I own 31 snare drums, everything from LM-402’s to Acrolites to Stewart Copeland signatures, staves, maples, a wide range of sizes and materials. This snare snuck up on me and became my absolute favorite of them all. It is the snare drum I choose if I could only possess one. It has that perfect balance of all things I look for in a drum. The right amount of response, sustain, punch, ring, subtlety, and personality. I didn’t plan it being my favorite when I bought it, but it just sounds better than any snare I’ve ever played, every gig, every tracking session.
I’ve been waiting for this review for AGES! This my most favourite snare I own! I changed the heavyweight skin for the Evans HD dry, now it sounds even better! Loving these videos!
Great review as always! Really enjoying the high tuning on this one. Not as thin and ringy sounding as some other metal shell drums. Would love to see a review of the the Sonor Protean snare!
Bought this snare some times ago ; happy as I've never been with a snare drum (and I possess some great ones). The ability it has to change sounds with barely no tuning changes at all is absolutely unbelievable (I put a Remo Ambassador on the batter side, though, with a little bit of tape, and I have a weird tuning method but still). And they all mean business, which is something, considering how many you can get out of the shell. The only drawback would be that it's not up to high end standards when it comes to finish : the inside weld is poorly finished, the rods were not properly greased and the snare throw off is a bit wobbly. But besides those small issues, I can't stress enough how fun and musical this drum is (even if I'd love an half of an inch more) !
This along with the now discontinued Nomad are the two snares I want the most, but the value of the Mexican Peso really makes them an expensive alternative for me. I would love to own a Wraith since it offers so much drum for the money, and it's one of those snare drums that really can do anything you want it to do!
I gotta say, to start: I'm not a fan of Brass snares. Brass is a little too loud in the upper mid range, it has a harsh sharp attack in the 3K range which makes it irritating and the overtones of brass kill me. BUT... when I tried This snare in Guitar Center, I have to say it's one of my favorite Brass snares.
Wow, that snare sounds killer in the low and mid tunings! I always heard about this particular signature snare being really dry and now I know why.. Looking forward to more sognature snare reviews regardless of the manufacturer, keep it up guys! 😉
Please review some Tama gear, preferably the Tama starclassic kits, tama star kits, and Tama Starphonic and slp Snare Drums. Wanna get Nolly’s take on that gear since he has had a lot of experience working with meinl and Tama artists like Matt Garstka, Alex rudinger, anup sastry, and Craig Reynolds and others
Hey, I'd love to see you do a comparison of Matt's mapex signature snare to Matt's Pearl signature snare. I know you don't usually do comparisons but I really like this mapex snare, and with the other videos out there showcasing his new pearl, I chose to go with the mapex based on this video. Thoughts?
This is the perfect recording ready snare drum sound in my opinion. Dry enough to eliminate a lot of the stray harmonics but still retaining plenty of punch and character.
That thing sounds fantastic; looks really slick too. The only thing that would make it any cooler would be to change the hardware to either black chrome or copper. Good review.
One of the most underrated snare drums for sure, has a very unique character (as many snares do) but as far as brass goes its hard to beat this drum with a uv1 head imo. The drum almost naturally EQs its self if you get the tuning right. Considering its price point, definitely worth getting a hold of one if you can. Also might be controversial but i prefer it over matts new sig snare 🤷🏻♂️
yeah, i remember when he randomly starting backing Yamaha aswell, i guess the guy just can't decide what sounds best. and is culturally worth more than the brands, or at least thinks so. For the record his saturn V and wraith sounds best, maybe the vk snare too for heavier stuff
izreor it has a lot to do with Mapex’s worldwide artist support vs Pearl’s (I mean honestly. Look at pearls roster) and mapex’s lead HR guy passing away. A lot of artists left Mapex around this time.
Really enjoyed this review guys. It sound solid under the mic. Do you feel they did everything they could to keep it high end. Because although the plastic parts are not a problem now I was wondering about the longevity of the snare if used vigorously every night. Again great review, love what you guys are doing!
Two questions, as I'm curious how this drum sounds in a mix. First, is this the snare you used on Periphery III? Second, if that's the case, how much processing did it take to get the low notes to come out in a track like Habitual Line Stepper? Or is the dynamic range and clarity of this snare just that good?
Hi John, yes we used a Wraith for the Periphery III session, though not this exact one. It didn't take all that much processing to sound good in the mix, and Habitual Line Stepper featured a fairly low tuning for that deeper sound. Of course, Matt is a phenomenal drummer with a very consistent backbeat and excellent dynamics, so the performances were spectacular in the first place. If you are interested you could check out the masterclasses I have done for CreativeLive and Nail the Mix, which concentrate heavily on my drum production and mixing techniques for Periphery.
I own 31 snare drums, everything from LM-402’s to Acrolites to Stewart Copeland signatures, staves, maples, a wide range of sizes and materials.
This snare snuck up on me and became my absolute favorite of them all. It is the snare drum I choose if I could only possess one. It has that perfect balance of all things I look for in a drum. The right amount of response, sustain, punch, ring, subtlety, and personality.
I didn’t plan it being my favorite when I bought it, but it just sounds better than any snare I’ve ever played, every gig, every tracking session.
I just sold a snare to a guy that has 348 snare drums, all high end. Each snare has character right?
I only have about 10 but this is my favourite, especially when volume is needed!
I’ve been waiting for this review for AGES! This my most favourite snare I own! I changed the heavyweight skin for the Evans HD dry, now it sounds even better! Loving these videos!
Great review as always! Really enjoying the high tuning on this one. Not as thin and ringy sounding as some other metal shell drums.
Would love to see a review of the the Sonor Protean snare!
