I love videos like these because it reminds me of all the drums I coveted as a kid when I first started playing. Great, now I’ve got to track one down!
Medium tension with the 1/2” o-ring was outstanding. This was always the piccolo of my dreams as a kid. Just about everything Yamaha made with those pink badges was pure gold.
Excellent playing. Really nice snare. I have one as well. I believe I bought it a few years after it was out in the drum shops. I really love it's sound in the higher tuning range. However (LOL!), I think I'm keeping mine. Keep the vid's coming. Cheers
Thanks John, always striving to be on the improve. WOW....you found one in a drum shop, that would not happen here in Australia but the more I look at it and play it I might just hold on to it.
Thanks Tomer greatly appreciatd, it's a great snare but I think I really have to sit down with it and "bond" with the snare. Feel like it's missing something but it might just have been the rain today.
Just bought one and it will hopefully be arriving tomorrow. I'm wanting to get the same tuning that Larry had on his one but I don't really have a good ear for the tuning on that drum. I know he used clear heads on both the top and bottom, with the top head resembling a clear controlled sound by Remo. Any chance you'd be able to help?
I just snagged one for cheap and can't wait for it to arrive! It looks to be in great shape too. Have you ever had any problems with the lugs on these failing? I know the gold Maple Custom lugs were defective early on but these look a bit sturdier (hopefully)
I personally haven’t had any issues with these particular square brass lugs but I know they are almost impossible to find when you need one. They do come up though now and then, I wouldn’t worry too much.
Great video and great snare. Love how it sounds in the mid to high tunings ranges. Also, thumbnail game is on point! Love what you are doing with the channel.
Thanks you so much, I started it with a small idea and ran with it. Still working on thumbnail part of it but it's getting, last thing I want to do is the whole clickbait thing.
Wasn't able to find any of these back in the day so I went with a Pearl free floating 3.5" brass snare. Very very similar. Are you familiar with that one?
Your high tension is my med tension..I own a sd493 since 1994 and like you I got it because Weckl and Colaiuta..great snare drum, specially high tension with rimshots..
Any chance you’ll be selling the other one? I’ve been looking for one for ages and it’s literally my dream snare. All of them are so expensive tho. Happy to discuss shipping ect.
@@IAMDRUMMER he said he had 2 SD493 snares. It’s been blood sweat and tears to try and find one with a decent price, hard to find one in general actually. Would you ever consider selling the one in the video?
@@IAMDRUMMER can you share any tips how you tuned it top, bottom, any new wires? I’ve had mine for years and haven’t had much time to spend to make it sound great.
I would love for you to do a video on choosing the NUMBER of wire strands for a snare. Apart from the "brands" and "material" (although those are great topics as well) ... I'm always wondering how a snare drum can sound equally as good with 20 strands of wire and/or 42 strands. Example: Both my Dunnett and Gretsch C.O.B. snares have 42 strand snare wires while my Yamaha SD493 brass and D.W. Collector N.O.B. snares only have 20 strands. They each sound great ... however , how would the latter two drums sound if I installed 42 strand snare wires while I installed 20 strands on the former 2?
@@IAMDRUMMER If you get a minute check out that snare in this song from 92. I have it above medium tuning and it has a lot of crack...from a vinyl transfer. ruclips.net/video/bNDDLQtKIvc/видео.html
I have an old non name generic brass pic snare I got with a vintage Tama rockstar kit...I put a thick clear Aquarian head with a white dot on it and man that snare is fat and powerful sounding with a full body and crack....funny because it is probably a brass snare worth 75$
Funny you say that as I remember an article with Dave Weckl that his neighbour had an old Kent snare drum that he used on Masterplan, he tried so many other drums but the Kent snare was what he needed on the album. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's not the sound you're looking for.
correct ...there is also the thing of sometimes you go to a show and see a drummer playing the most worthless cardboard box 5$ kit and it sounds brilliant and works beautifully in the room and with whatever style of music that is being played on it...where as if the drummer was using a 7000$ kit it would have sounded like garbage for that certain situation
I definitely grew up dreaming of this snare drum after seeing dave and vinnie playing it so often. Still my favorite period of theirs. Damn it, I should just get one. Even if the flavor of these times is definitely the 6.5 inches mahogany pillowy thing. a 3.5 inch snare is a bit like adding a sax solo to your production haha.
