Topic: What Kind of snare wires do you use?

[Susan Wood]

What kind ( brand, number of strands etc.) do you prefer? Does it really make a difference?

[Bart Elliott]

I have too many to name them all at this time; various brands, models, etc.

They absolutely make a difference; they make a HUGE difference as a matter of fact. The difference is most noticeable in a controlled environment, like the recording studio.

Everything from the material used for the wires, the number of wires, the shape of the wires, how the wires lay on the snare (bottom) head, tension of the wires, snare bed (or not); all factors that make a difference.

One of the most popular snare wire manufacturers today is probably Puresound. I own several different sets of Puresound wires, but I have other brands as well. Materials including gut, nylon, silk, and various types of metals; as few as 12-strands all the way up to 40-strands.

Some makers have combinations of wire, blending the sounds into one wire set.

[Michael Beechey]

Anyone have an opinion:

Are the Puresound 42's worth the price, compared to Gibraltar?

[Susan Wood]

Just ordered 13 inch/20 strand Puresound CUSTOM wires for a 5x13 Pork Pie maple drum.Hope it works.Wanted to get Canopus wires but too expensive to order to Canada.Anyway, my current wires are not in great shape, so the Puresound should be better.

[Hannah Ford]

I use Puresound Customs on my jazz snares and Puresound Blasters on my Rock/Fusion snares.

I like them alot!

Good luck...

Hannah

[Susan Wood]

Thanks Hannah!Maybe when I get them, I will play as well as you do!

[Hannah Ford]

Thanks Hannah!Maybe when I get them, I will play as well as you do!

Awww, thank you Susan. I really appreciate the kind words...

Hope you like them...

Hannah

[DrumnDad]

Susan, I have been using 24 strand Fat Cat adjustable snares for a few years now and I love them.  There is a 12 strand section in the middle which is adjustable with a screwdriver (I usually leave the middle a little looser than the outside snares) and there is a six strand section on each side of the middle with tension controlled by the throw off.  The combination of tighter and looser snare wires sounds nice to my ears. 

The Puresound snares are a great choice, too.  You can't go wrong with Puresound!

Doug

[VickHick]

I have several sets of the Puresound custom 20 strands.  They seem to have a darker sound to them.

I also have a set of Canopus 20 Strand wires on a 6.5x14 wooden drum.  They sound great on that drum.

Some other snare wires you don't hear much about are Dynamicx.  They are very well made and sound great. I have a 20 & 24 strand set.  The 24 strand wires I have are on a 6x14 Tempus Carbon Fibre Drum and they sound fine on that drum.  Very crisp and articulate.

[Mark Schlipper (563)]

I'm going to veer a bit left of center here (witness the sarcastic look of shock on the faces of more long term members ) and mention Grover. 

My go-to wires are Grover 'dark club'.   I have one drum made in the 20's that still has the original wires, which Grovers are essentially aiming to emulate anyway.   

Admittedly I haven't tried Puresound.  But I haven't yet needed to.

[Mark Pedersen]

I've been looking to try out some of the Canopus sets but haven't taken the dive yet.

There use to be a website with sound files of a lot of the different types of snare wire sets, comparing them. It has been some time now, so it may or may not still be up on the WWW.

[Chip Donaho]

Like others, I've had very good luck with Puresound wires. 

[Big Yummy]

Is it true that less wires = less snare sound, but less buzz and whine, whereas more snare wires = more snare sound, but more sympathetic buzz and whine?

[Jim Martin (cavanman)]

Just ordered 13 inch/20 strand Puresound CUSTOM wires for a 5x13 Pork Pie maple drum.Hope it works.Wanted to get Canopus wires but too expensive to order to Canada.Anyway, my current wires are not in great shape, so the Puresound should be better.

Susan I have almost the exact setup you are talking about. I have a maple 5 x 13 Pork Pie snare with 16 strand Puresound Customs on it. Sounds great of course.

However, I also have a 6 x 13 Pork Pie snare with 24 strand Fat Cats on it. I like having the extra snare sound as well as some adjustability with the snare wires.

AND...AND..!.. I have an ash 6 x 14 Pork Pie with 12 strand Puresounds on it.

So - Yes snares matter to me and of course - go Pork Pie! 

