Picco;lo

[wayne]

Anyone still playing these, and are they still called piccolo snare drums?....how shallow do they have to be?

 

[JDA]

before they are called a P̶̷i̶̷n̶̷o̶̷c̶̷c̶̷h̶̷i̶̷o̶̷ ? Piccolo?
4 x 14

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

Aren't piccolos traditionally 3" deep? I have two 3x13 Ludwig, an import maple and a BB.....they both get used. I have a 3x14 steel Mapex that I just got the shell and made a custom drum from. It is interesting but doesn't get much play time.

 

[JDA]

Aren't piccolos traditionally 3" deep?

no look in the Premier catalog .... 4x14...(or the Max roach)

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/premier_snaredrums/1980_premier_snaredrums1.jpg

Contemporary Snare Drum Quartet- far right read -----that's good enough for me. ----next.

 

[amosguy]

Looks like 4" max, but could be 3 + 3 1/2 x 13 or 14 IMHO.

 

[mydadisjr]

just sold my steel MAPEX 3x13... toneless wonder.

No more piccolos for me

 

[GeneZ]

You might want to look for this Ludwig...

 

[bob]

yes i play mine when i gig with this set 1990's 3.5x14 10 ply maple champagne ludwig

 

[CSR]

I play a Pearl John Robinson maple 4x14 snare at times, even with a big band. Articulate and crisp to the edge.

 

[dtk]

So...maybe 2 years ago I got a shell here..4x14...built in quickly (and sloppy I must admit) but its great for this Ska/Pop band...body and pop. I also have a 14x3 Eames (it was a free floater shell at one point). I should play with its tuning more...also a lot of body when tuned down...but its loud and has great sustain.

I ended up buying two 3.? x 14 shells ...and I'm having my twin daughters each decorate one (Blue Shadows idea)...I've had those edged/bedded...and I had a 14x10 W/A shell that I had cut down to 5 and 4...these will be wrapped to match a FG kit I'm having wrapped.

A pic tuned down is a great thing...sonicly...and with the right hardware...easy to move and gig with...

 

[Elvis]

My LCM kit, featuring 13x3 snare drum...

...and one of a few 14x4's I've owned in the past, as well...

 

[CSR]

I have a Rogers 2 1/2 x 13 Satellite (pancake, skinny) snare with original heads I could let go if anyone’s interested. Everything works. No stripped lugs, which is common. Catalog page:

 

[Soulfinger]

A pic tuned down is a great thing

^That right there is the secret.

Don´t just tune a piccolo to that high and dry crack, experiment with lower tunings as well. You´ll find that they can sound as lively and fat as deeper snares, only with slightly less body and volume (which is a good thing for acoustic gigs).
I love smaller snares and currently have two Pearl 13x3 (brass and steel), a Pearl maple 14x4 (the JR model after he left Pearl) and a Tama Artstar maple 14x4. I use the 14s all the time.

 

[wayne]

I used to think 6.5 was the "right" size, but as i got older i started to appreciate the wide range and focus of shallower snares. Over 6 decades of experimenting, i,ve concluded that wood shells, 5-5.5" x14 are my faves. Never got used to pics, and i dont play the deep boys anymore. Its no wonder we all have so many snare drums!!

 

[owr]

Its funny as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s I wanted one bad, but never moved off of a 5" acro. Then as an adult I started as a 5x14 guy but in the last decade have grown to love and use 6.5x14 almost exclusively. Just a few months ago I finally got my first 4x14, a Spruce stave drum from Sugar Percussion. They are local so I got to try it out next to a lot of other drums but just fell in love with this thing. Not surprisingly it is totally different than anything else in my collection and has been my favorite drum to play for the last few months. So hopefully that sound isnt going away...

 

[cochlea]

Anyone here remember "Muffinhead" from the old RMMP newsgroup? I think of him every time there's a piccolo thread posted here because he always touted his Ludwig 3x13 as the best snare he every played.

 

[bonefamily]

Love piccolo snare drums. I haven’t owned many - my first was the cheap Mapex steel (13x3 I think it was) which didn’t sound too bad after head changes. Then the Pearl maple 13x3 (M1330) which was better. Don’t have neither now, but this thread got me wanting again...

that Ludwig video posted above is it!

 

[DWSlingerland45]

I have 2, both Ludwig's. Both 3x13 one is hammered Bronze w a cut B/ O badge it's a B stock and the second is a hammered black Beauty Monroe badge both get played regularly.

 

[Matched Gripper]

Always thought the Yamaha Garibaldi snare drum was very cool. Not quite a piccolo. Maybe a power pic. Never owned one. Too bad they don’t make it anymore.

 

[CC Cirillo]

For many years when I played in a greasy funk quintet, a Pearl maple pic’lo was my only snare. Probably should have kept it but I seem to have moved on to 6.5 inch deep snares. They hold more beer.