Metal vs Wood - these Snares Sound the Same | Season Six, Episode 41
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
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Shell material doesn't matter...nearly as much as you might think it does.
Drum shell material may be the variable that’s given the greatest attention when it comes to differentiating between drums. Generally speaking, most snares drums fit into one of two categories; metal or wood. But what if metal and wood drums sound the same and it’s really just a trick our eyes are playing on us?
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I’ve been saying this for years!!! I think what makes them seem so different is that most tend to tune a metal snare vs wood snare so different.
100 %
Thanks so much for the kind words and description. You guys make excellent content that I am proud to support. I feel like we approach music and sound from a similar place. This topic is also a fascination one. I have found myself using less snare drums as I have seasoned as a player and I believe it is due to this same concept. The better I get to know a drum, the better I can make it do what I want and the more it sounds like me. At this point, I use a 6.5 brass drum and a 5.5 mahogany drum for basically everything. I agree, the shell has way less to do with the sound of the drum than the heads, beds, edge, and player. Bravo guys for this episode.
What a timely video for me. I 3D printed a snare drum a couple of weeks ago. Sounded ok at first, but I tinkered with the tuning here and there. Now that I have been playing it a few weeks, it sounds almost exactly like my mid '60s Jazzfest. Different shell material, different bearing edges, different heads, different wires, even different lug count. Slowly I naturally (and unintentionally) made it sound like most of my other snares.
Here is a thing I have noticed over the years with myself and my friends. No matter which equipment we procure, it always sounds like us. All my snares end up sounding a lot alike, no matter how they sounded in the shop when I bought them. My friends have gone through wildly different guitars, pedals, amps and even though they sounded different at first, my friends and I end up adjusting our gear to fit the sound in our heads, which may or may not be where the equipment sounds best.
So $12 worth of plastic sounds like hundreds of dollars worth of wood or metal in my hands. :)
got a link? I'm curious how it sounds!!
what does that mean, you 3D printed a drum ?
It means they printed a drum shell out of plastic with a 3D printer for $12 worth of filament. I would have to assume the hardware was not printed, but I want to see a video of it. Sounds very interesting.
@@morganblack1773 correct, I printed the shell. The hardware was what I had lying around that fit. I’ve seen printed lugs, but I didn’t try that.
It sounds decent. I took it to band practice Friday night. The guys thought it had a good crack. I normally use a Supraphonic with that band. Stood up to hard playing and rimshots. I’m pleased with it.
My back knows the difference when carrying an aluminum snare.
hahahaha, exactly
Such a weird comment. I mean how much less does it weigh? A few pounds?
This seems like a comment better matched for our sister channel, Feels Like a Drum...
@SoundsLikeADrum that's great 😂😂😂
@@ruffryder13 Oh man! You've never owned a Vistalite!!! I have a 22'' Vista kick and a 28'' WFL 3 ply kick and the weight difference is shocking!! The Vista feels like a boat anchor!!
ehh, I agree with the sentiment that the player has a greater impact on the sound, the role of gear is overstated etc. But the change from one to the other at around 8:16 is very clearly different. I'd be curious to see what kind of a story the spectrograms tell. I think the ludwig has a more prominent ring, and a more gradual decay, where the pearl has a bit more of a subdued ring and a faster almost gated sounding decay. Obviously this could be attributed to any number of differences, not just the shell material, but there is definitely a difference, even without looking.
Acrolytes are also dryer and a lot less lively than a Supraphonic.
Maybe my ears are more fine tuned but I can hear a difference. I've been spending a lot of time recording different snares at different tunings so my ears are probably a little more tuned in than most. The wood drum was dryer it only rang out when you hit it harder. Also a different sounding ring. Maybe do another video where you are not showing the drum Pan the camera up a little bit and see if someone can tell the difference.
I hear the same. I see the point he's trying to make totally but there is definitely a difference in the sound. Pretty clear too.
