Any Ideas for a Dry, Dark Sounding Snare

Chunkaway

Silver Member
Hey guys,

I have been on the prowl for sometime for a dry, dark snare drum. I'm open to any brand, new/used, any material, etc... I have about $800 to spend, if need be. Any ideas?

I currently have these snares:

Ludwig hammered Black Beauty (6.5X14)
Ludwig Legacy Classic (6.5X14)
Ludwig Supraphonic 400 (5X14)
Ludwig Classic Maple (6.5X14)

Ayotte Custom with wood hoops (5.5X14)
Gretsch USA Custom (6.5X14)
C&C maple (7X14)

Thanks,
Paul
 
You have a very nice selection of snares for sure,I was thinking old wood may be the way to go,I don't know the current prices but a single ply mahog or walnut Leedy might be a good candidate,or a 40's or later mahog poplar mahog Sling Ludd or leedy.Otherwise maybe boutique/custom would be worth a try.Rob Kampa at Magstar Custom does a great job with customer inspired drums,and works with you within your budget,I have played some great drums of his that cost less than half your budget.
 
$800.00.....................................Yamaha 10" Brass. GO!
 
PLEASE define projection. Thanks.
 
I'm imagining a 10" snare to be a high pitched "poppy" little thing. Prominent highs and diminished mids and lows due to it's size. It's obvioulsy not gonna have that throaty bite that say a 14 x 6.5 is going to deliver, so I'm wondering if there is enough projection in a 10" to carry the sound in a loud band setting. I've never played one and always seen them as a side snare for effect and wonder how'd they do as a main.
 
Did he mean 10" deep maybe?
 
as previously said
you want a dry sound, then go for a 5" or lower depth snare
if you want it dark sounding, go for a walnut snare
8" or deeper snares will have an overtone which will not make it dry, UNLESS you muffle it
 
as previously said
you want a dry sound, then go for a 5" or lower depth snare
if you want it dark sounding, go for a walnut snare
8" or deeper snares will have an overtone which will not make it dry, UNLESS you muffle it

Interesting suggestion, as I have a 5" Ludwig Supraphonic and a 5.5" Ayotte and neither of them are close to being dry. The Ayotte rings quite a bit actually.

The driest snare I own is either the Ludwig Legacy or the Gretsch USA Custom, both of which are 6.5".
 
Walnut makes for a nice lower register snare (as well as the earlier mentioned copper)...here's a pic of my longo walnut solid shell snare..one of my favorite snares...

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Walnut is often defined as a dry, darker sound. Oak has a great woody tone, but it is more on the bright side. Copper is tricky: yes, it's dark compared to brass, but Yamaha's Roy Haynes Copper snare, modeled on Ludwig's bronze black beauty, is actually quite loud and thus bleeds into a kind of bright sound, if that makes sense.

Mahogany will absorb higher overtones/brightness, so perhaps consider a mahogany shell?

The snare that I've played and heard others play that immediately struck my ears as "dry" is the Noble & Cooley Alloy Classic snare drum. It is a cast aluminum shell and has a baldly apparent crisp dryness to it. It is or can be loud, too, but there is no mistaking its dry sound. It is easily on par with, if not superior to, the aluminum cast shell of the Pearl Tico Torres snare, and it is also just within your budget.
 
Walnut is often defined as a dry, darker sound. Oak has a great woody tone, but it is more on the bright side. Copper is tricky: yes, it's dark compared to brass, but Yamaha's Roy Haynes Copper snare, modeled on Ludwig's bronze black beauty, is actually quite loud and thus bleeds into a kind of bright sound, if that makes sense.

Mahogany will absorb higher overtones/brightness, so perhaps consider a mahogany shell?

The snare that I've played and heard others play that immediately struck my ears as "dry" is the Noble & Cooley Alloy Classic snare drum. It is a cast aluminum shell and has a baldly apparent crisp dryness to it. It is or can be loud, too, but there is no mistaking its dry sound. It is easily on par with, if not superior to, the aluminum cast shell of the Pearl Tico Torres snare, and it is also just within your budget.

I was going to suggest a copper snare too. I've heard good things about the Roy Haynes model. I drier, darker one might be the Gretsch Antique Hammered Copper snare.
http://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/34548/metal-snare-drums
 
The first thing that popped into my mind was hammered copper or aluminum, too. But I'm partial to metal snares and I typically don't (okay, never) go with a dry sound. Brass is definitely not known for its dryness.

Is hammered copper really going to be drier than most woods? I don't actually know, but I've not been too into most wood snares recently since they seem relatively dry. I could be wrong, though.

I do think that shallower is going to produce a dryer sound than a deeper version of the same drum.

Whatever the drum, there a lots of heads designed to make pretty much any drum really dry.
 
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