Brass Snares

zed32

zed32

Re-Attached Member
last week when i was at Guitar Center trying out cymbals, i sat at a kit that had a DW Collector's Series brass snare (14x6.5 i believe) and i loved the sound of it. so i'm thinking i want to get me a brass shelled snare. now my price range is gonna be in the area of 300, with a brickwall limiter at $400. so i know this isn't gonna get me something as nice as the DW, but i want to get some opinions on brass snares in this price range...

here's some ideas i'm thinking of right now:

  • Pearl Free-Floating brass 14x6.5
  • Mapex Black Panther brass
  • Gretsch Crystal Tone Brass
  • Yamaha Brass Noveau (or maybe copper)

there's also some other options, possibly from Premier, Pacific, Ludwig, Tama or whatever might be in that price range new or used. Conaway Drums also has a brass shell for a pretty good price. i'm thinking the closest i might get to that DW brass sound is maybe the Pearl FF snare. but i don't know how thick the shell is. the DW snare i tried was heavier than a bastard, so i'm assuming it was a pretty thick shell. i'm not really asking for recommendations, just looking for peoples' personal opinions and experiences on the quality and sound of the drum, just to get a general idea of how each might sound and which ones i should drop from consideration right away. thanks!

oh, and does anyone have any experience with the Pearl Tico Torres signature snare? it looks awesome, satin hardware with a 3mm aluminum shell and free-floating chassis. it seems like a good possible choice because of the heavier shell, plus the ability to swap out for other shell materials in the future. any thoughts?

and one last note, my personal preference for right now would be something with LOTS of projection (LOUD). i like my birch snare that came with my kit, but i'm looking for something with some extra volume to punish the people who wish to play in the same room as me.
 
I don't have much info or experience to give, but several years ago a friend of mine had a Ludwig brass snare. I can't say it sounded much better than his Pearl steel snare, but it certainly seemed much louder when rocked hard.
 
errr314 said:
Hey I just bought one of these a few days ago and it rocks! And it was about half of your limiter.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...-Lugs?sku=447810&CJAID=10381297&CJPID=2179834

Although the URL says its steel (someone screwed up there), It is brass and it sounds big and mean.
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oh man i forgot about that Pork Pie. it's supposed to be very similar to a Ludwig Black Beauty right? the Black Beauty might be what Greg is talkin about, those are pretty infamous for being really loud. or maybe a brass Supraphonic. anyway, i'm pretty sure GC had one of those Pork Pies on display when i went, but i didn't really stick around to try out the snares last time i was there since i took forever just to pick out one cymbal. :o
 
Yes it is similar to the Black Beauty (I have a 5 x 14 Black Beauty) except it is slightly drier. I find that with my Black Beauty I have to use a Moongel or two to calm it down but with the Pork Pie "BOB" snare I don't have to use anything. Out of all my snares it is the loudest thats for damn sure. My ears will start to feel it if I hit it harder. :)
 
I'm seriously loving a tama 14x8 I just purchased (used in studio twice) for about half of your budget

it's heavy as hell & has made me very very happy. my acrolite is lying dormant:(:(:( poor thing
 
slidey said:
I'm seriously loving a tama 14x8 I just purchased (used in studio twice) for about half of your budget

it's heavy as hell & has made me very very happy. my acrolite is lying dormant:(:(:( poor thing
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are you talking about the Starclassic brass?? aren't those things normally like $1,500? that would be like my dream snare
 
maybe this can help:

Pearl Reference brass:


Black Beauty:


Premier Gold Reference Brass (or something like that name?)


these are all open but picture the ring being dampened with a moongel if you want a damper sound

Steven
 
anyone have experience with Premier Artest Series Brass snare? there's one on ebay and it looks decent, but i can not find any info on that bastard. i wonder how thick the shell is? from the picture, it appears to be pretty ehavy, but i can't tell for sure...

i went to the music store over the weekend and tried a few. they didn't have the Pork Pie black brass snare unfortunately, but they did have a Pearl Reference which sounded good although they had it tuned really super high. they also had a DW Collector's series brass for $329 which seems like a decent deal, but it was only 14x5 and i want something bigger. the Chad Smith signature snare sounded really awesome too for only $250. then they had a OCDP 14x5 20 ply maple snare with 4 huge vents haha, $1300! it was louder than hell, but actually sounded kinda shitty.

well i guess i'm in no hurry, but does anyone have opinions on the quality of Premier snares?
 
I love premier snares. I love premier drums

I'm not familiar with the artist series but I have a Genista kit with 5.5 snare I also have 2x 2000 snares, my good friend has a signia again 5.5 deep & another band cogort of mine has a brass premier that is 7" deep & it rocks

higher end premier stuff is usually damn good but the budget stuff can be a bit suspect
 
slidey said:
higher end premier stuff is usually damn good but the budget stuff can be a bit suspect
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that's what i was a little worried about. this one is going for $300 US, so thats why i was wondering if it could really be all that good. it sure LOOKS like a quality drum though, haha. i'll probably hold off until i can save up some more. might as well just get a big expensive Bell Brass snare, no point buying 2 or 3 cheaper ones. :cool:
 
I've just remembered I have a shell

Premier 14x10":eek::eek::eek: no kidding made around 1939-40 it originally had a double snare setup, top & bottom alas by the time I got it it had been mangled into a tom tom

I have a freind of mine going to do some funky artwork on it as it is just a bare shell right now..................
 
that's the same badge as my mate's 14x7 & it is awesome

but yeah I just satisfied my deeper snare bug
 
slidey said:
that's the same badge as my mate's 14x7 & it is awesome

but yeah I just satisfied my deeper snare bug
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great now you are making me want to buy it haha. maybe i'll ask the seller if he has a 6.5 or 7 in stock...:eek:
 
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