Looking for great maple snare for studio. Rock, pop, country.

Seeing that we have no idea about what your budget is , I will offer suggestions on a budgetary tier basis.

Under $350.00 - Tama SLP maple is a good choice - well made, nice finish and good hardware.

Mid price - Ludwig Classic maple - very underrated drums, really wide tuning range and very versatile.

Mid to High End -
Ludwig Legacy Classic - my personal favourite Ludwig wood shell snare drum, classic sound, can be fat or crisp.
Noble & Cooley CD maple - superb ply shell snares


High End -
Noble & Cooley SS - classic solid shell maple snare drums. These almost single handedly started the boutique snare drum craze in the 80's.
Craviotto - a classic , superb craftsmanship, great value, these along with the Noble and Cooley are universally well thought of.

Very nice list of drums. Consider a used Gretsch snare drum. These are often undervalued and you can get a mint drum for next to nothing.

GJS
 
Brought my BB down to Ash to listen against other snares. Played every snare there and really dug this Gretsch 8x14 Mahogany snare called a Swampdog. The thing just sounds like a beast and really hit me. When I got back I went online and read about it and they talked about detuning it for a 70s sound. Not really my thing but tuned up it really sounds nice, not 70s at all. Anyway, they took a bunch of stuff I haven’t used in years and I got the snare and 5 heads. Can’t wait to record it.
 
I've turned into one of those crazy forum people who reply to their own posts! :) Ok so we did some recording, the Gretsch was beautiful, the Pearl was horrible. Just to many funky overtones, to hard to deal with in a critical recording situation. So I returned it and went down to a local drum shop and was snooping around, asked the guy about a snare that could kind of round off the studio collection, maybe a maple. He showed me the maple snares, meh. Nothing really grabbed me, then he said everyone's favorite snare drum in the place was a Tama King Beat 5.5x14 steel snare. It was actually set up on a stand, he started to play it, I instantly fell in love. What an awesome snare. $199 with die cast hoops. Took it to the studio and threw it on the stand and started recording. Seriously one of the best snare drums I've ever recorded. Just perfect, even with the old ass head that came with it. We did a few different passes changing up the tension on the interior dampener, ever setting sounded fantastic. Just a great drum.
 
Engineers love the starphonics too apparently.
 
I've turned into one of those crazy forum people who reply to their own posts! :) Ok so we did some recording, the Gretsch was beautiful, the Pearl was horrible. Just to many funky overtones, to hard to deal with in a critical recording situation. So I returned it and went down to a local drum shop and was snooping around, asked the guy about a snare that could kind of round off the studio collection, maybe a maple. He showed me the maple snares, meh. Nothing really grabbed me, then he said everyone's favorite snare drum in the place was a Tama King Beat 5.5x14 steel snare. It was actually set up on a stand, he started to play it, I instantly fell in love. What an awesome snare. $199 with die cast hoops. Took it to the studio and threw it on the stand and started recording. Seriously one of the best snare drums I've ever recorded. Just perfect, even with the old ass head that came with it. We did a few different passes changing up the tension on the interior dampener, ever setting sounded fantastic. Just a great drum.

First of all - hi James, haven't seen you post in quite a while.
Everybody, James is a moderator on another forum, one of the largest (if not THE largest) pro audio forums on the planet.

Those lamenting the 'untimely exit' of member audiotech here would be wise to check out James' links and also go over to Gearslutz for some really good recording info and general knowledge. Hope I'm not making you uncomfortable James :)

Now for the snare...glad you found a snare that is working for you; it seems that Tama doesn't make a bad snare; at least I've never heard a bad one.

One thing to watch out for, and might explain the unfavourable experience you had with the Pearl snare : you must CRANK the snare side (resonant) head on any snare drum to get it to sound decent. Tune it up like a timbale...then higher...then even more. You should be a little worried about it....then you're in the ballpark. I find this especially true of deeper maple drums. If the resonant head is at medium tension, or close to the batter head, you can pretty much guarantee it will sound boxy and 'bonky' , it will feel rubbery and exhibit all kinds of weird overtones when trying to record it.

You may also find that tuning the resonant heads on ALL drums to yield better results; at least try this if you haven't already. Not nearly as high as the snare reso though, try about a third higher than the batter.

It is quite possible that the used Tama you bought had a properly tensioned (very tight) resonant head. As many members here will tell you , heads and tuning come before shell material and construction....

Neal
 
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First of all - hi James, haven't seen you post in quite a while.
Everybody, James is a moderator on another forum, one of the largest (if not THE largest) pro audio forums on the planet.

Those lamenting the 'untimely exit' of member audiotech here would be wise to check out James' links and also go over to Gearslutz for some really good recording info and general knowledge. Hope I'm not making you uncomfortable James :)

Now for the snare...glad you found a snare that is working for you; it seems that Tama doesn't make a bad snare; at least I've never heard a bad one.

One thing to watch out for, and might explain the unfavourable experience you had with the Pearl snare : you must CRANK the snare side (resonant) head on any snare drum to get it to sound decent. Tune it up like a timbale...then higher...then even more. You should be a little worried about it....then you're in the ballpark. I find this especially true of deeper maple drums. If the resonant head is at medium tension, or close to the batter head, you can pretty much guarantee it will sound boxy and 'bonky' , it will feel rubbery and exhibit all kinds of weird overtones when trying to record it.

