Opinions: 13x3 steel vs 12x7 maple as main

I used a Pearl 3x13 steel snare for alt country rock gigs, and it worked. I recall Dave Lombardo used 7x12 snare with Slayer, I think?
 
Call me a dork,
Dork. :D J/j. I love your username!


...where is the difference? From what I hear in the sample videos, they all do exactly what a 14'' can do sonically. Isn't it more the way a small diameter snare drum feels under your sticks? I always was a 14" guy in order to have enough space for my rather poor brush sweeping. But whenever I hit a 13 inch drum with a pair of sticks, I really liked the feel in terms of rebound. The only 12" snare I ever played was tuned way up as a side effect, so that probably doesn't count.
Well, I could think of space issues for guys that use more than three pedals. To use just my double pedal I never had problems to find a comfy setup with my 14" snares between my legs.
Well, they overlap a bit, but no, not 100% identical sonically, otherwise there would be no need for 13" and 12" snare drums. A 13 can get a bit higher pitched but not quite as low pitched as a 14; 13 to 12 has the same relationship, etc. "The only 12" snare I ever played was tuned way up as a side effect"- because it was easier for that drum to get there than forcing a 14 into it, eh? And re: rebound- I think that has more to do with head tension than the size of the drum.
 
Dork. :D J/j. I love your username!



Well, they overlap a bit, but no, not 100% identical sonically, otherwise there would be no need for 13" and 12" snare drums. A 13 can get a bit higher pitched but not quite as low pitched as a 14; 13 to 12 has the same relationship, etc. "The only 12" snare I ever played was tuned way up as a side effect"- because it was easier for that drum to get there than forcing a 14 into it, eh? And re: rebound- I think that has more to do with head tension than the size of the drum.

Funny part is I've always preferred a side/effect snare to be tuned lower and fatter then my primary snare. I prefer a 12-13 main tuned higher and the side to be a 14 tuned lower (not that I ever really use one anyway).
 
Funny part is I've always preferred a side/effect snare to be tuned lower and fatter then my primary snare. I prefer a 12-13 main tuned higher and the side to be a 14 tuned lower (not that I ever really use one anyway).
I've seen that some also. Mike Lowry from Lake Trout used both for 3 total, mimicing the various sampled snare sounds from the EDM/Drum & Bass music that their music was partially inspired by.
 
Update: I ended up going with the pearl 13x3 steel piccolo. I wanted a different voice then my current snare and had the opportunity to play on two different 12" wood snares right next to the Pearl 13" piccolo and the 12's were just not different enough from my current snare sound to justify almost $200. The pearl piccolo was a separate voice that fills the exact purpose I was looking for.

If I need a warm 'belly' sound I've got my 13" wood and for a more lively driving crack I've got the 13" steel piccolo. Both match my kit, both fit into the bag set it came with, I can use either or both without any difference in my setup/breakdown SOP.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice!
 
Follow up:

I actually didn't buy any drum yet haha. Back in Feb I had an emergency bill come up then the covid related economic downturn shortly after then the loss of my job, blah blah blah... I'm back up and looking again. I'm still considering these same two (pearl 13" steel piccolo and pearl 12" modern utility maple). I'm leaning towards the 13 piccolo.

Anyone have anything to share that hasn't been already? I was pretty decided on the 13 piccolo a few months ago, it should be loud enough and it's got great cross stick but it can sound a bit thin at times. The 12 maple has plenty of belly to it but I'm worried about lack of volume and limited cross stick.
 
2 cents...hard to have an opinion when these are worlds apart and don't really know what you need. Given the price range you are looking at, I would want the best of both worlds and the Gretsch Ash 13 x 7 (new ~ $180) would be a contender and thought it sounded better than both. I have several deep 13s (Akira Jimbo yamaha, Musashi yamaha) and they never lacked volume (quite the opposite) and no problem with that pop-depth sound in the med-high tension.
 
For what it's worth, the 13x6 Pork Pie Little Squealer is an awesome smaller size steel drum. It comes with decent heads, good wires, 2.3 mm hoops and is solid as a rock. I can find no fault with it. The chrome finish is top-notch also.

 
I had a couple of 13” snares - one was 6.5 deep and the other was 7” deep. I liked the “thwok” backbeat sound, but that sound ultimately didn’t win me over. I tried a friends 12” once and it was just too small for me. So I’d go 13” if I had to choose.
 
13" snares are just plain awesome in my opinion. I have an old 13x6.5 Tama Metalworks snare that has been my go to for years. I also have the Pearl 13x3 steel. It has a nice crack and is pretty sensitive. It handles lower tunings better than my Tama. A low tuned piccolo has a surprisingly fat sound. They are also wonderful in a metal context for the "brutal snare" kind of sound.

 
For what it's worth, the 13x6 Pork Pie Little Squealer is an awesome smaller size steel drum. It comes with decent heads, good wires, 2.3 mm hoops and is solid as a rock. I can find no fault with it. The chrome finish is top-notch also.


That pork pie is sweet. I had a 14" steel pork pie that I absolutely loved and it was one of my favorite drums I've ever owned, I just really don't like the leg spacing of a 14. That thing was bullet proof though. I really wanted to stay with pearl and black shell (to match my kit) but when I close my eyes and go solely off of my ear the pork pie wins hands down haha.
 
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