Which shallow metal snare would you buy?

Canopus bronze 14x4 or Pearl free floater brass 3.5x14 piccolo - wunderbar indeed. High-end pro sound and build. Could also get a DS (Italy) 13x7 steel (maybe US$400?) - I have it and it's SO well-built... and cranked it'll clear the room
 
PorkPieGuy said:
If I HAD to buy a shallow snare, it would be a Pearl free-floater, preferably and older one.

These things defy logic.

Just take a listen at 2:27:

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A buddy of mine has one of the first gen pearl free floater snares with the thick hexagonal 'lugs', it's one of the (4" I believe) piccolo brass shell variants. I just about pooped myself when he showed me the first time. He stopped playing drums years ago and sticks to vocals now, it's literally the only piece of drum gear he kept because even though he doesn't play anymore he just can't seem to let it go. I called dibs on it, I told him I'll pay well over its value if he ever decides to sell it. It's got minor pitting on the shell and hardware, hell it's almost (if not) 40 year old drum that's lived in a garage so that's not too bad.
 
So I saw one of these attached to a kit on gumtree and the seller agreed to sell it separately.

I love it so far, just not sure if it’s the exact tone I’m going for. I think I would like to try some other models but it has only reinforced my interest in shallow drums.

6503F6BD-4261-4BC7-B87A-A0EE246FF2BF.jpeg
 
I recently picked up this bad boy for a little over $100 new, Mapex MPX 14x3.5 steel snare. I previously owned the 13" in the older model with the crappy snare throw, this one is the newer model with the armory series snare throw. The older 13" was still a great drum for the price but it definitely screamed 'budget drum', the newer version looks and plays way above it's price point . I'm typically not a huge fan of 14" snares but the extra inch of diameter really brings out a ton of depth and tone that the 13" didn't have. I typically use Evans heads but I found an Aquarian snare head set (batter and reso) with some accessories for under $25 so I gave it a shot. I always found aquarian heads to be super boxy and dead but this combo works great. I'm super impressed with this drum. It doesn't have the 'whiney' overtone associated with most steel snares. In fact I've got a coated single ply batter over a 3mil clear reso with no muffling, a recipe for a wide open ringy snare, and it actually has a nice fat crack. The cross stick/rim click seriously sounds like a roofer hammering a nail, it's crazy.

IMG_20230509_084650119.jpgIMG_20230509_084659996.jpgIMG_20230509_084708378.jpg
 
Duck Tape said:
So I saw one of these attached to a kit on gumtree and the seller agreed to sell it separately.

I love it so far, just not sure if it’s the exact tone I’m going for. I think I would like to try some other models but it has only reinforced my interest in shallow drums.

View attachment 133825
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Congratulations. Is that a Pearl Free Floater Brass Piccolo?
 
roncadillac said:
I recently picked up this bad boy for a little over $100 new, Mapex MPX 14x3.5 steel snare. I previously owned the 13" in the older model with the crappy snare throw, this one is the newer model with the armory series snare throw. The older 13" was still a great drum for the price but it definitely screamed 'budget drum', the newer version looks and plays way above it's price point . I'm typically not a huge fan of 14" snares but the extra inch of diameter really brings out a ton of depth and tone that the 13" didn't have. I typically use Evans heads but I found an Aquarian snare head set (batter and reso) with some accessories for under $25 so I gave it a shot. I always found aquarian heads to be super boxy and dead but this combo works great. I'm super impressed with this drum. It doesn't have the 'whiney' overtone associated with most steel snares. In fact I've got a coated single ply batter over a 3mil clear reso with no muffling, a recipe for a wide open ringy snare, and it actually has a nice fat crack. The cross stick/rim click seriously sounds like a roofer hammering a nail, it's crazy.

View attachment 133828View attachment 133826View attachment 133827
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Congraduations. I have been searching for a reasonably priced 14 inch Piccolo for months on the web. I gave two offers for the same Mapex 14 inch Piccolo to two dealers but they both turned down my offer. It looks like the era of a reasonably priced brand new 14 inch Piccolo at or below $85.00 is long gone. I have a few quick questions if you do not mind:

1) Was it a local purchase or online? I find the postage that the online sellers want to charge excessive. Maybe, I need to adjust my expectations.

2) Is that new armory style throw off something that you changed or did it come standard with this new version of Mapex? Is it better than the older throw off?

3) So far do you like the sound and do you recommend this model? I have to put a small Drum Dot gel on the 13 inch Piccolo that I own to deaden the ring.
 
striker said:
Congraduations. I have been searching for a reasonably priced 14 inch Piccolo for months on the web. I gave two offers for the same Mapex 14 inch Piccolo to two dealers but they both turned down my offer. It looks like the era of a reasonably priced brand new 14 inch Piccolo at or below $85.00 is long gone. I have a few quick questions if you do not mind:

1) Was it a local purchase or online? I find the postage that the online sellers want to charge excessive. Maybe, I need to adjust my expectations.

2) Is that new armory style throw off something that you changed or did it come standard with this new version of Mapex? Is it better than the older throw off?

3) So far do you like the sound and do you recommend this model? I have to put a small Drum Dot gel on the 13 inch Piccolo that I own to deaden the ring.
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I purchased it from Drum Center of Portsmouth and can't recommend them enough. They have great service, fast shipping, and fair prices. The armory throw off is new to these drums and factory installed, I guess they realized the shortcomings of the old throw off and changed it. All of the current model MPX snares have the armory throw off. I personally like the sound, with a bit of moon gel or a different head you can get an even more controlled tone but I like my snares to have some life. I prefer 13 and 12 inch snares but I feel like you need to have a deeper shell the smaller the diameter, for 14" snares I only really like piccolo drums. It's loud enough for rock, it's punchy enough for metal, it's sensitive enough for jazz, sits equally well in a percussion set up for reggae and/or Latin, and it's a great brush drum.
 
Another option is the Beier 1.5 Steel 4" X 15". Unfortunately James Beier closed his shop doors recently, so if you can find one used definitely snag it! It is an absolutely incredible workhorse of a snare drum. I can't say enough good things about.

Beier4X15LoRes.jpg
 
roncadillac said:
I purchased it from Drum Center of Portsmouth and can't recommend them enough. They have great service, fast shipping, and fair prices. The armory throw off is new to these drums and factory installed, I guess they realized the shortcomings of the old throw off and changed it. All of the current model MPX snares have the armory throw off. I personally like the sound, with a bit of moon gel or a different head you can get an even more controlled tone but I like my snares to have some life. I prefer 13 and 12 inch snares but I feel like you need to have a deeper shell the smaller the diameter, for 14" snares I only really like piccolo drums. It's loud enough for rock, it's punchy enough for metal, it's sensitive enough for jazz, sits equally well in a percussion set up for reggae and/or Latin, and it's a great brush drum.
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Thanks @roncadillac for the heads up. I mentioned that I have been searching for a 14 inch Piccolo at a reasonable price for a long time. Based on your tip I contacted the support at the Drum Center of Portsmouth and I was told that there are price cuts for Mapex snares for the month of May. I finally ordered the same Mapex 14 inch Piccolo snare from Drum Center of Portsmouth last week and it arrived yesterday. I like the sound much better than the 13 inch Pacific drums by DW Piccolo snare that I purchased a while back.
 
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