It was the go to snare drum of the big YAMAHA days especially with Vinnie and Dave, I’ve seen your sax solos and your channel and I’m a big fan of your work especially your production, groove and drum sound. Nite Sprite was a phenomenal track you did.
Thanks man!! We definitely must agree on groove somewhere because i immediately found myself not wanting to stop listening to your snare reviews just for the groove! I wanna check out your music! Snare drums are one of the less intuitive musical things to me. Between production, mic placement, snare drum itself, drum heads... it feels similar to the mouthpiece+reed quest. It could easily be a bachelor degree! BTW are you hip to the Oriollo drums yet? I just got into them, those aluminum shell toms and their cast brass snare (revival) got my GAS going for sure...
@@giuliocarmassi I really dig your grooves in you videos, really phat meaty pocket that sucks me in each an every time and the production is always above and beyond. Man I really want one of those Oriollo cast brass with the cast hoops, they sound just perfect but the shipping cost to Australia would be and is from what I gather would be immense, with shipping and the drum would be $2,200AUD easily.
I like the high tuning. I had a Pearl Free Floating 3.5x14 in the late 1980s ... when piccolo snare drums were the thing to have. I wish I kept it, but it was not versatile enough for drummer who could afford only 2 or 3 snare drums... which was my plight in the late 1980s. Just like this drum, it sounds best cranked up! I have been looking for one of these drums lately, maybe someday! 👍🏻👍🏻
I have the 90's version of the steel free floater and it was my first real pro snare drums when I got that white BLX you see in the video, it's a great snare that will be up in a video soon. There are a few on eBay as we speak but I know what you mean, drums are pricey but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
Well I have owned 39 snare drums... I still own 10 currently! I have had roughly 5 piccolo snares and I traded my last one a 4x14 10 ply custom snare to get my Pearl Omar Hakim drum back from my friend! So no piccolo snares currently. But my Omar drum is very close to a piccolo being a 5x13! Anyhow know how to be a gearslut! 😀🥁🥁🥁
Talking abut gear and after playing the Vinnie I am going to ask DW to make me a 14x4 maple with gold hardware and in Turquoise....I have too much gear already I think.
I love videos like these because it reminds me of all the drums I coveted as a kid when I first started playing. Great, now I’ve got to track one down!
They are out there and in brilliant condition, check out Reverb.
Medium tension with the 1/2” o-ring was outstanding. This was always the piccolo of my dreams as a kid. Just about everything Yamaha made with those pink badges was pure gold.
best snare drum ever made..............
I agree, sometimes it's good to meet your heroes.
That snare sounds fantastic.
Once you get past the rather complex snare strainer it’s a killer drum.
Excellent playing. Really nice snare. I have one as well. I believe I bought it a few years after it was out in the drum shops. I really love it's sound in the higher tuning range. However (LOL!), I think I'm keeping mine. Keep the vid's coming. Cheers
Thanks John, always striving to be on the improve. WOW....you found one in a drum shop, that would not happen here in Australia but the more I look at it and play it I might just hold on to it.
cool snare and excellent demo, I got one of those too about 6 years ago. also, u2's Larry mullen Jr played that snare during the Joshua tree USA tour
Thanks Tomer greatly appreciatd, it's a great snare but I think I really have to sit down with it and "bond" with the snare. Feel like it's missing something but it might just have been the rain today.
Exactly!
I'll sit down with it during the week and nut it out, I know the snare system is very touchy and must be setup correctly.
Just bought one and it will hopefully be arriving tomorrow. I'm wanting to get the same tuning that Larry had on his one but I don't really have a good ear for the tuning on that drum. I know he used clear heads on both the top and bottom, with the top head resembling a clear controlled sound by Remo. Any chance you'd be able to help?
Mate I am always happy to help.
I just snagged one for cheap and can't wait for it to arrive! It looks to be in great shape too. Have you ever had any problems with the lugs on these failing? I know the gold Maple Custom lugs were defective early on but these look a bit sturdier (hopefully)
I personally haven’t had any issues with these particular square brass lugs but I know they are almost impossible to find when you need one. They do come up though now and then, I wouldn’t worry too much.