You may also find that tuning the resonant heads on ALL drums to yield better results; at least try this if you haven't already. Not nearly as high as the snare reso though, try about a third higher than the batter.

It is quite possible that the used Tama you bought had a properly tensioned (very tight) resonant head. As many members here will tell you , heads and tuning come before shell material and construction....

Neal

Oh man thanks for the welcome Neal, it's good to be here. I'm very into learning about drums, heads and tuning and have been reading and experimenting quite a bit the past few years. I will check out the tension on the bottom of the drums. Again thanks for the post man.

James
 
Oh man thanks for the welcome Neal, it's good to be here. I'm very into learning about drums, heads and tuning and have been reading and experimenting quite a bit the past few years. I will check out the tension on the bottom of the drums. Again thanks for the post man.

James

Hi James. I remember your amp shootout videos when I was on TGP and Rig-Talk (I actually started Rig-Talk.) I switched to drums fulltime 2 years ago and am having a blast.

If you can, please post some recordings of your new snares! We'd all love to see them.

Chris
 
My sister gave me a ddrum 5x14 maple snare that used to belong to the Zac Brown Band's drummer (Chris Fryar). It's wrapped in woodland camo. Actually sounds just like I would expect maple. I'm certain it's a lot cheaper than most any other maple snare on the market. I was very surprised and thankful for the addition to the collection, especially since it was a sound I wanted to fill.
 
Oh man thanks for the welcome Neal, it's good to be here. I'm very into learning about drums, heads and tuning and have been reading and experimenting quite a bit the past few years. I will check out the tension on the bottom of the drums. Again thanks for the post man.

James

Excellent! You will find the folks here to be quite knowledgable and helpful with all things drums. Lots of good tips. Vintage to modern. By far the best drum corner on the net.

I highly recommend you check out Keep it Simple (Andy's) posts on this forum for all things relating to sound physics and drums - different woods, bearing edges, construction methods,etc. He has literally done it all - and has a high end boutique drum company to show for it...Guru Drums.

If you're gonna keep going with snares (it's an addiction, I have about 20, still going) you owe it to check out stave and single ply steam bent construction drums, including Andy's.

Neal
 
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Just wanted to echo the solid/single ply (often maple) snare recommendation from others. There's something about the tones produced by such a drum that fill up a track nicely, in a way that few ply drums can compete with (they do a different thing, though...)

I found a 5.5 Radio King on eBay for a good price, and there's a Craviotto 14 x 7 Super Swing on the way. Great choices for recording mojo...and the Radio King has a particularly familiar sound to it :)

At the end of the day, I wanted something for a *reasonable* price, and also something for a go-to sound in the studio. The RK was it, and when it appeared at the right price, it was a done deal. The Crav is an absolute vintage-y beast :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO8IZDRcqOA
 
I have all sorts of snares including a couple of Craviotto's and a Noble & Cooley but my favourite wooden drum since I bought it has been the Tama SLP Classic Maple, fantastic sounding drum with a great tuning range at an amazing price.

Mark
 
I used to have a Yamaha maple 13" that sounded really good and was very responsive.
 
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I have all sorts of snares including a couple of Craviotto's and a Noble & Cooley but my favourite wooden drum since I bought it has been the Tama SLP Classic Maple, fantastic sounding drum with a great tuning range at an amazing price.

Mark

Yes, me too, I'm sold on the SLP Classic Maple. Haven't bought one yet, but I think this is the wood snare I want, since I can't buy a Guru right now.
 
If you like the Ludwig, that's probably what you should get.

For me it's my Gretsch Colaiuta Signature.

For solid ply, Longo or Noble & Cooley.

Pearl freefloaters are nice, too.
 
First off, trust your ear to pick the right maple snare drum for your needs.

I've never been a huge fan of maple drums (I know, I know . . . mass shouts of "Heresy!" and "Stone him!" erupting over the internet) but I owned a Noble and Cooley 7" X 14" Classic Maple snare back in the 80's that I really liked.
I regret ever having parted with it, but family needs always come first. You can't go wrong with Noble & Cooley solid ply seambent in my book.

In the last two years is the first time I've ever owned more than one snare drum. Maple wasn't even on my list until I came across this Carolina Drumworks solid steambent 7" X 13" Birdseye Maple snare drum. This snare is off the
chain amazing! Extremely versatile. Extraordinary tone.

But again, trust your ear in the end and get the one that moves you regardless of what anybody else says or thinks.
 

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Wow man. That is an exceptional looking snare drum. Bravo!


First off, trust your ear to pick the right maple snare drum for your needs.

I've never been a huge fan of maple drums (I know, I know . . . mass shouts of "Heresy!" and "Stone him!" erupting over the internet) but I owned a Noble and Cooley 7" X 14" Classic Maple snare back in the 80's that I really liked.
I regret ever having parted with it, but family needs always come first. You can't go wrong with Noble & Cooley solid ply seambent in my book.

In the last two years is the first time I've ever owned more than one snare drum. Maple wasn't even on my list until I came across this Carolina Drumworks solid steambent 7" X 13" Birdseye Maple snare drum. This snare is off the
chain amazing! Extremely versatile. Extraordinary tone.

But again, trust your ear in the end and get the one that moves you regardless of what anybody else says or thinks.
 
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