I just had the chance to do a side by side comparison of all 4 snare drums in my modest collection. I rarely have them all in one place at one time, but they all happened to be here and I was cleaning my closet. It wasn't an in-depth test - I just sat them on their sides on the carpet, side by side, and played a tiny bit on each one. I'm not really supposed to play here in my neighborhood, so it was quick!
The snares are a Pork Pie Big Black (6.5x14 brass), a 70's Ludwig Acrolite (5x14 aluminum), a Yamaha Musashi (6.5x13 oak), and a Tama Silverstar (5x14 birch).
The very first thing I noticed was that the snares were all tuned to almost exactly the same pitches, despite being different sizes and having 3 different kinds of heads. There were small differences in the reso heads, but the batter heads were practically identical, which tickled me because they were tuned separately, without a drum dial or any attempt to find a certain pitch. My ear must just have its own sweet spot after all these years, lol.
As far as comparisons, the Big Black was the most "ringy", which wasn't a surprise. The birch Silverstar and aluminum Acrolite sounded more alike than I would have suspected, with the Acro being a little more solid and meaty, and the Silverstar being a little airier and brighter. In a bad room, I don't think you could tell the difference.
The big surprise to me was that I liked the Musashi better than any of the others. It maintained a good balance of body and snare response when played lightly, and had the most solid, full-sounding crack when played harder. The shallower drums had a lot of sensitivity at low volume, but they were almost all crack at higher volume. The Pork Pie sounded good, but with a bright, ringy honk that makes it the most unique sounding drum in my collection, but also one that may not be ideal for all situations.
Anyway, I know it wasn't a profound, controlled test, but it was interesting to me, being the first time I've played all four in the same room at the same time. I was reminded what a great, versatile little drum that Musashi is!
The snares are a Pork Pie Big Black (6.5x14 brass), a 70's Ludwig Acrolite (5x14 aluminum), a Yamaha Musashi (6.5x13 oak), and a Tama Silverstar (5x14 birch).
The very first thing I noticed was that the snares were all tuned to almost exactly the same pitches, despite being different sizes and having 3 different kinds of heads. There were small differences in the reso heads, but the batter heads were practically identical, which tickled me because they were tuned separately, without a drum dial or any attempt to find a certain pitch. My ear must just have its own sweet spot after all these years, lol.
As far as comparisons, the Big Black was the most "ringy", which wasn't a surprise. The birch Silverstar and aluminum Acrolite sounded more alike than I would have suspected, with the Acro being a little more solid and meaty, and the Silverstar being a little airier and brighter. In a bad room, I don't think you could tell the difference.
The big surprise to me was that I liked the Musashi better than any of the others. It maintained a good balance of body and snare response when played lightly, and had the most solid, full-sounding crack when played harder. The shallower drums had a lot of sensitivity at low volume, but they were almost all crack at higher volume. The Pork Pie sounded good, but with a bright, ringy honk that makes it the most unique sounding drum in my collection, but also one that may not be ideal for all situations.
Anyway, I know it wasn't a profound, controlled test, but it was interesting to me, being the first time I've played all four in the same room at the same time. I was reminded what a great, versatile little drum that Musashi is!
Snare Drum Comparison, Observations
