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Snare drum choices.
With
so many snare drum choices on the market
how do we figure out which snares will
suit our needs?
Well
I’m sure to most it’s obvious that
you’d make your decision based on the
style of music you play-or is it? There
are no set rules about how the varieties
of sounds produced by different materials
and craftsmanship can travel through all
the different genres. I am a believer that
playing for the room is important without
completely compromising your sound,
whether recording or performing live; so
here are some things to look for when
choosing a drum.
Everyone
whom I know has set themselves up with
multiple choices in their snare
collection. Different sizes and different
shell compositions produce different
sounds. Wood has warmer, darker, and
generally more controlled tonal
characteristics than metal.
There
are many types of wood to choose from.
Typically in the past we have had ;
Maple-a great deal of tone; long, stable,
and clear pitch.
Birch-short but clear tone, dry and
snappy.
Birch/Mahogany composite-throaty mid-range
tone. Warm and dry.
There are also some new “exotic” wood
snares on the market made of Bubinga, and
for a rich, warm, focused sound a new Luka
solid shell from Taye.
Metal
snares traditionally are made of one of
four different metals. Typically they are:
steel, aluminum, brass, and copper.
Steel- hard , mid-range sound.
Aluminum-softer low/mid range sound.
Copper-very resonant warm sound with
clarity.
Brass-very true tone and focused sound.
Another factor affecting the sound
is
proportion and dimensions of the
drum.
The depth of your snare will
contribute to articulation, depth and
width of tone, and tuning range
possibilities.
Deeper snares will add width and depth to
whatever shell composition you have and
will feel less sensitive the deeper the
snare.
Shallow snares will feel more sensitive
and responsive and will offer more
“crack” while losing bottom end.
Now throw into the mix the different hoop
choices which are available:
riple flanged hoops will let your drum
sound more like the actual shell but are
less focused than die-cast hoops which
will prevent the drum from resonating as
much but offer a very focused popping
sound. Then there’s the wood hoop-
sounding fat, warm,
and throaty with a completely
different rim click sound- also very
resonant.
The
real difficulty in my mind is for players
to get past what appears cool and popular
and to find one’s own personal
sound with which you are happy. Ultimately
this will help bring out your best
performance in your own voice.
For the player who needs or wants to be a
chameleon, owning a variety of snare drums
is a must. I have changed my snare
collection over the years many times and
currently I have six different Taye snares
in my collection and one old 1930’s
universal snare.
I would say that the most important part
of playing
and choosing gear is to be discerning
about the materials and craftsmanship, to
listen, to spend time with the drums, and
as with all of life, to enjoy the process.
Dave Patel.
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