Two relative stories that support your point: I used to play regularly for my church, in a rotation with two other drummers. Same drums, same sticks, I was the one to tune the kit regardless of who played; the sound guy would talk endlessly about how the kit never sounded as good when the other two played as it did when I played. He was biased toward me as a drummer, of course (we have been working together for decades, and part of my sound was molded by him), but it just illustrates the different sound produced by different drummers, even on the same kit.
Also, one of the fun things the band I'm in does is have one of the lead singer/guitar players sit at the kit for one song, while I do some vocals in his place. The kit sounds COMPLETELY different under his playing. Again, same sticks, same tunings, etc.
A player's sound is made by the player. Different drums, tunings, and heads do different things, but the player is the most important variable in the mix. Fun video!
From my opinion the area of depth and ring where you can actually notice a significant difference is not where you would want your snare sound, that’s like some St. Anger sh
Shell material never made or broke a gig or session anywhere ever. ✌
Well said!
The forbidden truth.
because producers generally rent drums for lame band drummers in the studio :). also, most session drummers have 20-50 snares, i wonder why ?!?
The transients sound effectively identical because all you hear in that first impulse are the heads and their tuning - but the decay of the note absolutely differs because different combinations of bearing edge, shell material, hardware, etc will absorb the energy from that hit at different rates across different frequencies. This frequency-dispersive decay causes, for example, brass to lose high frequencies faster than aluminum and have a slight pitch drop as the decay progresses, while aluminum's decay sounds more even in pitch.
So, while the drummer's technique with a single hit absolutely dictates the initial impulse, to what extent can that technique impact the decay? Because even in the first gotcha example, your massive changes to the transient only very slightly altered the decay.
The thing you can't get in a video are the differences in feel, which sometimes does come down to the drum configuration and materials. A 6.5" deep thin shelled drum with triple flange hoops won't feel the same as a 5" deep, thick maple drum with re-rings and die casts. When playing, that difference in feel can inform my playing in a way that (naturally) translates into a different sound, just because of how it changes my playing.
That’s true but you’re talking about specs rather than materials right?
@@evilhubert Sure, but materials plays a part. In the video, they had two drums with different shell materials, but also different number of lugs, different hoop styles, etc, and (slightly) different depths. A thin, sharp shell like the INDe kalamazoo will feel different than a Craviatto baseball bat edged solid snare. Sometimes, those differences in specs make a huge difference, and aren't captured when you just say "bronze" vs "maple"
The snare drum that's "for you" is what feels good by the way the air moves when you hit it, and the look of it. The differences in snares are how they make you feel or inspire you. You can only find your favorite sounding snare by sitting behind it and nailing it. The microphones will not capture what you feel.
Holy cow! What a wonderful episode - thank you all for laying it out so perfectly for us
Thank y'all, as always, for taking the time to research and provide this comparison. I recently purchased a Ludwig acrolite. I love it, it sounds awesome and is so easy to deal with. A reason I purchased it was all the hype I'd been hearing. But, after some soul searching, it came down to I wanted that drum I had as a kid. I searched for a while to find one. I budgeted
Thank you for doing the bait and switch! Most of what we think we hear is influenced by what we see, and many musicians just won't accept it. I deliberately didn't look at the video just to see if I could discern which drum was which, but I couldn't. Great video!
While your point is well taken, the near field experience of hearing the drum without amplification is different. My COB Slingerland snare is definitely a bit warmer than my Rogers steel Super Ten and both are different than my 15" fiberglass snare that has a great dry articulateness that steel and wood are not capable of. Once you put a mike right next to the head, the electronics tend to decrease the differences... and out in the audience (miked or not) I'm sure the difference isn't discernible. I've learned that the near field listening experience (my hearing the sound directly) , if it's what I want to hear, is a big factor in my increased efficacy in expressing myself. Same thing with cymbals...
Exceptional! Useful, clear, demonstrable, and irrefutable. Thank you!
I still feel that there's difference in sound from some drums because I BELIEVE they respond differently. And because I hit them with a different attitude and expectation, which is then self fulfilling. (plus, close-mic'ing also adds continuity between drums, which might sound a smidgeon different were a listener right in the room, with fresh ears (and their eyes closed).
