Metal vs Wood Snare Drums

drummerman42

drummerman42

Senior Member
Hey everyone, just doing a quick roll call to see how many of us players prefer the wood over the metal snares. I prefer metal snares simply because they are louder and really cut through almost everything. In my snare collection I have a couple of wood snares and a couple of metal snares. But I often find myself playing the metal snares more than the woods. I tend to check with Dave Weckl, and I know he has a signature wood snare drum, but when I see him playing live and recording in the studio he is often seen playing a metal snare. As I said I just wanted to see if some of you players feel the same...
 
For me, it depends on the type of music I'm playing. For some alternative rock, christian rock - I'll break out the Tama 6.5 x 13 Artwood maple or the Tama BB snare just purchased.

If I'm going against Marshall stacks, then I have to pull out the Stewart Copeland COB which cuts through nearly anything.

Last year, I couldn't make up my mind on the next snare ~ Metal or Wood? So I got both in the DW Edge with brass rings. Now that thing is a beast that I can tune for classic rock or crank up for funk or rock. Will also cut through a lot.

The wierdest thing though was about 4 months ago I was at a memorial and there was a 3 piece band with: drummer, bass and guitar. The drummer pulled out this tiny 3.5 x 13 Pacific Steel snare. They got into the groove and man that small thing really packed a punch and did not sound like a piccolo. I was nicely amazed with what it delivered. They played classic rock and it mixed in nice.
EASY TO CARRY AS WELL. (the DW Edge must wiegh at least 35 lbs)
 
Metal shells are not necessarily louder than wood shells. A good drum is a good drum. There are great metal snares, great wooden snares, and great fiberglass snares.
 
BigDinSD said:
The wierdest thing though was about 4 months ago I was at a memorial and there was a 3 piece band with: drummer, bass and guitar. The drummer pulled out this tiny 3.5 x 13 Pacific Steel snare. They got into the groove and man that small thing really packed a punch and did not sound like a piccolo. I was nicely amazed with what it delivered. They played classic rock and it mixed in nice.
EASY TO CARRY AS WELL. (the DW Edge must wiegh at least 35 lbs)
Click to expand...

I have a 4x13 Tama Hammered Steel snare that is similar to that. I use it all the time as a main snare.
 
I have wood acrylic and different types of metal, I like them all, some more than others, some are louder. One of the loudest is the PDP 20 ply maple bubinga. My acrylic is really loud too. So I guess what kind of mood I am in tells my preference.
 
I prefer a maple snare. But that's just this week. Next week it could be completely different. I am taking my 14 x 5 Black Beauty and trying it on a gig. I only tried this drum at a gig once before, in 2006. It was not a good room to evaluate the drum in, all glass, tile and hard surfaces. So I am giving it another shot this coming Friday.
 
I like steel snares, my goto snare is a 5.5x14 Keplinger... I used to only play brass or maple, but I've come back to playing steel because they always work well in any room.

Years ago, 3 or 6 ply wood snare weren't as loud as metal shells, but in the 90s or so, boutique builders were putting out 10 ply drums with sharper edges, that were as loud as metal snares - these have become the norm. The Keplinger is a heavier gauge shell, so like the modern maple snares, this drum is louder than most standard gauge metal snares, and definitely louder than most wood drums... The extra mass gives the drum a lot of low end body and punch, so in addition to the crisp sensitivity and brightness of steel, the drum can be super versatile...
 
drumming sort of person said:
Metal shells are not necessarily louder than wood shells. A good drum is a good drum. There are great metal snares, great wooden snares, and great fiberglass snares.
Click to expand...
great post!! :)

cornelius said:
The extra mass gives the drum a lot of low end body and punch,.
Click to expand...
Additional mass in a wood shell drum will lift the volume, but typically raises pitch not lowers it. "Body" relatively speaking, is more typical of more resonant shells, & those tend to be on the thinner end of the spectrum.
 
I usually take both a wood shell and a metal shell snare with me to my gigs. My preferred size is 5 or 5.5 x 14 for the majority of my gigs and rehearsals. I have a COB Ludwig supra 6.5 x 14 and this tends to be my big room or loud unmiced gig snare.

