The Cheap Snare Thread

Fritz Frigursson

Fritz Frigursson

Senior Member
Hello everyone.

It's certain that not everyone can afford a Supraphonic or Black Beauty. A lot of people have a lower budget of maybe around 250 dollars for a snare, so let's help these people (including me). It would be helpful to write personal reviews for cheaper snare drums, comparisons and usual used pricing (sometimes we have no clue whether a snare should cost x amount).

So I hope you help us drummers with a lower budget with your experience and thoughts.
 
Tama Soundworks Maple $199. I gig with this snare all the time.

Used Acrolite you can get a mint like new one for $199 and sometimes even less.
 
USED:

Tama Starclassic Performer\Birch... 5.5" x 14". Usually run between $200 and $250...sometimes less.

Rogers Powertone COB. I have seen this for less than $250 at Guitar Center. Personal favorite and imho one of the best snare drums ever made.

Then there is my dDrum Maple 5.5" x 14" that I paid $47.00 for.... But sometimes you just get lucky.
 
Mapex black panther, black widow. Maple shell, decent hardware, you can get em used for under £100. I paid £40 for mine with die-cast hoops but I got lucky.

Versatile, built like a tank, tunes high or low really well. Bargain!
 
I paid £150 for a used Ludwig LM400.
I had to replace the strainer and the heads but otherwise it has been amazingly good value.
 
Does free count? I got this one when I bought a bunch of misc. hardware for $100---no badge 14 x 6.5 wood shell, fairly sharp 45 degree bearing edges, perfect beds with gradual sloping ends, 2.3mm hoops, smooth operating throw-off, and fine thread tension rods. Sounds great at any tuning, tunes easily, and holds tune perfectly. Aquarian High energy over Classic Clear with Gibraltar 20-strand wires. I spent my $250 on a couple of nice crashes!

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Tama has a steel 13X6.5 I'd like to try out. I think it's called Sonic steel.
 
In that price range you can't go wrong with the Pork Pie BOB (or WorldMax equivalent) or a used Acrolite (preferably from the 60s).
 
I got a used Black Galaxy Acrolite for $119 bucks, in great shape! It sounds great even with the stock Ludwig heads on it, and it quickly became my main snare! If you see a cheap Acrolite, don’t pass it up! These have the same aluminum shells used in the Supraphonics, but are a little drier sounding and just about half the price.
 
OldReliable said:
I got a used Black Galaxy Acrolite for $119 bucks, in great shape! It sounds great even with the stock Ludwig heads on it, and it quickly became my main snare! If you see a cheap Acrolite, don’t pass it up! These have the same aluminum shells used in the Supraphonics, but are a little drier sounding and just about half the price.
Click to expand...

And if you can find a Standard aluminium snare, jump on that too. Like having an Acrolite, but a little more special and unique.
 
How are Yamaha stage custom steel snares? Cost like 110 bucks in my region and seems pretty nice.
 
Fritz Frigursson said:
How are Yamaha stage custom steel snares? Cost like 110 bucks in my region and seems pretty nice.
Click to expand...

I've played that one lots and it's definitely a good workhorse snare. Just buy it and be done with it!

And everybody: Remember that the OP lives in Europe, which means he'll be looking at ~$400 for a beaten down, used Acro... Acrolite sellers over here know what they are peddling.

And anyway, threads like this is not the place for bragging about the rare deal you once got.
 
octatonic said:
I paid £150 for a used Ludwig LM400.
I had to replace the strainer and the heads but otherwise it has been amazingly good value.
Click to expand...

It's all about getting lucky with 2nd hand.

I paid £100 for a 402 (Bowtie lugs). Got a 400 COB for £92, probably £150 after shipping and customs.

You'll get an acrolite for next to nothing or a Pearl Sensitone, Premier 2000 etc.

US ebay is the way to go. Even after shipping and customs it's cheaper that buying used in Europe.

Another thumbs up for the Black Panther, they go under the radar as well.
 
I have two under-250 snares:
Tama Silverstar Snare (14x05 Birch): Great crack and tone, but I feel it lacks body and it isn't the most versatile head. Being a medium-thin shallow shell, I only use a single ply coated ambassador, which plays really nice. It has the dryness associated with birch and I really enjoy playing it at medium-high tension (if I need a lower sound, I just put on a towel or an old head on top);
Pearl Chad Smith Signature (14x05 Steel): Huge snare, despite the shallowness. It will be noticed, I assure you. It costed me 150€ plus shipping, but my god, it is loud. I equiped it with a Genera Dry, cranked it up and I feel like Stewart Copeland (except for the playing part ;) ). It is a great snare for the Chad Smith style of playing (hard but with ghost notes and some snare chops) and as I referred, it serves as a somewhat cheaper alternative to the Tama SC signature. It is more versatile than the latter, but it has way more ringing. I would say it works best with high tension, but without chocking the drum, ofc.
Yeah, I play shallow snares, and one day, if I need I will get a Tama Maple SLP 2nd hand snare for lower tensions. But I'm currently on the cranked up train, and I really hate tom sounding, over-compressed snares. The sound of the snare cutting through is just eargasmic for me, but it is not everyone's cup of tea, obviously.
 
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Fritz Frigursson said:
How are Yamaha stage custom steel snares? Cost like 110 bucks in my region and seems pretty nice.
Click to expand...

Another thumbs up for this snare. Great value for money, in my opinion. I've changed the heads and snare wire and used it for a bunch of gigs and rehearsals.
 
And the Acro has an internal muffler. It's a shame new snares don't have mufflers anymore.

OldReliable said:
I got a used Black Galaxy Acrolite for $119 bucks, in great shape! It sounds great even with the stock Ludwig heads on it, and it quickly became my main snare! If you see a cheap Acrolite, don’t pass it up! These have the same aluminum shells used in the Supraphonics, but are a little drier sounding and just about half the price.
Click to expand...
 
I love snares that don´t cost an arm and a leg, so here´s my list of currently availabe affordable (around 200 euros) snares I have actually played:

Tama SLP 14x8 steel - fat, sensitive, punchy without being overbearing.
Pearl 13x3 brass shell piccolo - sounds much bigger than it is and works very well in lower-than-typical tunings.
Gretsch 14x6,5 Retro Luxe - very sensitive and crisp, wide tuning range.

I own all of these and wouldn´t hesitate to gig with them.

What I´ve tried and liked:

Pearl Modern Utility 14x6,5 maple
Sonor Essential Force 14x5,5 birch
Pearl Sensitone 14x5,5 steel
Gretsch Silver Ash 13x7
 
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