Is maple considered a better sounding wood material for mid to high priced snares?

I prefer 6- and 10-lugs over 8-lugs. Both my 8-lug snare drums are hard to tune. Maybe it's because their decades-old cast hoops have deformed, though.
Slingerland used to make a 12-lug top, 6-lug bottom snare drum. I wonder if the bottom lugs could take the tension of snare-side heads? The top lugs would allow for very precise tuning, though.
That's the Slingerland snare I own. I bought it in 1980 and it's the only drum that I haven't sold due more to sentimental reasons than anything else. It was the first "nice" snare I could afford as a young kid. The 2 to 1 is a weird design in the sense of what you're asking, the reso side can only be cranked so high due to the 6 lugs. Interesting sound though. Here's a pic:
 

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When looking for a new (or new to you) snare drum the drum head will make an enormous difference on the attack and sustain of the drum. Here is a good comparison of the differences in sound of 62 different drum heads from Evans, Remo and Aquarian. The mashup was done by Timpano Percussion (Montreal, Canada) using a Yamaha Absolute Maple Hybrid 14X6" snare drum.

 
I think shell material can lend some character to a snare's sound, but there are so many other things that have, imo, a much greater impact.

Shell thickness
Depth and diameter
Bearing edge profile
Heads and tuning
Type of hoops
Number/type of snare wires

It's important to look at shell material as one variable out of many when trying to find the sound you want. But I think it's important to start at the end (the sound you want the drum to have) and then try to make choices in each of those categories that lean into that sound. Depending on what that desired sound actually is might make some elements more important than others.
 
I think shell material can lend some character to a snare's sound, but there are so many other things that have, imo, a much greater impact.

Shell thickness
Depth and diameter
Bearing edge profile
Heads and tuning
Type of hoops
Number/type of snare wires

It's important to look at shell material as one variable out of many when trying to find the sound you want. But I think it's important to start at the end (the sound you want the drum to have) and then try to make choices in each of those categories that lean into that sound. Depending on what that desired sound actually is might make some elements more important than others.

Thanks. Some of those variables were already on my radar - 10 lugs, die cast hoops, high tuning, equalizer snare wires, Controlled Sound or Standard Remo head, Gretsch/Ludwig/Rogers preferred. It is very early, but this Maple snare comes close and is on the list.

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Thanks. Some of those variables were already on my radar - 10 lugs, die cast hoops, high tuning, equalizer snare wires, Controlled Sound or Standard Remo head, Gretsch/Ludwig/Rogers preferred. It is very early, but this Maple snare comes close and is on the list.

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The Bearing Edge,The Depth of the drum, The Number of Plys, The Direction of The Plys (DW im talking to you), The Hoops, Lugs and Heads have more to do with the sound than the Wood Species. Bena and Cody did a video comparing Wood to Metal snares and i seriously could not tell the difference .

Its mostly Marketing these days. Drum Companies and Retailers Like Sweetwater and DCP make more Money when us dummies spend more on Drums because we fall for the hype. My Shittiest Snare is Maple, not because it's Maple but because of crappy hoops, crappy heads and a mediocre Bearing Edge. I had to spend another $125 upgrading all the crap parts to get it sounding decent.(I also replaced the Throw off due to its terrible plastic and thin sheet metal parts) Its also the cheapest Snare i've bought by over $100. But i can guarantee you that nobody could tell it apart from a $4000 Bell Brass Except other drummers! I know this because None of my Guitar players or Singers from ex Bands ever noticed when i was playing the Crap Maple or my Vintage Tama Imperialstar Steel Powerline snare.

This is a quote from a Drum Builder:

I am a drum builder. I can tell you. Wood type and hardness generally doesn't matter. The biggest factors of a drums sound is 1. The bearing edge. 2. The heads. and 3. The depth of the drum.4. Diameter of venting. The rest is barely perceptible nuance. Drums are rarely perfectly round. If you place it on a coordinate measurement machine, you will see what I am talking about. What you are paying for in high end kits are the finishes and materials. You give me a cheap drum with nice edge and good heads, tune it, and place it next to DW, then ask you to close your eyes and tell me which one is the 'better' drum, you would have a 50% chance of getting it right.
For wood ply drums, this is 💯 spot on. Type of wood has negligible impact on a drum’s tone. Metal drums are different, however, and I believe that shell material has a greater influence on a drum’s tone, not necessarily more influence than those other factors but put play a bunch of aluminum drums next to a bunch of different steel drums with all other factors being equal (heads, hoops, size, thickness, bearing edge cut, etc.) and I’ll identify which is which 99% of the time.
 