Jim

[Chip Donaho]

Is it true that less wires = less snare sound, but less buzz and whine, whereas more snare wires = more snare sound, but more sympathetic buzz and whine?

Less wires will give you a fatter sound. Thus more wires is more snare sound. I've went both ways and have come to conclussion it's up to you. What kind of sound do YOU want? As always, with money and products you can achieve both. That's when the fun begins. 

[Bill Bachman]

It's funny, my initial answer was "The cheapest ones I can find if the drum doesn't already have them." I'm pretty sure that's still my answer though. 

I always get compliments on my snare drum sound no matter what drum I use, and most of my are pieces of crap in terms of materials and workmanship. I think the deciding factor is that I know how to tune.

This may be sac-religious to some, but to me a snare drum is a choked off rattling noise maker and a $50 pawn shop snare is generally as good as any $1000 snare. With a coated ambassador top (preferably well used) & a tuning key I'm good to go.
 

[Mister Acrolite]

I'm a HUGE fan of 42-strand snares. I believe Gretsch invented these, but I don't pay attention to the brand, and usually use whatever is available.

[Bart Elliott]

This may be sac-religious to some, but to me a snare drum is a choked off rattling noise maker and a $50 pawn shop snare is generally as good as any $1000 snare. With a coated ambassador top (preferably well used) & a tuning key I'm good to go.

Funny ... I say the same thing about HiHat stands.

[Bill Bachman]

HA!!!  I'm sorry sir, but that answer is incorrect.

[Bart Elliott]

HA!!!  I'm sorry sir, but that answer is incorrect.

That's exactly what I thought about your Snare drum answer. 

[Todd Norris]

I have a set of 24 strand Puresounds that sound great, a couple sets of adjustable Fat Cats - that sound great, and a Gibralter 40 strand, that - you guessed it - sound great.  I liked the sound of these wires over the factory wires in every case. 

I tried them out on each snare and messed with the set up and tuning to find the sound I wanted.  I found that some wires seemed to sound better on some drums than others to reach my desired sound, but I couldn't explain why. 

Just to reiterate that I really like the Fat Cat adjustable wires.   

[Mark Counts]

24 strand Pure Sound wires on my snares, I likes...

[NY Frank]

It's funny, my initial answer was "The cheapest ones I can find if the drum doesn't already have them." I'm pretty sure that's still my answer though. 

I always get compliments on my snare drum sound no matter what drum I use, and most of my are pieces of crap in terms of materials and workmanship. I think the deciding factor is that I know how to tune.

This may be sac-religious to some, but to me a snare drum is a choked off rattling noise maker and a $50 pawn shop snare is generally as good as any $1000 snare. With a coated ambassador top (preferably well used) & a tuning key I'm good to go.
 

Now that's my kind of answer.       

[Chris Whitten]

Gt to admit (ala Bill) my snare collection has both cheap Japanese made snare wires, as well as boutique brands like Puresound.
I'm happy with the sound (and get compliments) whichever wire set is onboard.
In the end, it's probably worth while installing the best quality snare wires you can afford, but the small improvement in performance (IMHO) should not justify any over anxious obsession on wire choice.

[Tim van de Ven]

I use whatever came with the drum; my Pearl Ultracast has the factory snares on it (and it sounds great) my Premier 2000 has Premier snares on it (it also sounds great) and my Yamaha SCAN snare drum (came with the kit) has Yamaha the factory snares, too. Having said all of that, I did like a 42 strand set that I had put on a snare that I no longer use.

Like BIll said, I find it to be that the deciding factor is my ability to tune a drum.

[Mark Counts]

In the end, it's probably worth while installing the best quality snare wires you can afford, but the small improvement in performance (IMHO) should not justify any over anxious obsession on wire choice.

I have to completely agree with this. On my favorite snare, it was bought with Pure Sound Wires on it. I like what I hear, so I will stick with it. My favorite snare before that had the original Stock Tama Star Classic wires on it. It sounded fine too. I have never tried the 42 strand wires that Mr. A and many others on here are sold on. Maybe I should try it?

[Paicey]

I side with drumnDad on the FatCats. Ive got them on all of my snaredrums. I also side with Bart on the difference wires make. Maybe not to an audience but to you behind the kit.