Finally, "the Placebo Effect" is real in unexpected ways. So real, in fact, that in a recent study I reviewed, even people who KNEW they were getting the placebo, felt some benefit from it. So this is often why we seek out more gear for a different sound, not because it will sound different, but because we believe it will, and may find inspiration in that. I don't see that as a bad thing.
Thanks again for your always stellar videos!
Next to playing I would say that the biggest influence on the sound of a drum is the room and the position you are listening to a drum.
can't believe I just turned my phone around when the first comparison started and I noticed the simularitys - then Cody revealed that trick of having different audio/video!!
i was thinking that they sounded pretty similar, but the wood i guess sounded a little darker to my ears bur like he said he just hit it differently
I know a drums artisan who always says: " there are no differences between types of drums, there are only good sounding drums and bad sounding drums, regardless the way they are made or the meterial they are made of"
Very interesting topic, thank you for this!
I dont think the sound is different enough to matter, but i know i can make both my brass snares much louder than any wood snare I've tried. In my case my band is super loud and we don't mic everyone's stuff up so i needed the brass to be able to cut through the mix. Very solid video though, i loved it
Interesting, my Pearl FF Brass 14x6,5 is not louder than my Sonor Designer Maple 14x6,5 - for sure both are extremely loud and cutting through. I have Steel Snares (Tama Silverstar 80s, Pearl Ian Paiste Model) in 14x6,5 which are a bit less loud. I use same heads (top Remo Ambassador, bottom Remo Diplomat) on all and the biggest difference I noticed is that the Pearl FF Brass is less bright.
Great video people . Thank you .
Informative and suprising. I appreciate the time and effort spent making this great channel.
Real great episode! Almost an intervention! I think every word you said toward the end needed to be said ! Keep up w the sharin of your wisdom and experience!
I love the point of avoiding brand strategies to define what is the sound you need and experiment of your own. Materials DO have characteristics that are different yet difficult to be meaningful... you need to spend time with your equipment and try different stuff.... not just praise a brand or model. But tuning, set up and feel are the Real variables. And no one needed to feel coerced to believe the can hear a wood and aluminum shells being the same, its hardly noticeable? Maybe, in different circumstances. Is it WORTH NOTICING? While we are focused on the font type, we aren't actually connecting with the story we are reading....
I'm not saying I would be able to tell a Superstar from a Supraphonic in a blind test, but I could definitely tell the difference in sound. It's not a MASSIVE difference, but the wooden snare sounded just a tad deeper - with more oomph - and behaved differently as it was decaying. I checked it blindly, because you're right: our senses influence each other - and I came out still hearing a difference and I could tell which was the wooden snare and which was the metal one (only because I came to recognise these specific snares and their distinctive sound - I'm not saying this would be true with other snares, I'm sure there are some out there that can sound identical).
I was even stunned in the beginning with the trickery because I was indeed hearing the exact same snare sound and was like "wow, amazing! They DO sound identical!"
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do still believe every drum has it's own unique voice, but I completely agree that the differences can often be very minimal.
The only time I clearly heard a difference was on the pocket groove. The metal seemed to have a little more "pop & zing" to it. But maybe it was just the tuning.
Yep, I find that actual metal drums have more overtones / sustain / ring
@@contramachina354 and people also give different tastes to identical fruit flavor yogurts if they have different colors.
Thank you!!! We need more RUclips channels to acknowledge that. Flimmaking suffers from that too.
Thank you!!
I think with sound differences, it’s less about shell material and more about sizes/head choice. I have a 13x7 OCDP Maple/Ash Snare and it has a lot of low-end punch and thud at high tunings that aren’t (as) present with a regular 14x5-14x8. I had a Heavyweight on it because I thought the extra mass as well as shorter diameter would mean the high-pitched, but bassy sound I was talking about but it was too thick and choked the drum out. The G12 was my next choice and it was like magic, my favorite head on that drum by a long shot 💪
exactly, a nice piccolo 14"x3.5" or pancake, a standard wood 14"x5.5" and a deep metal 14"x6.5" won't have the same sound and they can tune very differently.
