Filthy Swamp Snare Drum Tuning

Rattlin' Bones

Gold Member
Other than a $900 Stanton Moore Acacia wood snare, what other snares might I buy to give me a down and dirty "Filthy Swamp" NOLA sound? It's only 4.5" deep - but I thought maybe a 6.5"?? Or something thin with re-rings? I prefer newer snares because less to fail during gigs.

What do you think?

Starting about 6:30 of this video demonstrates the sound I want:

 
Tune the heads a little bit low, make the snares a little more rattly, Then some very light muffling around the edge. I saw how he sets up his snares in a video once, and he puts a couple small pieces of tape with the little flags in them around the edges of the head inside the head so they don’t hit his brushes.
 
Definitely more tuning than drum. I have a 6.5 dunnett titanium which I'm selling that can definitely do that, but so can my $99 stage custom.
 
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A drum doesn't give you a certain sound. But it may give you access to that sound -- so you can then achieve it by tuning. Some drums may provide more access or better access, but you still have to do the work. :)
Having said what you said, throw me a lifeline and - in your words - give me a few suggestions on snares that provide more access or better access.
 
Having said what you said, throw me a lifeline and - in your words - give me a few suggestions on snares that provide more access or better access.
What's wrong with using what you have already? Unless it's a bottom feeder, you should be able to get a good sound in that ballpark out of it.
 
I totally agree that many snares ought to find the swamp sound well within reach by a just a few tension tricks, but it sounds like you're wanting to start from scratch and build in that direction specifically.

'Swamp' might be in the ear of the beholder, but the aforementioned Gretsch Swamp Dawg stars with a good example of specs that I would target.

Full body of a deep shell
Airy quality of a thinner shell
Darker tones from woods such as mahogany
Certainly the softness of a ply drum vs solid shell

So despite the Swamp Dawg as a reference point, on those notes I've been far more excited by Noble & Cooley's Walnut Classic ply snare.

 
Tuning, not drum, as others have repeatedly stated.

That said, the titanium sounds better to me than the Acacia. As I am also looking for that "Filthy Swamp Tuning", I'm looking into Ludwig Supraphonics and Super-Sensitives.

I mean, this is more or less the snare drum sound that Don Henley and Mick Fleetwood were after, right? No?
 
Tuning, not drum, as others have repeatedly stated.

That said, the titanium sounds better to me than the Acacia. As I am also looking for that "Filthy Swamp Tuning", I'm looking into Ludwig Supraphonics and Super-Sensitives.

I mean, this is more or less the snare drum sound that Don Henley and Mick Fleetwood were after, right? No?
I'd say less muffling than them, but definitely in that ballpark.
 
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