The Bearing Edge,The Depth of the drum, The Number of Plys, The Direction of The Plys (DW im talking to you), The Hoops, Lugs and Heads have more to do with the sound than the Wood Species. Bena and Cody did a video comparing Wood to Metal snares and i seriously could not tell the difference .

Its mostly Marketing these days. Drum Companies and Retailers Like Sweetwater and DCP make more Money when us dummies spend more on Drums because we fall for the hype. My Shittiest Snare is Maple, not because it's Maple but because of crappy hoops, crappy heads and a mediocre Bearing Edge. I had to spend another $125 upgrading all the crap parts to get it sounding decent.(I also replaced the Throw off due to its terrible plastic and thin sheet metal parts) Its also the cheapest Snare i've bought by over $100. But i can guarantee you that nobody could tell it apart from a $4000 Bell Brass Except other drummers! I know this because None of my Guitar players or Singers from ex Bands ever noticed when i was playing the Crap Maple or my Vintage Tama Imperialstar Steel Powerline snare.

This is a quote from a Drum Builder:

I am a drum builder. I can tell you. Wood type and hardness generally doesn't matter. The biggest factors of a drums sound is 1. The bearing edge. 2. The heads. and 3. The depth of the drum.4. Diameter of venting. The rest is barely perceptible nuance. Drums are rarely perfectly round. If you place it on a coordinate measurement machine, you will see what I am talking about. What you are paying for in high end kits are the finishes and materials. You give me a cheap drum with nice edge and good heads, tune it, and place it next to DW, then ask you to close your eyes and tell me which one is the 'better' drum, you would have a 50% chance of getting it right.
I'm generally of this opinion. Material is cool and really fun to geek out about, but the honest truth is that I've swapped between a DW Performance steel and a Catalina mahogany and nobody seemed to notice. I actually prefer using my Catalina snare now over everything, including a vintage Rogers aluminum and a Tama Starclassic, just because it's half the weight of the others, and it sounds great on its own. I mean it's a drum, it's round, it has even edges, the hoops aren't bent and the lugs turn easily and hold their tension. The only way to screw that up is with bad heads, bad wires, or poor tuning.

I've still used others snares at times, but shell material is never the consideration anymore, other than maybe metal vs wood for general volume & ring. The Tama's diecast hoops give a really cool and thick sound. The DW's extra depth can give a nice blocky sound and really project. The Rogers has some really sizzling wires. The Pork Pie's got lovely Aquarian MV heads.
 
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Thanks. Is that the TAMA Starclassic Maple?
If it is , then the price is a bit out of the range for brand new but that goes on the list. The Walnut/Birch version is at a great price. I have a long way to go to figure out what to buy and I have limited my search to Ludwig/Gretsch/Rogers.
 
Thanks. Is that the TAMA Starclassic Maple?
If it is , then the price is a bit out of the range for brand new but that goes on the list. The Walnut/Birch version is at a great price. I have a long way to go to figure out what to buy and I have limited my search to Ludwig/Gretsch/Rogers.
I've got a W/B and it's wonderful. I haven't played a maple but I'll bet it's great too.
 
And why? Just why? Did internal mufflers become anathema to drums in the past 20 or 30 years??? I find them to be useful. I'd rather use an internal muffler as opposed to some external gooey thing that falls off and collects dog hair. I especially like the one on the 80's Tama Superstar snare I have. There's an outer ring that allows a "preset" for whatever amount of muffling one desires.
Me thinks that the old guys had all this stuff figured out...to an extent.
 
Thanks for all the answers so far. Just to be clear, the specific reason that I mentioned Maple in the title of the thread is the following:
The crack and pop sound is very important for Piccolo snare drummers. I will not buy a Piccolo snare, but I would like to hear traces of that crack and pop sound in the full size snare. I noticed that all the better quality Piccolo snares are built of Maple such as Ludwig Rocker Elite, Pearl Maple Piccolo, Mapex MPX Maple/Poplar, TAMA Peter Erskine Spruce/Maple (not Piccolo but shallow). So, right or wrong I associated the crack and pop sound more with Maple than other woods.

I also got some feedback from another drummer today that Birch wood is also something to consider. Perhaps the sounds of all these woods are close to each other but for me even a 10% difference in sound is better than zero.
 
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And why? Just why? Did internal mufflers become anathema to drums in the past 20 or 30 years??? I find them to be useful. I'd rather use an internal muffler as opposed to some external gooey thing that falls off and collects dog hair. I especially like the one on the 80's Tama Superstar snare I have. There's an outer ring that allows a "preset" for whatever amount of muffling one desires.
Me thinks that the old guys had all this stuff figured out...to an extent.

