Snare wires

Cooper2020

Cooper2020

Member
Hi, I just bought a Yamaha Recording Aluminum snare, the 6,5 * 14 version. This came with the Yamaha snare wires, 25 strand. From what I read, these wires are good.

The question here, is it worth it to change those snare wires with better ones? I have the PureSound Equalizer snare wires on my other snare, and I am pretty pleased with those.

In other words, am I trading 1 dollar for 4 quarter here?

I also checked some Youtube videos on snare wires. You know, the videos that are supposed to tell you the 10 best ones. Honestly, I have some trouble hearing the subtle differences if any. But I have no trouble seeing the difference in prices 😀

Thanks.
 
I have done a ridiculous amount of experimenting with different wires, for years, so I have some opinions. Part of the question is the depth, width, and shape of the snare beds—different wires will sound better/worse with whatever beds are on your drum. Another piece is the type and thickness of the straps or cords you use to attach them, wires can sound better/worse on that account. And then lastly there are differences in how the wires themselves sound, because of different metals or different ways they are coiled.

Because of all this, it’s entirely possible for a cheap no-name set of wires to sound *better* than an expensive branded set. And sometimes you won’t hear any significant difference. Should you try different wires? Sure, why not, it’s fun and interesting. But don’t assume a fancy brand is actually “better”.
 
Cooper2020 said:
Hi, I just bought a Yamaha Recording Aluminum snare, the 6,5 * 14 version. This came with the Yamaha snare wires, 25 strand. From what I read, these wires are good.

The question here, is it worth it to change those snare wires with better ones? I have the PureSound Equalizer snare wires on my other snare, and I am pretty pleased with those.
Click to expand...
I used to love the PureSound wires...until I realized that there are other wires that sound much better. I could never really dig the darker flavor of PureSounds. Drum Factory Direct has lots of great economical choices.

Some of the best advice I have received upon buying a new snare is to play it for a couple/few months to learn its character before changing anything. @bongoman has made some solid recs. (y)
 
I like cheap chrome wires. I’m not in love with the SPLs I’ve been using but I did like Gibraltars. They’re brighter than Puresounds and cheaper. Not saying Puresounds are bad but I don’t like the darker tones.
 
I haven’t noticed a difference between anybody’s wires until I tried the Canopus Vintage wires - those are great.

But if you’re concerned about spending the money, just go ahead and spend it, and buy new string too. It’s better to have spares. When I gig I have an entire set of batter heads, snare wires, hi hat clutches and an entire extra bass drum pedal and extra snare drum with me. Nothing more embarrassing than not being able to carry on on a gig - in fact it’s a good way to not get hired again in the future, too.
 
Don't know how anyone else feels about FatCat wires but they seemed a positive change to a couple of Mapex drums many years ago. Now I purchase them without even thinking when I'm using a new drum. I'm on auto pilot.
 
Cooper2020 said:
Hi, I just bought a Yamaha Recording Aluminum snare, the 6,5 * 14 version. This came with the Yamaha snare wires, 25 strand. From what I read, these wires are good.

The question here, is it worth it to change those snare wires with better ones? I have the PureSound Equalizer snare wires on my other snare, and I am pretty pleased with those.

In other words, am I trading 1 dollar for 4 quarter here?

I also checked some Youtube videos on snare wires. You know, the videos that are supposed to tell you the 10 best ones. Honestly, I have some trouble hearing the subtle differences if any. But I have no trouble seeing the difference in prices 😀

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your purchase! I have that snare drum, same 14 x 6.5. It's a fantastic sounding drum, in my top three snare drums that I regularly rotate between. I've never put after market wires on any of my snare drums so I've no idea how much it might change the sound and others here such as bongoman have had experience with them. It's definitely something you can play around with if you want. But I've not felt any need to with the aluminium, I really like the way it sounds as is. One of my wires broke and it's now 24 strands but I can't say I notice any difference.
 
Just put your Equalizers on your new drum for a test run.
I like Puresound, Fat Cat, and Canopus quite a bit. I currently have Canopus 42 wires on all mine. They sound great but I'm not sure they are worth the additional expense. I could be happy with Puresound or Fat Cat 30s.
 
Merlin5 said:
Congrats on your purchase! I have that snare drum, same 14 x 6.5. It's a fantastic sounding drum, in my top three snare drums that I regularly rotate between. I've never put after market wires on any of my snare drums so I've no idea how much it might change the sound and others here such as bongoman have had experience with them. It's definitely something you can play around with if you want. But I've not felt any need to with the aluminium, I really like the way it sounds as is. One of my wires broke and it's now 24 strands but I can't say I notice any difference.
Click to expand...
It's a fantastic snare. I have a gigantic smile every time I begin playing. I never had a snare of that quality before and I enjoy every second I play with it.

I did some recording with it on my Yamaha EAD10 and the results are incredible. The rim shots on that thing are awsome.

I bought it at The Drum Center of Portsmouth during my vacation. I had the choice between that brand new Yamaha and a B-Stock Supraphonic (6,5 * 14).

