Snare Buying Guide

By: Nick Kudrys

Whether you are looking for your first snare or just looking for an upgrade, it can be tough finding the right snare — there’s so many options! Plus, as a drummer you know just how important your snare drum is to your performances.

So which one is right for you? Are you marching during game day or jamming with an R&B band? Finding the right snare is about using your ear, and knowing what you’ll be playing. Here is a guide to help you find the right one.

Size

Different size shells are going to give you a different sound. In general, shell sizes are made to match specific genres. The standard “rock” snare would be about 14" diameter, with a 5" or 6" depth, made of maple or steel, with metal hoops. A marching snare has higher tension on the head and gives a snappier more “military” sound, made of light aluminum. A piccolo snare has a thin depth, gives a super snappy dry sound, made of wood, or steel. Great for funk and hip hop. Orchestral snares are usually made of wood, with a medium depth, with a calfskin head and generous muffling.

Material

Snares come in all sizes, but what are they made of? All sorts of stuff. You’ve got wood, aluminum, metal, brass, bronze, hammered, not hammered. Woods will give you a better bass response. Steel, bronze, and brass will give you better high end response. Hammered snares have a darker tone, while non hammered snares will be brighter. Having a little bit of bass response in your snare is nice, but if you get something that doesn’t have enough bass or is too bright, try adding a moon gel, or changing out the head. As far as hoops and hardware go, wood hardware or hoops will also give you a bass-ier tone especially on rim shots.

Snare Heads

As far as heads go, you’ll usually want a single or double ply head. Thicker heads have a deeper tone. You might want to swap out the head that comes with your snare, or ask your shop to swap it out for you.

Muffled or Unmuffled

Moon gels are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Controlling your tone with little pieces of gel gives you so much flexibility as a musician. Beyond that, if you want a more subtle snare sound there are tons of options for muffling the tone including drum gum, drum rings, aforementioned moon gels, you can even use things like electrical tape, or a business card. You can always go completely unmuffled for a raw sound.

Snares might come in a bunch of different materials and sizes. Finding the right one for you depends on what you’re looking for. Use your ears! Try out wood, or steel. Try different heads. If you find a snare that is great but maybe not perfect, add some drum gum or put on some wood hoops. There are a ton of options for finding your tone.

That’s our snare guide. What snare are you using? Let us know in the comments follow us for more music news and give us a 👏 if you liked this story!

Shop Snares at Cascio Music

About the Author

Nick is the content coordinator for Cascio Music, a musician for 14+ years, anti-bread, pro-meat, and a really loud typer.