Wood hoops are not as durable as metal.. you can dent them, but you wont crack them if they are not abused. Die cast is easier to tune IMO and has more of a dry almost more precise sound, triple flanged is more of an open sound and dosent tune as well. I have never owned wood hoops.. so i cannot comment on how they sound.
I had to rotate the snare a bit because the first place I was hitting after 4-5 years started splintering at the hole where the tuning rod goes through. That is the only really vulnerable place on the hoops. The inside edges of those holes are a little rough, and after years of beating started chipping away. But not to the point of worrying about the structural integrity of the hoop...Also - a bit of denting there. I rotated the snare so I was hitting another spot on the hoop and it's been fine. I also have a few plies here and there that have a very small crack on the snare hoop.
I just put a pair on my DW 5x14 maple snare. I personally think it adds resonance and I love the way they feel. Rim shots are sweet also.
woah your music really sounds like what you state it sounds like in the myspace profile. incredibly accurate :0
Okay, so I've seen a lot of drums with wood hoops, but could someone explain to me exactly the difference between the wooden hoop and a metal hoop (whether it be die-cast or triple flanged)?
Wood hoops are the current fad, or were for awhile. I challenge anyone to listen to a recording of a drum kit and be able to tell whether or not the snare has wood hoops.
The way they seem to be marketed, it does seem like the flavor of the month.