On drums...

I didn't make this recording, I saw it on Youtube. It's a guy comparing different Sonor snare drums. All the drums are tuned too high IMO. I favored his 5x14" Designer.
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertolisi ... I7rn1jNbsw

Further proof the same guy can make any snare drum sound the same. Or....record them all the same ha.
I heard a slight difference in the Designer.

I've noticed this in myself. I think we each a particular sound in our head when it comes to tuning, and we literally can make all of our drums sound the same, if we're not careful. Why have a "collection", if we just tune them the same anyway?

With the Drum Dial, I like 90 batter and 88 snare tension. I can literally ruin a perfectly good drum in less than an hour!



I had an interesting experience recently. Two years ago, I sold a friend of mine two of my NOS Sonorlite snares; a 7 x 14 and a 3 1/2 x 14. I loved the big one, but I had bought a player drum just like it, and because I needed (wanted) the money, I sold the good one and kept the player. The 3 1/2 x 14 was, to me, just an "okay" drum. It was mint, rare and unusual, but I really never "got" the drum, and it never found a place in my heart. So, it was relegated to "side snare" duty. But, I'm not really a side snare kind of guy. Selling it was a no brainer.

In January, I was lucky enough to buy them back. The 7 x 14 came back pretty much the way I sold it; I loved it then and I love it now, but no surprises. On the other hand, I was tempted not to buy the 3 1/2 x 14, but because I was the original owner, it felt like it was the right thing to do. Also, Mark said some things about it that intrigued me, something like "You should hear this thing, I put a Jack DeJohnette head on it, and it just screams!" So, a couple of weeks later Mark emailed me telling me that if I wanted it, this was the time. I scraped up some more money and paid him.
So I get the drum back, and it sounds better than ever! But, Yesterday, I got the DD out and dropped the batter tension down to 88, then I loosened the snare wires a bit and it was like the gates of heaven opened up; the drum is in-feckin-credible now! It's like a new girlfriend! I'm in LOVE
I've got to get to bed, so I can play later.
Have a Great Day!
Brian

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Drums and No Money will get Me through Hard Times better than Money and No Drums!
-A Recovering Drum Addict

Great post Brian.
A quick response...



This is why I no longer have and no longer want a collection. I know what I want in my snare and I know how to get it. When I favor one it is usually due to slight intricacies.
Back in the day when I knew nothing of having TWO snares nevermind collecting, low and behold that snare worked perfectly for me for 10 years.

Don't get me wrong, I can think of at least a half dozen snares I would like to have, but guaranteed they are all very close to the same makeup. Mostly, the visual variety interests me.

+1 on what You said Kelly (and Brian).

The biggest snare collection I had was 4 snares - 2 metal and 2 wood. One never got played (sold it after a month), and one of the metal snares also got little use. So, when I realized one day that I have 2 sets and hence use only 2 snares - I decided that's my optimum...

And yes - I tend to tune them the same... Which is contradictory to owing more than 2-3 snares...

I too think that people are more often driven by the visual... True, brass-copper-birch-maple-birch-whatever other material you can think of, makes the choices endless, but since I'm a drummer and not a sound guru, I stick to simple plans like: one wood snare, and one metal snare...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

I have little intelligent to say. What I have noticed is that I have exactly the number of snares that I've bought, minus the number that I've sold. I don't tend to sell snares unless I need to justify a purchase; then and only then am I willing to go through the hassle.

But I have been enjoying tuning the snares I have for different effects. But like the rest of you, I have a favorite snare that I'd take almost everywhere that a sensitive snare is needed, and that's the Lite extended wire throwoff.

I'd like to try your small Lite snare, Brian. Send it over for a second opinion.

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Gregory

Find yourself a 14 x 7 without the link era dampening hardware and I'll bet you'll ditch the lite.
A SonorLite 14 x 7 is why I bought a 14 x 7 birch SQ2 counting on the updated hardware to take it out of that link era "dead zone".
Sure as hell did. Paid off hugely. Never go back.

I also bet you're loving it because you have it up against a 14 x 8 Sig and a 14 x 8 Designer.

I rather like it as it is. I didn't know there was a dead zone.

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Gregory