Favorite snare that you've recorded

[chrisso]

I got berated by a gaggle of assassins for not rating Ajax highly enough, but predictably when the same people have the chance to sing it's praises in a positive way, where are they?......... nowhere to be seen.
Studiowise, I guess I'll stick to my faithful Ludwig, N&C and Crav.

[C.r.a.p.]

Guess their mysterious guild is too busy paying service to the god of firewood......

[chrisso]

[bleen]

I generally love my Keplingers for recording, but I finally grabbed a wood drum that I think I love equally (and I didn't have the $$ to spring for a Craviotto....) - Carolina Drum Works single-ply maple 5.5x14, 8 lugs.

I whacked a crappy little vid together showing it in action:

[Gamelan]

Originally Posted by cgarges

I did a session years ago with a guy who was out in a booth where I couldn't see him. He was switching snares a lot from song to song, but every once in a while, he'd put one up that would sound really exceptional and I'd always ask him what it was. Turned out it was the same drum almost every time- a late 90s Pork Pie maple shelled 6x13 with tube lugs.

+1 on the 90's Pork Pie. The 14's are nice too. Very clear projection and easy to tune. But, my fav is still my 50's Rogers Eagle Badge. Warm with a capital W. Some of the BB lugs are cracked and the strainer is prehistoric, can't even use mylar snare straps on it, only takes string, but it still sounds great.

[JulianFernandez]

Originally Posted by bleen

I generally love my Keplingers for recording, but I finally grabbed a wood drum that I think I love equally (and I didn't have the $$ to spring for a Craviotto....) - Carolina Drum Works single-ply maple 5.5x14, 8 lugs.

Man, you should do a vid on tuning and recording drums!
Your vids sound consistently great! Congrats...

[bleen]

Originally Posted by JulianFernandez

Man, you should do a vid on tuning and recording drums!
Your vids sound consistently great! Congrats...

Hey, thanks! You're not the first person that's asked about a tuning video. I may just do that...

[JulianFernandez]

Originally Posted by bleen

Hey, thanks! You're not the first person that's asked about a tuning video. I may just do that...

Jajja, cool... Nice project to start the new year busy then...

[KickSnareHat]

I might have to change my answer. I just got a 6 1/2" Black Beauty and it records like a dream.

[biggator6]

Originally Posted by KickSnareHat

I might have to change my answer. I just got a 6 1/2" Black Beauty and it records like a dream.

Pics or it didn't happen!

[chrisso]

6.5" BB is a studio monster.

[Jax]

Not trying to 1 up kicksnarehat's BB since they are both amazing, but I just got my first (and hopefully last?!) 1966 14x5 Supra for $130. I can't say enough good things about it. It is a player's snare and no museum piece, but the sound is all I really care about.

I've played Supras before but damn, this thing is a treat!

Sonically it's more 'immediate', clear, popping and probably louder than a BB, but the Ludalloy isn't as complex compared to Brass.

[RobF]

The drummers who track at my place always smile when they hear the Brady 14x6.5 Blackwood Block

[KickSnareHat]

Originally Posted by biggator6

Pics or it didn't happen!

Fair enough. Here it is, along with most of my new Recording Custom kit that also is my new favorite kit for recording.

[dimag333]

elvin jones snare

[relayer]

Originally Posted by dimag333

elvin jones snare

I'm a big fan of those Yamaha signature snares with the big wood hoops. I've got the Anton Fig, and it's one of the best sounding snares I've ever owned.

Steve

[Chunkaway]

1.) Ludwig Black Beauty (6.5X14)
2.) Craviotto (6.5X14- maple)
3.) Ayotte w/wood hoops (5.5X14)
4.) Ludwig Classic Maple (6.5X14)

The first three are probably ones you would expect, but that Classic Maple snare just works. It has a ton of body, tunes very easily, is articulate sounding, and generally just a great snare drum for not a lot of money.

I had a Pork Pie snare, but I ALWAYS had problems with it losing it's tuning- we're talking in the middle of a four minute song. I did a few things to it that improved it, but it just never did what I heard other Pork Pie snares do. Maybe I got a dud?

[PaulMac]

Tama Swingstar... no joke. The size of the drums of the whole kit are amazing and the snare can sound perfect if well-tuned with the correct skin.
We always have people come into the studio and use it over their snares at 10x the price.

[C.r.a.p.]

Is the shell of this swingstar made of cast iron? I owned a Imperial Star made in 1983 made of cast iron. It had some great stick definition but not much of snare resonance. In order to get good results from this drum a bottom snare mic was mandatory.

[MikeCM]

1) Allegra w/ wood hoops, 14x6.5
2) Supraphonic 14x6.5

The allegra was probably the one I was most impressed with simply because I already had high expectations for the Supra. I tuned it low, put two sheets of paper and two moon gels on, loosened the snares and it was a very beefy sound. Obviously that particular sound isn't applicable to every song, but it was picture perfect for this one song. The rest of the album was dominated by the supra with different tunings/snare settings.

[drummerGlyn]

I absolutely love my Supraphonic which I've owned for over 16 years (it's a 70's one I believe). It just seems to do everything I could want

In a practice room a few years back, I met a death metal drummer who had a REALLY deep Luddy, though I can't remember exactly how deep. To me, it sounded terrible as the snares were barely touching, and reminded me of the St Anger snare, only deeper. Visually impressive, but I'd take my snare any day of the week.

Saying that he didn't like my Supraphonic as it was very "traditional"

[kuasalogam]

Tama Starclassic, Ludwig Black Beauty

[BLUElightCory]

My 6.5" x 14" Black Beauty is definitely my go-to snare...but...a buddy of mine let us use his 6.5" x 14" Ayotte Keplinger (steel with wood hoops) and it's without a doubt the best sounding snare I've ever recorded.

He won't sell it to me.

[mrmike186]

Love my 6.5x14 Ludaloy and COB but for wood my 6.5x14 Pearl mmx always hits the sweet spot no matter where it's tuned. Best thing is it only cost me $180.

Still searching for the perfect 5x14. Tried a used mmx and while it sounds as good as anything I have tried I am still searching for the last 5%. Unfortunately my old Ludaloy I have had since I was a kid just sounds bad even though it looks great for 1967. I may have bent the shell just enough or maybe the rims are not correct anymore. It was stored for many years without rims. I know they can sound wonderful so I may just try out a new one.

[_Mark]

My Craviotto High Gloss Birdseye Maple Custom Shop never ceases to amaze me.

Mark

[enzodrum]

Originally Posted by chrisso

It's remarkable that so far no one has dropped in to say how amazing Ajax snares are to record.

I have a 14" by 6" Ajax metal snare and it is da bomb!
Only problem is that new heads are too tight and it's really hard to fit them!
Also my other best snares are a Yamaha maple custom 14"x4", and a Mapex Black Panther 12" by 6" in maple.