Great video. I've been messing with people online by asking for help picking a better ride cymbal based on audio from a couple of samples alone when in fact it's the same ride all the time and i only switch between nylon and wood tipped sticks.
Love this! My goal years ago was to build an awesome drum arsenal like we see all over social media. I quickly discovered the importance of heads, hoops, wires, etc. before the shell. I’m glad I went through this journey & appreciate drums for what they are. NOT the super specific materials or sounds. We haven’t even opened Pandora’s box of sound / EQ. 10 out of 10! TY
I agree on the fact that the sound is made by the drummer, which also means that maybe Cody is only able to get that, only and same sound, from any snare, because it's the sound that he likes.
I didn't "watch" the video at first. I set my phone face down and just listened through my headphones. Couldn't tell which snare was which. The changes from one to the other were noticeable, but I wouldn't have known which was aluminum and which was maple without looking at them. The both sounded like nice snares.
Thank you so much! I've thought this and been saying this for years!
Agreed on much of this, the players hands (touch and strike point) have tremendous effect, tuning, muffling, heads, sticks also have massive effect.
But imo the best reason to own a few snares holds value in the ease of getting to certain places. A busy gigging player can get a dry sound from any drum, but the acrolite gets there quick and easy. That ease is nice to have for a busy working player. A steel drum can get bright and loud easily, and the ease could be worth it for some people.
Learning to tune well and capture lots of sounds is super valuable to ANY drummer! But when I was gigging, recording and studying non stop, I had less time to tinker with things, and there was value in having a snare that I could say “this gets me where I’m going quick”.
I’ve also always preferred a metal shell snare (COA, brass, aluminum), I just feel like I could get where I wanted to be easiest with a metal shell.
And as mentioned by a comment in the video, I really love a 5x14 Supra. What an easy drum to work with. That Ludwig drum shell has a really great quality that makes it easy to manipulate, maybe that’s my experience giving me a pre-conception. I have so much experience with that drum, I can get it dialed into a bunch of useful sounds really fast!
Always played maple snare drums but a few years ago I tried a yamaha copper snare and wished i'd had the money to buy, it was such a joy to play.
I have 1 snare drum that I’ve gigged and recorded for the past 20 years. I recognized this a long time ago. Glad to see y’all noticed it too.
I’d love to see a segment on the Rogers Dynasonic wood snare, with the best tuning.
As someone that owns over 30 snare drums, the aluminum does sound like wood drums. Same for carbon steel drums. But brass, bronze, and copper do sound different. Quite a bit different once you get to 6” plus depth.
Now once the music cranks up, not really noticeable
Edit: my bamboo Yamaha drum sounds distinctively different than either. They don’t make them anymore so I’m glad I kept it.
As far as the acrolite vs Yamaha aluminum recording custom, it doesn’t make a difference
Over 30 snare drums ! Do you have a Snare drum addiction problem ?
@@johng7265 yes, and cymbals. It’s a disease
IMO this statement would have to exclude cheap luan wood shells, and harder and heavier metal shells like brass, bronze, copper. Those differ so much in shear volume alone, let alone tone.
also cross sticking should be considered
I hear your point, BUT they do sound very different. I promise I did listen to the video first before watching anything. However is very true that you can do the same work with either one. AMAZING VIDEO!
Im at work just listening with no video and I could hear a difference
If you didn't know it was a comparison between two drums, do you believe you could have heard a difference?
Yeh I agree I heard it too. Was surprised that the Acrolite sounded a bit more lively. But audiophiles might agree, it's a small difference and the tuning matchup is splendid.
Agreed - but I think the differences have to do with one drum having only 8 lugs and triple-flanged hoops, and the other having 10 lugs and die-cast hoops, not the shell material.
I can tell the difference between the drums when played back to back with decent confidence, but I'm not confident I could tell one from the other if the drums were played with a 30 second pause in between. I do think there is a difference between shell materials and individual drum construction, but the tuning, setup, and playing technique are at least 90% of the equation.
I'm happy that someone else said this. Thanks for proving me correct after all these years.
