How did you develop your passion for snare drum and snare drum collecting?

I've got 6 snares, 5 of which get gigged. The only one I don't gig is the Acrolite Prototype. I found you just want certain colours and flavours to your snare sound. My arsenal is more of a tool kit than a snare collection. The only things I'd really like is a real Black Beauty and a 14x5 steambent maple to go with the 14x6.5.

Silly thing is my main snare is still the first pro snare I got which is my 402.

My divorce (freed up funds ) and seeing my first John Aldridge engraved Black Beauty got me hooked on snare drums and acquiring various models . I spent twenty years or so buying and flipping snares trying to get that sound that was in my head . I have gone in cyclical binges - solid shell snares , metal shell snares , stave shells , boutique brands , majors etc . There was little rhyme nor reason to what interested me . Just prior to the pandemic I went in a purge and sold most of the 25+ snares I owned at the time . I recalled seeing a quote from Kenny Aronoff back in a Modern Drummer issue . He mentions starting with a 5” metal and a 6.5” wood and a piccolo and then getting a 5” wood and 6.5”
Metal and those drums would pretty much cover anything we would likely be asked to play .
Well I took his advice to heart and kept those snares and that is what I will be using for the rest of my career .

I only have three snare drums: two Mapex and one Pearl. That is not much of a collection. Peace and goodwill.

It’s all relative as to what’s a “collection” and what’s an accumulation of tools whose numbers just grow and grow over decades as styles and bands vary. I use all of my snares, most are intended to fall-in with one of three kits I have. My mini collection consists of twelve snare drums. approx 50/50 wood to metal shells but I don’t think of it like some kind of museum curation. They are there to be played. Also it’s a luxury, I could get by with one wood 5.5 and one metal 6.5.

WOOD
Brady 14 x 5.5 jarrah ply (dark cherry red) - Yamaha kit
Red Rock 14 x 7 jarrah stave national (natural) - Noonan kit
Yamaha BCAN14 x 5.5 (dark cherry red) - Yamaha kit
Gretsch Brooklyn (probably maple ?) (Mike Johnson) 14 x 5.5 (blue glass glitter) - Gretsch kit
Dunnett Monoply (steam-bent maple) 14 x 6.5 (natural) any kit

METAL
Ayotte Keplinger 14 and 13 x 6 - (any kit)
Dunnett 14 x 6 titanium (Porsche Blue) - Gretsch kit
Dunnett 14 x 5.5 steel (Trussart rust-Paisley) (any kit)
Dunnett 14 x 6.5 Aluminium 2N (any kit)
Dunnett 14 x 6.5 Bronze 2N (Yamaha or Noonan)
OriIloilo phantom 14 x 6.5 (any kit)

RickP said:

My divorce (freed up funds ) and seeing my first John Aldridge engraved Black Beauty got me hooked on snare drums and acquiring various models . I spent twenty years or so buying and flipping snares trying to get that sound that was in my head . I have gone in cyclical binges - solid shell snares , metal shell snares , stave shells , boutique brands , majors etc . There was little rhyme nor reason to what interested me . Just prior to the pandemic I went in a purge and sold most of the 25+ snares I owned at the time . I recalled seeing a quote from Kenny Aronoff back in a Modern Drummer issue . He mentions starting with a 5” metal and a 6.5” wood and a piccolo and then getting a 5” wood and 6.5”
Metal and those drums would pretty much cover anything we would likely be asked to play .
Well I took his advice to heart and kept those snares and that is what I will be using for the rest of my career .

Click to expand...

Ok, I'm taking a leaf out of your book, on a mini purge as we speak, selling a bunch of snares. Then I'll be down to just one or two left to sell. The rest are keepers, for now.

.
I like drums.
I play drums.
I want that.
Add to Cart.

Out of necessity.......I felt like I only needed two. Essentially so I could have two fully completed, working, functional kits. They are both 5x14 and both are steel. I found that I could illicit enough different sounds from one simply by adjusting the tuning.

I had one high quality main snare for quite a few years. A Ludwig Stainless Steel 14x10. Then I added a Tama Artstar 14x8. And we were off to the races after that.

I've sold off quite a few snares recently ........ my current herd is .......

Yamaha Kabuto 14x5.5 SD-265 KAT (steel)

Pearl Omar Hakim Signature 13x5 (African mahogany)

Yamaha Musashi 13x6.5 NSD-1365M (oak)

Yamaha 13x4 SD-2340 (steel)

Yamaha 13x5.5 SD-2355 (steel)

Yamaha SD-4365 13x6.5 (brass)

Pearl Ltd. Edition ST 13x9 (birch)

So I've done a mini purge lately, sold seven snares the last 2-3 weeks. And traded one for a 6.5" Supra, which definitely feels like a keeper; so I might sell a couple more, and just be left with a small handful. It feels satisfying to have narrowed things down.