I have two "modern" maple snares...both 6x14. One is 7 ply (solid black) with wood hoops, while the other is 6 ply (silver sparkle) yet matches a set that I have. I had recently purchased this set used but in great condition. Which one would you keep? Both same brand...I have so many snares already!
6 ply vs 7 ply maple snare...may only keep one Last viewed: 3 seconds ago
Uhhh... does one drum 'sound better' than the other?
Conundrum solved! Walking
John
Uhhh... does one drum 'sound better' than the other?Conundrum solved! WalkingJohn
Purdie Shuffle -- you make way too much sense! haha...Walking
I need to sit down and A/B these drums.
LOL - I thought it would give you a 'DOH' moment.
Always enjoy your threads...
John
PS - please post up the results of your A/B test. I'm curious if you hear a difference in them. It's a one-ply difference in the shells. Not much if you think about it.
And the results are in...spent time with these two drums tonight. Before today, I haven't even really picked up the 6 ply snare. So...
I tuned up the 6 ply MCA snare. Took me a few minutes, but got it sounding good. My 7 ply wood hoop snare (Anton sig snare) was already tuned up and ready to roll.
The 7 ply wood hoop snare seemed to have a wider tuning range on the top end. I didn't really experiment taking either of them very low, but I have another deeper snare I use for that purpose. In other words, the 6 ply snare would choke earlier and reach its maximum tension sooner. I finally had them both around the same pitch, but the 7 ply could have still been tighter, while the 6 ply was almost all of the way tight. They are both maple, so the sound is pretty similar already.
When I got the tuning right (whatever that is), they both sounded very good. But I prefer the attack of my 7 ply for backbeats, when comparing these two. It's not by a landslide, but it just had more of a vibe and character in the sound that is hard to describe. It seemed to have a little more ring when you hit it in the center of the head, compared to the 6 ply. I like my ring. The wood hoops are great too. There are probably some other design differences that I'm not accounting for here which affect the sound. Compared to the 7 ply, the 6 ply may be better suited for jazz, given its *slightly* softer feel...and this particular drum also has a more jazzy look about it with a sparkle finish. This is just my opinion, so don't take my word for it! I may end up keeping both, since I play jazz and rock/blues/funk.
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