Cheap snare drum deal - help

N

nectricks

Junior Member
Hello, guys! How are you? :)

I have a Basix 14x6.5" Rock birch with Pearl 20-strands brass wire.
If I hit it a bit softer than ghost notes, it produces that "drumhead"/flat sound. It sounds slightly better if I tighten the batter head and loosen the snare wires.
Its heads are quite worn, though (I'll talk about it later).
Things get way better with a muffling ring, but I'm not considering it now just for the sake of comparison/fairer choice.

I then bought a Pearl Steel Shell's shell (no hardware) for a really good price.
A guy was playing that same Pearl model on the beach and I LOVED it; nice punchy and fat sound. And its wires and hoops were quite worn, as well as its heads (although not as much as mine).

[TLDR]:
Thus, considering gear prices are extremely high here in Brazil, I don't plan on getting new hardware for my Pearl.

So, what should I do?
(a) swap hardware between the Basix and the Pearl for a while;
(b) sell one of the shells and focus on only one*;
(c) sell both snares and get a better one.

* Note: I plan on playing mostly at the church with it (acrylic shields around it), although there may occur some playing in outdoor or gymnasium/arena environments.

Thank you so much in advance! :D
 
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I am fine. Just what is your question? Will the shell switch work? If the lugs line up to the holes, etc. you should be OK. Peace and goodwill.
 
Drumolator said:
I am fine. Just what is your question? Will the shell switch work? If the lugs line up to the holes, etc. you should be OK. Peace and goodwill.
Click to expand...
Oh, no. The holes do match.
My question relays on alternatives a, b and c. Which option should I choose, in your opinion?
I've edited the OP for better a understanding. I'm sorry!
 
I vote option A until you can afford enough hardware for both or find a real junker to steal hardware from. And worry about new heads first before buying any more parts or snares; most of the drum's sound is dependent on the heads and tuning.

Also, even if the lug holes line up, you will most likely need some spacers for the screws that attach the lugs to the shell. I'm assuming that your steel shell is much thinner than your birch shell.
 
I agree that new heads for either would be the choice.

That means a batter and a snare side head.

The 'flat' or dead sound at low volumes might be caused by several things but I believe that the head may be either dead or worn from age and use or too thick. If it's a two-ply or pre-dampened batter head (Powerstroke 3, Pinstripe, Genera, Vintage Emperor, etc)

Get a Remo Ambassador or Evans G1 batter (the two brands most likely to be available in Brazil) and a new snare side head from either brand (Hazy 300, Remo Ambassador Snare Side head) and then sped some time tuning them up over a few days. Keep in mind that tighter tuning is not always the most sensitive. There's a sweet spot for each drum. You can also check out snare drum tuning videos on YouTube to see what different pro players/tuners have to say about that.

That's the most economical I can recommend.

HTH

Jim
 
So, new heads bought and installed.

Batter: Evans Q2 Coated (pretty good deal on it, despite preferring Remo)
Resonant: Remo Encore Ambassador (Encores were my choice due to their quite reduced prices. Drumheads are quite expensive here nowadays).

Yea, the Pearl shell is way thinner, indeed.

The sound is amazing now. But it does require some muffling. A ring is good for it.
I've tried loosening slightly the 4 lugs around the snare wires. I'm digging this setting.

Thanks for all the help, guys!
 
Cool, I'm glad it's working out.

I've become a big fan of the Evans reverse dot for snare heads. There's not shame in muffling. Do whatever you have to do to that to keep yourself playing!
 
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