I had them both right, usually with more expensive snares the over tone is more controlled for studio session quality. Less ring = better recording quality. This can also be heard with the snare Dave Grohl uses in the video "PLAY" where he plays all the different types of instruments. Usually in a studio setting, producers have drummers adjust their snares at lower tuning then what they normally play. Gabe, been a fan for a long time and appreciate all the videos, tips, tricks and positive channel. Keep up the great work!
*voicemail beep* Hey dude, it’s me again. Guess your phone died; it’s going straight to voicemail now. Anyway, it’s a nice day out, so I thought of you and the THIRTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS YOU OWE ME
I am definitely someone who thinks that better gear will give a greater motivation to keep playing. Better gear can mean so many more possibilities, even if it's just the timbre. Awesome work man!
There is certainly some truth to the idea that buying something expensive gives you that "Now I gotta get my money's worth!" motivation, but the fact is, a good drummer can make even a bad kit sound great, and a bad drummer will sound bad no matter how much the kit costs. And if you're just starting out, it will be a long time before you are legitimately limited by even a cheap kit.
It's aaalllll a matter of: 1) Head choice 2) Tuning 3) Recording method: mics, placement, mixing However, the shell thickness and material also play huge role))) Hence the price difference
My answer about the expensive one was always the right choice, but i gotta admit, 200$ doesn't sounds bad. We can still hear the quality differences but 200$ one is really not bad at all.
Thanks for this video Gabe! The studio I teach at has been in need of a decent snare drum for a long time, but usually can’t find something that won’t break the bank! That Modern Utility will really help us out, thanks again for showcasing these awesome snares!!
Its easy to tell which one is which. The pixels colors give them away. Plus the first 2 shots you could see the bottom of the snares that didn't get covered up. Great video. Also love the academy. Glad I just joined a week ago.
That was very cool. I spotted the expensive drum almost all the time. But I thought the differences were not night and day, the more expensive had more body and it was also a comparison of steel vs. brass. All in all, both drums sounded very good!
I’m a beginner drummer, this was very helpful. Definitely going for a budget kit for my first acoustic kit. Price won’t matter in my early stages, I just want to get my skills up before anything else.
I'm just finding it hard to justify the difference in price. The cheap one still sounds pretty good likely because it's been tuned well. Try a $75 snare vs that $200 snare and I'm sure you'll notice more of a difference
I agree that the snare doesn't sound $1100 better, but it's not really for us. It's not even really for people who are very good at drums. It's for people who make a living recording drums. People who own this own studios or are professional drummers who have 10 other snares like this of different materials in their studio. To them, this snare sounds like it's worth every penny because it sounds exactly the way it does. It really is an excellent, top tier, snare.
Great video. I have no shame in admitting i liked the cheap snare more....the expensive one has more body...more warmth and sings a bit more, BUT on a personal level i love the brightness of the cheap snare...It has quick attack, quick decay and a naturally higher pitch. I got them wrong on the first clip. With a lower tuning i preferred the more expensive snare because it sung and was way smoother..BUT I still prefer the cheap one because i never tune that low. I always have my snare tuned high. i want my snare to CRACK. I am still using a Dixon 13x4 snare drum that i bought for around 100$ CAD used...Ive recorded with it...played many shows with it....i still LOVE it. And another beautiful part about music...its all personal preference.
200$ is not a cheap snare drum, its a regular price snare drum. You can get suprafonic in that price range ( 200-300$) and we all know what is a suprafonic. It's a must have for every recording studio. 1300$ drum is just exotic, especially for a metal shell drum, 200$ is about the right price for a everyday use drum
Time after time, people have shown that there is very little difference in sound between two identically tuned drums, cheap and expensive. But I still go for high-end drums for so many reasons other than sound - I just love something beautifully made from high quality components. Having said that, I really, really enjoyed having one of the cheapest Gretsch kits, the Catalina Club Jazz. It was a pleasure to play and sounded fantastic. I also like contradicting myself.
I got both of those first two right...the giveaway for me was the drier, shorter sound that I've heard more often on lower end snare drums compared to the more complex, vibrant, resonant sound that's usually a feature of snares made of better materials. The last one with the pro drummers was tough, though, and I missed it. :(
This is a great video! You can absolutely get good sounds out of cheaper drums. A lot of it comes down to tuning and heads. I bought a Mapex piccolo snare for around $60 and it's one of the best sounding drums I own. For anyone curious I've used it on my channel.
I was actually able to hear the sound difference perfectly fine. Even with Tablet speakers but I really enjoyed this video. Was great as usual. I do prefer wood snare drums but I found those Snares sound amazing.
ok here goes....snare B to your left was pearl reference?and right where it should be is the modern utility?snare A. die cast hoops make a difference and same goes with head and snare wire choice,in my opinion.love your videos bud,awesome subjects you cover,thank you.
