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06/03/2005 Entry: "Giant Snare Update"

I haven't posted much about snare drums lately. I've been remiss.

First, I bought a Tama Bubinga Omni Tune. It's fully bubinga; there are no filler plies. There's a strip of abalone around the middle. The Omni Tune system allows you to tune the bottom head from the top of the drum. You don't have to flip the drum over! Billy Gladstone invented this system. Tama used it on some snares in the late 80s, early 90s, and I always wanted one of those. They released the Omni Tune system on a limited number of full sets--far out of my price range. But when I heard they were going to sell the snare separately, I immediately called Northern Kingdom Music and ordered one. The 6.5" deep models were already gone, so I settled for this 5.5" model. (Note: that funny little thing you see sticking up over the top rim is the special tuning key needed to tune the bottom head from the top side.)

This is a Rhythm King snare, made by yours truly. The 8X14" shell is made of fiberglass, and was purchased from Paul Mason of Tempus drums. The color is gun metal blue sparkle, or as one person described it, "Superman's hair color." The lugs are custom made by All Star Lugs. The strainer is a Nickelworks strainer. I drilled all the holes, ordered all the parts, and assembled this drum myself. I consider it the first real snare I've made on my own. Perhaps Rhythm King snares will go into full scale production some day. I just finished it up last night.

Then today, I got a great deal on an Oregon Drum.This is a solid piece of wood. Solid. No plies, no seams. It's like a log that's been hollowed out. Regular price: about $800. My price? $265.

Then, the Scott from Joyous Lake drums sent me an email. I've had a purpleheart snare on order for almost a year. It was supposed to be shipped late August/early September of last year. Well, the good news is it should be here in a month. Note that the image shows a purpleheart drum with rosewood lugs. Mine will have tulipwood lugs with "dashes of pink ivory"

If you must know, once all this stuff arrives, I'll have a total of 19 snares. Once I hit 20, I think I'll stop for a while.

Posted by Michelle @ 06/05/2005 12:33 PM EST

You think you'll stop what for a while? Counting?!

Posted by Paddy @ 06/05/2005 08:45 PM EST