Is it good practice to disengage snares?

SergiuM

SergiuM

Senior Member
Is it a good idea to disengage snares while you're not using them? Just thought that maybe the unnecessary tension would wear them out quicker or something.
 
I have never released my snares and they seem to be OK.
 
I imagine it would... I disengage the wires on my snares that I'm not using (the ones that aren't setup on my kit). Disengaging the wires on the snare that is setup on my kit everyday when I'm done seems like overkill to me tho...
 
I like to disengage during breaks when house music is on. I especially disengage when getting my mic levels of toms and bass drum so I can hear the drum individually.

I also disengage when other instruments are getting their levels. Some band mates are more annoying than others i.e. taking a long time to get a level, wanking on the guitar needlessly ha ha.

I always leave them engaged while packing up though. I have never had them wear out on me.
 
Releasing snare strands will not harm them in any way.
Leaving them tensioned will not hurt them either.
They are designed to do this. There really isn't that much tension on them.
Playing the drum puts them through much more stress!
 
Thanks for the input folks. I won't be disengaging my snare wires then!
 
By disengaging and then engaging them too much will cause wear-and-tear on the strainers more than anything else. Those are mechanical moving parts that will cost you much more money to fix than buying brand new snare wires.
 
when moving, packing in a bag etc. engage them to keep from having them catch on something and doing damage.
 
Who am I not to conform with this knowledgeable crowd? :)

I have 7 snares. One on my kit, one at a practice station and the other five are tucked away in cases.....all of 'em with the snare wires engaged.

I'm with Bob: "Releasing snare strands will not harm them in any way. Leaving them tensioned will not hurt them either." It's not even worth thinking about.
 
Does anybody here think that snare wires lose their tone? I'm thinking not. I really don't know.
 
larryace said:
Does anybody here think that snare wires lose their tone? I'm thinking not. I really don't know.
Click to expand...

Haha I know where you're coming from. I always release them as an article of faith, figuring that applying unneeded tension to the wires can't be good. In truth, I've never had any idea if it made a difference or not ... and it seems that PFOG's and Grunter's snare worlds haven't fallen in ...

Except on the bandstand. In some songs snare rattle really eats into the music's space, in others it adds a bit of ambiance and vibe. When you play quiet music it can make a noticeable difference.
 
larryace said:
Does anybody here think that snare wires lose their tone? I'm thinking not. I really don't know.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking they probably stretch a little over time. But I also know that I'm never in a hurry to change them unless thay are obviously damaged....or just so old I can't remember putting them on in the first place. Nor do I get all worked up about not having a Gucci set of Puresounds et al.

All my snares have either the stock wires or they've just been replaced with run-o-the-mill Pearl wires. Puresounds are just too damn expensive here......inexcess of AUD$60....if I can ever stop blowing my cash on another snare or more cymbals that I don't really need, I may give 'em a go oneday. But until then, as my snares all sound good without them, I'm content to be a cheapskate.
 
I just bought my first pair of Puresounds about a month ago.
I like them just fine but to be honest I can't tell them from my Pearl, Mapex or Tama snares.

Puresounds are about $20 in the US for their average product.
I bought the 24 strand brass model.

I have a few really cheap drums laying around with the cheapest snare strainers that there are on them.
I use them for practice snare drums.
Never a problem with the strainers stretching out.
 
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I always heard that it is a good practise to disengage the wires. I don't bother but I can't see how it would hurt/help them anymore than just leaving them on.
 
Back in the day, my first and only drum teacher insisted that you should never disengage your snares. Said to leave 'em on unless you were doing the, "Oh, my snare drum sounds just like a timbale now" thing.

He never explained why. He was a major authority figure to me (the junior high band teacher) so I never had the courage to ask.

Now that I'm relatively grown up, sometimes I leave them on, and sometimes I turn them off, almost randomly because, you know, I can.
 
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I was taught to disengage my snares when not in use and been doing this for more than fifty years. Maybe it won't permanently stretch your snare wires, but it could affect or stretch the material that's used to mount the wires to the throw-off and butt plates and also maybe the throw-off itself. In my opinion, better safe than sorry, especially since I've never seen any issues by alleviating the tension.

Dennis
 
I disengage when my band mates are tuning their instruments and I do the same when I'm tuning my toms. I like practicing without them at times for that timbale sound also.
 
audiotech said:
I was taught to disengage my snares when not in use and been doing this for more than fifty years....Dennis
Click to expand...
Your teacher and mine obviously didn't go to the same school.

I think I like yours better.
 
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