What I learned from this video: I can hear the difference between the cheap and expensive snare and yes, the more expensive snare sounds better, BUT there's a 650% price difference and maybe like 10% sound difference (with the same heads and tuning, that is).
I got them both right (honestly), the higher tuning was easier to pick out the differences than the lower tuning. The snare wires one the cheaper snare sounded buzzier than the expensive one, and the expensive one sounded more beefy, probably because of the die cast hoops..? Back when I played, and I changed from the 2.3mm flanged hoops to the die cast hoops i couldn't believe how much a difference it made in the sound. The type of heads and tuning also play a huge role in the drum's sound. Also, with good microphones and mixing, you can make any drum sound great.. as long as its tuned :) Cool video!
I got all of them right, but I have to say... those sounds are pretty close. Really cool how good the 200 dollar snare sounded, I didn't expect that. Awesome video!!
One of my favorite sounding / recording snare drums is an Amazon bought Sawtooth brand snare drum made out of Poplar. I've owned the gamut of snare drums and have been playing for close to thirty years have digged over a thousand times. As long as your drum is in round, and you know how to tune, you will have a good sounding snare drum. Let's not forget that a lot of snare drum sound comes down to how you play it very similar to guitar players Etc
Same goes for cymbals... Compare a Ludwig Supraphonic with a Yamaha stage custom steel 14x6,5 snares or Zildjian A custom with Zultan rockbeat or Sonor Armoni. Lots of people buy the name more than the sound.
Gabe partially thanks to you I went and got a pearl masters maple complete kit and I’m in love with it. I saw in your pearl reveal video you weren’t sure yet or were thinking about possible setups of using your kit and how you like the ride in the certain spot. I started using the offset setup with 2 up and 2 down and the ride is still in that perfect spot!
Cool video. I've owned a few snares over the years. Some entry level, some collectors items. Tuning and heads are a big deal. Application also is a factor. A few of my prior owned snares. Ludwig Coliseum. Rogers powertone- 1964. Tama power piccolo- early 2000s.
The Distance of the Overheads have an impact on the 2 snares. i say use a 1 mic in front of the middle space where the 2 snares meet so you can still capture the cymbals plus the 2 individual snare mics
Don't know what its worth but when I played gigs in high school, the only thing I could afford was a Poplar Tama Imperial star,I changed out the reso and batter head, plus the snare wires, made sure it was always in good tuning and I'd get compliments on how it sounded all the time.
I got them right. Yay, me! But if I’m being honest, I preferred the Utility’s sound over the Reference. I have a couple high-end Pearl snares and they do respond quickly to tuning adjustments and are beautiful instruments to play.
Wow! Great video. My opinion? I liked the sound of the $200 snare better. Problem is that I don't like a 6.5 snare. Never have. With all of that said, I have to say that that kit is one of the sweetest looking kits I've seen.
I've been a drummer for 10 years now, and I've been using a Pearl VPX Strata (Birch) snare for a couple years. It cost me $125, and I think it sounds amazing, as well as my fellow church band members. My old drum teacher told me to spend more on my cymbals
I got them all right but I'm not a drummer. I play congas and I'm very picky with my tuning. I even had debates with other conga players about what is better, raw hide vs synthetic skin. Great content, I liked the video.
I work at a music store and go through gear like crazy and would like to share some thoughts I have on this subject. -From my experience, it’s pretty hard to make a steel snare sound bad, especially with a coated head on it. -From my experience, snares sometimes don’t show much difference when recorded but if you play it live you might be able to tell a bigger difference. For example, I prefer using my brass snare live rather than my aluminum for most songs because it tends to really cut through the mix. -From my experience, wood snares usually have more dramatic differences. The cheaper ones tend to be very thin sounding and have nasty overtones. The 2 MAIN things I have come to realize about cheap vs expensive drums; 1. Overtones - cheeper drums typically will have worse overtones or maybe the air travels awkwardly through the shell giving it a weird resonance. 2. Tuning range - cheaper drums will only sound good at one or a few specific tunings or will have clarity/dynamic issues in certain tunings.
Did it by ear and closed eyes. Got all right. The Brass got this nice warmth around it. You can hear it in every tuning. Steel has always some aggressive frequencies. But to be honest. The Modern Utility is also a great drum. Loved the low tuning.
I got the 3 correct, but honestly I think it was because of my in ears (kz ZSX) I heard better the attack, the decay and the snare wires. Try using good sounding earphones
I answered all questions right, it's because I can notice the sound that's near my tuning, the cheap one. they Sound more similar than the Expensive one.. I use Fernando drums.. As I can say, Their difference was, the expensive one has a compression like effect and doesn't lose the tone that makes it sound better and the Cheap one sounds more open.