Same here John B. I like internal mufflers, and I have older snares with internal mufflers. I am against making any changes to the snare drum that takes away the choice from the drummer.

Having said that, I think this might be because mufflers make manufacturing snare drums take longer and more expensive. So, one less thing to worry about from the point of view of the manufacturer. The other thing that I heard in an educational clip was that some drummers do not like the feel of the snare head when the internal muffler is engaged. So, instead of muffling from below the head, they prefer to muffle from above the head using gels or rings to get a better feel.
 
Thanks for all the answers so far. Just to be clear, the specific reason that I mentioned Maple in the title of the thread is the following:
The crack and pop sound is very important for Piccolo snare drummers. I will not buy a Piccolo snare, but I would like to hear traces of that crack and pop sound in the full size snare. I noticed that all the better quality Piccolo snares are built of Maple such as Ludwig Rocker Elite, Pearl Maple Piccolo, Mapex MPX Maple/Poplar, TAMA Peter Erskine Spruce/Maple (not Piccolo but shallow). So, right or wrong I associated the crack and pop sound more with Maple than other woods.

I also got some feedback from another drummer today that Birch wood is also something to consider. Perhaps the sounds of all these woods are close to each other but for me even a 10% difference in sound is better than zero.
First, crack and pop are really terms that mean something different to everyone. (
) (Crack is discuss at 5:42 in the video) I see crack as the shotgun effect (extreme articulation) that is greatly influenced by head tension (high tension) and the snare wires (perhaps medium tension). Most of the piccolo snares I have seen are metal (steel, brass etc) because they can take the high pressure of the heads. They also have less sustain since they are very shallow (less than 5 inches depth). Finally, many piccolo snares are 13 inch diameter because this allows the high pitch piccolo crack with less tension. Pop I have seen defined as less crack and more body. (less shotgun effect). I have the Pearl 13 inch piccolo snare and it has a very wide tuning range. I have used it for years as my back up to my main snare and sounds great tuned low.

As for the effect of the shell, it is likely way less than 10%. (IMHO) I have seen it written that the heads make up 80% (or more) of the sound. (That is a debatable number and I have seen it stated as higher but from experience it is basis for the majority of the drum sound - it provides the foundation for tuning to your desired sound). That means the rest of the sound is created by the rims, snare wires, other hardware, bearing edge, thickness of the shells, number of plys, type of wood (hard vs soft), diameter, depth, number of vents, tuning etc. The difference between different hard woods is very small.

( https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/engineers-guide-tuning-and-damping-drums#:~:text=Apparently, it has been 'scientifically proven' that drum,of vital importance, and is worth special attention )

If you are looking to retain some of the characteristics of a piccolo snare without having a piccolo snare, then I suggest to also look at 13 inch snare drums and shallower drums than 6.5....perhaps 5.5 inches or 5 inch depth. They will provide some body with less sustain (some crack with more pop). Also, tuning higher and adjusting the snare wires may help you find the sound you want. I love my T.L. Custom 6.5X13 inch Maple snare drum. (http://tldrums.com/) It has lots of body but still gives a nice pop.

Edit: I forgot to mention that on cheaper drums the interior is often not sealed. Sealing the interior helps perent the high frequencies from being absorbed by the wood. Sealing the inside can make a big difference on the tone.
 
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First, crack and pop are really terms that mean something different to everyone. (
) (Crack is discuss at 5:42 in the video) I see crack as the shotgun effect (extreme articulation) that is greatly influenced by head tension (high tension) and the snare wires (perhaps medium tension). Most of the piccolo snares I have seen are metal (steel, brass etc) because they can take the high pressure of the heads. They also have less sustain since they are very shallow (less than 5 inches depth). Finally, many piccolo snares are 13 inch diameter because this allows the high pitch piccolo crack with less tension. Pop I have seen defined as less crack and more body. (less shotgun effect). I have the Pearl 13 inch piccolo snare and it has a very wide tuning range. I have used it for years as my back up to my main snare and sounds great tuned low.

As for the effect of the shell, it is likely way less than 10%. (IMHO) I have seen it written that the heads make up 80% (or more) of the sound. (That is a debatable number and I have seen it stated as higher but from experience it is basis for the majority of the drum sound - it provides the foundation for tuning to your desired sound). That means the rest of the sound is created by the rims, snare wires, other hardware, bearing edge, thickness of the shells, number of plys, type of wood (hard vs soft), diameter, depth, number of vents, tuning etc. The difference between different hard woods is very small.

