Tommy Lee (80's) snare?

htrichardson

Junior Member
Hey gang,
Does anyone know the snare Tommy Lee used in early Crue tours/recording?
I'm assuming its either a 14x8 or marching snare of some brand. I'm putting together a kit for an eventual tribute band. Snare was a big part of his (and all 80's drummers) sound.
I know a lot of the sound will come from EQ, reverb, heads, tuning, etc, however, I'd like to start with the right tool initially :)

Any inside help with this would be greatly appreciated. If I ever have drum-related questions, these forums are my 1st stop!
 
image_1772.jpg
 
Before all the mega tattoos!!

Kinda scrawny, too!
 
I wonder how much Bonham's 402s would go for? He could actually play too! No makeup, no scrawny behind in Spandex. Just serious talent.
 
I wonder how much Bonham's 402s would go for? He could actually play too! No makeup, no scrawny behind in Spandex. Just serious talent.


I was a teen when the early Crue albums were released so Tommy Lee’s gear is interesting to me from a nostalgic perspective. I didn’t care how well he played, i just cared that he rocked.
 
That's cool. I don't ever remember Tommy being a Sonor endorser. Maybe he never was and just played their stuff anyway. Probably wouldn't pay 5 grand for just that snare, though. The kit, yes, but not the snare only. (Assuming i had an extra 5 grand and REALLY wanted the kit.)

He was briefly, before going with Pearl.

He gave the Sonar kit to his sister Athena (who's probably better known as the now ex-wife of former Scorpions and Kingdom Come drummer James Kottack). A buddy of mine used to date his sister, and he has pictures of him playing 1/2 of Tommy's Sonar kit as a 4pc and her playing the other 1/2 as a 4pc.

Which makes me curious about the ebay add, as there are no actual photos of the drum itself, only photos of Tommy and a magazine cut out of a description of Tommy's gear. No actual photos, no certification of authenticity. Sounds fishy.

I remember in like 87 or 88, Pearl had a contest to win the drum set Tommy used to record Girls, Girls, Girls, and it was a 12x14 marching snare, the same size as the Sonar snare in the ebay add.
 
I wonder how much Bonham's 402s would go for? He could actually play too! No makeup, no scrawny behind in Spandex. Just serious talent.

Are you saying Tommy Lee couldn't play? I'll agree he may not have been as groundbreaking as Bonham, but he is a tremendous drummer. Listen to early Crue. He's influenced millions of drummers, myself included, with not only power and style but stage presence. His performances on those songs were as important as the vocals and guitars, and they sold more than 100 million records. And he did it all in spandex :)
 
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