SNG_drummer
Junior Member
I have custom kit on the way from Dark Horse Percussion but I didn't order a snare with the kit. I wanted to get a really personalized snare. I'm really picky when it comes to the sound of my snare.
I play ska so my kit is tuned to sort of mix rock and jazz. My snare I keep tuned tighter than average on the batter side and about average tuning on the resonant. Pretty much tuned as a punk snare (tight batter, loose resonant). I like to have a high pitched attack that cuts through with a nice amount of power and depth in the drum. I currently use a 13" x 7" pork pie lil' squealer. I can pull the perfect tone out of it but the drum goes out of tune like nothing (has to be tightened up every 3 songs while I'm playing a show) and frankly the extreme amount of vents isn't very realistic for recording, not to mention each vent adds another piece of metal to the shell.
What I'm thinking of building is a 13" x 7" beech stave snare with a double 45 bearing edge and of course puresound snare wires. I am ordering the shell sanded with edges, snare beds, and drilled and then hardware from somewhere else. I'm just staining and assembling it. I can't find a place that supplies both items exactly how I want them and at a reasonable price.
I like the size of the drum because the diameter really gives the drum the pop while the depth of the snare keeps it from getting too high pitch.
I chose to go with a stave shell due to the natural wood sounds. I've spent many years trying to find the sticks I like the most because I like to hear the wood tone of the sticks come through in my sound. I don't want a ply snare because the glue cuts out the tone. I've read the steam bent (1-ply) shells make the wood a lot higher pitch due to the extreme bending and pressure. And lastly, the solid shells are just really pricey though I'm sure they sound amazing!
I'm thinking beech wood because maple doesn't seem to get a nice enough crack for the attack but birch doesn't seem to get any warmth in the sustain. It's my understanding that beech will the the crack on the attack and have a fair amount of warmth in the sustain.
I decided the double 45 bearing edge because that will give the most of the wood's tone and add that little bit more depth to the drum, getting close to the tone of maple without loosing the high cracking attack like birch.
Does this seem like a proper combination to achieve the sound I'm looking for? I've done a ridiculous amount of research but want to get some opinions of all these different options being together on one drum.
I play ska so my kit is tuned to sort of mix rock and jazz. My snare I keep tuned tighter than average on the batter side and about average tuning on the resonant. Pretty much tuned as a punk snare (tight batter, loose resonant). I like to have a high pitched attack that cuts through with a nice amount of power and depth in the drum. I currently use a 13" x 7" pork pie lil' squealer. I can pull the perfect tone out of it but the drum goes out of tune like nothing (has to be tightened up every 3 songs while I'm playing a show) and frankly the extreme amount of vents isn't very realistic for recording, not to mention each vent adds another piece of metal to the shell.
What I'm thinking of building is a 13" x 7" beech stave snare with a double 45 bearing edge and of course puresound snare wires. I am ordering the shell sanded with edges, snare beds, and drilled and then hardware from somewhere else. I'm just staining and assembling it. I can't find a place that supplies both items exactly how I want them and at a reasonable price.
I like the size of the drum because the diameter really gives the drum the pop while the depth of the snare keeps it from getting too high pitch.
I chose to go with a stave shell due to the natural wood sounds. I've spent many years trying to find the sticks I like the most because I like to hear the wood tone of the sticks come through in my sound. I don't want a ply snare because the glue cuts out the tone. I've read the steam bent (1-ply) shells make the wood a lot higher pitch due to the extreme bending and pressure. And lastly, the solid shells are just really pricey though I'm sure they sound amazing!
I'm thinking beech wood because maple doesn't seem to get a nice enough crack for the attack but birch doesn't seem to get any warmth in the sustain. It's my understanding that beech will the the crack on the attack and have a fair amount of warmth in the sustain.
I decided the double 45 bearing edge because that will give the most of the wood's tone and add that little bit more depth to the drum, getting close to the tone of maple without loosing the high cracking attack like birch.
Does this seem like a proper combination to achieve the sound I'm looking for? I've done a ridiculous amount of research but want to get some opinions of all these different options being together on one drum.