Recently I dug my Sonor D 454 ferro-manganese out of storage. I hadn't touched it since around 2005. It was my daily driver for like, ever. I set it up with Remo Vintage A and Canopus Dry wires (these are key to a nice sound, imo). No weird tuning, just a normal Bb. What a beauty! It's dry and with a dynamic range that I'd bet would be difficult to match. This drum is like a Supra only more. Although it has the internal muffler, I use a small piece of felt clipped to the hoop touching the surface of the batter. It feels soft and super responsive, and great at any volume. It's fat and a bit dirty, but also well-articulated. I bought this drum new with a full set in 1973. The set is gone but I'm glad to have kept the snare drum.
I find internal mufflers to be a nice idea, in principle, but they just don't work for me. They raise the pitch, tighten the head slightly, and worst of all, they push up on the head when I am striking it downward. The resistance is counter intuitive. If I choose muffling at all, I much prefer it to be on the outside surface of a batter, and/or on the inside surface of a bass reso.
I find internal mufflers to be a nice idea, in principle, but they just don't work for me. They raise the pitch, tighten the head slightly, and worst of all, they push up on the head when I am striking it downward. The resistance is counter intuitive. If I choose muffling at all, I much prefer it to be on the outside surface of a batter, and/or on the inside surface of a bass reso.
Well, I like a lot my Beeny Breg Brass fully open, not much of a ring and a nice one anyway but when I record, having the sheep of the felt barely touching the bottom of the batter head is suoer helpful to record the snare with no EQ so, easier to tweak it at the mix stage.
the Tony Williams interview comment/ I have here somewhere where he says; People hired him- during the Big Yellow Set- era they Got him- the big Yellow set and all- he didn't change for situation- you got him if you asked.
I recall an interview with Ringo where he showed up for a session and they asked him to play like Simon Kirke. And Ringo was, like, well, no. I play like me. You know by now what I play like. Simon's a great drummer, and if you want Simon, you should get Simon. If you ask for me, you're going to get me.
I usually play gigs with a wood snare or my Acrolite. I’ve read so much about having a different voice with different metal snares, so I tried a Ludwig Raw Brass and Ludwig Pewter Copperphonic. Both have a loud, distinct metallic ring when hit, so I used a snareweight to kill some of the overtones. They sound better to my ears now. So maybe I like a drier sound, but do others really enjoy that metallic ring on a metal snare? And if you put a moongel or some other dampening product, is it really worth spending top dollar on an expensive snare? My uneducated guess is no. Which has me thinking a Ludwig Universal Brass snare would be a wiser, less expensive choice. What say you about dampening metal snares? Is the answer in the tuning? I’ve seen plenty of videos by pros using metal snares and they don’t seem that ringy to me.
Pros have got the pro production behind them, so it's hard to compare. It's pretty hard to guess what the drum tech or engineer did.
I love the full ring when I can enjoy it, but so often the room or style dictates a different approach. Gels and folded bandanas come out as needed. But I do like the full ring if the gig allows. Usually low volume like jazz or creative stuff at a house party. Just don't let it become your religion, lol. I think the full ring is when you decide whether or not that particular drum is something you're psyched to play.
I recall an interview with Ringo where he showed up for a session and they asked him to play like Simon Kirke. And Ringo was, like, well, no. I play like me. You know by now what I play like. Simon's a great drummer, and if you want Simon, you should get Simon. If you ask for me, you're going to get me.
There is bad ring and there is good ring. The metal drums that I acquire produce the latter. It defines the drum’s character. If you’re a drummer who prefers a very dampened sound, and plans to use heavily dampened heads, tons of tape or gels, etc. stay away from metal in general. That dead or muffled sound can be easily obtained without spending tons of money on a pricey drum.
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