I'm going to be purchasing a new snare. I need a good rock snare. I like Bonham's. He used a 6.5" x 14" Ludwig brass snare with cast iron hoops and a Supraphonic strainer.

I read that the Ludwig brass Supra is the most recorded snare ever (?). Keith Moon also apparently preferred a Ludwig brass snare to the Premier's that he endorsed.

I've compared the specs of the Ludwig Brass Edition "400 series" to their Black Beauty, and the only difference I can see is the finish.

Has anyone recorded both a 400 series and a Black Beauty?

Is there a comparable metal snare I should look into?

I want good, crisp attack, lots of body, and no annoying overtones.

Thanks

You should check these guys out:www.udrum.com/custom.html .
They make a really nice copy that is very true to the original and won't slay your wallet.

I've got em all....real 70s 6.5" supras, early 60s chrome over brass supras, as well as about a dozen other nice vintage and new snares. The best sounding, and probably best buy right now is the Black Hawg. The 6.5" version can be had for around $275. It's basically a copy of the Black Beauty. Tube lugs, etc.....killer, killer sounding drum. I hear that the same shell is sold to Pork Pie....but they sell theirs for about $100 or so more.
As much as I love my vintage drums....if I HAD to only have/keep one...and money was no object, this would be it.
later,
m

here's the link for a retailer selling it.
http://georgesdrumshop.com/shop/product ... ucts_id/37

i'm totally not a drum nerd, and don't really know a lot about them cept i played the same kit i've had since i was 13 and the same snare since i was 19... but i'm still pretty happy with my snare, a pearl omar hakim thing...



(mine does not have those retarded bronze hoops or hardware, mines just regular silver)

it seems like it'd suck, but it's pretty good i think. when recording, that's the one thing that always sounds really good to me and takes the least amount of work. just set up the mic and you're done. maybe greg has a better perspective on that.

shane from haymarket riot/call me lightning uses a yamaha elvin jones thing that sounds great - it's really dry sounding...

you can hear it at:
http://www.divotrecords.com/haymarket/H ... Donuts.mp3

(recorded at EA)

the omar hakim is still well defined without being "pingy" and retarded like most picollos or small snares. but i also like the sound of that yamaha that shane plays. i've always wondered what mac mcneilly played - it's somehow really loose and tight at the same time... sort of a lower note, but still with a lot of attack on it. i just gave up on trying to figure it out a ways back.

yeah, that elvin jones snare is killer, but around a grand.
later,
m

Is there a comparable metal snare I should look into?

The regular alloy 6 1/2 " Ludwig snares sometimes sound better than the brass ones. Bonham (and Bruford) used those also.

Another good one is the Pearl snare w/ the floating 6 1/2" brass shell. I sold my Ludwig Black Beauty and kept the Pearl.

The Rodgers 6 1/2" steel dynasonics also kick azz. WHAP!

i went through a few snares before i fell in love with the one i've been using for the past year or so. it's a ludwig 14x12 marching snare, but with no marching hardware, never had any. it's the guy at the bottom of the linked website, the Challenger series, model LFT124DX.

http://www.ludwig-drums.com/products/ma ... ector.html



it sounds really nice when you hit it right. a lot of crack and more *buh* to it than other snares i've played, and no ping or yang to it, at least the way i have it tuned.

i picked mine up on ebay for around $100. one thing to consider if getting one of these is that you'd also need a new snare stand, unless you just so happened to already have one that goes really, really low.

if you've heard my song on the EA poster's comp or on the toomanyhelicopters website in my signature, ignore the snare sound! that' an old piece of crap '67 ludwig (maple?) that i had to use because, for the stupidest of reasons, i didn't have snares (funky strainer, though it can be rigged with normal snares) or the short stand in time for the session.

I want good, crisp attack, lots of body, and no annoying overtones.

that's exactly what i wanted, too. and i have absolutely no interest in replacing this thing, which makes me very happy. if there's a store around you that has one, i'd say it's definitely worth a test drive.

There are Supraphonic's and Acrolite's all over ebay. You could pick up either of those for relatively little.

I had a 6.5" Black Beauty once but it was actually a little "nice" for my liking and not cracky enough. (I then got a she-oak block snare instead made by ADM.)

Also, Evans heads I've used appreciably dry out the overtones and let you retain "crack" and "body". Usually I use Coated Ambassadors but if you want to make it dry and not lose the articulation then I'd slap one of those on.

Brendon

By the way, if money's no issue then I'd get me a Dunnett Titanium with Stanbridge wood hoops or get Pete Stanbridge to make me one himself.

Check out their sites at

www.stanbridgedrums.com

www.dunnett.com

Brendon