Best Snare Drums for Beginners

The snare drum is one of the most important parts of any band’s sound. It is the drum that is driven to produce a sound, that plays the bass, and that creates the rhythmic pulse of your music. Snare sticks are one type of drum, but they are not the only types you can use. You can also find hi-hat, bass drum sticks, nylon rimmed snares, cymbals, crash cymets, flatted acoustic snags, “horns” (from the Latin horns, meaning horns), and pedal steel drums. Which type you need depends on your sound and the sound you want to achieve. Most important, you will need an appropriate drum case to transport your snaring equipment to and from practice and to protect it from damage when you are on stage. This article will help you learn all about the different types of snarfs and give you information about drum cases. We also cover tips and tricks for playing drums at home and answer some frequently asked questions.

Why do I need a snare drum?

You might be wondering why you should invest in a snare drum. The simple answer is that you need one. Before you know it, you might find yourself playing in front of thousands of people every night. Here are a few snaring tips to get you started. No matter what style of music you play, it is important to have good snares. In fact, not even a tenor saxophone can sound the same without good, resonant snared drums. Additionally, a good set of snarfs is vital to your sound. An undershorted snarer makes it harder for the strings to sustain notes, and it creates a brighter sound overall. You should always have a set on hand for any gig. Never underestimate the importance of getting a full set that includes a stand, cymbal stand (if you’ll be playing on a concert stage), and hammer (for attaching snarls). A quality snatch will sound great whether you're playing it by yourself or with a band.

What features should I look for in a beginner snare drum?

Quality

The quality of your snare drum is as important as the quality and the weight of any backing track you have playing. A snared drum won‘t be as effective as one without a solid and supportive backing. What“s best for the goose, is good for gander. The best way to find out how well your chosen snaring drum will last is to test it out with live drums. But that's not always practical. You might not have the room or the time to invest in a dedicated digital drum machine. Instead, you might prefer to head out to the studio and get some quality snags made and send them off to us for testing. Many of these products are excellent examples of good work that has been done.

Design

A lot of consideration is given to design when selecting a snarling topper. How does it sound? How is it balanced? This will have a lot to do with the materials used, of course, but also how easy it is for you to put it together. Make sure you find a product with a sturdy metal design and a comfortable handle to keep your hands steady while you fix it to your kit.

Price

For many, the price of a single product will dictate how many uses you ll get outta it. However, if you are planning on using your new snarled drum for years to come, then a larger price tag is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, it might actually save you money in the long run. For example, cheaper plastic drums can be less durable than those made with more expensive metal parts. Also, some of us might just want to get our hands on one to give as a gift. In that case, a lower price is often the better option. Of course you get what you pay for.

Reviews

Reviews are the most important piece of information anyone can have when searching for a good product. It can save a consumer a whole lot, or a hell of lot more, in buying a bag that won't be able to support the heavy use that will be made of it over time. Searching for snare drums on Amazon yields a wealth of useful reviews from people who have had the opportunity to use the product in various situations. This can help you figure out if the snarl of an upright will fit your playing style, how much headroom you will need, etc.

What are the price ranges of snare drums?

Inexpensive: The most inexpensive drum sets you’ll find are plastic snare/hat drums, which start at around $15 and go up to about $30 or $40. These are fine for beginners, but they won‘t produce the loudness or sustain you need for playing live.

Mid-range: For $50 to $100, you can get a decent wood snare kit, ranging from $75 to over $200. This is where you get the best bang for your buck.

Expensive: Metal snare drums are pricier, costing anywhere from about $200 to well over a $1,000 dollars. To get them, make sure you have enough room in your wallet and that the drumheads are made of metal. Metal drums typically have better sustain and a higher output, so it's worth spending a little more for the extra power.

How did you choose the best beginner snare drum?

It’s not always easy to choose the best products for our buying guides, but when we are given an overwhelming number of choices, it‘s better to err on the side of caution and select something that we like. That‪s exactly what happened when compiling this list of the top snares. We took into account a number factors that helped us to narrow down our options to the followin recommendations.

Brand

No matter the brand, quality is always important. You can”t just buy off the shelf, you need to know that it is of high quality and has been made with the aim of producing a quality product. This is something we took as seriously as possible when creating this buying guide.

Price

Price is important, and while some of you might already have a Boscoe drum kit of your own, we'd hate for you to miss out on one of our recommendations if we didn t include a price. Our list features a range of prices to appeal to everyone and anyone, no matter their budgets.

Reviews

Reviews are essential for helping us determine which products are the very best and which are not up to standard. Through these reviews, our team gets to understand how easy or difficult each product is to use, as well as the quality of materials used.

What else should I know about snare drums for beginners?

A snare drum plays a part in the rhythmic beating of a drum kit. The sound it makes determines the quality of the sound of other drums in a band. Most snare drums have a thin soundboard and thick shells, which enhances the snaring sound. The thickness of soundboards is related to the thicknesses of shell materials. A thinner sound board produces a brighter sound with less sustain. It can be used on acoustic instruments, but it’s not necessary on electric drums.

Thick sound boards produce a richer, rounder sound, with a higher level of sustain, and it can work well on both acoustic and electric instruments. An electric snare drum has a thicker shell than an acoustic snare.

While snare sounds are more prominent on snares, the kind of snars you use on your other four-on-the-floor drums can determine how your music sounds. Drum heads can vary in size and shape, so you need to know your drummers' preferences when choosing a snary head shape. While most snaries have thin heads, some are wide, while others have thicker heads. Width determines how much air you can move through the head. Wide heads are easier to control, often producing a deeper, richer sound than thick heads.