Almost made it a poll, but that's a little too pat for the nuances of this complex symphony of short and loud noises. I have a few of these things, I often fiddle with their head types and tensions as well as ways to mic them.

Points of interest:
- Wood vs Metal
- Head types (coated, uncoated, dampening etc)
- Head tensions
- Do classic Ludwigs have subpar strainers?
- Can you get a tight and dry sound without putting some shit (wallet, moon gel, tape etc) on the top head?

At first I thought this was in C/NC and was wondering how anyone could possibly consider a snare drum to be crap. One of my favorite things in the world.

- Wood vs Metal

I want to say wood, but either are just fine.

- Head types (coated, uncoated, dampening etc)

Coated ambassadors here. Clear heads are for the bottoms of toms, and that's it. Also a fan of the fiberskyn powerstroke, those are tough to come by though, not sure they even make 'em any more.

- Head tensions

Tightish but not stupidly so. Generally between a G and a B. Sometimes looser on the top head, depending on the song. Not a fan of a loose bottom head.

- Do classic Ludwigs have subpar strainers?

I replaced the ones on my superphonic and acrolite, but only cause I can't be bothered with the damn strings on old-style strainers. I hate vintage h/w on guitars too, I'll take the mod cons thank you very much.

- Can you get a tight and dry sound without putting some shit (wallet, moon gel, tape etc) on the top head?

I can't. There's probably some super duper pre-dampened head one can buy though.

losthighway wrote: Points of interest:
- Wood vs Metal

I forgot acrylic!

I recently recorded a drummer with one of these:
http://www.jenkinsmartindrums.com/

He loves the snare so much he's putting away cash to get a custom kit some year.

I hate when drummers I play with tape a wadded up tissue to the head. I just can’t not assume it’s full of biological goo. Are the little blue gel things that expensive?

I find that shell dimension, tuning, head selection and bearing edge profile cumulatively have a much bigger effect on a snare sound than shell material. All things being equal, I might be able to tell the difference between a wood and a steel shell, but no way would I be able to hear a difference between 6 ply maple vs birch or whatnot.

Never heard of it.

losthighway wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 8:31 am- Can you get a tight and dry sound without putting some shit (wallet, moon gel, tape etc) on the top head?

Fuckin' damper rings dude. Rem-Os or Aquarian Studio Rings. Fuck a wallet, and fuck Moon Gels because you need 3 of them to do the job. Damper rings are easily removable and really focus your snare and tom sound like no other doodad will do.

twelvepoint wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:54 pm I find that shell dimension, tuning, head selection and bearing edge profile cumulatively have a much bigger effect on a snare sound than shell material. All things being equal, I might be able to tell the difference between a wood and a steel shell, but no way would I be able to hear a difference between 6 ply maple vs birch or whatnot.

At practice or a basement show, standing 10 feet from both the snare and some loud guitar amps, the difference between wood and metal is that I can hear the metal one every time. When I played with a drummer who liked wood snares and what I want to say was a 20" rock crash, I could not hear the snare at all.

losthighway wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 10:01 am

losthighway wrote: Points of interest:
- Wood vs Metal

I forgot acrylic!

I recently recorded a drummer with one of these:
http://www.jenkinsmartindrums.com/

He loves the snare so much he's putting away cash to get a custom kit some year.

Whoops those are fiberglass, not quite the same as acrylic.

twelvepoint wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:54 pm I find that shell dimension, tuning, head selection and bearing edge profile cumulatively have a much bigger effect on a snare sound than shell material. All things being equal, I might be able to tell the difference between a wood and a steel shell, but no way would I be able to hear a difference between 6 ply maple vs birch or whatnot.

I have a friend who is a better drummer than I'll ever be, and has more years geeking out on this stuff. He says he's concluded that head choice is more important than the make of the shell. Kind of what you're getting at here.

Also, the fearsome, mammoth, only allowable snare drum head shootout: