zzzzzz... seriously sleeper snares... zzzzzz

[Cannons]

Like a few of y’all, I really dig the Ludwig aluminum Standard. I recently did a session with mine, and it tracked really well. I appreciate the love for the Tama steel Imperialstars too. I had the Proline, great snare. A while back I picked up a Royalstar steel snare, and it’s as good as the Imperialstar.

 

[jptrickster]

I had the pleasure of playing one of these for awhile at a rehearsal studio. Serious drum. It does it all and the tone of this thing is outstanding. I’m waiting to find one on the cheap, so far no luck!

Pearl Symphonic Series Snare Drum - 6.5-inch x 14-Inch - Antique Sunburst | eBay

The Pearl Symphonic Series Snare is the result of a culmination of unparalleled concert snare construction and versatile sound shaping technology. Treated with Pearl’s proprietary “AcoustiGlue” and high-pressure molding process, this snare exemplifies high-grade tonality and strength throughout.

www.ebay.com

 

[malkire]

Worldmax Bronze

 

[katulu]

View attachment 579336
Orange County 25 ply maple.
Here is a review i wrote on it years ago;
it’s a shame that this drum has some embarrassing provenance. Sure it sucks that it’s only available new thru MUsicians Friend or GC. Sometimes that invokes a less-than-legit-for-passionate-musicians connotation. And I agree the vents lacking any kind of grommet make it look like rodents are responsible for the vents look.

I also agree that 25 seems like some arbitrarily huge number of plys for the sake of making a thick shell just to add heft and smother out personality.

There is nothing sexy about the shark tooth lugs nor the sparkle fade wrap.

And yet...

I have a collection of 31 snare drums including the classic Ludwig LM’s, brass snares, signature snares, even a couple of lofty collectibles, but all players with use and time in the studio and on the road. I don’t collect them to display, but to play.

And here is how I came across this generic, unsexy drum.

I was doing a session for a band and once my parts were tracked, the producer asked if I wanted to replace the snare sound on the tracks with something else. The tracks, recorded using an LM-402, were fine, but since we had a dozen snare samples at our fingertips, why not experiment.

Among the bell brass and 1920’s big band, and Craviottos, were some average drums.

We pulled them in and they all brought a different personality.

Then we brought in this OCDP vented 25 ply snare via pro-tools sample.

It had it all. The attack, tuned to a G, the depth, the resonance, sustain, it gave life to the tracks that was already good, and made them bounce.

So impressed with the sound that when that same band asked me to do their tour in support of the record, I sought out the drum that had been flown in on the record. Found it at, yes, Guitar Center, and bought it just to replicate their record to the truest level I could as a player.

Well that snare proved to be amazing.

It so rarely needed tuning that I found myself going several gigs in a row without even checking the lugs, and when I did, rarely did I ever tweak more than a fraction.

House engineers praised it, the monitor mixer guys bragged on it, and other drummers were surprised by it even after laughing at the thickness of the shell.

Cross sticking is AWESOME on this drum. Ghost notes are soft and beautiful.

Another embarrassment is Guitar Center/Musicians friend videos that demo the drum and only talk about it’s projection, as if it’s only made for, and only competent at LOUD! What a joke. This drum is so much more versatile than that and they completely missed the boat.

I have several favorite snares, and some I like better. But this wallflower of a snare is in my top 5, and that’s with no sex appeal, no collectibility, and no rich history or lineage. It’s just so damn good at all the things it does well, so reliable, and demonstrates how you just never know what a drum is truly capable of till you put it through a crucible of road gigs.

I love this bastard of a snare drum.

I admit your post, as well as some other posts, made me curious about this snare. And, I will have an edit to this response, hopefully, soon...

 

[crash]

Supralites!

$200 for an 8x14”

Crazy good sounding for the price point

Tried one at Guitar Center this afternoon. Really good!

 

[Quai34]

The Tama Peter Erskine Jazz snare 14 x 4.5” is an incredible snare and not outrageously expensive . It has a hybrid maple/spruce shell with reinforcing rings on the batter side only . It has stick saver hoops and the same strainer as used on the Starphonic and Star Series snares . You would think a snare 4.5” deep would be mostly crack and thin sounding , but this has a ton of body and a very wide tuning range .

