Noob question about the kind of sound I want

[AfroMan]

Hey guys, Im looking to buy a new snare in a few weeks time (spending up to £250) and I was wondering which kind of snare is the most effective for playing the forbidden beat (punk beat)? Here's a video of the kind of beat Im talking about (Its not me playing) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhvjpClvBKQ

I use this kind of beat all the time with my band and I cant figure out if its better to have a snare sound thats more buried with the bass drum or to have a snare with more of a high pitched crack?

I just dont want to buy a Black Panther for £250 when I would've been better off with the sound a Piccolo for £150 would give...

[GooseFilms.net]

so far, the description is extremely vague. there is no single snare drum designed for a specific beat. my advice to you is to go to your local drum shop and play on as many snares as you can, or find some artists with snare sound that appeal to you, and research what brands, sizes, and heads they use.

[AfroMan]

Yeah, I know what you mean but I just want to know which kind of snare sound would be more effective with that kind of beat. Maybe this is a stupid question :(

[Retarded Chipple]

Bah, that snare sounds choked to me and the playing is pretty damn sloppy!



A slight crack is generally better for punk imo but it needs to have a bit of body behind it too.

Too many drummers go for that high pitched crack but end up with that kinda tight (choked) drum and bass "pop" as it's all CRACK! and nothing else!


A piccolo snare may give you a sound a little too thin. Something around 14 x 5" (give or take an inch or so) would be ideal. With the right tuning & head combo it'll give you plenty of high pitched attack but a bit of depth it to stop it having that choked up "pop" sound.

[dairyairman]

i saw a punk show this weekend with four bands and one thing that amazed me was how much different each drummer's snare sounded. the first band's drummer had a snare that just didn't cut through the wall of noise. i don't know what the problem was. as each band got up, the snares sounded better and better, until finally the headliner ("the queers") had a drummer with an awesome sounding snare. it appeared to be fairly thin, definitely less than 5 inches, and had a wood shell. i couldn't tell the brand or model, but i liked it a lot. it had a great high pitched cutting sound to it, without that "poppy" tone you're talking about.

[Retarded Chipple]

i saw a punk show this weekend with four bands and one thing that amazed me was how much different each drummer's snare sounded. the first band's drummer had a snare that just didn't cut through the wall of noise. i don't know what the problem was. as each band got up, the snares sounded better and better, until finally the headliner ("the queers") had a drummer with an awesome sounding snare. it appeared to be fairly thin, definitely less than 5 inches, and had a wood shell. i couldn't tell the brand or model, but i liked it a lot. it had a great high pitched cutting sound to it, without that "poppy" tone you're talking about.

No way, The Queers are awesome!

The snare was probably tuned pretty well.
Shell thickness makes alot of difference too. Played with a band the other day & the drummer had this Black Panther snare that had clearly been tuned with a high pitched crack in mind but it just sounded like a drum and bass snare - not good for heavy rock.

It felt like it was really thick, when I picked it up it was really heavy compared to my Sonor 2005 snare. It did cut really well (it was mic'd) but sounded horrible - like playing a rimshot on a muted anvil lol.

[spirit]

Umm... yeah...

EDIT: OK, so the mods took away the weird advert.

Seems like you should try a few snares out, see what you like.

Also, who's to say that you can't get a snare that does both of the sounds you mention in your post?

[oliv_da_skinmasher]

Look at average size steel snares. They're good for that kinda thing, without being too one dimensional

[AfroMan]

Bah, that snare sounds choked to me and the playing is pretty damn sloppy!



A slight crack is generally better for punk imo but it needs to have a bit of body behind it too.

Too many drummers go for that high pitched crack but end up with that kinda tight (choked) drum and bass "pop" as it's all CRACK! and nothing else!


A piccolo snare may give you a sound a little too thin. Something around 14 x 5" (give or take an inch or so) would be ideal. With the right tuning & head combo it'll give you plenty of high pitched attack but a bit of depth it to stop it having that choked up "pop" sound.

Cheers man, thats the kind of reply I was hoping for. I went to a drum shop today to try out a few and the guy in the shop was saying pretty much the same thing. The piccolo snares did sound a bit thin. I was blown away by this one, £239 and I can't see myself getting anything better in the price range -

http://www.tama.com/snares/model.aspx?id=18


i saw a punk show this weekend with four bands and one thing that amazed me was how much different each drummer's snare sounded. the first band's drummer had a snare that just didn't cut through the wall of noise. i don't know what the problem was. as each band got up, the snares sounded better and better, until finally the headliner ("the queers") had a drummer with an awesome sounding snare. it appeared to be fairly thin, definitely less than 5 inches, and had a wood shell. i couldn't tell the brand or model, but i liked it a lot. it had a great high pitched cutting sound to it, without that "poppy" tone you're talking about.

This kind of thing makes me paranoid about playing gigs with my current snare sound. My band are supporting A Man Down next tuesday and I'll be using my broken CB snare :(

[Aaron]

It's all about tuning.

[Chippy569]

when the snare is tightened that strongly, the shell won't make a ton of sound... go for a metal shell if you need volume, wood if you want something a little thicker and warmer. Something 4-5" deep is what you'd like, 13"dia would do well too.

[DemonicRubberDucky]

i saw a punk show this weekend with four bands and one thing that amazed me was how much different each drummer's snare sounded. the first band's drummer had a snare that just didn't cut through the wall of noise. i don't know what the problem was. as each band got up, the snares sounded better and better, until finally the headliner ("the queers") had a drummer with an awesome sounding snare. it appeared to be fairly thin, definitely less than 5 inches, and had a wood shell. i couldn't tell the brand or model, but i liked it a lot. it had a great high pitched cutting sound to it, without that "poppy" tone you're talking about.

You saw The Queers!? :o I'm jealous now. :(

[The Philosopher]

Crank the hell out of it to the point where it doesn't sound like a snare anymore

[Aaron]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhvjpClvBKQ

Nice polka.

[AfroMan]

^ When I first started playing I thought that guys playing was the **** :(