This is why I love this channel! You guys demystify things so concisely. The way I would put it would be that there's a Venn diagram of the Pearl and the Acrolyte, and that their area of intersection is far larger than most of us imagine it to be. I guess I was fooled by the first demonstration. When I saw Cory hitting the Pearl I thought "Damn, they sound identical! Well, if they really sound that close, then point taken!"
To me the wood seemed a slight bit warmer. I am also sure your in person experience is probably completely different than ours, and in the case of us the sound is probably effected more by the choice of microphones than anything else.
What about shell density? Would a 20 ply not sound different from a 10 ply or a 7mm from a 10mm?
Not for nothing but material and craftmanship really do make a difference. Neither of those snares will sound like my bell bronze.
THANK YOU!
I observed this first hand at a Simon Phillips clinic back in the 90s.
I was excited to see Simon playing his usual 6.5x14 Maple Snare Drum. Instead he was playing a metal drum, brass iirc. The sound was exactly the same!
I was thinking about exactly this scenario just yesterday: wondering how much our eyes decieve our ears, and how accurately or scientifically we can even do comparisons between different pieces of equipment unless all parameters but one are the same. Thank you guys for making this video to prove my train of thought was going in the right direction - and now please get out of my head, or I'll have to ask you to pay rent! 😄
Wow...thats a good message to me. I dont need an expensive snaredrum.
Hi Cody, you are on a new level here 🙌 I've just watched the other videos released this month and you are so much more alive basically. Really didn't expect the first comparison to be a deception 😅 But what I mean is being more playful, also speaking your truth more directly. And at the end of the video a proper guidance as you call to action by saying "work on your ear training". Overall I like the tone of this and the other videos very much 💛 I feel like something has changed, shifted recently in your life, some liberating experience maybe. Either way, just wanted share what I saw and share the love 🙏🫂
Really fascinating, once again it proves that we feast with our eyes and our mindset is altered as a result. I tend to gravitate towards metal snares, not that I dislike wooden shells, but I have more metal snares... now I'm asking myself...why? Thanks, guys, great food for thought (pun no intended). Cheers.
Same size, depth and caractheristics. Aluminium, which is a soft metal vs. hard maple and cast hoops - very close at the first 'sight'. But. The difference is obvious by ears. The acro has it's mellow tone and the hard maple is more brighter, more consistent, musical w more volume and wider frequency range. Different dynamics as well. So to my ears the sound is not the same. Great video though. Thanks!🙏
Great video and will agree for the most part. But being a drum tech and drum company owner for 25 years i will add that drums can be VERY different. Some have sweet spots in their tuning, some cheap drums are easier to tune than pro-level drums. There's usually a "problem child" drum in a 5,6, or 7 piece kit. One doesn't like to sit well with the others. Bearing edges play a huge roll in sound and tuning. So, just saying, there are so many variables that I've seen through the years but I love our instrument and wouldn't change a thing about them (well maybe haha). Happy drumming 🥁
Thank you for making this video! All the points you brought up are absolutely true. One question I do have is if different shell materials are louder/ quieter when playing with the same dynamic level / stick hit force. Now that would be an interesting test.
Want to say thank you for all the videos you post. Lots of good information!
They sound different to me. But...The aluminum snare was probably not the best choice for a metal snare since aluminum has many similar tones that a wood snare has. The difference I hear is that the Maple snare has more of a warmer attack and the Aluminum has more of a higher bite on attack. A brass or a steel snare would have been a better choice than the aluminum.
I was listening with eyes closed, and could tell a slight difference during the snare off and pocket groove comparison. Could I tell you which was which? Nope. Eyes were closed. Both sound good.
Tunning and technique are the keys for a specific sound.
Totally agree that the drum sound people think of comes mostly from the head choice and individual playing style; we've been preaching this as well. But also wonder if this demonstration simultaneously shows us that ply-wood shells (or at least hard maple plys) are insignificantly different from metal shells because of their rigidity, particular porosity, and overall less ability to resonate (because of glue, gaskets, etc.) and so they just sound similar in pitch and resonance to aluminum. Just some navel gazing...
