I'm thinking of getting a new snare this holiday season to replace my current no-name snare. I'm hoping to keep it under $300 and under $200 would be even better. I've got a few ideas, just the simple Gretsch Catalina Club Snare, the Pearl Forum Poplar Snare, the Ludwig Rocker Steel Shell Snare, maybe even the PDP 805 Snare... Any other suggestions or a suggestion from the list above?

Thanks in advance!

Personally I'd go with the Gretsch or the Ludwig. I had a Ludwig rocker for many years and it's a smokin snare.
I did try out the Catalina Ash snare and it does have a real sweet sound once it's setup








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Sneaking into the lives of strangers and letting them fall apart to a new rhythm just to feel better

get a joey jordison snare they look ace and sound really cool

if you want to get a decent snare at a decent price, pearl fire cracker, id replace the snare wires though, i blew mine out real quick

Shop around for a higher quality used snare. I got a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute 5x14 snare, which are all used these days, for $145 after tax. I found it at my local drum shop. Check your local shops, eBay, and places like Craigslist.org. Drums are drums, don't get caught up on needing something to be brand new because it'll still be new to you and you'll save a lot of money buying good quality used gear. Another example, I spent around $2k on a small home recording setup a few months ago that would've cost me a little over $3k if I'd bought everything brand new. The gear looks and works just like new.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

You can get a very nice used Ludwig Supraphonic on eBay for under $200 and have yourself the industry standard metal snare drum. There is nothing not to like about that drum, it just sounds great and is versatile and a nice one can be had pretty inexpensively. There is a reason that drum is used on thousands of recordings, it just sounds great.

Pork Pie makes some reasonably priced snares that
Aren't CRAP. They make that Black Beauty Copy
the Big Black Brass Snare for $229, I hear it's pretty
good and I've seen it for sale on Musicians Friend

SGarrett and Airborne Ranger have the right idea. If you have a budget of $200, don't limit yourself to those snares. And if you want to invest $300, man you can get something pretty nice. I recently picked up a Noble & Cooley Classic Alloy for under $400. Do some research, then search for those used deals. Paying retail price for any of the snares you mentioned should be your worst case scenario.








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www.myspace.com/steppinrazorreggaeband

I proudly endorse Medicine Man Drums, AZ

i have a ludwig acrolite for cheap and its quite nice








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www.myspace.com/crimsonorchidband

www.crimsonorchid.com

depending on what you play check out the pearl vinnie paul signature and the pearl chad smith signature

As many people said above, take your budget and look for something used. I sold a new (never played) Ddrum dominion maple snare for $150 on craigslist because I wanted it to go to someone who would use it instead of having it sit in a case in my storage room or my band's rehearsal space. (I call it the spare bedroom but my wife calls it my drum storage). For drums I prefer craigslist over ebay (unless the seller is local) so I can actually inspect the drum before I buy it.

Airborne Ranger wrote:

You can get a very nice used Ludwig Supraphonic on eBay for under $200 and have yourself the industry standard metal snare drum. There is nothing not to like about that drum, it just sounds great and is versatile and a nice one can be had pretty inexpensively. There is a reason that drum is used on thousands of recordings, it just sounds great.

Totally agree. The Ludwig Supraphonic 5 x 14 is the gold standard. You can tune it to be thick and fat or a tight crack. I found one walking by a pawn shop that was all dirty with broken heads and wire and bought it for $100. I cleaned it up and it is my go to snare for most situations, above others I have like a brass Mapex, the solid shell Maple DW and a custom 1 inch thick block Maple.

You can find a bunch of them on Ebay for under $200.

I had a Pearl Chad Smith and it is pretty close to the Ludwig, a bit louder, snappier. You can get that in your price range also.

I would stay away from the Birch and Poplar woods for a snare, you want a harder wood for a snare.








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Jeff Porcaro - Lord of Groove

racefan33 wrote:

I would stay away from the Birch and Poplar woods for a snare, you want a harder wood for a snare.

Why do you say that? From my experience, birch snares rock.








_________________

Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

SGarrett wrote:

racefan33 wrote:

I would stay away from the Birch and Poplar woods for a snare, you want a harder wood for a snare.

Why do you say that? From my experience, birch snares rock.

Just a personal observation and preference. For his situation it would seem that he wants a versitile drum. You can mute a Maple or metal shell drum to make it sound more like a birch drum but you can't make a birch drum sound like a maple drum without effects.








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Jeff Porcaro - Lord of Groove

racefan33 wrote:

SGarrett wrote:

racefan33 wrote:

I would stay away from the Birch and Poplar woods for a snare, you want a harder wood for a snare.

Why do you say that? From my experience, birch snares rock.

Just a personal observation and preference. For his situation it would seem that he wants a versitile drum. You can mute a Maple or metal shell drum to make it sound more like a birch drum but you can't make a birch drum sound like a maple drum without effects.

Right on.

I actually like the drier sound of birch for most applications. A 6x14 birch snare tuned up to a "crack" makes me happy. I like to have overtones with my snare and getting the sound I really like out of a maple snare means losing most of those overtones. Oddly enough, I don't have a birch snare yet. Hahaha. I just borrow my friend's old-ass Yamaha Recording Custom 6x14 when he's not using it.

And here we get to that whole "personal voice on the instrument" thing. Head selection, tuning, cymbal selection, snare sound, and touch.








_________________

Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive