I'm a little confused about some of you talking about how fragile these snares are. I can't speak for the thin shelled wood drums or drum sets. My snares are metal. Brass, copper, bronze and steel. I play with 5Bs, 3As, and sometimes 2Bs. I've never had any part fail and I play rock. I play rim shots a lot. I have worn the finish off the top of the hoops where the rim shots land but the hoops are like new other than that.
The weld on the drummers review was pretty bad. but none of my drums look like that. I also don't find the tuning range to be limited. I usually run reso heads at 400hz and batters from 240 - 350HZ. No issues.
I have Cravs, N&C, Keplinger, DWs, Ludwig, 4 Cast bronze snares and a few others.
A&F makes two different thicknesses in metal. 2mm and 4.8mm. I saw a used AK copper drum on reverb listing for $2500, My new A&F copper was $1350.
I suspect some of you are looking at the heavier A&F shells and comparing them to the thinner shells by other MFGs.
I happy with mine and that's all that matters.
YMMV
Glad you are happy with your AF drums in the end that’s what’s important.
You get what you pay for .
But there are noticeable differences between an AK and an AF. So let’s talk about that.
First and most important the one on reverb is way overpriced, that same drum from Adrian today is 1900 dollars.
Second buying an AK at that price gets you the following features hand made by one man who is a goldsmith as well as a drum maker. The craftsmanship is impeccable.
1-piece AK copper or brass shell (“brushed patina” finish / oil sealed) hardware finish: “polished brass” (raw)
10 AK class. tube lugs
AK Standard throw-off & butt plate
AK 4mm SB hoops
AK brass t-rods & washers
hand engraved initials or logo.
AK 12str. class. Snappi Snares
Remo heads
AK drum key & high-quality drum carrying bag
All the hardware can be chrome or nickel plated your choice or raw brass if you so desire
Kind of like comparing a summer peach to a durian fruit, technically both fruit but…
Oh , and 12 years in on my oldest AK. haven’t worn the finish off the hoops yet.
I think it’s easy to see where the value is.
YMMV