Maybe we'll see a stave vs. acro or a steam-bent vs. acro episode some day?
I hear a subtle difference. Put a frequency counter on it. Attack from the wood is deeper to my ears. The metal attack is slightly drier and focused in upper mids.
What am I learning through watching these videos? I SUCK AT TUNING!
It seems That when I do land on a sound that makes me happy, it has more to do with luck, than skill. I feel as though I'm am always chasing sounds. Sad thing is that I've been doing that for nearly 50 years.
I have often been complimented on my drum sound by other drummers, and it's usually in relation to the drums I'm playing, but I don't feel consistent, and can struggle with certain venues.
It's a process. Thanks again guys for proving that.
I think that 90% of the sound comes from the actual thing that vibrates, the skins, thus the choice of which skin you use, how you tune it, how you dampen it, is by far the biggest factor. As long as the bearing edges, snare bed and hardware are built nicely, this will be a useful drum. The other 10% are details that at best only get heard by well trained ears, snare tension comes second, the shell third (steel vs. maple without dampening aren't the same I think, though bronze vs. aluminium...?), then snare wires, then rims, (then choice of wire or plastic thing to held the wires in place, than how tight you screw the snare on the stand, etc.)
I agree with the commentators, these 10% are important to the player because it gives a particular feel when playing it, thus it inspires differently and makes one play differently, so they don't matter sonicwise but playingwise.
AND like it's been said in the video, the looks are very important, a beautiful drum shapes the perception, the brain makes the shortcut of good looks -> good sound, plus it motivates you more to play it, whereas you probably don't even want to set up a dusty ugly one.
That was great. As far as I can hear on my tiny phone speakers, the wooden snare sounded a touch drier. However, you can play the metal snare in a way that sounds drier too.
You are certainly spot on the fact that the player is the most important factor in the sound.
I can generate distinctly different sounds striking a solid surface (a floor or a chair, for example) just by griping the sticks differently. If it is that obvious on non- instruments, the difference a player makes on drums and cymbals is even greater. 😊
Thank you! Finally i can have a good night's sleep. Best episode so far!
But my bell brass was sand-casted by the Dhali Lama!! The tears of the poor people who play Pearl Exports were used to lubricate the file that made the edges!
Hahah! 😁
In the backbeat groove I hear a clear difference in the sustaining resonance. The metal one sounds like you hit a keg, the wood one doesn't. I love that keg sound!
with a full mix of the rest of the band and cymbals on the drum set, it'll be hard to tell what snare the drummer is using imo
Wow, it's great that you guys did this video. It reminds me of the various videos made a Glen Flicker at SpecterSounds. Who had made various videos debunking tone sounds on electric guitars 🎸. Where he does a blind comparison on different guitars, amps, pick-ups or speakers and guitarist get upset cause they can't pick the right ones. So YEAH, it's hard to tell when you don't see the instruments and have to figure if it's wood or metal.
Keep the great work 👍 😊
I don’t believe this in the least. I’ve got several for example 6-1/2 x 14 snares in my collection. There are distinct differences between the 3 metal shell and 4 wood shell snares I own. You can then further subdivide within the wood shells and within the metal shells. I prefer the wood shells in my collection as they do present less overtone ring by default. I then further prefer my birch shell as it is the most dry and requires the least amount of damping. My “control” drumhead has always been the Evans HD Dry, been using that specific head for 31 years now. Plenty other Evans heads in the house, but the HD Dry is my go to. My tension is always the same using a drum dial as there’s a specific rebound I like with ghost notes, drags and rolls. The porous nature of wood even with a lacquer coating will naturally dampen sound. Look at the difference between say a saxophone vs a clarinet, or a steel cone resonator guitar vs a standard acoustic guitar. 👍
Love the premise that gear is much less important than most of us think. However, the only thing that's been proven here is that these two particular drums can be made to sound remarkably similar despite their many differences.
That's all we set out to prove in this one so I'd say this was a success!
