No matter how technically or rhythmically skilled you are, without a quality snare drum your sound will irredeemably suffer. The snare drum is the cornerstone of a beat and is used in every single genre of music. Ideally all the drums in your kit will be of at least a reasonable quality, but if there’s one drum you need to prioritize it’s the snare! Here are some important tips to finding a good one.

First thing is you’ll hear about certain brands that are good and you’ll be tempted to buy a reliable name. This may or may not be good. What’s likely is you’ll buy a drum that’s good for somebody, but not for you. Like with any instrument, you need to take into consideration what you’re looking for. There are many considerations to weigh: the diameter, the material of the head, the depth, the material the actual snare if made of, and there’s plenty more. Wooden materials give you a mellow sound which is suitable for jazz, whereas bronze or brass is a bit tinnier. Complicating things further, different types of wood provide different sounds, and sometimes metal and wooden materials are combined on one drum. One thing you can do is look into the kind of snare your favourite drummer uses, or a musician whose sound you want to emulate. The important thing is to take into mind what you’re looking for from the instrument, not merely a drum that’s popular.

Of course all this does not take into consideration price or level of expertise. If you’re just starting out you’ll require a lot less. You’ll want a solid, playable instrument and not a toy, but you won’t necessarily be gauging the depth of your drum to listen to the way it articulates. The best thing to do as a beginner is to look at different snares in your price range and sample them all. Remember, the snare is a good place to invest in your kit because it’s used so frequently. This is not the place for parsimony! If you’re more experienced and you’re buying your second snare you’ll probably know specifically what else you’re looking for. Take time to buy the right one: you already have the “wrong” one now and you might as well be patient and thorough in your search to make sure that your second snare is the last one you’ll need to buy for a long time. No drum lasts forever, especially ones that take such a beating, but you want to make sure that your new cornerstone of your set gives you a much improved sound.

One thing to keep in mind is the used options. Be careful, because as mentioned above drums take a beating, but there’s good deals you can get on terrific drums that still have life in them. Just be sure you have a full understanding of just how worn they are. If possible go with somebody you trust who knows about drums. In the meantime, best of luck on the search!

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Category: Entertainment
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