I tend to pull a metal shell snare drum out first, but this has been less the rule lately. I have my Yamaha Club Custom 5.5 x 14 and my Legacy Classic 5 x 14 really dialed in and love the sound of both of these snares.
 
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keep it simple said:
great post!! :)

Additional mass in a wood shell drum will lift the volume, but typically raises pitch not lowers it. "Body" relatively speaking, is more typical of more resonant shells, & those tend to be on the thinner end of the spectrum.
Click to expand...

I understand how the mass makes a shell's pitch go up, and shied away from heavy gauge metal shells because I thought they'd be overly bright. But when I compare my 5.5x14 Kep to my 6.5x14 steel Dunnett - the Keplinger does have some top end brightness to it, but also more punch and body. It's not dark or low pitched, just a lot of body and fatness...
 
BigDinSD said:
If I'm going against Marshall stacks, then I have to pull out the Stewart Copeland COB which cuts through nearly anything.

The wierdest thing though was about 4 months ago I was at a memorial and there was a 3 piece band with: drummer, bass and guitar. The drummer pulled out this tiny 3.5 x 13 Pacific Steel snare. They got into the groove and man that small thing really packed a punch and did not sound like a piccolo. I was nicely amazed with what it delivered. They played classic rock and it mixed in nice.
EASY TO CARRY AS WELL. (the DW Edge must wiegh at least 35 lbs)
Click to expand...

You know I really like that Copeland Snare. Tried one out and the diecast hoop on the batter is great. That drum is explosive!!! I have a brass 3x13 Pearl piccolo snare and that thing is LOUD. The smaller metal snare's really do pack a big punch, don't they...
 
Most often I like wood, 10 ply maple with no re-rings. I would like one Ludy metal snare, but can never make up my mind between aluminum or brass. Hard to ignore an Lm400!
 
larryace said:
I prefer a maple snare. But that's just this week. Next week it could be completely different. I am taking my 14 x 5 Black Beauty and trying it on a gig. I only tried this drum at a gig once before, in 2006. It was not a good room to evaluate the drum in, all glass, tile and hard surfaces. So I am giving it another shot this coming Friday.
Click to expand...

I have just acquired a 14 x 5 black beauty...will be really curious to hear what your findings are next week; I also played mine last night in a terrible room with a very hard hitting and loud band...it was hard to tell what was going on. I think it sounded good...

I usually prefer wood; I currently own 16 wood snares and only two metal.
The subtleties of wood are much more apparent to me for some reason...or somehow more meaningful. Other drummers would say that is complete rubbish and that you only need one wood and many different metal alloys to cover all the bases...

Neal
 
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I was at Simon Phillips clinic a few months ago. He was using his signature wood snare for his gig with Hiromi. When they played at Jazz Alley in Seattle he said the room was so dead that the snare got lost in the mix so he had to find a metal snare for the remaining nights. He ended up with a Starphonic aluminum and claimed it made all the difference in the world for that particular room.

Having said that, I have always preferred metal snares but am digging my new Ludwig classic maple lately.
 
5 metals snares and only two wood (one of which is a stock snare that came with the kit and never gets used), so I guess you could say I lean towards a metal snare drum.

I'm still hankering for a Brady jarrah stave though and if I ever get round to getting that on board, Andy and I will enter into discussions as to what else he can make me that I don't actually need. So I'm trying to even up the score.
 
For live playing, especially if I'm not mic'd, my go to snare has been my Pearl Chad Smith steel snare. Sometimes I'll pull out the Stage Custom birch snare. It's not as loud but I tuned it up so that it gets a nice "woody" sound. When I'm messing around with my recordings I've been getting good results with my Rogers Holiday snare. I don't have any really top-end snares (nor do I have the budget) but I seem to get by with my humble collection.

I reserve the right to change my snare sound without notice.
 
It all depends on the room, the band and the kind of music.... as well as the tuning and heads used. I generally prefer my 6.5" Supraphonic hammered bronze for most live situations. Studio? Totally depends on a multitude of factors.

To me it's not a "vs" argument. It a "which would work better for this situation" argument.
 
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