I own a RFB1465 and guess every time his crunchy and massive sound. Love it since heard in Robar - "Before & After" recorded by Travis Orbin. Thanks for interesting test and good quality!
Got first one A second I missed thought A sounded better (Modern Utility low tuning). Both sounded great in both though. I personally have the Modern Utility 6.5 Maple snare and upgraded to die cast hoops and 30strand snare wires and LOVE it.
To me I preferred the $200 snare. it wasn't as thick sounding but it was more open and had more crack to it which is the sound I prefer. Thanks for the comparison video!!
The only thing not surprising is that Harry nailed every one. Dude!’s ear is incredible. Friends of mine had him lay down a beat for their tune, based on a sample they couldn’t get rights to, and Harry could tell they modulated the sample 1/2bpm different. 1/2 BPM! And he could tell!!
Why is everyone surprised the $200 snare sounds good? It cost $200. Think of something else you own that costs $200. It's probably pretty good quality.
I love the sound of the pearl reference. Me personally I would rather save up and get the more expensive one, im not a huge fan of my snare, not even sure what brand it is or anything but I can never get a decent sound that I want out of it. I think for the cheaper price I would love to have the cheaper snare and like you said, spend some time really getting that sound out of it.
@@DrumBeatsOnline oh sweet. Speaking of DBO, I hadn't had much time to practice on the kit lately, with the whole family home is really hard. But I have been putting in hours of practice pad exercises everyday.
Great vid man. Great tone from that 200 snare. I got all of em correct, the last clip was a bit tricky. The different shell material made it easier to guess imo.
IDK how, but I got them both right. It can really be heard even on a TH-cam video. The more expensive one has many nice overtones, so the sound is really more saturated. I'm not sure if I could pass the test "$800 vs $1000" though, but this one is really easy.
I was able to guess all three correctly. But what was really surprising to me was that I liked the tone of both since they’re both Pearl. I’m not usually a fan of Pearl, but I might need to give them a second look.
I got all three. The third test was def the hardest but the expensive snare had more of a quality I can only describe as “bite”. Not much of a drummer but I am an amateur producer, so it’s good to know I have a decent ear for drum tones
I got both tests right, however it is suprising that there isn't much of a difference, the cheap one will still "do the job" and sounds very decent. The more expensive drum has much richer tone and wider bandwith, it sounds to me like 15-25% better :) but still 5 times as expensive! i own a supraphonic and fell in love... so pay for the snares! it's worth it!
I'm on a tight budget on disability. I would have to buy the $200 snare drum!! It sounds great out of the box too!! Love your videos! Keep' em coming bro! I appreciate the knowledge, there's never too much....
I got it 3/3 the Brass snare was beast and I could hear the difference. The low tuning was closer tone but noticed the over tones were less in the brass for sure.
I got both tests right. The expensive one seems more balanced. Both sound great, though. The one rdavidr got wrong the cheaper one sounded better, I still got it right though. Probably because your clips gave a very good idea of the character of the drums.
I could not tell which was the cheap and which was the expensive. They both sounded really good to me. [and your playing is phenomenal] I do agree that good quality equipment motivates a player to keep playing and the pro snare looked amazing. If I had the $$ for the expensive snare - yep - I'd buy it versus the $200. However, considering your gig audience is mostly non-drummers, and taking into account that even the experienced guest drummers that you invited in this video had a hard time distinguishing the difference, I doubt any audience member would know the difference between a $200 snare and a $1,300 snare. Harry - you guessed correctly, but because you didn't give a reason for your choices, we have no idea if you truly have a good ear for quality snares or if you just got lucky. If you have the ear - I'd be interested to know what you were listening for and how you could tell. But be honest - did you really just get lucky? If anyone else got the correct answers, I'd like to know from you too - what were you listening for - and please...be honest...if you really just got lucky, fess up. Having said all that - the $1,300 snare looks amazing, and I'd love to play that monster at practice and gigs. Looks and quality equipment are the real difference here.
I have a 13x7 pork pie brass snare and man this thing cracks like a supraphonic, it was definitely worth the money. I got a deal on it at a thrift store for pretty cheap. So to answer someone's question if you can get good sound for cheap, YES YOU CAN!!
I personally was able to spot the expensive snare every time though the extercise that you did with the snares at a low tuning without the springs actually through me off a little but the expensive snare had way more attack, resonance control, and over all just sounded better to my ears but the take away from your experiment was I was wearing $200 headphones that are really good at picking up every little detail. But like I said you almost got me with one Exercise but I will also say that my church has pretty low quality snares which bugs me a lot but I can always find a tuning that’s manageable to my ear if I mess with it enough but a more expensive snare just to me sounds a little better. Especially the deeper shell depth snares, anything 6.5”-8” shell depth just sounds beefier, more attack, power, resonance, and control over that resonance without the use of resonance rings or sticky squares. In the end can a $200 snare do the job, yes my old Tama imperialstar 14x5.5 snare still sounds fantastic to me and is relatively cheap for what it is. My 14x8 Ludwig supraphonic snare is way better though, so much more depth and attack, I don’t know I guess it’s just a preference thing to me.
