Signature Snare Drums thread

[intake]

dennis chambers....onga no..pwede rin 

[glass prison]

Guys, meron na bang nakapalo 10 in signature snare by mike portnoy? what can you say about the crack and the sensitivity? Is the 3 way throw-off really useful?

[Gep]

Si panterica, member din dito, owner ng snare na yan, check mo sa kanya. 

[intake]

may 10" sig snare si portnoy? matignan nga 

[Gep]

may 10" sig snare si portnoy? matignan nga 

12" yun.

[intake]

12? yun ba yung melody master?

[Gep]

Yupf!

[glass prison]

12 in pala- 5x12 (MP125) mukha kasing masarap ipalo gusto kong bumili. gusto ko lang sana kumuha ng comments.

[jeva]

These two are selling lower than what i can find in the store.

Each at a little less than 18K. Copeland is new, while Donati is in mint condition.

Since these are signature snares on discount, I am feeling the temptation of getting them.

1. Can you guys tell me the characteristics each of these snares posses?
2. Which is more versatile?
3. If you were to buy, which would you pick?

Also, would a Ludwig supra be better that a Copeland snare (same size)?

I have a Yamaha birch and Tama Hand hammered Copper (3mm thk), both 5.5x14. Both are very good sounding for me but i would appreciate to have a more versatile snare. I am not a pro drummer and have poor skills, just trying to learn.

I wanted to have that all around snare. I honestly feel that I dont really need any of the two, but the temptation is there because of the discount and the fact that i want to find the best sound.

So, what do you think guys, should I grab it or not? Your input will help me choose.

[drumster]

The Tama Stewart Copeland Signature and the Pearl Virgil Donati Signature drums are two very different snare drums, yet both are very qood quality models.

Here's how Tama and Pearl describe these signature models.  I bold-faced the special features of each drum...


Tama Stewart Copeland Signature snare drum

Stewart Copeland's signature model is a faithful reproduction of the snare drum of "mysterious provenance" that he used with the Police and everything else from that time period. A brass shell that's 0.5mm thicker than the standard 1mm shell and the combination of a die-cast batter hoop with a triple flanged bottom hoop provides sounds that easily penetrate what Copeland describes as the "dirge from the bass and the ear-piercing sounds of a guitar."


Pearl Virgil Donati Signature snare drum

The new VG-1450 Virgil Donati Signature Snare Drum is inspired by the Reference Series and features an 8 ply 50/50 blended maple and birch shell with rounded bearing edge. In drum talk, thicker is louder and the VG’s 8 plies supplies plenty of loudness but Virgil wanted more so we blended birch to the inner plies for added brightness and cut. The rounded top bearing edge supplies just the right amount overtone control and allows the drum to be played wide open without muffling in many situations. The VG-1450 features our “Philharmonic” snare bed that is totally flat within the width of the snares for ultimate snare response. Tube lugs, die cast hoops, and stunning Smoke Flake sparkle lacquer finish add the finishing touches to this outstanding snare drum.



So, to answer your questions...

1. You can refer to the info I posted above for details.  The most obvious difference, however, is their shell material.  The Copeland drum has a metal shell, the Donati drum has a wood shell.

2. I think both snare drums are versatile.  It could depend on the musical style where we intend to use it.  It can also boil down to personal sound preferences.  Would it be the brighter, more cutting sound of a metal drum?  Or the warmer, more organic sound qualities of a wood drum? 

3. Personally, among the two, I'd choose the Copeland model.  Why?  Because all the snare drums I currently own are wood-shelled, and I wish to have a metal-shelled drum.  The Copeland drum is actually on my wish list.  I've read a great review about this, and they say that this drum may be the closest in resembling that classic Copeland-Police snare drum sound.  And I pretty much like Stewart's snare drum sound during the old Police glory days.


You have a very good bunch of snare drums, bro jeva.  In my humble opinion, considering the sizes of your snares, I think you pretty much have a couple of good snares which are versatile enough to use in many situations.  Maybe you're searching for a particular snare drum sound.  And I think sound is a huge factor on your next snare drum purchase.  But whichever drum you choose, you can never go wrong with either. 

[jeva]

Thank you very much drumster 

I am already about to PM you about this since I do not receive any reply. I was sure that if I send you a PM you will definitely give me good answers.

Also, as expected, you choose to stick with Copeland, saw it in your blog.

I do not have any doubt with the SC. I previously owned a Tama Brass, 1.5mm thk. I sold it to get my HH Tama Copper. The two are very different. The brass is bright, and I miss that snare. It has a different crack. Knowing that it is closely similar with the SC, im sure the SC is superb.

How does the SC perform compared to a Ludwig Supra Brass of the same size? This is one thing that holds me back from getting the SC.

About the VD, I had a chance to use the B/B Starclassic. So I bellieve it is some what at the same zone, being a hybrid shell.

I emailed an owner of of VD in the Pearl drummers forum. I got a very nice review from him. Here it is :
"I've found the Virgil snare to be pretty crisp and sharp in my experience with it. That's the way I like my snares so I've got a single ply head on the batter and tuned it up fairly tight. The die-cast hoops and shallow depth also help out with that. The bearing edge on the batter head is fully rounded too so it sort of muffles any of the extra ringing. I've messed around a little bit with it tuned low and you can get that "fat crack" that you hear on Virgil's recordings/videos with it. I'd imagine if you had a two ply head on there that would also help with that sort of sound. I think the Virgil is a really good all around snare; it's served me well in a number of different musical contexts.

You can hear a sample of how mine sounds in a few YouTube videos that I've recorded with it here:

http://www.youtube.com/mattwalker21

I'm using it in the four latest videos posted there ("Random Garbage", "5/16 Foot Ostinato Independence", "Samba Foot Ostinato Independence", and "Blastbeat Melody Jam Kazam"), the last of which is a bunch of garbage when I was messing around with it tuned low.
"

I am starting to lean towards the VD, its cheaper than the SC and as mentioned, I really want to try the Ludwig Supra in the fulture.

The real problem now is that I'm not comfortable with having multiple snares since I am just an amatuer, I would not want to throw away money. I prefer to have one wood and one metal, and switch to either of the two whenever I feel.

Thanks again master Dio.