Snare drums are available in many different sizes and materials. The snare drum is one of the most important parts of the drum set, as it gives the song its back beat, and it goes back to virtually any setup.
A snare drum can be tuned in many different ways, and due to the wide variety of sizes and materials, two snare drums sound virtually never the same. Therefore, there are many large drummers who get specially designed signature snare drums with exactly the same sound that characterizes them.
Stay on the site – then I’ll show you the best snare drums on the market and give you more knowledge about the drum.
Top 5 Best Snare Drums
I have selected some of the market’s best snare drums:
Best all-round snare drum
Best snare drum for rock and metal
Best snare drum for pop
Best snare drum for reggae and hip hop
Best marching snare drum
Best snare drum for brushes
Best metal snare drum
Best snare drum head
Snare drum parts
Snare wires: The snare wires is the element that separates the snare drum from all other drums. Snare wires is the ‘band’ of metal wires that leans against the resonance head. The wires can be tightened by means of an adjusting mechanism on the side of the drum. When the sewing is tightened, the wires are tightened and the drill drum gets a shorter, more cash sound. If the wires are tightened too much, this can suffocate the sound. The wires is typically made of steel, but they are also available in some cases in brass. They come in many different sizes, and the number of wires plays a major role in the sound of the snare drum.
Lugs: The drum is often the drum that has the most lugs. Lugs are the drums of the drum in which the voice screws are located. Snare drums typically have 8 or 10 lugs, and some have only 6 lugs – and some have 12 lugs. A high number of lugs allows the drummer to more precisely control the tension from each lug and thereby tune the drum more precisely.
The head: There is a tradition that you always use a coated single layer head on the snare drum. This gives a good result virtually every time, but depending on which genres you play and what sound you go for, it pays to experiment with double layer heads or even clear heads.
The stand: The snare drum stand can be adjusted in height and inclination. In addition, it is often possible to adjust the tightness of a handle, the stand must have on the drum. The more this grip is tightened, the more it dampens the vibrations of the drum, which can help to give a shorter sound. Snare drum stand is also used by some drummers to keep tame.
The size of the snare drum
Snare drums come in virtually all sizes. They typically measure between 10” and 14” in the diameter, and the depth can be anywhere between 3” and 8”. The wider the drum is, the more sewing one can hear, and as the depth increases, the amount of air that the sound waves has to increase increases. This gives a deeper, richer sound. Which music genres the different sizes fit best are reviewed in the section ‘Choosing a snare drum’.
Snare drum materials
Over the years, you have experimented with all kinds of materials, including acrylic, fiberglass and even concrete. However, most drums today are made of either wood or metal. It is often only the drill drum that is made of metal. Most timber grooves are made in several layers, with the inner layers having the greatest effect on the sound. Many manufacturers therefore manufacture snare drums with one kind of wood in the middle and another kind of wood as the outer layer – often for aesthetic reasons. Below are some of the most common materials.
Maple is particularly widespread for the production of more expensive drums. Hornet drums have a characteristic, slightly deeper and warm tone, as the wood type amplifies the sound low frequencies. Lilac drums in maple are therefore particularly suited to being tuned deeper than snare drums in other materials.
Birch has a high density and high durability. The hard wood makes the tone more aggressive than other materials, and the sound is more crisp and has more impact. Birk amplifies both the low and deep frequencies, which creates balance in the sound.
Beech is a rare material, but the wood has unique properties: the density is the same as in birch, but the more rough surface allows one to get a deeper sound out of the drum. If you are looking for the long-life of the birch tree, and a deep, more warm sound than maple drums. Then beech is a good medium.
Mahogany was previously the standard wood type for drum production, but this fine and expensive wood is not used so often today. Some manufacturers still manufacture snare drums of mahogany, but it is far from standard. Mahogany amplifies the lower frequencies and gives a strong low end, resulting in a very rich and warm tone. We usually associate this tone with the characteristic sound of the vintage drums.
Poppel is nowadays mostly used to make beginner sets, but in spite of that however, the wood species may sound great. Poppel has high durability and is often used as “filling” in the drums that are manufactured in several layers. Here you put a layer of poplar in the middle. As for the sound, poplar sounds most like maple and birch.
Steel provides a very bright sound with long sustain, high volume and lots of overtones. Steel is particularly useful in genres where the sound has to cut through or where you want lots of characteristic overtones. Steel is often the standard material for novice drums – but also professional – as they can be manufactured cheaper than lill drums of wood.
Brass is very similar to steel, but the sound here is a bit warmer and has more low end. Many believe that the sound is more balanced and slightly more dry than the sound of the steel drum.
Choosing a snare drum
Hip hop, drum’n’bass and reggae: many drummers within these genres make use of tiny snare drums, often between 10 “and 12” in diameter. The drill drum is often made of steel here, as it gives an aggressive sound with many overtones, which many drummers seek.
Pop, rock and metal : The snare drum selection in pop is very wide, but in the end it is often up to the producer how the snare drum sounds. It is therefore important to find a drill drum with the right impact and the right amount of force. And this very much depends on the song. For rock and metal you often use 14 “snare drums. The depth often varies between 5.5 ”and 8”, where 8 ”is particularly prevalent in genres such as hard rock and glam. Here you try to achieve a large, pompous sound. A snare drum with the dimensions 14×6.5 “is often the standard for mostly rock and metal.
Death metal: Within the more extreme genres such as death metal, black metal and grindcore, you often seek a snare drum sound that is short and cash, but still has lots of punch and low end. Former drummer in Slipknot, Joey Jordison, developed in collaboration with Pearl a signature steel drum of 13×6.5 ”. Steel pellet drums of this size have since been the standard for extreme metal genres, as the depth has bottom and power, but the material and the snareer width give the snare drum more responsiveness and a more penetrating sound.
How to tune the snare drum
There are almost as many ways to tune for snare drums as there are drummers, and it is up to the individual to find just the sound that they can identify with. The sound of the snare drum depends on many factors, including material, choice of head, the tonal relationship between the two heads, choice of snare wires and of course the technique used to tune the drum.