Pretty impressive comparison and nice job on the tuning! sometimes i was like all 3, there was such a slight difference that i couldn't make a choice too. I believe it's a matter of taste, it's a personal choice depending on the sound you want. And for that matter, it's not about the snare you play, it's about the sound. In the other hand, it's always easier to tune an expensive snare, because most of the time you don't need to fix it too much, and you can get a lot of variations of sounds which is not the case for a cheap snare, very limited i think...
Besides better sound and ease of tuning of the Reference snare drum, it is just a beautiful drum to hit on, with the weight of the drum the response you got from the drum after each stroke would be more satisfying on the Reference snare drum than on the Utility one. Having a beautiful looking and nice sounding drum will just make one wanna play more and explore more on the tonal possibilities on each square millimetre of the drum =) Great video man!!
I had it 100% correct. I was surprised that the pricey one wasn’t that much better, but it was better. I hated the overtones on the right out-of-the-box comparison with the expensive snare. I guess that’s what moon gels are for.
I feel like a expensive snare drum and a more affordable snare drum can both sounds pretttty similar. But imo the advantage of expensive ones is how easy they are to tune and get a maximum amount of good sounds and possibilities. (I bought a Benny Greb signature snare drum and this is what amazed me firstly!)
I got all of them right if was super easy, it was obvious here that the more expensive one was better! Awesome vid gabe, you should upload an open drum solo video it could be really cool!
I’m looking to buy a new snare, so I’m looking closely at many snares and actually got them all correct. The hard ones were the low tuning, but like David said, you could hear it in the tones. Then the high tuning was also pretty tough, but what did it for me was the articulation of the snares.
A (Edit: B in the second example) To be honest though, 200 bucks is still a big committment for a beginner, I think my first set set my parents back 350 bucks total and that was with Hi hats, and a crash/ride. Yes it sounded crappy but I sure as hell didn't notice playing it felt so cool I'll remember it forever. It wasn't until five years later that went and replaced the thing with a better kit, but by then I had learned how to get the most out of a low end kit, Heads mean a lot and to me one of the biggest improvements happened once I learned how to use tape and gel to muffle a head without killing it.
How did you do?? Comment your score below!
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its definitely A
A is more expensive
I got one right and one wrong
I had them both right, usually with more expensive snares the over tone is more controlled for studio session quality. Less ring = better recording quality. This can also be heard with the snare Dave Grohl uses in the video "PLAY" where he plays all the different types of instruments. Usually in a studio setting, producers have drummers adjust their snares at lower tuning then what they normally play.
Gabe, been a fan for a long time and appreciate all the videos, tips, tricks and positive channel. Keep up the great work!
I got the first two right, but they both sounded really good.
*voicemail beep* Hey dude, it’s me again. Guess your phone died; it’s going straight to voicemail now. Anyway, it’s a nice day out, so I thought of you and the THIRTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS YOU OWE ME
............................................
I'll send it once you post a new video
Colab!! Please
@@DrumBeatsOnline he's got you there Harry!
Dayummnnnnnnn called out
i just passed out from the sheer heat in this thread
Gabe: which snare is expensive?
Harry: do I get 1,300$?
😂😂
RIP David Cola's career 😈
😂😂😂
I’m taking all your stickers off my fridge
DavidColaDrums wow that’s next level man, stickers hold relationships together
Hello david
😂😂
I am definitely someone who thinks that better gear will give a greater motivation to keep playing. Better gear can mean so many more possibilities, even if it's just the timbre. Awesome work man!
Of course!
@@DrumBeatsOnline Yeah!
There is certainly some truth to the idea that buying something expensive gives you that "Now I gotta get my money's worth!" motivation, but the fact is, a good drummer can make even a bad kit sound great, and a bad drummer will sound bad no matter how much the kit costs. And if you're just starting out, it will be a long time before you are legitimately limited by even a cheap kit.
Better playing will give better motivation than any upgrade, don't forget that ;)
That's right.
LOL out of the box there is NO COMPARISION! The utility does sound better than its price point tho.
For sure! The quality difference can be heard right away, but with a little tuning, the Utility can sound really awesome!
its just was untuned from box lol
It's aaalllll a matter of:
1) Head choice
2) Tuning
3) Recording method: mics, placement, mixing
However, the shell thickness and material also play huge role))) Hence the price difference
I love how the Nashville session guy asked for the $1300. This video was awesome and I love how you brought my favorite youtube drum guys together.
❤️❤️
Editing in this channel is sick
That means a lot thanks Nick!
