Help purchasing snare/hi-hat

[mabhz]

Hi all!

Again Id like to ask for some help from the great folks that contribute to this forum.

Im a guitar player turned drum addict because my son is learning this beautiful instrument. He got a Roland TD-6 that i sometimes sit down at and practice a bit, just as a good therapy to relax, because being my second instrument, I dont feel the same kind of pressure I feel on the guitar.

The point is: the TD-6 is great, but I want to play/practice with brushes and the snare is just not up to that. Also, the hit-hat machine is not as responsive as a real thing, and I want a real thing!

So I want to puchase a snare drum to use mainly with brushes and a hit-hat machine just to play around, nothing too serious. Problem is I now nothing about what to look for in both of them, and I already made bad purchases when I shopped for the bass drum pedal and drum stool. So i dont want to repeat the mistake. Could you folks please help me?

Heres what I want: a snare to practice/play with brushes and a hit-hat machine with a pedal mechanism that really feels "soft", so my 6 year-old can use it too.

But the point is, I know that in a few years I will end up buying a whole acoustic kit, and I dont want to end up with two similar snares and two hi-hats machines, so my idea is to purchase a snare that could be used as that "second snare" I always see to the left side of most professional drummers.

So my question is: what kind of (non-expensive, please!) snare should I go for? Metal? Wood? Piccolo? Large? Small? Deep? Shallow?

IMPORTANT: im a guitar player, and being so, im picky about TONE. So i need a snare that sounds good. I´d like to purchase a nice sounding snare that can be complementary to a good acoustinc drum kit, instead of buying a "cheap bad sounding snare now and a good sounding one when i buy the kit in the future". Got my idea?

As far as a hi-hat machine, I dont know what to look for.
Could you folks please give me some advice what to look for and what to avoid?? As I said, a good thing would be a soft pedal hi-hat machine that could also be used my by 6 year-old son, but I dont know if there is such a thing like a "hard pedal" and "soft pedal" hi-hat machine. I know you got regulations and stuff, but, maybe there are other things that influence the "softness" of the pedal, like that tape thing versus chain that some folks told me about.

As I said, I dont intend on becoming a real drummer or joining a band. I just want them to fool around, play the snare exclusively with jazz bushes, and use them as my personal anti-stress therapy while watching TV.

Valuable information: i live in BRAZIL, and drum equipment here is VERY restricted and VERY, VERY, VERY expensive, so its pointless suggesting a specific snare/hi-hat model, unless its a popular/high selling one. The good ones, chances are they are not sold here.

Help, please!! THANKS!!

[Asdex]

Why not just get a full kit? It's more worth it! If you can, just go to the nearest music shop and try them one by one (for snare, tune it 1st). I recently bought a Tama Warlord Masai snare and it sounds awesome but it's very expensive! I.M.O, it will sound weird if you just play drum using snare and hihat only. It needs at least another bass drum to accompany you! I really recommend you to just buy a kit since you can actually keep a kit for ages and so you can play anything with your drum kit!

[jayp]

I agree with the kit comment posted before me.

But if your looking for a nice inexpensive snare, I bought a 13x6.5 Black Panther Blonde Birdseye maple snare from JustDrums for 115$ shipped to my door, right outa the box the box sounded better then the snare, but with a new remo ambassador head and some tuning, it sounds great!

As for some hi-hats, Try cymbalcellar.com and browse around, they usually have vintage Zildjian A hats that sound great for just over 100$

[Old Doc Yak]

I believe RMV drums are made in Brazil and from what I've heard their Bapevia wood shells sound great. Don't know if that's an option for you but just thought of it. Good luck.

[mabhz]

Well.... seems like people are not actualling reading my original post or im having problems expressin myself in english....

Ok, lets try again: i ALREADY have a kit, a Roland TD6 V Drum. Its an excellent kit, very flexible and with great sounds.

BUT, i want an acoustic snare and a real hi-hat machine to play with jazz brushes and practice some hi-hat figures, which is harder on the v-drum, for lag reasons. Thats why i DONT need a full kit now. Also, I dont have the money.

My main question was, concerning all the details i gave on the original post, what should I look for on a snare and a hi-hat. Please, read the original post, I wont repeat everything again here.

Also, as I mentioned on the original post, I live in Brasil, so its pointless mentioning any online store or a specific brand or model, because i wont be able to get to them from here.

[mabhz]

I believe RMV drums are made in Brazil and from what I've heard their Bapevia wood shells sound great. Don't know if that's an option for you but just thought of it. Good luck.

Thanks, DOC!! Do you think a RMV snare would be good??
Here they are considered one of the worst drum kits you can get your hands on. My son´s music school has one RMV kit and it looks and sounds horrible. Pedals are made of plastic as are drum holders. You can hear buzzing all around when the teacher plays the kit.

I would appreciate if someone could explain to me what should I look for in terms of material (wood or bronze/aluminium)?? Size (larger or smaller)?? And last but not least, depth (picollo are any good??). That way i could look for a snare that would also fit an acoustic drum kit I might purchase on the future.

Thanks again!!

[harryconway]

Being a guitar player, you probably need to just go into a music store and play some snares. Trust your ears. I have a Yamaha 12x4 wood snare that I just love. Cost me less than $100 used. Not much of a brush man myself, but I use bundle stix a lot (hot rods, rutes, etc). If down the road, you want to move it to a secondary position, then probably stick to shells 2-4 inches deep. When you hear a good sounding snare, you'll know it. Same with hi hat cymbals. Go play some. When I bought my Paiste 2002 black lable hats, the store had 2 (identical) pair, both used. Well, identical except 1 pair sounded sweet and the other pair was sonically dis-pleasing. Not doubt I bought the "good" pair. Hi-hat stands. Probably stick to better known names, Pearl, Tama, Yamaha. Not sure what brands you'll find in Brazil. The RMV drums I've seen here in the US have all been high end and high quality, but like most companies, they probably make lesser grades, to sell cheaper, as entry level kits. I'd try anything and everything you can get your hands on and afford. If you know a drummer, drag him along. He might be able to help you.

[mabhz]

Thank you very much, Harry.
Im surprised, I didnt know RMVs where sold in the US. I told they were bad brazilian made drum kits.

I have the chance of purchasing for a reasonable price an aluminium hand-made snare. Is that a good thing?? Isn´t it more guided towards rock and metal? I cant check the sound of it because its not made yet, and when its done, i dont have the option of NOT paying for it, so i have to decide before hand. Any comments?