I thought it was pretty obvious that the maple snare was darker and less ringy/open. But that's probably due to the maple snare having an extra 1/2" of depth and die-cast hoops, not the shell material. I'm curious to see the results of two drums with the same dimensions, heads, wires, hoops, and lug count (and even lug style (old school ball-ended tube lugs), if possible).
My Sonor Designer Maple 14x6,5 is not darker than my metal snares in the same size with same heads, my Pearl FF Brass sounds "warmer" or you can also say is less bright than the Sonor maple and my steel snare drums. What is different is the loudness but this might be more related to the hoops.
When I think of a metal or metallic 'sounding' snare, I think of that sort of sound that became popular with 90s and 2000s trip hop. Like, an industrial type of snare sound. Or St Anger
Was one noticably louder than another?
Would you agree then that they’re are big differences in terms of projection and volume of wood vs metal?
I agree with everything you have said here. However, I have one thing to add. Some drums can be made to sound louder than other drums in a live band setting. My new Yamaha oak drums can be set up to be louder than my vintage Slingerland drums. But both can sound very much the same hit softly in a studio setting.
Great presentation. I know lots of drummers will be upset about a few of the comments on the video. Actually I agree, it's mostly how the player plays the drum. Of course drum needs to be good enough to be tuned to produce great tone. As long as it's round and a head can be seated on rim and hold up your good to go. Enjoy, learn, share, keep drumming! Old Man Drummer....
I may sound like an idiot, but I feel like there was definitely a difference although subtle at times. In general I thought the wood snare was a bit tighter sounding. Someone else commented that Aluminum is closer to wood than other metals. That's always been my impression as well. It would be interesting to see these comparisons expanded to other woods and metals. It's unfortunate there wasn't a blind test with all the talk of being visually tricked. Either way you got both snares to sound great!
Interesting episode as usual. Both drums sound great, but there are subtle differences that I could hear in the video. The metal drum sounded a little more open / ringy and the wood drum was a little bit dryer / less ringy, but that is exactly what I'd expect just from the different hoops fitted. Was it the shell or the hoops that was making the difference, or both, or possibly some of the other differences between them... My guess is it's all the differences that are playing a part in the sound. Also the wood drum seemed to be tuned just slightly lower in pitch.
i'm having a hard time NOT jumping from "you can't necessarily determine a wood snare from a metal snare by sound alone" to "it doesn't matter what snare you use". I don't think that was the point of this video (or was it LOL), but i'm looking at my little snare collection and thinking "these YT guys just said that you're all equivalent". I don't quite know how to feel but I think I'm kind of sad now.
I will admit, I’ve seen a video on RUclips where a guy was playing a stainless steel kit and it sounded just as warm and wonderful as any wood kit BUT I am CERTAIN that my acrylic snare drum has less sustain than my other snare drums. Could that really ONLY be head selection and tuning?
I use no dampening of any kind, other than that built into the head.
I see that, despite the folk law, that bearing edges make no discernible difference to sound but what about construction? Does shell thickness also have no discernible input to drum sound?
This same experiment was performed with guitar using various woods. The result was the same - identical tones for all of them.
This. Is. Perfect. Buy your drums for the look! If you want a lacquer finish, then the type of wood only matters for the grain style you like. If you are getting wraps don’t worry about the specie. Acrylic is fine then. If you like the look of metal, then get metal. Weight and stability might matter as well as far as extreme sizes. Heads, sticks and hits is what makes your sound pre-tuning. The same is true of guitars. Strings, pickups and nut/bridge construction is it. Body material makes no difference.
I have the same issue when it comes to HiFi equipment. Differences are so small that you can’t take out the psychological element. I decided to just buy the equipment that I like the look and feel of
I've always felt that the thing that makes a snare good is down to mostly one factor, how articulate the snare sound is. It seems like some snare drums, no matter how I tune them, sound like a loose bag of change when they're hit. These ones might work OK for hard backrests when struck right in the middle, but don't really track buzz rolls, ghost notes or any kind of subtle playing. I do hear subtle differences of different shells in snare drums, but as long as they have that articulate quality and can be tuned to be crisp, just about any of them could work for any style that I might play, from jazz standards to heavy rock....