My answer about the expensive one was always the right choice, but i gotta admit, 200$ doesn't sounds bad. We can still hear the quality differences but 200$ one is really not bad at all.
I couldn't agree more!
absolutely
I love whenever Harry shows up in a video cause its good to know he's still kickin
Thanks for this video Gabe! The studio I teach at has been in need of a decent snare drum for a long time, but usually can’t find something that won’t break the bank! That Modern Utility will really help us out, thanks again for showcasing these awesome snares!!
when the "cheap" snare is more expensive than your entire kit
Facts. LOL.
I'm hoping that means you bought a decent kit in used condition rather than a horrible quality kit brand new, lol.
Lmao same
HAHAHAHAHAH
Same... I wish he could talk about how to make a $20 drum to sound as good lololol...
Its easy to tell which one is which. The pixels colors give them away. Plus the first 2 shots you could see the bottom of the snares that didn't get covered up. Great video. Also love the academy. Glad I just joined a week ago.
That was very cool. I spotted the expensive drum almost all the time. But I thought the differences were not night and day, the more expensive had more body and it was also a comparison of steel vs. brass. All in all, both drums sounded very good!
I’m a beginner drummer, this was very helpful. Definitely going for a budget kit for my first acoustic kit. Price won’t matter in my early stages, I just want to get my skills up before anything else.
I can hear the difference. For a fair comparison, I closed my ears. Man I love the sound of that Pearl Reference Brass snare. Epic Video.
I'm loving it as well! So glad you liked the video!
You closed your ears ??? 😱😱😱
Personaly I can hear the difference between them, but I prefer the cheapest one! 😅
I'm just finding it hard to justify the difference in price. The cheap one still sounds pretty good likely because it's been tuned well. Try a $75 snare vs that $200 snare and I'm sure you'll notice more of a difference
I agree that the snare doesn't sound $1100 better, but it's not really for us. It's not even really for people who are very good at drums. It's for people who make a living recording drums. People who own this own studios or are professional drummers who have 10 other snares like this of different materials in their studio. To them, this snare sounds like it's worth every penny because it sounds exactly the way it does. It really is an excellent, top tier, snare.
Great video. I have no shame in admitting i liked the cheap snare more....the expensive one has more body...more warmth and sings a bit more, BUT on a personal level i love the brightness of the cheap snare...It has quick attack, quick decay and a naturally higher pitch. I got them wrong on the first clip. With a lower tuning i preferred the more expensive snare because it sung and was way smoother..BUT I still prefer the cheap one because i never tune that low. I always have my snare tuned high. i want my snare to CRACK. I am still using a Dixon 13x4 snare drum that i bought for around 100$ CAD used...Ive recorded with it...played many shows with it....i still LOVE it. And another beautiful part about music...its all personal preference.
200$ is not a cheap snare drum, its a regular price snare drum. You can get suprafonic in that price range ( 200-300$) and we all know what is a suprafonic. It's a must have for every recording studio. 1300$ drum is just exotic, especially for a metal shell drum, 200$ is about the right price for a everyday use drum
Time after time, people have shown that there is very little difference in sound between two identically tuned drums, cheap and expensive. But I still go for high-end drums for so many reasons other than sound - I just love something beautifully made from high quality components. Having said that, I really, really enjoyed having one of the cheapest Gretsch kits, the Catalina Club Jazz. It was a pleasure to play and sounded fantastic. I also like contradicting myself.
100% correct for me. Thanks for the Video
I got both of those first two right...the giveaway for me was the drier, shorter sound that I've heard more often on lower end snare drums compared to the more complex, vibrant, resonant sound that's usually a feature of snares made of better materials. The last one with the pro drummers was tough, though, and I missed it. :(
first time on this channel and damn, the quality is awesome. feels like a filmmaker's channel. subbed
Heck yes! Welcome to the family my friend!
I was so shocked when you said A was more expensive in the first trial because B sounded so much better for me
By the flams i found a better
That's what this experiment is all about!
Harry is the man !!!! luv his drumming and attitude
Man love your videos I’ve learned so much from you
This is a great video! You can absolutely get good sounds out of cheaper drums. A lot of it comes down to tuning and heads. I bought a Mapex piccolo snare for around $60 and it's one of the best sounding drums I own. For anyone curious I've used it on my channel.
for me it comes to the way you play the snare or how you tune it makes it sounds better.
I was actually able to hear the sound difference perfectly fine. Even with Tablet speakers but I really enjoyed this video. Was great as usual. I do prefer wood snare drums but I found those Snares sound amazing.
ok here goes....snare B to your left was pearl reference?and right where it should be is the modern utility?snare A. die cast hoops make a difference and same goes with head and snare wire choice,in my opinion.love your videos bud,awesome subjects you cover,thank you.
