What follows is a comparison of several different makes and models of snare wires, all recorded on the same snare drum. The snare drum was a drum I built, with the following specs:
- 6x14 Tempus fibreglass shell
- 2.3mm triple-flanged hoops
- eight Adonis 3" offset lugs
- Aquarian Texture Coated batter head
- Remo Ambassador snare side head
The drum was recorded with an SM57 on the batter side, a Marshall MXL 2001 on the snare side, recorded through a Mackie 1202, and edited in ProTools Free on a Macintosh computer, with no EQ or effects processing applied.
Three mp3 files are presented for each set of wires: one from the batter side mic', one from the snare side mic', and one mixing these two tracks. Each track includes individual snare hits, a roll, a short and simple groove, and in some cases, several strikes of my 12" rack tom (included for the purposes of comparing sympathetic vibrations), although I've decided not to add them to more recent samples - all they seemed to demonstrate was that my 12" tom needs work. No retuning of either head took place. Where applicable, the snares were recorded twice: once at a looser tension, and once again at a tighter tension.
Remember - snare wires are only one of the elements that contribute to a snare drum's overall sound. Head choices, shell material and dimensions, bearing edge shape, tuning, and snare beds (etc.) all are factors. This page only demonstrates how these wires sound on this particular drum - there's no guarantee that they'll sound the same on your drum. I simply hope to provide the opportunity to do an "A/B" comparison of how certain snare wires compare, all other things being equal.
(For a FAQ page regarding these comparisons, please click here.)
Special thanks to Eric Sooy at Black Swamp Percussion, and Mike Z, for submitting snare wires to be included in this comparison.