I'm still debating if I need to get one but yes, I have no specific jazz snare or snares less than 5.0" depth so, I might finally decide to take the plunge...

 

[gonzo]

Black Panther snares from Mapex highly underrated

 

[Quai34]

Ho my God, yes, of course!!! I was one of many to think that Mapex was a slightly 2 or 3rd zone maker but I got the XXX th anniversary all walnut and the Shadow Birch/Walnut and they are awesome...The mapex 12"X5.5" Warbird Chris Adler and the Mapex "The Machine" Craig Blundell Maple/Walnut 14"X5.5" are on my list to buy. Maybe the Cherry too or the Versatus, they tune so well, so easily!!! And great sound.
Glad they are very well placed pricewise in Canada at the main music chain stores network.

 

[crash]

Also, a Ludwig Standard wood snare that I also bought for cheap. I'd assume that it has much the same qualities as a Ludwig branded one of the same era, but can be found for far cheaper. It's got a more resonant, more lively tone than the Tempus, but is similarly sensitive and crisp. Since it's wood though it isn't too pingy

Picked up one of these in a case at the local Goodwill. $35! I greeted by teeth and paid it. One of my favorite.

 

[crash]

Rogers Tower. Basically a Powertone with a different strainer and butt. Great snares.

I’ve got two of those on the bench waiting to restore. I’ll be curious what they sound like.

 

[Iristone]

Anything by the brand Jinbao - especially metal ones. Too bad they never get their due respect as a brand (as opposed to an OEM manufacturer), due to selling too many to bad music schools that never teach beginners how to tune their drums...

 

[5 Style]

Picked up one of these in a case at the local Goodwill. $35! I greeted by teeth and paid it. One of my favorite.

Yeah, I really like those Standard drums. I like Ludwig stuff, though I don't own any kits (just a couple of vintage Slingerland ones and a modern Premier XPK kit). I could see getting a Standard kit (with a 20" bass drum!) though before one of the regular branded vintage Ludwigs. I might save a bit of $ and I like the funky wraps those drums came with. They have the same shells and ought to sound the same as the other more expensive Ludwigs from the same era, so the only reason to pass on them is that you need to have those classic lugs for some reason... I don't particularly care though.

Great score on that, though I imagine that deals like that aren't really so likely these days when Goodwill has a website and have people who research values of stuff. I got mine on Craigslist and though it wasn't in perfect shape, it was in perfect playing shape and the funky red satin flame wrap happened to be a perfect match one of the Slingerland kits that I have... and it was just $100, which to my mind is still a great deal, even if I did have to replace the strainer on it, which costs maybe another $30.

 

[Elvis]

Just off the top of my head (and maybe, not so much of a sleeper?), I would say the Ludwig 300 series "Rocker" snare drums from the late 90's.
Available in Steel, Brass and Bronze shells, they were pretty nice drums that were offered at a very nice price.

 

[GretschMan61]

Some other sleepers I can think of off the the top of my head .

Slingerland Gene Krupa Soundking
Slingerland 2 to 1 snares
Gretsch 4160 COB snares
Tama Kenny Aronoff Trackmaster 6.5”
INDe first run of brushed Aluminum 6.5”
Tama SLP Spotted Gum

 

[Jazzhead]

1970’s Pearl COS 5.5x14 snare.

I have various snares, vintage and modern ludwigs (Pioneer, supra), vintage Premiers, and a custom made maple one…This vintage Pearl snare puts a smile on my face, definitely an incredible sounding snare.

 

[Jazzhead]

I got my Black Beauty home and played my Slingerland Krupa brass snare and wondered why I bought a BB …..

How deep is your BB snare?

 

[Houndog]

How deep is your BB snare?

Was 5.5 hammered …..Krupa is 6.5

 

[Houndog]

Heck , I liked my 6 lug Slinger better

 

[notINtheband]

I mentioned this snare earlier, but came across this memory today and thought I would post.

 

[Iristone]

My Trowa is pretty sleeper