Yeah the Utility sounds great I bought it 4 months ago and still really like it
Snare A sounds like a Snare having a small bit of the "Tom Tom" resonance. I would always go for snare B.
With a good drummer a cheap or a expensive snare drum would always sounds amazing !!!
What I learned from this video:
I can hear the difference between the cheap and expensive snare and yes, the more expensive snare sounds better, BUT there's a 650% price difference and maybe like 10% sound difference (with the same heads and tuning, that is).
Very difficult. Both sounded great. Awesome video
I got them both right (honestly), the higher tuning was easier to pick out the differences than the lower tuning. The snare wires one the cheaper snare sounded buzzier than the expensive one, and the expensive one sounded more beefy, probably because of the die cast hoops..? Back when I played, and I changed from the 2.3mm flanged hoops to the die cast hoops i couldn't believe how much a difference it made in the sound. The type of heads and tuning also play a huge role in the drum's sound. Also, with good microphones and mixing, you can make any drum sound great.. as long as its tuned :) Cool video!
I guessed right twice. The expensive snare has more presence but both sounded really good.
I got all of them right, but I have to say... those sounds are pretty close. Really cool how good the 200 dollar snare sounded, I didn't expect that. Awesome video!!
One of my favorite sounding / recording snare drums is an Amazon bought Sawtooth brand snare drum made out of Poplar. I've owned the gamut of snare drums and have been playing for close to thirty years have digged over a thousand times. As long as your drum is in round, and you know how to tune, you will have a good sounding snare drum. Let's not forget that a lot of snare drum sound comes down to how you play it very similar to guitar players Etc
Same goes for cymbals...
Compare a Ludwig Supraphonic with a Yamaha stage custom steel 14x6,5 snares or Zildjian A custom with Zultan rockbeat or Sonor Armoni. Lots of people buy the name more than the sound.
Gabe partially thanks to you I went and got a pearl masters maple complete kit and I’m in love with it. I saw in your pearl reveal video you weren’t sure yet or were thinking about possible setups of using your kit and how you like the ride in the certain spot. I started using the offset setup with 2 up and 2 down and the ride is still in that perfect spot!
I love this! So glad you are enjoying the new Pearl kit!
Drum Beats Online yes sir!. It’s great.
Cool video. I've owned a few snares over the years. Some entry level, some collectors items. Tuning and heads are a big deal. Application also is a factor. A few of my prior owned snares. Ludwig Coliseum. Rogers powertone- 1964. Tama power piccolo- early 2000s.
The Distance of the Overheads have an impact on the 2 snares. i say use a 1 mic in front of the middle space where the 2 snares meet so you can still capture the cymbals plus the 2 individual snare mics
Exactly. You can definitely hear that snare B is phasey due to the difference in distance from the overhead compared to snare A
Don't know what its worth but when I played gigs in high school, the only thing I could afford was a Poplar Tama Imperial star,I changed out the reso and batter head, plus the snare wires, made sure it was always in good tuning and I'd get compliments on how it sounded all the time.
I won both levels! They both sound awesome!
I got them right. Yay, me! But if I’m being honest, I preferred the Utility’s sound over the Reference. I have a couple high-end Pearl snares and they do respond quickly to tuning adjustments and are beautiful instruments to play.
Wow! Great video. My opinion? I liked the sound of the $200 snare better. Problem is that I don't like a 6.5 snare. Never have. With all of that said, I have to say that that kit is one of the sweetest looking kits I've seen.
I've been a drummer for 10 years now, and I've been using a Pearl VPX Strata (Birch) snare for a couple years. It cost me $125, and I think it sounds amazing, as well as my fellow church band members. My old drum teacher told me to spend more on my cymbals
That's awesome!
I got them all right but I'm not a drummer. I play congas and I'm very picky with my tuning. I even had debates with other conga players about what is better, raw hide vs synthetic skin. Great content, I liked the video.
3/3 dude!
Fun comparison! I’ve got 2 Ludwig 5x14” snares, a 70s Vistalite and a lm400 supraphonic.
Love this vids man! Your ayotte kit is sick!
I work at a music store and go through gear like crazy and would like to share some thoughts I have on this subject.
-From my experience, it’s pretty hard to make a steel snare sound bad, especially with a coated head on it.
-From my experience, snares sometimes don’t show much difference when recorded but if you play it live you might be able to tell a bigger difference. For example, I prefer using my brass snare live rather than my aluminum for most songs because it tends to really cut through the mix.
-From my experience, wood snares usually have more dramatic differences. The cheaper ones tend to be very thin sounding and have nasty overtones.
The 2 MAIN things I have come to realize about cheap vs expensive drums;
1. Overtones - cheeper drums typically will have worse overtones or maybe the air travels awkwardly through the shell giving it a weird resonance.
2. Tuning range - cheaper drums will only sound good at one or a few specific tunings or will have clarity/dynamic issues in certain tunings.