I agree with the sentiments of this video to a certain extent. Shell build plays a factor to conducting these experiments. I believe there is a threshold to when both drums with different materials would sound the same and when they will start becoming distinct from one another.
For example: Would a 5mm maple-ply snare sound the same as a 5mm brass snare? Or would a 1.2mm aluminum shell sound the same as a 1.5mm single-ply birch snare?
With how things are sold to us by manufacturers today, we are presented with thicker built wood-ply snares(around 5 to 6mm on average) and thin-built metal snares(1 to 1.5mm on average) which I believe are at a threshold of sounding very similar to each other with nuances. Unless we have an apples-to-apples comparison of snare materials/configuration, we can still argue that snare material does make a difference.
Great episode! A great topic to continuously discuss/ argue about within drummers.
In listening to these snare samples, I can often precisely identify whether it's a metal or wood snare in most takes. To my ears, the metal snare seems to have a slightly higher pitch and more overtones. Conversely, the wood snare appears a bit drier and less resonant. While in a mix, one might achieve a similar sound from both snares, I believe in a live setting, there's a subtle but noticeable difference between them. Nonetheless, I concur with your view that the drummer's technique is the key factor influencing the sound
Always enjoy your vids!!! I wonder if they would sound the same if equipped and tensioned the same. Very interesting !!
Hello! This video is great, as usual with your content! I would like to ask you a question on a similar topic… As a drummer, I am very much in love with my instruments and, as it is nearly 25 years that I play, I am starting to consider buying a very high end drum set. How do you tackle the issue of not being caught in all the marketing and how would you choose this kind of kit? I am not a rich man (for now at least), so I would like to have your opinion if sometimes it can be worth to buy an expensive kit, as it will last for a lifetime…
Thank you very much, I hope this can be useful for many drummers!
I wonder how many perfect vintage Ludwig snares are left.
They’re out there, keep looking if that’s what you want.
The wonderful thing about the Acrolite is that there are a million of them and Ludwig is still making them today in the exact same way and with the same machines as they always have.
That first sequence - ahhhh, got me good! You guys did a superb job tuning those snares as close to identically as is practically possible. Metal or wood, doesn't matter - does it sound good? That's the most important part. For me, which drum I choose to play is kind of like what shoes or hat I decide to wear on any given day - just a mood thing. Cheers!
Ode to the sight screaming classes eh? Haha Always felt like the best snare tensioning experiences came from breaking down my expectations of specific drums, and focusing on making specific sounds.
Love it! 🔥
I can hear the difference I also wasnt looking, however I have a better hearing than most ppp
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
I hear a massive difference at 9:24.. it seems that he changes the drum a little bit earlier than that but then changes the audio
There was a bit of a pitch drop that occurred while we were filming demos that became more evident with the snares off. I decided to keep it in the edit because the timbre is still quite similar even if the pitch isn’t spot on. What’s really interesting is that the vast majority of people probably wouldn’t realize it was a different snare if they heard the first half and then heard the second half after a few minutes of silence or some sort of “sonic palate cleanser”. This raises an interesting question: how different does a snare sound have to be for it to be memorable enough to be recognized / correctly identified after a period of time? Of course, this also depends on the listener but that’s part of the point with this episode as well.
I love my nickel over brass 6.5x14 DC snare. The snare that came with my set was terrible, I mean complete junk. I watch your channel, and many others, and just could not get it to sound good. Finally had a guy put out a 15 sec video. "If you're watching this video, you haven't been able to get your snare tuned. Throw it away, it's junk!" He was right. I'd be interested in seeing the same snare with different heads, both mfg and type. Tnx for the video, always learn a lot.
Let's not kid ourselves: a poorly-maintained wooden MIJ snare is always going to be harder to work with than a brand-new Pearl. If you're fighting the _condition_ of your instrument, it's a losing battle. But most of us aren't using super beat-up gear that requires daily tweaks. This is assumed by the video for brevity's sake, but there are/will be maintenance videos dealing with it explicitly.