Reason so is it comes stock with the Evans Heavyweight Snare head :D
Protean? Yes please! And maybe Danny Carey's signature snare too since it's also Sonor 😉
Just bought this snare. So far I love it. And yes your are’t lying when you say it projects well. Can’t wait to bring it to a gig.
Bought this snare some times ago ; happy as I've never been with a snare drum (and I possess some great ones). The ability it has to change sounds with barely no tuning changes at all is absolutely unbelievable (I put a Remo Ambassador on the batter side, though, with a little bit of tape, and I have a weird tuning method but still). And they all mean business, which is something, considering how many you can get out of the shell.
The only drawback would be that it's not up to high end standards when it comes to finish : the inside weld is poorly finished, the rods were not properly greased and the snare throw off is a bit wobbly. But besides those small issues, I can't stress enough how fun and musical this drum is (even if I'd love an half of an inch more) !
Interesting. Would you rather have a Tama Starphonic 14x6 Brass though?
This along with the now discontinued Nomad are the two snares I want the most, but the value of the Mexican Peso really makes them an expensive alternative for me. I would love to own a Wraith since it offers so much drum for the money, and it's one of those snare drums that really can do anything you want it to do!
I gotta say, to start: I'm not a fan of Brass snares. Brass is a little too loud in the upper mid range, it has a harsh sharp attack in the 3K range which makes it irritating and the overtones of brass kill me. BUT... when I tried This snare in Guitar Center, I have to say it's one of my favorite Brass snares.
Wow, that snare sounds killer in the low and mid tunings! I always heard about this particular signature snare being really dry and now I know why.. Looking forward to more sognature snare reviews regardless of the manufacturer, keep it up guys! 😉
Wow what a great looking snare . High tuning for me .
Please review some Tama gear, preferably the Tama starclassic kits, tama star kits, and Tama Starphonic and slp Snare Drums. Wanna get Nolly’s take on that gear since he has had a lot of experience working with meinl and Tama artists like Matt Garstka, Alex rudinger, anup sastry, and Craig Reynolds and others
I’d never played Mapex, until I bought the Black Widow recently.....absolutely love it.
I rate it as good as my favourite Tama SLP snares.
Hey, I'd love to see you do a comparison of Matt's mapex signature snare to Matt's Pearl signature snare. I know you don't usually do comparisons but I really like this mapex snare, and with the other videos out there showcasing his new pearl, I chose to go with the mapex based on this video. Thoughts?
This is the perfect recording ready snare drum sound in my opinion. Dry enough to eliminate a lot of the stray harmonics but still retaining plenty of punch and character.
That thing sounds fantastic; looks really slick too. The only thing that would make it any cooler would be to change the hardware to either black chrome or copper.
Good review.
One of the most underrated snare drums for sure, has a very unique character (as many snares do) but as far as brass goes its hard to beat this drum with a uv1 head imo. The drum almost naturally EQs its self if you get the tuning right. Considering its price point, definitely worth getting a hold of one if you can. Also might be controversial but i prefer it over matts new sig snare 🤷🏻♂️
I'm using that same snare on my MAPEX kit I'm using on my RUclips channel.
Gets a signature snare, goes play Pearl...
yeah, i remember when he randomly starting backing Yamaha aswell, i guess the guy just can't decide what sounds best.
and is culturally worth more than the brands, or at least thinks so.
For the record his saturn V and wraith sounds best, maybe the vk snare too for heavier stuff
izreor it has a lot to do with Mapex’s worldwide artist support vs Pearl’s (I mean honestly. Look at pearls roster) and mapex’s lead HR guy passing away. A lot of artists left Mapex around this time.
Yea, 4 years later. What's your point?
Joke's on you - now he has TWO signature snares.
Real nice sounding snare. Somewhere between medium and high tuning is great.
Another great in depth review! Love them! Not a huge fan of the air vents on this snare but it sounds fantastic!
Really enjoyed this review guys. It sound solid under the mic. Do you feel they did everything they could to keep it high end. Because although the plastic parts are not a problem now I was wondering about the longevity of the snare if used vigorously every night.
Again great review, love what you guys are doing!
its a beast, bag it, un bag it, crack it, no problem!
@@kosmicdebris5938 right on ✌🏻🥁🤓
High tuning for me not a big fan of 6x14 but this one sounds really nice.
Two questions, as I'm curious how this drum sounds in a mix.
First, is this the snare you used on Periphery III?
Second, if that's the case, how much processing did it take to get the low notes to come out in a track like Habitual Line Stepper? Or is the dynamic range and clarity of this snare just that good?
Hi John, yes we used a Wraith for the Periphery III session, though not this exact one. It didn't take all that much processing to sound good in the mix, and Habitual Line Stepper featured a fairly low tuning for that deeper sound.
Of course, Matt is a phenomenal drummer with a very consistent backbeat and excellent dynamics, so the performances were spectacular in the first place.
If you are interested you could check out the masterclasses I have done for CreativeLive and Nail the Mix, which concentrate heavily on my drum production and mixing techniques for Periphery.
Nolly sounds so sophisticated
Would you say the 9 vents give this kind of a aluminum dry sound?
It's not dry like aluminum. This has all the overtones of brass, but with a much shorter sustain. "Crisp" would be a better description than "dry."
As used by Ray Hearne of Haken, for the Virus Album.
Seamless shell?
I love the low tuning on this one. Most drums sound like wet cardboard that low, but this baby sounds fat!
1:02 Wait, what?
He is Nolly dude
He was the bassist lol. You are the first person in the comments in one of these videos that I've seen that didn't know that lol
I thought he was a pearl artist?
He was a Mapex artist before that
It's like them pork pie drums looks like a piece of Swiss cheese so many holes and vents
A bit of a conflict of interest here. haha ;)
Nice ad(kidding)