2014 Snare Drum Olympics - Guru results, Bermuda's Review!

Re: 2014 Snare Drum Olympics - The/our results!

I did feel we got marked down unduly on a couple of non issues. It's not the judges fault, they comment on what they see, but without the benefit of answers to their questions. I have provided answers to the points they raised in the text below the Youtube judging clip.

DTS got knocked for a perceived potential bottom-out scenario also.
 
Re: 2014 Snare Drum Olympics - The/our results!

Way to go Andy! Out of the 3 winning drums shown, the Guru outclasses the other 2 by a large margin. I hate to say it because they look so beautiful....and they sound so woody on toms...but for the competition, I would have put a die cast or an S hoop on the snare. I bet you would have taken first with a metal hoop. It's a more aggressive drum with the metal. It's amazing how much hoops affect the tone.
 
Re: 2014 Snare Drum Olympics - The/our results!

Congrats then to Riccardo!
I find it interesting that out of the top three, one was extremely vented and another had no vent at all.
 
Re: 2014 Snare Drum Olympics - The/our results!

First and third place winners were from across the pond.

LAUDO not exactly a cheap priced snare.
 

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My review!

When I received my Guru In-Tense 7x14" English Ash & Ovangkol snare last week, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it!

guruteeth.jpg


First order of business was to set it up like my other snares in order to make a fair comparison. I decided to keep the wood hoops in order to retain the drum's identity, but I put my favorite SuperTough on the batter (and it already had my preferred Hazy 300 on the snare side.) Puresounds aren't my wires of choice, but close enough. In changing the batter, I got a nice whiff of English countryside air, sealed inside the vent-less drum when it was manufactured (maybe it was just the clear coat...)

This snare has a lot of presence to go along with the warmth & body due to its wood hoops, meticulously rounded edges, and 2-ply coated batter. Great meat in the middle, and sweet harmonics and airiness approaching the edge of the head. It's a very expressive snare!

Well, so much for how it sounds at home, I took it on a gig Thursday night for a real test. Sadly, the Dunnett quick-release butt plate kept releasing, and after 2 songs, I had to grab another snare. Turns out that the thicker hoops caused the strap to pull outwardly the on the butt, disconnecting it. A quick re-threading of the strap reversed the leverage, and I took it on Friday's gig for a dose blues & rock.

Guru did not disappoint!

There's a nice snap when you catch the rim, balanced with a throaty, warm, beefy, breathy but articulate sound (if it was a cymbal, it might be called complex.) In short, it's a terrific snare! The cross-stick is nice, although very understated, really more of a modest click than the woody 'clop' you'd think/hope would result from wood hoops. Also, this is not a loud drum, although it was fine on the gig and I could lay into it a little more without being overpowering, and I didn't feel that it ever choked. I know that metal hoops would add attack (volume) but I think I'll leave it as-is. None of my other snares sound quite like this one, and it's not my intention to force it to be like them. It's already a winner for me, perhaps best suited for medium volume acoustic situations, and the studio would be ideal. But it shouldn't go on an arena tour, that would just be a waste of its talents.

I should add that this is a well-made and lovely drum, and it caught the eye of the other players on both gigs. It's surprisingly light, which no doubt contributes to its ability to breathe so well. It didn't take much of a beating while in Nashville, the head was pretty clean, although the denting on the hoops is quite evident if you feel or inspect the hoop. But that's the nature of the wooden beast, and doesn't really bother me. And no more problems with the butt plate coming off. :)

I'm glad I got the opportunity to buy this snare, which I might not have done if left to order it on my own. Thank you again Andy, it's really a wonderful drum!

Bermuda
 
Jon you really need to try a die cast or at least a metal hoop on that drum. it's really a completely different animal with metal hoops. Even Andy uses metal hoops on his personal Guru snares. Those wood hoops kill on toms, woody woodiness... but IMO the snare requires a die cast or some other form of metal hoop. The wood just doesn't have the bite for a snare IMO. The wood doesn't bring out the wild tones of that drum like metal IMO.

You really should try a die cast and a coated amb on that drum. The head will showcase the sensitivity and the metal hoop will bring out the aggressiveness of the drum.

I have a BB that I can easily hit light enough to where the snares don't sound. I can't do that on the Guru. No matter how lightly I touch the Guru, the snares sound. I think that is because it's unvented. The coated amb really brings that sensitivity out.

As much as I love the look of the wood hoops, for actual gigging, the metal hoops are superior on snares IMO. Any snare, not just this one. No reason at all it couldn't be used in a stadium with the metal hoops. The metal will make the drum louder and it will project better. You did order the shorter tension rods right?

Try it, you'll like it!
 
It's a pity subsequent posts were deleted, as they were all of strong value. For the sake of completeness, I'll repeat my deleted post;

1st up, thank you for your review Jon, & subsequent comments about how the drum excites you in the context of your 90+ snare collection (wow!)

Re: wood hoops. These hoops are very lightweight, & are designed primarily to add to the very open character of the overall drum sound & response. Rimshots & cross stick are always much more satisfying using high mass wood hoops, just as they are using high mass metal hoops.

In wood hoop guise especially, this drum doesn't deliver ultimate volume & crack compared to other constructions designed to do so. The whole super low mass approach is about opening up to full tone at low dynamics much earlier than other drums, whilst still delivering solidly at higher dynamics across a huge tuning range. That becomes very apparent in the studio, but also in live performances outside of out & out rock gigs with the kit unmic'd.