LOL, it took me 30 minutes of listening and tuning before making my mind.

PS That store, and the people who work there, is awsome. I challenge any drummer to go there and NOT buy something.
 
Cooper2020 said:
It's a fantastic snare. I have a gigantic smile every time I begin playing. I never had a snare of that quality before and I enjoy every second I play with it.

I did some recording with it on my Yamaha EAD10 and the results are incredible. The rim shots on that thing are awsome.

I bought it at The Drum Center of Portsmouth during my vacation. I had the choice between that brand new Yamaha and a B-Stock Supraphonic (6,5 * 14).

LOL, it took me 30 minutes of listening and tuning before making my mind.

PS That store, and the people who work there, is awsome. I challenge any drummer to go there and NOT buy something.
Click to expand...

Enjoy the Yamaha Aluminum Recording Custom snare. I bought mine (5.5x14) a few months ago. Its unique feature is the light weight aluminum die cast hoop installed top and bottom. The icing on the cake is the Steve Gadd style 10 strand snare wire that is shipped in addition to the standard snare wires

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striker said:
Enjoy the Yamaha Aluminum Recording Custom snare. I bought mine (5.5x14) a few months ago. Its unique feature is the light weight aluminum die cast hoop installed top and bottom. The icing on the cake is the Steve Gadd style 10 strand snare wire that is shipped in addition to the standard snare wires

View attachment 149775
Click to expand...
I did not get those snare wires when I bought the snare. Is it an automatic giveaway when you buy a Recording snare?

May I ask where you bought yours?
 
Cooper2020 said:
I did not get those snare wires when I bought the snare. Is it an automatic giveaway when you buy a Recording snare?

May I ask where you bought yours?
Click to expand...

The Steve Gadd 10 strand snare wire is a standard feature that is bundled free of charge with the brand new recording custom snares that are 5.5x14 in size. I am not sure if the 6.5x14 snare is shipped with this snare wire. Probably not because Yamaha's web site only mentions 5.5x14 snare size in their features page. Here is the features page from Yamaha's web site.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/mus...uminum_snare_drums/features.html#product-tabs

These are all the Yamaha snare wires. Steve Gadd model product code is SN1410H.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/drums/ac_drums/accessories/snare_wire/index.html
 
striker said:
The Steve Gadd 10 strand snare wire is a standard feature that is bundled free of charge with the brand new recording custom snares that are 5.5x14 in size. I am not sure if the 6.5x14 snare is shipped with this snare wire. Probably not because Yamaha's web site only mentions 5.5x14 snare size in their features page. Here is the features page from Yamaha's web site.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/mus...uminum_snare_drums/features.html#product-tabs

These are all the Yamaha snare wires. Steve Gadd model product code is SN1410H.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/drums/ac_drums/accessories/snare_wire/index.html
Click to expand...
Yeah I checked on the store web site and it says that those snare wires only comes with the 14 * 5,5.
 
Cooper2020 said:
Yeah I checked on the store web site and it says that those snare wires only comes with the 14 * 5,5.
Click to expand...

One last thing. This Steve Gadd snare wire is made of the same material as the standard snare wire. There is no difference in the quality of the material. If you need better quality snare wire, then others have already suggested better quality snare wires on this thread.
 
Cooper2020 said:
It's a fantastic snare. I have a gigantic smile every time I begin playing. I never had a snare of that quality before and I enjoy every second I play with it.

I did some recording with it on my Yamaha EAD10 and the results are incredible. The rim shots on that thing are awsome.

I bought it at The Drum Center of Portsmouth during my vacation. I had the choice between that brand new Yamaha and a B-Stock Supraphonic (6,5 * 14).

LOL, it took me 30 minutes of listening and tuning before making my mind.

PS That store, and the people who work there, is awsome. I challenge any drummer to go there and NOT buy something.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Ludwig 402 is a snare drum I still want. Don't really need it because the Recording Custom has similarities, but the 402 has a distinctive sound I really like. My 400 Supra used to be my favourite but not so much these days. I'm toying with the idea of selling it and replacing with a 402 but not sure yet. I'll have to gig the 400 again to see if I really want to do that.
 
Merlin5 said:
Actually, the Ludwig 402 is a snare drum I still want. Don't really need it because the Recording Custom has similarities, but the 402 has a distinctive sound I really like. My 400 Supra used to be my favourite but not so much these days. I'm toying with the idea of selling it and replacing with a 402 but not sure yet. I'll have to gig the 400 again to see if I really want to do that.
Click to expand...
Both smoke but I’d take a 402 any day of the week over a 400 if I could only get one or the other.
 
striker said:
Enjoy the Yamaha Aluminum Recording Custom snare. I bought mine (5.5x14) a few months ago. Its unique feature is the light weight aluminum die cast hoop installed top and bottom. The icing on the cake is the Steve Gadd style 10 strand snare wire that is shipped in addition to the standard snare wires

View attachment 149775
Click to expand...
How the hell does he make 10 wires sound so wire-forward all the time? Muffling?
 
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