with your father. Yes, you can tell if high quality ingredients are used in a mixed drink, but if you're drinking a mixed drink, you probably don't care about the subtleties of average vs. high quality liquor. You (like me) just want to get drunk!!!

A frined of mine broke open a 50 year old bottle of Crown Royal. I had mine on ice and could immediately appreciate the velvety smooth feel on my tongue, and mellow flavor. He put Coke in his. aaarrrrrrgh!!!

Speaking of coke. Alla the previous plus how you hit the drum in the first place.

Your father was correct. There are also a lot fewer variables invovled in a good cocktail. Also, if it's your 9th Manhattan, you could probably add a tablespoon of dog piss and not notice.

Seriously, there's a point of diminishing returns in this stuff.

According to your previous post, you're looking for "...a gradual/even onset of the snare sound and rich as opposed to loud/crisp." 99.999% of that is a tuning issue. Loosen 'em up, get the bottom head tensioned to the right resonance, and you can get that with gold-plated magic snares, or $3 spun steel.

Gut sounds different than metal. The number of strands is significant. Anything else is just a clever way to get you to spend some money.

Then again, I've only been doing this stuff since 1977, so feel free to find somebody in their 50s to tell you the same thing.

One other thought: let's say you like using wood-tipped hickory drumsticks. They sound a certain way. Now, Vic Firth is going to tell you that thier wood tip sounds better than Promark's wood tip, and Regal Tip is going to tell you that the other guys suck and that THEY are the best. In the end, the drumhead only knows that a certain wood of a certain hardness is hitting the head with a specific surface area and force. So the REAL thing with sticks (once you've decided wood vs. nylon, and/or species of wood) is really "feel". If you like playing 2b's, you're gonna hate 7a's and vice versa.

I think it's the same thing with snares. Once you've gotten past the materials (i.e. metal vs. nonmetal) and the number of strands (a lot or less), it'll come down to OTHER info. Better snares will last longer, maybe they'll be more consistently put together (each snare has the same tension), or maybe they'll be easier to install. THAT stuff is more of a determining factor than the other stuff.

Anyway, as 1001 says, it's a cheap experiment. Go buy a few types and play around with it, and see what you like.

material, number of strands, quality (?), and this:

Those pearl wires are nice, and not too pricey. The only wires I own that truely stand out completely from the rest are the Grover Jazz brights. Thin straight wires like guitar strings, sensitive without much sympathetic buzz. Very oldschool gut sound. I didn't like them on my supraphonic compared to German custom 16 strands, but they made my old acro sound pretty interesting/fresh.

That was DW's 'gestion BTW. But yeah, details, details. DTD and some others swear by boutique wire. If that's what you wanna hear, try PMz.