Like all our drums, they're developed towards a specific set of characteristics. Of course, we also have more general purpose models, but we find drums of very distinctive character contribute much to the player who uses more than one drum for everything.
 
Andy, I was confused on the "clearance issue" on the video you provided about the Olympics-I thought they were talking about the strainer and clearance as a concern? I am curious why you offered the snare with wood hoops rather than metal hoops for the competition? I note some prefer the metal over wood-though personally I love the sound of the wood hoops-especially for low volume sensitive stuff. The video you have of Michele Drees really highlights how great the drums sound with wood hoops.
 
I think my favorite comment made by Bermuda (mentioned by Andy) in one of his reviews on the drum was that after 90 + snare drums in his collection it's hard to get excited over one anymore. The Guru was an exception. Wow.
 
I found bermudas response fascinating. I get told my 7 snares are too much constantly, but i have that many for musical situations. I find sometimes if im gigging with just a ride and a snare il take the vintage snare, it just has something very nice for that kind of scenario. If im doing studio work the supralite is usually my go to, for most gigs my natal will take it. if im doing heavy rock or such il bring the 14x7 maple for the extra depth. If im doing percussion or folk il take the 10" with calfskin. if im doing pop or hip hop etc i use the 12" snare on the traps kits. and if im doing folk rock or other bits i use is a pearl masterworks birch snare.
 
Andy, I was confused on the "clearance issue" on the video you provided about the Olympics-I thought they were talking about the strainer and clearance as a concern? I am curious why you offered the snare with wood hoops rather than metal hoops for the competition? I note some prefer the metal over wood-though personally I love the sound of the wood hoops-especially for low volume sensitive stuff. The video you have of Michele Drees really highlights how great the drums sound with wood hoops.
The judges were referring to clearance between the underside of the hoop, & the top of the lugs. The contention being that a very worn head may mean there's no longer enough tension adjustment to adequately tune the head. Well, two things about that:
1/ the distance is calculated to be 5mm greater than the point at which a worn head will fail completely, so no issue.
2/ why the hell would someone who's just spent that kind of money to get a great sound go on to throw that benefit away by playing the drum with a stretched/dished head?

To be fair to the judges, they don't know the design background. In-Tense lugs are deliberately close to the hoops. This keeps the minimal mounting point as clear from the resonant portion of the shell as possible. The aesthetic is perhaps confusing to those who are used to normal lug mounting positions.

We decided to submit the ovangkol hoop version of this snare, simply because it's a very different vibe to most snares. Of course, that carries the risk (in a competition environment) that some will like it, & some won't. Perhaps something that covered a wider spectrum of applications would have faired better. I guess we'll never know.

Congratulations, Andy!
Thank you :)

I think my favorite comment made by Bermuda (mentioned by Andy) in one of his reviews on the drum was that after 90 + snare drums in his collection it's hard to get excited over one anymore. The Guru was an exception. Wow.
Absolutely! That meant a lot to me, especially considering the context & depth/breadth of experience Jon has.

I found bermudas response fascinating. I get told my 7 snares are too much constantly, but i have that many for musical situations. I find sometimes if im gigging with just a ride and a snare il take the vintage snare, it just has something very nice for that kind of scenario. If im doing studio work the supralite is usually my go to, for most gigs my natal will take it. if im doing heavy rock or such il bring the 14x7 maple for the extra depth. If im doing percussion or folk il take the 10" with calfskin. if im doing pop or hip hop etc i use the 12" snare on the traps kits. and if im doing folk rock or other bits i use is a pearl masterworks birch snare.
Show off ;) I have 3 snares. One is rarely used, very specific, & of strong sentimental value. One is my main gigging snare, & one I very recently added to my "collection" simply because it's utterly fabulous. I may add a 4th, a popcorn snare. Not only am I bitten by seller's remorse from the last one I built, I now have a real world application for it in the original music trio.
 
The judges were referring to clearance between the underside of the hoop, & the top of the lugs. The contention being that a very worn head may mean there's no longer enough tension adjustment to adequately tune the head. Well, two things about that:
1/ the distance is calculated to be 5mm greater than the point at which a worn head will fail completely, so no issue.
2/ why the hell would someone who's just spent that kind of money to get a great sound go on to throw that benefit away by playing the drum with a stretched/dished head?

To be fair to the judges, they don't know the design background. In-Tense lugs are deliberately close to the hoops. This keeps the minimal mounting point as clear from the resonant portion of the shell as possible. The aesthetic is perhaps confusing to those who are used to normal lug mounting positions.

We decided to submit the ovangkol hoop version of this snare, simply because it's a very different vibe to most snares. Of course, that carries the risk (in a competition environment) that some will like it, & some won't. Perhaps something that covered a wider spectrum of applications would have faired better. I guess we'll never know.

Thank you :)

Absolutely! That meant a lot to me, especially considering the context & depth/breadth of experience Jon has.

Show off ;) I have 3 snares. One is rarely used, very specific, & of strong sentimental value. One is my main gigging snare, & one I very recently added to my "collection" simply because it's utterly fabulous. I may add a 4th, a popcorn snare. Not only am I bitten by seller's remorse from the last one I built, I now have a real world application for it in the original music trio.


Yes but 2 of your three snares are guru and the other a pearl free floater. All worth a fortune more than each of mine :p and far nicer sounding, though i like to think my bubinga stave is coming close
 
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