NAILED IT!
I got them all right! The trick was to pay attention to the ghost notes. The more expensive drum emphasized the ghost notes really well.
Did it by ear and closed eyes. Got all right. The Brass got this nice warmth around it. You can hear it in every tuning. Steel has always some aggressive frequencies. But to be honest. The Modern Utility is also a great drum. Loved the low tuning.
I got the 3 correct, but honestly I think it was because of my in ears (kz ZSX) I heard better the attack, the decay and the snare wires. Try using good sounding earphones
I answered all questions right, it's because I can notice the sound that's near my tuning, the cheap one. they Sound more similar than the Expensive one.. I use Fernando drums.. As I can say, Their difference was, the expensive one has a compression like effect and doesn't lose the tone that makes it sound better and the Cheap one sounds more open.
It’s all about the head and the tuning - particularly for recording with. Sometimes, live (acoustic) you can tell the difference more.
I own a RFB1465 and guess every time his crunchy and massive sound. Love it since heard in Robar - "Before & After" recorded by Travis Orbin. Thanks for interesting test and good quality!
Got first one A second I missed thought A sounded better (Modern Utility low tuning). Both sounded great in both though. I personally have the Modern Utility 6.5 Maple snare and upgraded to die cast hoops and 30strand snare wires and LOVE it.
Heck yes!!
To me I preferred the $200 snare. it wasn't as thick sounding but it was more open and had more crack to it which is the sound I prefer. Thanks for the comparison video!!
The only thing not surprising is that Harry nailed every one. Dude!’s ear is incredible. Friends of mine had him lay down a beat for their tune, based on a sample they couldn’t get rights to, and Harry could tell they modulated the sample 1/2bpm different. 1/2 BPM! And he could tell!!
Beautiful drums my friends
Why is everyone surprised the $200 snare sounds good? It cost $200. Think of something else you own that costs $200. It's probably pretty good quality.
Exactly
I love the sound of the pearl reference. Me personally I would rather save up and get the more expensive one, im not a huge fan of my snare, not even sure what brand it is or anything but I can never get a decent sound that I want out of it. I think for the cheaper price I would love to have the cheaper snare and like you said, spend some time really getting that sound out of it.
These are great thoughts Devin! Well stay tuned because you may get a chance to win the Utility as a DBO Academy member!
@@DrumBeatsOnline oh sweet. Speaking of DBO, I hadn't had much time to practice on the kit lately, with the whole family home is really hard. But I have been putting in hours of practice pad exercises everyday.
Great vid man. Great tone from that 200 snare.
I got all of em correct, the last clip was a bit tricky.
The different shell material made it easier to guess imo.
IDK how, but I got them both right. It can really be heard even on a TH-cam video. The more expensive one has many nice overtones, so the sound is really more saturated. I'm not sure if I could pass the test "$800 vs $1000" though, but this one is really easy.
You can def tell the Diff in clarity and attack. Just the overall cleanliness of the sound is better with the more expensive one!
Great vid man! Regards from Indonesia.
Both sound great!
I was able to guess all three correctly. But what was really surprising to me was that I liked the tone of both since they’re both Pearl. I’m not usually a fan of Pearl, but I might need to give them a second look.
I got all three. The third test was def the hardest but the expensive snare had more of a quality I can only describe as “bite”. Not much of a drummer but I am an amateur producer, so it’s good to know I have a decent ear for drum tones
I got both right, the reference had more depth and tone so stood out more in the mix
Did the complete ‘blind’ sound test and was 100%. I preferred the 1300 dollar snare and picked it out each time. Fun video!
I got both tests right, however it is suprising that there isn't much of a difference, the cheap one will still "do the job" and sounds very decent. The more expensive drum has much richer tone and wider bandwith, it sounds to me like 15-25% better :) but still 5 times as expensive! i own a supraphonic and fell in love... so pay for the snares! it's worth it!
Also what drum throne or seat do you use?
I'm on a tight budget on disability. I would have to buy the $200 snare drum!! It sounds great out of the box too!! Love your videos! Keep' em coming bro! I appreciate the knowledge, there's never too much....
I got it 3/3
the Brass snare was beast and I could hear the difference. The low tuning was closer tone but noticed the over tones were less in the brass for sure.
Am I the only one wishing Harry did more videos ?
That's every drummers greatest wish
I got both tests right. The expensive one seems more balanced. Both sound great, though.
The one rdavidr got wrong the cheaper one sounded better, I still got it right though. Probably because your clips gave a very good idea of the character of the drums.