( https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/engineers-guide-tuning-and-damping-drums#:~:text=Apparently, it has been 'scientifically proven' that drum,of vital importance, and is worth special attention )

If you are looking to retain some of the characteristics of a piccolo snare without having a piccolo snare, then I suggest to also look at 13 inch snare drums and shallower drums than 6.5....perhaps 5.5 inches or 5 inch depth. They will provide some body with less sustain (some crack with more pop). Also, tuning higher and adjusting the snare wires may help you find the sound you want. I love my T.L. Custom 6.5X13 inch Maple snare drum. (http://tldrums.com/) It has lots of body but still gives a nice pop.

Edit: I forgot to mention that on cheaper drums the interior is often not sealed. Sealing the interior helps perent the high frequencies from being absorbed by the wood. Sealing the inside can make a big difference on the tone.

Thanks for taking the time to write the detailed information. There is a lot there to unpack. I will definitely note and use this info in my search.
Yes, as you mentioned there are many factors that affect the sound of the snare. This discussion about the wood type for the snare, and wood verses metal is one of those never ending discussions.

I think that training the human ear to be sensitive to the sound of different wood snares may take years of drumming experience using various wood types. My own experience is very limited, and I am sure in a blind test it will be very difficult for me to say what snare is what wood.

Having said that, I wonder why the recoding studios and recording drummers prefer certain wood types to other woods for recording. They all call it "My go to snare". Is it just marketing on their side because they endorse a specific drum manufacturer? OR Do different woods emit different frequencies that are better suited for the sound that they want to capture by electronic devices? Can these experienced recording drummers just walk into the studio with a cheap Poplar snare, modify the heads, snares, and hoops, and make it sound like a million bucks in the recording?

About wood verses metal. Other folks on this forum have previously posted sound samples of wood snares that sounded very much like a metal snare, and I have heard my share of the wood snare sounds that resonate like metal snares on YouTube. Anyhow, these snare drum blind tests are always fun.
 
Thanks for taking the time to write the detailed information. There is a lot there to unpack. I will definitely note and use this info in my search.
Yes, as you mentioned there are many factors that affect the sound of the snare. This discussion about the wood type for the snare, and wood verses metal is one of those never ending discussions.

I think that training the human ear to be sensitive to the sound of different wood snares may take years of drumming experience using various wood types. My own experience is very limited, and I am sure in a blind test it will be very difficult for me to say what snare is what wood.

Having said that, I wonder why the recoding studios and recording drummers prefer certain wood types to other woods for recording. They all call it "My go to snare". Is it just marketing on their side because they endorse a specific drum manufacturer? OR Do different woods emit different frequencies that are better suited for the sound that they want to capture by electronic devices? Can these experienced recording drummers just walk into the studio with a cheap Poplar snare, modify the heads, snares, and hoops, and make it sound like a million bucks in the recording?

About wood verses metal. Other folks on this forum have previously posted sound samples of wood snares that sounded very much like a metal snare, and I have heard my share of the wood snare sounds that resonate like metal snares on YouTube. Anyhow, these snare drum blind tests are always fun.
You raise good points. I wish there some sort of double blind test resource for drum stuff, but like wine there's so much money in the mystique that blind testing is the one thing nobody seems willing to do.

I think I can tell the difference between a metal, plastic & wood shell, but like you say we can find examples of people getting a metallic sound out of wood, and I've been fooled before plenty of times. I'm also really amazed when people claim to know what different brands sound like, to the point where they hear a recording and say "those must be Gretsch/Ludwig/Yamaha drums." All I hear is diameter, choice of head and tuning, and maybe an inconsistent guess on whether the depth is unusually shallow or deep. I can't identify a "Ludwig" sound beyond knowing what the drums sound like on Beatles & Zeppelin recordings, and both sound different so that doesn't help.
 
well here's my plan. Catalina's are good sellers dealers like em.
When your GC takes in on trade- you have to monitor watch the store every day- takes in a 60s Rogers like silver sparkle maybe with a snare, 20, 12 16...or a Ludwig or a Slingerland or lordy geezus a 60s Gretsch and they price em like $1799 You swoop in with your catalinas for a trade they'll look them up talk among themselves and off you $500 trade and you walk away with old growth home grown classics for $1100 it could happen
Overnight youll be in the bigleagues

$500 on trade in for a set of cats? Wow!

I had a set of USA-made Pork Pies: 22, 12, 16. GC’s offer? $300. I ended up selling them for $1100 on CL.
 
To the OP: Maple is a fantastic wood for drums, but there are so many other variables when it comes to what makes a good snare drum.
 
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