I finally flipped over one too many fine snare drums and feel compelled to write about a pet peeve. So many great snare drums...so many cheap "Snappy Snare" wires on the bottom. Why do we do this?
Nothing ruins the sound more than those $7 sets of snares. Sorry, but in this age of great wires from Pure Sound, Grove, Pearl, Tama and others, we need to remember that the snares of old were part of the sound! None of the old manufacturers would have considered the flimsy snares of today. Leedy, Rogers, Ludwig and Slingerland all had the finest quality snares sitting under (and for some also inside) their prized snare drums.
Too many times today manufacturers slap on the cheaply made and ever cheaper sounding flimsy wires. Stand up and complain.
Cheap hoops and cheap snares make any drum sound bad. Conversely, great hoops and great wires make the difference.
Outfit your snare drum like they did in the "old days." Get a great set of snare wires and you'll hear why.
If you'd like to learn more about vintage drums, I encourage you to order my book, The Great American Drums, and we'll get a copy mailed right away.
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