Side Snare
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mangorockfish
- Posts: 182
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 10:23 pm
- Location: arkansas
Side Snare
Who uses a side snare with your kit and what size? I have one, 12x5 and use it most of the time, but since I am getting a good snare sound out of my main drum, I'm beginning to use it less. Just the main drum a 10" tom and my 6 & 8" concert toms occasionally.
popcorn a poppin
i use a side snare, but for the time being, it's my only snare; my main drum is a bass/tom only. I've heard some great recorded examples where the main drum serves as bass and snare (check out Dinkus' site), and I certainly dig the one-drum zen approach, however I'm also loving bigger and longer tones from the kick and tom, so that's where I stay...for now.
Back on track, my 'side' snare is a 5 (I think) x10 'popcorn' style maple drum made by Pacific. Nuthiin fancy for sure, and less than $99 used - I couldn't be happier with it. i've changed heads on it several times and a new snare head also helped to elevate the quality. It can be tuned moderately high for a snare sound reminiscent of a larger drum (but smaller) or cranked for some mad sharp pop. I use the stock snare strands and shell mount. Evans G1 and G2 coated have worked well as batters, sometimes a tiny slice of moongel helps focus the tone in quieter situations.
The downside to a smaller (8 or 10 inch diameter) is xstick sounds and brushes. On the 10" drum i've developed a smaller brush pattern that works ok, and blastics sound great. Cross stick is easily handled either with a block (not the same but similar) or by reaching the butt of the stick to the adjacent tom rim.
I've also tried a 13" maple piccolo snare and it's great for overcoming the limitations of the small snare (brushes and xstick) but I favor the balance of size and volume of the smaller drum in the cocktail context. I've been doing a little bit of sit down playing with an upright 16x16 as a kick/tom and the piccolo drum is excellent in that context.
And back to where I started, I'll admit that I occassionally play the main drum with brushes (snare style) from time to time for a bigger swish and swirl....so all is cocktail for me when that happens!
Back on track, my 'side' snare is a 5 (I think) x10 'popcorn' style maple drum made by Pacific. Nuthiin fancy for sure, and less than $99 used - I couldn't be happier with it. i've changed heads on it several times and a new snare head also helped to elevate the quality. It can be tuned moderately high for a snare sound reminiscent of a larger drum (but smaller) or cranked for some mad sharp pop. I use the stock snare strands and shell mount. Evans G1 and G2 coated have worked well as batters, sometimes a tiny slice of moongel helps focus the tone in quieter situations.
The downside to a smaller (8 or 10 inch diameter) is xstick sounds and brushes. On the 10" drum i've developed a smaller brush pattern that works ok, and blastics sound great. Cross stick is easily handled either with a block (not the same but similar) or by reaching the butt of the stick to the adjacent tom rim.
I've also tried a 13" maple piccolo snare and it's great for overcoming the limitations of the small snare (brushes and xstick) but I favor the balance of size and volume of the smaller drum in the cocktail context. I've been doing a little bit of sit down playing with an upright 16x16 as a kick/tom and the piccolo drum is excellent in that context.
And back to where I started, I'll admit that I occassionally play the main drum with brushes (snare style) from time to time for a bigger swish and swirl....so all is cocktail for me when that happens!
Interesting post, multiperc. I've been going back and forth with my new drum, as to whether I want to tune the 15" batter low or high.
I do plan to do a lot of brushwork but I don't like the floor-tommy tone I get when I strike the drum with the brushes. What kind of sound are you getting when you play brushes on the big drum? Are you muffling it at all>
I do plan to do a lot of brushwork but I don't like the floor-tommy tone I get when I strike the drum with the brushes. What kind of sound are you getting when you play brushes on the big drum? Are you muffling it at all>
Well, I do get a swishy floor-toommy tone playing brushes on the big drum to some degree. And if that's not what you'd want then you'll likely want to tune your 15" higher.
For me, though I've found a good tuning between kick impact and tom tone where they do work together; the top head is a coated G2 and therefore has a round tone and a good textured surface for brushes. The bottom head is a clear pinstripe with an impact pad (Iforget what it's called) and I use cotton balls inside. So from the top perspective, there's muffling on the bottom, from the bottom perspecive there's a reasonably resonant head on the other side.
This is far from snare on top, kick on bottom though. I built this drum and haven't yet experimented with top snares, cranking the top (perhaps to the detriment of bass tone) or the wonderful word of baffles. I'm just not there....
So that's the deal. The brush playing I do on top of the big drum is funky and swingy. Since it isn't a snare, I use the brushes to mute the tom tone and dig in for the swish! It's a blast, but is far from what one might consider proper snare drum brush technique.
For me, though I've found a good tuning between kick impact and tom tone where they do work together; the top head is a coated G2 and therefore has a round tone and a good textured surface for brushes. The bottom head is a clear pinstripe with an impact pad (Iforget what it's called) and I use cotton balls inside. So from the top perspective, there's muffling on the bottom, from the bottom perspecive there's a reasonably resonant head on the other side.
This is far from snare on top, kick on bottom though. I built this drum and haven't yet experimented with top snares, cranking the top (perhaps to the detriment of bass tone) or the wonderful word of baffles. I'm just not there....
So that's the deal. The brush playing I do on top of the big drum is funky and swingy. Since it isn't a snare, I use the brushes to mute the tom tone and dig in for the swish! It's a blast, but is far from what one might consider proper snare drum brush technique.
This may be a first. I ordered a club jordan snare separately for my cj cocktail drum but it hasn't arrived in time for a stint with this herp alpert brass band that i'm helping out. i want to use the cocktail kit so i'm going to use my 18 month old son's snare and tom from his CB drum kit. The snare doesn't sound bad for a cheapo kids drums.
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ratatattat
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:44 pm
I also have a side snare I tried using, but I think I like my main drums fat snare sound much better than the gretsch blackhawk 10" snare drum I bought. the little snare sounds good, but the main drum sounds so much better I switched back already. I guess it depends on what kind of music you are accompying. I may just sell that blackhawk drum. great value!