I got two out of three but honestly I preferred the sound of the $200 snare. Which is a good thing ;)
I could not tell which was the cheap and which was the expensive. They both sounded really good to me. [and your playing is phenomenal] I do agree that good quality equipment motivates a player to keep playing and the pro snare looked amazing. If I had the $$ for the expensive snare - yep - I'd buy it versus the $200. However, considering your gig audience is mostly non-drummers, and taking into account that even the experienced guest drummers that you invited in this video had a hard time distinguishing the difference, I doubt any audience member would know the difference between a $200 snare and a $1,300 snare. Harry - you guessed correctly, but because you didn't give a reason for your choices, we have no idea if you truly have a good ear for quality snares or if you just got lucky. If you have the ear - I'd be interested to know what you were listening for and how you could tell. But be honest - did you really just get lucky? If anyone else got the correct answers, I'd like to know from you too - what were you listening for - and please...be honest...if you really just got lucky, fess up. Having said all that - the $1,300 snare looks amazing, and I'd love to play that monster at practice and gigs. Looks and quality equipment are the real difference here.
I have a 13x7 pork pie brass snare and man this thing cracks like a supraphonic, it was definitely worth the money. I got a deal on it at a thrift store for pretty cheap. So to answer someone's question if you can get good sound for cheap, YES YOU CAN!!
I personally was able to spot the expensive snare every time though the extercise that you did with the snares at a low tuning without the springs actually through me off a little but the expensive snare had way more attack, resonance control, and over all just sounded better to my ears but the take away from your experiment was I was wearing $200 headphones that are really good at picking up every little detail. But like I said you almost got me with one Exercise but I will also say that my church has pretty low quality snares which bugs me a lot but I can always find a tuning that’s manageable to my ear if I mess with it enough but a more expensive snare just to me sounds a little better. Especially the deeper shell depth snares, anything 6.5”-8” shell depth just sounds beefier, more attack, power, resonance, and control over that resonance without the use of resonance rings or sticky squares. In the end can a $200 snare do the job, yes my old Tama imperialstar 14x5.5 snare still sounds fantastic to me and is relatively cheap for what it is. My 14x8 Ludwig supraphonic snare is way better though, so much more depth and attack, I don’t know I guess it’s just a preference thing to me.
Epic video shots in the intro!
Pretty impressive comparison and nice job on the tuning! sometimes i was like all 3, there was such a slight difference that i couldn't make a choice too. I believe it's a matter of taste, it's a personal choice depending on the sound you want. And for that matter, it's not about the snare you play, it's about the sound. In the other hand, it's always easier to tune an expensive snare, because most of the time you don't need to fix it too much, and you can get a lot of variations of sounds which is not the case for a cheap snare, very limited i think...
Besides better sound and ease of tuning of the Reference snare drum, it is just a beautiful drum to hit on, with the weight of the drum the response you got from the drum after each stroke would be more satisfying on the Reference snare drum than on the Utility one. Having a beautiful looking and nice sounding drum will just make one wanna play more and explore more on the tonal possibilities on each square millimetre of the drum =) Great video man!!
Definitely hearing the difference between the two, the fact that only the Reference snare is equipped with cast hoops it’s a dead giveaway.
I think it’s all a matter of how you want them to sound. I think they both sound excellent
I had it 100% correct. I was surprised that the pricey one wasn’t that much better, but it was better. I hated the overtones on the right out-of-the-box comparison with the expensive snare. I guess that’s what moon gels are for.
I feel like a expensive snare drum and a more affordable snare drum can both sounds pretttty similar. But imo the advantage of expensive ones is how easy they are to tune and get a maximum amount of good sounds and possibilities.
(I bought a Benny Greb signature snare drum and this is what amazed me firstly!)
What cymbals are you using?????
I got all of them right if was super easy, it was obvious here that the more expensive one was better!
Awesome vid gabe, you should upload an open drum solo video it could be really cool!
It's very similar when you set the snare into low tuning, great video!!
Agreed!
What type of Evans heads did you replace the stock ones with? No DrumDial? Fun video, thanks.
very very important video...... shows how RELATIVE perceive of sound is......
❤️❤️
@@DrumBeatsOnline I think an important issue with cheap drum hardware is lacking tuning stability........
In my opinion the Mapex Black Panther Sledgehammer is still the best snare! and its like 450!
I’m looking to buy a new snare, so I’m looking closely at many snares and actually got them all correct.
The hard ones were the low tuning, but like David said, you could hear it in the tones. Then the high tuning was also pretty tough, but what did it for me was the articulation of the snares.
Articulation is due to the player.
A (Edit: B in the second example)
To be honest though, 200 bucks is still a big committment for a beginner, I think my first set set my parents back 350 bucks total and that was with Hi hats, and a crash/ride. Yes it sounded crappy but I sure as hell didn't notice playing it felt so cool I'll remember it forever. It wasn't until five years later that went and replaced the thing with a better kit, but by then I had learned how to get the most out of a low end kit, Heads mean a lot and to me one of the biggest improvements happened once I learned how to use tape and gel to muffle a head without killing it.