Shallower Drums in Deeper Cases

Jonathan Curtis

Jonathan Curtis

Silver Member
Just a quick one: does anyone have any experience with 5.5" snares in 6.5" cases? I'm on the market for a new snare drum case, and I have both 5.5" and 6.5" depth snares. Would I really need to get both a 5.5" deep and 6.5" deep case, or does the 6.5" deep case hold the shallower snares effectively?

I know that you can of course put any drum inside any case that it will fit, but I want to retain a degree of protection and functionality, and don't want the shallower drum rolling around in there because it's too small for the case.
 
I've got two 5" snares ( Acro and Pioneer) in 6.5 " bags. Never had a problem with them moving up and down . I have good bags , Ahead Armour and Protection Racket. Occasionally I'll use the extra space to pack in a towel to to take to a gig or rehearsal . Providing the diameter of the bag matches the snare it shoudn't be an issue.
 
basset52 said:
I've got two 5" snares ( Acro and Pioneer) in 6.5 " bags. Never had a problem with them moving up and down . I have good bags , Ahead Armour and Protection Racket. Occasionally I'll use the extra space to pack in a towel to to take to a gig or rehearsal . Providing the diameter of the bag matches the snare it shoudn't be an issue.
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Great, thanks for the insight. Very useful!
 
Jonathan, not sure which bag you're consideing but I highly recommend the Protection Racket AAA case as there's enough fleece padding in it to protect both sizes.
If you still felt there's a concern you could always place a folded tea towel or cloth on top of the shallow drum.
 
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Jeremy Bender said:
Jonathan, not sure which bag you're consideing but I highly recommend the Protection Racket AAA case as there's enough fleece padding in it to protect both sizes. If you still felt there's a concern you could always place a folded tea towel or cloth on top of the shallow drum.
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Thanks Jeremy. The PR AAA cases are indeed one of my choices. I'm also looking at Thomann's alternative: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_voyager_snare_14_x65.htm
 
I have multiple Protection Racket padded bags for snare drums. They really are quite interchangeable. I've put a 6" snare into a 5" bag. I regularly put 5.5" snares into 6.5" bags.
 
Chris Whitten said:
I have multiple Protection Racket padded bags for snare drums. They really are quite interchangeable. I've put a 6" snare into a 5" bag. I regularly put 5.5" snares into 6.5" bags.
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Thanks. Have you any experience with the AAA rigid line?
 
I've got three different 6.5x14 snare bags that I use with different size snares. As long as the case is fairly rigid I've been satisfied. I've got one bag that is NOT very rigid, and I don't like using it with shallower snares. It allows the drum to shift around and even turn partially sideways in the case.

So, as long as you're looking at a fairly stiff bag I think you'll be alright.
 
I own two 5.5x14 DrumSeeker bags that I use for snares ranging from 5” to 6.5” deep, and it fits them all perfectly.
 
I've got a couple of HardCase snare cases; my new British Drum Company Merlin 14"x 5.5"snare fits snugly, but I did specify the "foam lined" option when I ordered the cases for the BDC Legend kit. My Premier 36 6.5" also fits well. If you order an unlined HardCase, you may have a bit of unwanted spare room..

Also, they're made just down the road from you in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, & can be specified in a variety of colours.
I've bought all of my Hardcases over the years from Rattle & Drum in Derby; they'll be able to confirm lead times if you give them a call.

Hope this helps!
 
For snares I use a Hardcase brand hard snare case. One half of the case slips inside the other half allowing it to collapse or expand to the snare heights of 5”-8”. Your snare is always snug, no matter it’s height. I wouldn’t put my brass snare in a bag. It dents too easily.
 
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I have two of the Protection Racket AAA cases that I bought on closeout at a drum shop-- the 6.5x14 snare case I have is great. I use it for my 7x14 Noble and Cooley but it'd work great for any 14" snare. They're very protective and the interior is soft, of course.

Those Hardcase snare drum cases are terrific as well.
 
I've transported (admittedly inexpensive) 5 or 5.5" snares in decently rigid 6.5 bags with no issues.
 
I used to own a Corder 14x8 snare, so I bought a case for it. I no longer own the drum, but I still have the case. I put a 14x6.5 snare in it, and it worked fine. I also put a plastic bag in it to fill up the extra room. Peace and goodwill.
 
Jonathan Curtis said:
Thanks Jeremy. The PR AAA cases are indeed one of my choices. I'm also looking at Thomann's alternative: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_voyager_snare_14_x65.htm
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I was once going to get a PR triple AAA but what put me off is the handle going across the width of the case rather than being in the same direction as the curve of the case. It's funny because I have a PR 12" tom bag and the handle direction doesn't bother me, but for snare drums I like it to follow the shell curve.

That Thomann Voyager looks great going by those pictures. I have a feeling it might be made by Gewa. I've got a Gewa SPS bag which is really nice and solid. Very comfortable handle and nice red trims. This one:

www.thomann.de

Gewa SPS Snare Bag 14"x6,5"

14"x 6,5" Snare Drum Bag Material: Cordura 600D, Tear and water-resistant, Internal reinforced fiberglass panels, Lined with 20 mm of foam material, 10 mm Zip, Padded handles, Shoulder strap with metal carabiners and metal eyelets, Wide padded...
www.thomann.de www.thomann.de
 
Most of my hard cases are deeper than the drums I own. When I got the cases, I had deeper toms. my tour current touring kits didn't have deeper sizes available. To compensate for the extra depth in the case I added a large block of sound proofing foam to the underside of the lid, and bottom of the case. This helped hold the smaller toms securely, but could also still work with a deeper drum as the foam is squishy. Puts some pressure on the heads, but not enough to really do any kind of damage. With a snare, I would probably only add foam to the inside of the lid as to not damage the wires.
 
I would just go to a local craft store, buy a cheap piece of 1" thick upholstery foam/padding, and use an old drum head to cut out a circle. Whenever you use the 5.5"... Just place the foam circle in first.

Also, I've typically found thinner foam is much cheaper so maybe consider getting a .5" thick foam rectangle and cut 2 circles out.
 
roncadillac said:
I would just go to a local craft store, buy a cheap piece of 1" thick upholstery foam/padding, and use an old drum head to cut out a circle. Whenever you use the 5.5"... Just place the foam circle in first.

Also, I've typically found thinner foam is much cheaper so maybe consider getting a .5" thick foam rectangle and cut 2 circles out.
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You could also go to the local dollar store and find a small stuffed animal. My past two kick drums have a stuffed animal pillow in the kick drum. I have a unicorn in my Slingerlands and an ice cream cone in my Rogers.
 
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