Grover Pro snare wires

Mastiff

Senior Member
I'm curious about other people's opinions on these? They are cable wires instead of normal "coily" wires. I wanted to try them to help get rid of sympathetic buzz. I just installed them and they basically have completely eliminated the buzz, which is really great. They have a cool sound too, for a normal hit. The downside I see right now though is that I can't really achieve the normal snare roll sound because light hits don't really activate the snare at all. My technique is not the best, but something like a buzz roll would be impossible for anyone I think. I chose the "club combo" version.
 
I wonder if some experimenting with bottom head tension or different head altogether might help. Maybe torque up the tension rods next to the wires on both ends but not tighten the other lugs. Also vise versa loosen the ones on either side of the wires.
 
Yeah, you can't cheat playing rolls with cable snare wires. I like lefty2's idea of increasing the snare side tension a bit. That should help activate the wires a little more easily.
 
Yes, I use them on certain snares. They’re great on my Sonor pancake as „normal“ snare wires are too much for that shallow shell.
For deeper snares to get rid of the buzz better use normal wires and detune the lugs next to the wires and the other ones high tensioned.
That usually helps to get rid of the buzz, but also makes the snare sound snappier.
 
Yeah, you can't cheat playing rolls with cable snare wires. I like lefty2's idea of increasing the snare side tension a bit. That should help activate the wires a little more easily.
Heh. At a certain BPM point you just can't hit that hard on every stroke. I'm working on raising where that BPM point is... the other thing is ghost notes, where I often try to hit extremely lightly. With the cable snare, it sounds the same as if the snares are off with those light hits.

I did play with the tension and centering and got a little more response out of it. It's really nice to hear the tone of the bass and toms without the snare buzz. Sometimes I didn't even realize the buzz was there until I disengaged the snare. Pick your poison I guess.

I read in another thread that snare bed depth plays into this. I can't even see a snare bed on my Ludwig Acrolite. I wonder if that plays into this too.
 
Heh. At a certain BPM point you just can't hit that hard on every stroke. I'm working on raising where that BPM point is... the other thing is ghost notes, where I often try to hit extremely lightly. With the cable snare, it sounds the same as if the snares are off with those light hits.

I did play with the tension and centering and got a little more response out of it. It's really nice to hear the tone of the bass and toms without the snare buzz. Sometimes I didn't even realize the buzz was there until I disengaged the snare. Pick your poison I guess.

I read in another thread that snare bed depth plays into this. I can't even see a snare bed on my Ludwig Acrolite. I wonder if that plays into this too.

How tight are the wires on your snare? When I used the Grover wires I found them to be dry, yes, but I never had any problems getting them to activate with even a light touch. They're designed for orchestral playing so they should speak with the lightest of strokes unless they're too tight and/or the snare side head is too loose. Barely-there snare beds like an Acrolite should make it even easier to get good snare response from light hits, not harder.
 
I've tried all different tensions. I'll take a picture, but a thing about the grover is that the brass/copper thing that the wires connect to is arched over so the snare wires are raised away from the head, if that makes sense. This in contrast to my "normal" snare which has a flat mount so the wires touch all the way across.
 
Here's some pics of the snare end that sort of holds the wires off the head.

View attachment 126806

View attachment 126805
That's very odd.

This idea may seem counterintuitive, but try running the cable the opposite way. Have it go UNDER the end piece, come up through the holes and lay on top of that piece. I know it seems crazy to go under the snares at the end, but it may apply tension in a way that flexes the wires down against the head.

It may not work at all, but it seems like a cheap and easy thing to try.

Alternately, try a ribbon. All the pics I could find online used a ribbon or strap to mount those pro wires.
 
That's very odd.

This idea may seem counterintuitive, but try running the cable the opposite way. Have it go UNDER the end piece, come up through the holes and lay on top of that piece. I know it seems crazy to go under the snares at the end, but it may apply tension in a way that flexes the wires down against the head.

It may not work at all, but it seems like a cheap and easy thing to try.

Alternately, try a ribbon. All the pics I could find online used a ribbon or strap to mount those pro wires.

I always use grosgrain ribbon.
 
I would switch to grossgrain. That string is possibly making the snares tighter in the middle; possibly choking response.
 
I dont use these wires, so please excuse me if this is a stupid question, but what is the black thing UNDER the plate? It appears to be preventing the plate from sitting flat against the head.

20221113_063659.jpg
 
It's an optical illusion. Either a reflection or something on the inside of the drum visible through the head. There is nothing actually under there.

I'll check out the ribbon idea, or putting the strings under. I understand why you think that might help. Thanks.
 
Stroman's guess was correct; your snare cord was installed incorrectly, so the endplate and wires weren't laying properly against the snare head. Each end of the cord should run under the endplate, between the plate and snare-side head. Glad the ribbon fixed it.
 
Stroman's guess was correct; your snare cord was installed incorrectly, so the endplate and wires weren't laying properly against the snare head. Each end of the cord should run under the endplate, between the plate and snare-side head. Glad the ribbon fixed it.
Interesting. My regular snare was hooked up the same way. I wonder if running the strings under would affect it as well. With the flat mounting plate, it may have the effect of raising the wires off the head just a bit.
 
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