Great video and great snare. Love how it sounds in the mid to high tunings ranges.
Also, thumbnail game is on point! Love what you are doing with the channel.
Thanks you so much, I started it with a small idea and ran with it. Still working on thumbnail part of it but it's getting, last thing I want to do is the whole clickbait thing.
Wasn't able to find any of these back in the day so I went with a Pearl free floating 3.5" brass snare. Very very similar. Are you familiar with that one?
I am indeed, brilliant snare.
Crank those snares up, man.
Your high tension is my med tension..I own a sd493 since 1994 and like you I got it because Weckl and Colaiuta..great snare drum, specially high tension with rimshots..
Aníbal De León I really should crank it up a little more.
Great snare!! I have two :) with same puresound vintage wires. With Aquarian drumheads.
It’s a brilliant drum, how did you find the strainer setup?
Any chance you’ll be selling the other one? I’ve been looking for one for ages and it’s literally my dream snare. All of them are so expensive tho. Happy to discuss shipping ect.
Which other one are you referring to?
@@IAMDRUMMER he said he had 2 SD493 snares. It’s been blood sweat and tears to try and find one with a decent price, hard to find one in general actually. Would you ever consider selling the one in the video?
I re watched the video, didn’t mention that I had two of these particular drum. They are around on sites such as Reverb from time to time.
Nice video, cool channel. Quick info: you named Weckl twice instead of Vinnie in your description box ;).
Thank you and....oops I had better fix that.
I have one too!! Eu tenho uma também!!!
Very cool, how do you like it?
😎😎😎😎😎
Sweet snare!! What kick are you using. I'm guessing it's a dw naughty pine?
It's a 22x20 specialty lacquer over olive ash burl, ow say that five times fast.
To be be honest it is a blast! Very nice sound.
This is one of those drums you need to spend time with, get to know it and then it will never leave your side.
@@IAMDRUMMER can you share any tips how you tuned it top, bottom, any new wires? I’ve had mine for years and haven’t had much time to spend to make it sound great.
I would love for you to do a video on choosing the NUMBER of wire strands for a snare. Apart from the "brands" and "material" (although those are great topics as well) ... I'm always wondering how a snare drum can sound equally as good with 20 strands of wire and/or 42 strands. Example: Both my Dunnett and Gretsch C.O.B. snares have 42 strand snare wires while my Yamaha SD493 brass and D.W. Collector N.O.B. snares only have 20 strands. They each sound great ... however , how would the latter two drums sound if I installed 42 strand snare wires while I installed 20 strands on the former 2?
John Di Raimo Your read my mind as I have one in the works as it's a very unique topic and one that should be discussed.
I owned one from 92-02 and regret getting rid of it to this day...but someday I will get another one and hope it will be as clean as yours!
They are always a few popping up on Reverb, I got real lucky getting this one locally and in such great condition.
@@IAMDRUMMER If you get a minute check out that snare in this song from 92. I have it above medium tuning and it has a lot of crack...from a vinyl transfer.
ruclips.net/video/bNDDLQtKIvc/видео.html
Of the various snares I've gotten rid of the ones I would consider buying again are the 496 (the deeper version of this) and this one.
I have an old non name generic brass pic snare I got with a vintage Tama rockstar kit...I put a thick clear Aquarian head with a white dot on it and man that snare is fat and powerful sounding with a full body and crack....funny because it is probably a brass snare worth 75$
Funny you say that as I remember an article with Dave Weckl that his neighbour had an old Kent snare drum that he used on Masterplan, he tried so many other drums but the Kent snare was what he needed on the album. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's not the sound you're looking for.
correct ...there is also the thing of sometimes you go to a show and see a drummer playing the most worthless cardboard box 5$ kit and it sounds brilliant and works beautifully in the room and with whatever style of music that is being played on it...where as if the drummer was using a 7000$ kit it would have sounded like garbage for that certain situation
Didn't Levon helm use it too?
I think so.
