snare?

[ninjas and tacos]

i was looking on the black cat website, and there wasn't a snare in any of the pictures he has up of your set. i was wondering if you don't use any black cat snares, or if he just hadn't built one at the time those pictures were taken?

[Thrill Kill Will]

hey hey, quick reply from canada:

i have 2 black cat snares. the reason he might not have pictures is because i usually order them really last minute so he probably doesn't have time!!

8" x 14"
8 ply maple w/ 6 ply rings
8 tube lugs
satin laquer finish

this is the drum i've toured with for a while and recorded most of our first record with, sometimes it has die cast hoops, sometimes standard 2.3 mm triple flanged hoops.

6x14
walnut/mahogany/walnut segment shell
8 slingerland lugs
satin natural finish

this is my newer snare which i've been using on this current vans/AP tour. its fun. i think i may have paul touch up the edges. round them over a little for a more warm vintage tone.

-w

[ninjas and tacos]

nice... how awesome is that segment one?

i just bought a maple gretsch snare off ebay... i'm hoping it's good, but it was only $150 so i can't complain too much if it isn't that nice....

[Thrill Kill Will]

the segment shell is really nice. i'm pretty happy so far. its got a little bit of a ring that i don't like and i think some rounder edges would clean that up really well... but even still if i tune it down it gets real fat (probably thanks to the mahogany) but if i tune it up it doesn't have too much harsh high end crack, just a nice tight dry "pock" sound... almost similar to a single ply radio king type sound (not quite as tight and dry though) .. i think that is due to the construction being closer to a single ply then a multi ply drum.

tell us all (and by all i mean me) about your gretsch. is it a new usa or import maple? or an older gretsch?

-will

[ninjas and tacos]

it's the 5.5 x 14 one on this page here gretschdrums.com/?fa=snaresub&sid=322#
i'm not sure as to whether or not it's usa or an import, but i would guess it's a little bit older than the ones shown on that page. mine is almost exactly the same, but in those pictures there, the vent is on the lower black section... but mine is up in the wood area in the gretsch badge.

it's pretty rad though, it's completely free floating... so when i take the top head off, the shell can come out too...

aside from all that jibba jabba, it sounds sooo nice. i love it. it's slightly higher pitched that i had excpected, but in a good way. i was playing on a buddies maple pdp snare, and it was fairly good... but it didn't have quite the crack i wanted. so i was very pleased with how well the gretsch sounds. i'm not sure how much of that is because i can tune mine however i want when i couldn't do that with my friends. i also tried a new type of head when i got this snare. i went with an evans power center reverse dot...but again, i'm not sure how much of the sound i'm liking is the head or the snare...

[Thrill Kill Will]

i really like evans power center heads. recently i've been enjoying single ply heads but the power centers give me more durability.

the cool thing about that snare is that you can interchange shells. if you find a pearl free floating shell (used or even new) you can just swap it out as easy as changing a head. i'm not 100% positive the pearl shell would fit properly, but i don't see why it wouldnt.

pearl has brass, maple, and steel shells for their free floaters. (maybe others, i'm not entirely sure) but you can also have any custom company make you a single-edged shell. or you could even order it straight from a distributor like AIT woods.

check out - www.aitwood.com/

you could order a birch or maple shell and have them install one edge and you'd be set. no need for drilling, a bottom edge, or snare beds. though it wouldn't be finished, you'd have to stain it or wrap it. or you could find an acyrlic shell and have 1 edge installed, no need to finish the acrylic shell.

you've got options

-will

[ninjas and tacos]

wow... i never even thought about switching shells... that is a fantastic idea though.

thanks a bunch will... i think i love you

[drumstik]

I have one of the pearl free floaters and I love it. Being a free floater it has a lot of tonal resonance but with good tuning and the right heads it sounds great. I got it with the maple shell but I would love to get some different woods, a steel, maybe even and acrylic shell to try with it. It's like having a whole arsenal of drums in a single instrument!