Second snare drum: I don't get it

I see a lot of guys using a second snare drum, usually placed next to the hats.
When did people start doing that? What's it for?
I'm not putting it down, I just wonder is all.

[jayp]

Its called a side snare, its just another option for snare sounds, some people usually play a piccolo or a accent type of snare(say like 10X6) but the choice is yours.

[Citizen Insane]

Originally Posted by jayp

Its called a side snare, its just another option for snare sounds, some people usually play a piccolo or a accent type of snare(say like 10X6) but the choice is yours.

Yeah, they use like a 14x6.5 snare right next to 13x3 picolo snare, great addition to your kit if you ask me, makes it more versatile.

[Green_Shoes]

Originally Posted by jay norem

I see a lot of guys using a second snare drum, usually placed next to the hats.
When did people start doing that? What's it for?
I'm not putting it down, I just wonder is all.

Yer, i tried it with an old snare but just never caught onto it and its just one extra thing to carry. Have heard it be quite effective and would like to come back to it again one day.

[mrchattr]

It really all comes down to sound options. Let's say you're in a cover band, and are playing Van Halen and the Spin Doctors in the same night. Sure, you can do it all on one snare. However, Alex VanHalen is known for a really low, dead snare sound (called the Brown Sound). Aaron Comes is known for a really high, tight snare sound, almost like a marching snare. The style of playing that Comes uses just doesn't sound as crisp on the style of snare that VanHalen uses, for example. By having two snares, you can get both sounds. Usually, when drummers do this, they have one really high, tight snare (often a smaller snare, like a piccolo or a 10" or something) and one lower, looser one. The higher one can also be used with the snares turned off, to replicate a timbale effect.

I don't know if you've ever gotten to do a real studio session (as opposed to just demos with your own band, etc), but most of the time, you are expected to have a whole array of snares available, so you can use the one that sounds the best with each song. Playing with multiple snares in public has basically the same effect.

[aydee]

Benny Greb uses them pretty well, playing grooves that use a lot of ghosted notes on one snare with the accent on the other.. but ya, I think its excessive, for most players. If Stanton Moore & Steve Smith can create so many snare tones from one drum, it just means one more thing to haul

[hwy145]

Originally Posted by mrchattr

Alex VanHalen is known for a really low, dead snare sound (called the Brown Sound). Aaron Comes is known for a really high, tight .

Really? I've always heard Eddie's tone referred to as the "brown sound," but I've never heard a reference to Alex's snare as the same. Did Roth have a "brown voice?" ;)

[druid]

Yes I believe it is Eddie's sound that is reffered to as the "brown sound" Alex's snare is actually kind of mid rangey with alot of pop and crack to it....he and Bill Bruford have been two guys you can recognise on snare sound alone.

I like the idea of playing a second snare and have been fooling with it myself here and there. You can set up some really nice grooves using two snares also.

[mrchattr]

Originally Posted by hwy145

Really? I've always heard Eddie's tone referred to as the "brown sound," but I've never heard a reference to Alex's snare as the same. Did Roth have a "brown voice?" ;)

Hahahahaha. I love it. But yeah, I've read plenty of interviews with Alex from early on where he called his snare his own "brown sound." If he was being sarcastic (playing off Eddie's tone), that's quite possible.