yeah I was sorta leaning on the steel snares..
In fact - you mention Chad Smith's sound, which is a Pearl Steel snare. I've seen it for sale - it DOES seem to fit your budget. However. I owned it and it did not do it for me, really... You can get the sensitones - which I like much better - for much less...
I would take a serious look at the bronze - it's just killer...
Now that is something to drool over!
the sensitones are going for good prices on ebay
BRONZE OR BRASS?
so whats the word? do people recommend the acro for recording?
thanks
so far I'm looking at the pearl sensitone brass or the Ludwig Acrolite
I bought a 14" Pearl Sensitone Elite (the one that looks like its made of copper) about a year ago. It's unbelievable. If you are looking for a Carter Beauford snare, you should check it out. It has awesome crack, but still a good depth/low end. I crank it a little tighter than most people probably do though. I'm a huge Carter fan, and when I play along to songs like Ants Marching, I always feel like "wow, his snare drum at the beginning sounds just like the one I'm hitting now. For a sub$300 snare, it's great. Overall, I've had great luck with Pearl snare drums.