Right, so im in the market for a snare drums, and i don't really have the time to go out and test loads of different ones. So...

What effect do various properties have on the snare drum:

Wider?
Deeper?
Material?
Skin tension?
Spring tension underneath?

If someone with the know-how could enlighten me with some info, that'd be grand

Cheers

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I may have misunderstood your question, so if I'm telling you stuff you already knew, whoopsie!
If the snare is wider and deeper, it's going to be thicker sounding and more like a marching snare. If it's thinner then it will have a higher, more "pingy" sound. This of course also depends on how tight it is tuned. As for the spring/skin tension, all I know is the simple philosophy of "don't let it droop like an over-banged hooker, but don't tighten it so much that it might burst (yes, like a fresh young virgin)". And as far as material goes... beats me. I didn't even know there were options for it. Guess I'm one of those drummers that beat the damn things but have no clue what science is behind it. I congratulate myself on my newfound stupidity.

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materials as in wood or steel, ive only owned one wooden snare years ago, it was different but i cant remember what it was,why it did sound different. im thinking that the wood has a particlur resonance added with the coil where as steel doesnt. the one i owned was an old rogers snare, definately had a different kind of crack to it.

my advice is get a standard steel 14in by 5in snare and expiriment with tuning

skins are coated mylar usually for the batter end, there are uncoated heads as well,the coil side is a thin one-ply mylar. ive heard of suede heads but never tried them, and of course kevlar, which sounds inferior to the other materials but is superior in strength and wear.

i usually tune the batter head, coil head and coil itself as tight as i can. this is for the most crisp sound. but there is no right way of tuning a snare, so try different things out.

it all depends on what sound you want, ive never tried a deep snare for instance and never really heard one from a drummer who cares about tuning. besides those marching guys,but they are not behind a kit to give you an overall impression on how well that sound mixes. i own a piccolo and sometimes i drop the tuning on it and it can easily sound like a 14"x5" standard. so i think you have great range with tuning, unless you specifically want a sound only something exotic can get.

The wider the snare, the bigger it will sound. Common sizes 13"-15"

The deeper the snare, the deeper it will sound. There will be more of an echo with bigger depths. Comman sizes 4"-6"

Wood snares tend to sound warmer than metal snares. Metal snares usually sound higher pitched, and have more of a ring to the sound than wood snares. Though certain sounds can be achieved with both wood and metal.

The higher you tune the head, the more high pitched it will be. If you want a really focused sound, you should tune it pretty high. If you want a warm, deep sound, tune it a little bit lower. Both have a different feel when playing physically. It's easier doing a roll on a higher tuned snare than a lower one.

the higher you have the spring tension, the more focused it will sound also. If you have your head high tuned, you'll probably want your spring pretty high. The lower you have the spring tension, the more "snare" sound you get.

I have a 14"x5" snare, with medium tuning, and fairly low spring tension. I love the nice warm sound that it gives. You can pretty much get any snare and make it sound the way you want. I would recomend a 14"x5" as low-tech said. With a nice selection of heads and proper tuning, it will work for you.

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or if you're completely insane and want something overkill

http://www.eamesdrumshells.com/SnareDrums.html

24-ply birch madness for ya, all shapes and sizes

im going to thier factory store soon

i will write up a product review soon

just get a piccolo

they are infinitley more sexy.

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The piccolo sound doesn't apeal to all people and drummers.

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Well at the moment, i've got some shitty no-name 14x6 steel snare, with Remo heads, but they're at least 4 years old, so that doesn't help. I really don't like the sound of it though, i think the batter head is pretty high tension, but the sound is too harsh and piercing, it sounds really cold.

So im guessing that i want some wood snare, some nice new heads, not tuned too tightly, and a slightly shallower/smaller snare. The obvious question to ask now is what brands/models should i keep an eye out for, Pearl, Mapex, Ludwig and DW are some that i've seen, any others to try out?

Cheers chaps

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Pearl have some nice snares

also check out the Black Panther line of snares (some sex coming from that range)



don't be soo silly, of course it does

everyone needs a piccolo!!!

btw when you listen to a band or song, which bands or songs do you reckon have an awesome snare sound, you might want to see what those people are using.

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Piccolo kind of a snare drums is the best snare I think, It sounds like cradle!

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