I definitely grew up dreaming of this snare drum after seeing dave and vinnie playing it so often. Still my favorite period of theirs. Damn it, I should just get one. Even if the flavor of these times is definitely the 6.5 inches mahogany pillowy thing. a 3.5 inch snare is a bit like adding a sax solo to your production haha.
It was the go to snare drum of the big YAMAHA days especially with Vinnie and Dave, I’ve seen your sax solos and your channel and I’m a big fan of your work especially your production, groove and drum sound.
Nite Sprite was a phenomenal track you did.
Thanks man!! We definitely must agree on groove somewhere because i immediately found myself not wanting to stop listening to your snare reviews just for the groove! I wanna check out your music! Snare drums are one of the less intuitive musical things to me. Between production, mic placement, snare drum itself, drum heads... it feels similar to the mouthpiece+reed quest. It could easily be a bachelor degree! BTW are you hip to the Oriollo drums yet? I just got into them, those aluminum shell toms and their cast brass snare (revival) got my GAS going for sure...
I believe in saxes
@@giuliocarmassi I really dig your grooves in you videos, really phat meaty pocket that sucks me in each an every time and the production is always above and beyond. Man I really want one of those Oriollo cast brass with the cast hoops, they sound just perfect but the shipping cost to Australia would be and is from what I gather would be immense, with shipping and the drum would be $2,200AUD easily.
I have this snare,it's probably the easiest drum to tune out there.Mine is the older version that says"Brass" in big bold letters on the badge.
Oh yes the YAMAHA SD493.....so good.
I recently got a silver yamaha that's the same size but has completely different sound quality, still a fantastic hoop though
Very nice!
I love this snare, it's ashame you can't buy it anymore.
Agreed but the strainer can be a pain.
got the backbeats downnnnnn
Thanks brother.
I had one of those - the loudest, baddest snare I have ever had. I only got rid of it because the throw-off or butt just wouldn't cooperate anymore.
It can be absolutely brutal of a snare.
I have one too!!
I like the high tuning. I had a Pearl Free Floating 3.5x14 in the late 1980s ... when piccolo snare drums were the thing to have. I wish I kept it, but it was not versatile enough for drummer who could afford only 2 or 3 snare drums... which was my plight in the late 1980s. Just like this drum, it sounds best cranked up! I have been looking for one of these drums lately, maybe someday! 👍🏻👍🏻
I have the 90's version of the steel free floater and it was my first real pro snare drums when I got that white BLX you see in the video, it's a great snare that will be up in a video soon. There are a few on eBay as we speak but I know what you mean, drums are pricey but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
Well I have owned 39 snare drums... I still own 10 currently! I have had roughly 5 piccolo snares and I traded my last one a 4x14 10 ply custom snare to get my Pearl Omar Hakim drum back from my friend! So no piccolo snares currently. But my Omar drum is very close to a piccolo being a 5x13! Anyhow know how to be a gearslut! 😀🥁🥁🥁
Talking abut gear and after playing the Vinnie I am going to ask DW to make me a 14x4 maple with gold hardware and in Turquoise....I have too much gear already I think.
Hello my kind sir. Can i buy this snare from you?🤣
I appear to be getting this a lot lately.
@@IAMDRUMMER sooooo is thar a consideration? 🤣🤣🤣
your video would make me buy this i've been skeptical about it since in thought its cheap...around $50-$70 its actually worth it!
These snares in mint can fetch between 600-800USD so if you can get one at $50 get it.
can anyone help
having problems with this strainer mechanism
How can I help?
how do you set the snares properly? maybe my throw off is bad? seems snares get loose cant get the snares (to stay tight to bottom head)
Can you send me some pics of how it’s currently setup, email is in my bio.
I got the 5.5 depth version from 87. Also seamless. It's awesome and very versatile.
I really need to hang out with this drum more.
How similar would this be in sound to the Garibaldi signature snare?
BIG BAZZA Pretty similar and I have one on it's way and will be done soon....ish.
Questlove plays it ;)
Yes even though he's a Ludwig endorser he still plays this snare🖖🏽
your video would make me buy this i've been skeptical about it since in thought its cheap...around $50-$70 its actually worth it!
Funny - I've seen it twice today for close to $500 USED!
I don’t know where you’re getting ones that cheap
I know someone who might be keen.