Do old Snare wires need replacing

ANIMALBEATS

Silver Member
I have a Brady Jarrah ply 1980's 12" x 7" snare, with Puresound Blaster wires, there is one strand missing, do snare wires need replacing after a while?

I also have a 13" x 4.5" DW/Craviotto snare, with generic snare wires, I'm assuming swaping this for a Puresound snare would improve the sound, but would it?
 
They stretch a little bit, but the main reason for replacing them is snapped wires. (If you keep your snare wires really tight like me, you can find up to 4 or 5 wires missing at any given time)

I just recently replaced mine, and was rather shocked at how much of a difference it made.

To answer your question, it will make your drum sound crisper. More of a crack, snap, whatever "snare" sound you can put into text, whether or not that's "better" is up to you. I say go for it though....
 
I have a Brady Jarrah ply 1980's 12" x 7" snare, with Puresound Blaster wires, there is one strand missing, do snare wires need replacing after a while?

I also have a 13" x 4.5" DW/Craviotto snare, with generic snare wires, I'm assuming swaping this for a Puresound snare would improve the sound, but would it?

Most definitely! Swap those snares! You can also experiment with different types of metal in your snare wires for different emphases (dry, dark, lively, etc.). Swapping snares is the first thing I do on all my drums.
 
If there are any broken wires or if they look stretched with strands touching other stands when tightly pulled, replace them. I use Puresound snare wires on most of my snare drums.

Dennis
 
Hey Animalbeats,

I agree. Time to go out and get yourself a new set of snare wires.
I just upgraded the stock snare wires that came with my Pearl Masters MRX 14"x6.5" maple snare.
I decided to go with a set of Pearl Ultra-Sound SN-1420 type "D" snare wires.
They are a 20 strand set with phosphor bronze end plates and uncoated wires.
Man, what a difference they made over my 4 year old stock wires.

Before you get rid of your old wires, check out this Bob Gatzen video regarding broken snare wires.
This might be good for a temporary solution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LBPtLjPoow
 
I actually tried the Bob Gatzen-approach on my Tama Artwood "Shaggy" snare (13"x4" maple). I wasn't able to get a good snare sound with the snares on (it was way too much buzzzzzzzzzz), so I started cutting. Originally it was 20 wires on. I ended up cutting it down to 8(!) wires. 4 on each side and 4 in the middle. Now it sounds AWESOME.

Remember, worst case scenario (if you do exactly as Bob Gatzen), you would have to buy a new set of snarewires. =)
 
I have a Brady Jarrah ply 1980's 12" x 7" snare, with Puresound Blaster wires, there is one strand missing, do snare wires need replacing after a while?
The arbiter is whether you like the way the drum sounds. Nothing on a drum, including the heads, needs replacing if you like the way the drum sounds. If you don't like the way the drum sounds, you can experiment with replacing things on it . . . maybe something will end up producing a sound you like, or maybe you'll have to just replace, or simply get rid of, the whole drum.
 
The arbiter is whether you like the way the drum sounds. Nothing on a drum, including the heads, needs replacing if you like the way the drum sounds. If you don't like the way the drum sounds, you can experiment with replacing things on it . . . maybe something will end up producing a sound you like, or maybe you'll have to just replace, or simply get rid of, the whole drum.


You may well like the sound of your drum, change parts while worn and you may LOVE IT. Better follow as suggested I say, otherwise you may never unlock the potential.
 
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