5x16 inch (diameter) snare...anyone?

pdonkey said:
Correct me if i am wrong but depth is always 1st, then diameter.
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I realize this is post is a year old and the OP is probably out doing pro drumming somewhere, but I think the depth x diameter convention that some mfgs stick by is really silly. Dimensions in maths/science as well as real-world stuff like furniture, luggage whatever are always given as 'length' x 'width' x 'height'. Other than with marching bass drums, diameter x depth makes more sense IMO.

More importantly, the diameter must be said to describe the most significant parameter in a drum, since it suggests the function and position on the kit and the size of head that will fit the drum!
 
porter said:
I think Andy meant that, for folks looking for a heavily detuned sound, a 15x8" can go past the point of usability in its low range.
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Once again, I would tend to disagree, because that's exactly what I got the drum for. I usually run 'er with a coated Emperor tuned about a half-turn at each lug past finger tight. Back In Black all over the place. My only misgivings is that it isn't an aluminum drum. My holy grail drum would be a 6.5x15 Oriollo Phantom or Acrolite.
 
5.5x16 Pearl Fiberglass Shell.
Found shell in Pro Drum.
One of Paul Humphreys drums.
I think it was a Rhythm Traveller like tom.
I saw the shell......... and saw a snare in there.
I cut the snare gates in the standard batter type rim.
 

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Pearl makes a 16x16 concert snare drum - probably not what you're looking for though. That drum is pretty impressive though. Maybe you can just put legs on it ;)
 
keep it simple said:
That's why I said anything above a 15" drum - i.e. 16" & larger :)
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Oh, ok. The way it was written, your comment was referring to the 8x15 size specifically.

I have two 9x15's, a copper/brass and a 3 mm aluminum I built out myself with a shell I got from Allstar Drunworks. Both do deep and fat well and when I'm going for that sound I slack off the snares a fair bit, so crisp, articulate snare response is not really part of that package. If I tension them up though then they play pretty much just like any other drum I own or have played. They just sound like they are EQ'ED with more bottom and the frequency band is narrowed a bit.

I find the whole "sensitive" snare drum / shallow vs deep debate way overblown. Pretty much any drum with both heads tensioned way up with the snares tight will respond with a light tap near the rim. Any drum with the batter tuned down and the snares slacked off will be less than articulate and responsive. I'm sure I could tune a 16" drum so that it has good snare response, it would just be such a specialized sound that if wouldn't appeal to me very much. 15's sound like beefier 14's. 16's are the tipping point where it becomes a different animal altogether.
 
Also - I just learned that Jack White from The Dead Weather is actually using two 16" snare drums on his Ludwig kit. He said in a video when Ludwig built him the kit, they cut a 16" floor tom in half and made two snares out of it for him. That would explain his slightly throatier sound on those albums.
 
Before there were a lot of microphone options out there... drummers used snares smaller than 14" to cut through the guitars. The general term was piccolo snare but that meant anything less than 14"

Snares with less depth also cut through differently than the "standard"

but... if you're mic'd up does it really make that much of a difference? If you are mic'd and want tighter and higher I would think the lug count and shell material might play into it more than shell depth.
 
Ive played about 4 shows on it now...and will never go smaller. then again DW made it for me so you know J. Good took his time
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Just stretch some razor wire over a 24" bass drum and be done with it.
 
To me, the Holy grail of 15" snares would be a vintage Ludwig COB or BB from the 30's, 15x4 with calf heads. There are a few clips of these on you tube. Makes a grown man cry!
 
I find the 16" snare drum intriguing. But, how many snare stands can accommodate the size? There's probably only one or two out there? Maybe?
 
mandrew said:
To me, the Holy grail of 15" snares would be a vintage Ludwig COB or BB from the 30's, 15x4 with calf heads. There are a few clips of these on you tube. Makes a grown man cry!
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Calf heads and 15" brass snares are still available. in fact, they're probably better quality now, if you don't go too low-end.
 
When I first got my Legacy kit I cranked the single ply coated batter on my floor tom and gave it a few good rimshots to see how it sounded. It sounded pretty good. It would definitely be a niche drum, and I'm not looking to get one right away, but a 5x16 or 6x16 with rounded edges might be something I end up owning sometime down the road. I already play 15's pretty much exclusively now, so it wouldn't actually be much of a stretch for me.
 
keep it simple said:
We change many aspects of the drum to get our 15" to be as versatile as possible, including completely different bearing edges, snare beds, hoops, & shell thickness. Without those changes, the result is a bit of a one trick pony, even accepting a 15" will always be a speciality instrument.
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OK, I'll bite. How do you change each of those, and what are the problems sound wise if you don't adjust them? Just curious.
 
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