losthighway wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 8:23 pm

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.

These seem to be catching on in the midwest too. I believe EA has a set, and Shane at Howl Street in Milwaukee also just got one.

ChudFusk wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 5:36 pm ...Moon Gels because you need 3 of them to do the job.

Incorrect.

I never use more than half a moon gel on any snare drum. This is just to kill the "hoot" and leave the actual sound of the drum intact.

Tuning is really important and underrated.

dontfeartheringo wrote: Fri Sep 09, 2022 10:19 pm Tuning is really important and underrated.

This, of course. But also, listen to the drum from multiple perspectives. Listen to the drum from 10 or 20 feet away, also in a rough mix before putting a bunch of goo on it.

Yeah a lot of snare ring goes away once it's surrounded by guitars in a mix.

Usually a half moon gel here too. Sometimes two halves or quarters on opposite lugs.

As FM morespaceecho has pointed out, the ring of a snare drum is often lost in the squall of guitars, but it is what gives the drum presence in the room.

If I see someone with more than two moon gels on a drum, I'm judging them.

I am currently waffling between my hammered bronze Ludwig 6.5 as my go-to snare and a 6.5 Gretsch wooden snare.

The HamBro is darker than the average metal drum, but has plenty of cut to be heard in a loud rock situation. Ludwig stopped making them, so the price skyrocketed about two years ago:



There's a guy out of Nashville making hammered bronze snare drums under the name Bread Winner. They're super affordable so he sells out almost instantly every time he turns out another batch. I'm buying a hammered brass from him as soon as this next tour is over.

https://www.instagram.com/breadwinnerdrums/

The wooden Gretsch is an old rack tom that I cut down and shaped the bearing edges for. I put a set of 42 strand snares on it. It's wacky.

I think wooden Gretsch snare drums have the widest dynamic range out there. They sound good quiet, they sound good loud. They just sound good.



In action with some room around it:



Older wooden Gretsch drums have some funky snare beds and can sound boxy, which means they have a bad reputation and you can often pick them up for a steal. I highly recommend doing this and getting the beds recut by a professional.

More about snare beds:


There are a LOT of cool companies making super heavy snare drums that will appeal to the aluminum beard rock crowd:

Honest Abe drums is making cast iron drums that are loud, responsive, and have a real deep timbre. Also, very affordable compared to other boutique shit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChX22PoJ ... _copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiFiljzO ... _copy_link

Also, they've made a hammered aluminum kit, those motherfuckers.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiVUH34p ... _copy_link

Also, Keplinger still fucking rules:



Of course, the most recorded snare drum in history remains the Ludwig 5" Supraphonic, and they're as common as ticks on a barn dog. You can find one if you want one, and they can usually be grabbed for about $350.

dontfeartheringo wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:19 pm hammered bronze Ludwig 6.5

Yeah, the practice space I was in for a bit had a hammered 6.5" Acrolite. If I were starting from scratch today building an end-all-be-all loud rock kit that would be my snare of choice. So much low end.

If I had to choose I think I prefer the wild overtones one can get between the lugs of a 8 vs 10 lug drum, but I own and get along with both.

dontfeartheringo wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:19 pm I think wooden Gretsch snare drums have the widest dynamic range out there. They sound good quiet, they sound good loud. They just sound good.

Agree. Many years ago, Gavin from Karate gave me an old Gretsch snare, it's the snare on this record:



One of my all-time favorite drum sounds, I love that record. There's a few moments where he really lays into the snare and man, what a sound.

It doesn't sound as good being hit by me instead of Gavin but that's alright.

^ Fuck off, that's awesome! Lucky dog.

The strainers on old Ludwigs are annoying, but manageable. On my Acrolyte, I grabbed some grosgrain ribbon and use them like plastic straps, except I tied the strainer side into a loop that fits around the T-shape of the bottom of the strainer. I haven't needed to replace the straps in some time, I just reuse them whenever I change snare wires.

ErickC wrote: Sun Sep 11, 2022 11:53 pm The strainers on old Ludwigs are annoying, but manageable.

I know this has been beaten to the ground but the Ludwig P85 is absolutely terrible (even though it was about the best thing available for a couple decades). Once they're bent or worn though, they're pretty much done.

I have replaced a couple of mine w/ the P86 and was about to recommend those to everyone for being simple, effective, affordable (plus they don't stick out a mile from the side of the shell like most of the "fancy" ones)..but now it looks like they've been discontinued and that really sucks ass. I think I still have a couple other snares that are much less-often used w/ P85s I was wanting to replace.

The new ones Ludwig is offering look cool (the ATLAS P88AC), but I have a deep amount of distrust of die-cast parts in any application where high tension is used. It's not as strong or flexible as steel and surprisingly brittle.