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adopting a stance
wooden snare drums come in two distinct flavours: single-ply solid shell, and multiple ply, the least of which i've come across, consisting of three plies (not necessarily all of the same wood type). i own five wood shell snare drums, of various woods and numbers of plies, so i cannot speak of those made from a single, steam-bent single plank of wood. the most well-known purveyors of the latter, are craviotto and noble and cooley, though there are other less well-known brands. early slingerland radio king snares from the 1940s and 50s were constructed in such a fashion, and much sought after nowadays.
since the single-ply, steam-bent version is more labour intensive to construct, they tend to command higher prices, and i have just recently read many contributions to a drum forum discussing the pros and cons of spending large sums of money to acquire what are often beatifully made snare drums, against any perceived sound value over those constructed from multiple plies. the argument/discussion bears particular comparison with those on cycling forums related to whether there is any real point in spending around £2,600 on shimano dura-ace di2 as opposed to £1,700 on shimano 105 di2. the same discussion could just as easily be made concerning campagnolo super-record wireless as opposed to chorus mechanical, or two differing sram groupsets of your choice.
if nothing else, it proves that, whether cyclists or drummers (or both), we're all pretty much the same.
the nub of the drum discussion was a post from an owner of a particularly expensive craviotto snare, who valiantly admitted that he was less than impressed with its sound, no matter the variety of tunings he had attempted. as with pretty much any online discussion, what started out as a serious attempt to discover where he might be going wrong, ultimately descended into arguments over the marketing of so-called luxury drums, which feature exemplary craftsmanship and looks, but, at the end of the day, are still just drums. one individual even went so far as to state he'd take a steel maxwin snare over a craviotto any day.
to place that in cyclist's parlance, it's the equivalent of riding a £99, sunday supplement mountain bike, rather than a pinarello dogma.
but, to an extent, the point was well made. though it would border on the insane to ask geraint thomas to ride the £99 jobby instead of his pinarello, both have wheels, pedals and gears and will fulfil the basic functions required of a bicycle. i doubt any of us would choose the cheaper option over the pinarello, but for many non-cyclists the choice matters little. however, whatever the expert drummers might think of spending unjustifiably large sums of cash on boutique snare drums, there is a difference to be experienced.
under acoustic conditions, in a small room, even an uninformed audience might appreciate the sound and tone of an expensive drum. however, move to larger venues, where the drumset is amplified through a public address system, it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference between one snare drum and another. however, from the drummer's point of view, while there may be an infinitesimal difference in sound between cheap and expensive, the confidence and satisfaction to be gained from playing a quality instrument should not be undersold. i own five 14" wood snare drums, all of different depths and woods; i can tell the difference between them all when playing them in the croft, but sat in a local hostelry, with a noisy audience and an even noisier bass player and guitarist...
i'm sure you know where i'm coming from.
a singular conclusion, highlighted from the drum forum discussion, was that, if you could afford it, or simply desired the opportunity to purchase what you perceived as a snare drum of calibre, then that's exactly what you should do. there may, in fact, be no appreciable difference in sound between cheap'n'cheerful and expensive luxury, but if it makes you feel good about your drumming, then that's the way to go.
which, i now realise, is exactly what should be the case when it comes to bicycles. as i sit here at my laptop, an advertisement showing in my web browser portrays a specialized s-works tarmac bicycle at a retail price of £12,000 (though they have a bit of a nerve charging £34 delivery on a bike at that price). owning and riding one of these would make no difference whatsoever to my abilities as a rider, but if it made me feel as if it did, and i had the money (spoiler alert: i don't), then why the heck not? my ritchey logic, which costs considerably less, is outfitted with a twelve-speed campagnolo record mechanical groupset. the latter is way too good for me, but it makes me feel better than when i rode campagnolo potenza, even though the latter worked every bit as well as its big brother.
of course, it could just be that the marketing is starting to work.
friday 24 may 2024
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