4 ply vs. 6 ply help!

[Jutt8]

Oh yes, this is ideal and perfect, dont get me wrong, I am not looking to replace the SMX at all, just want a nice "home" kit is all. The SMX I just need another kick, maybe the floor and it's finished! Love that kit! It is hard to near impossable to find a add on kick though. I should just shut up and order the MW or MRP and get the wait going. Faster the better.

Yes, order the MRP and get the ball rolling. Let us know sizes and finish and hardware options that you get. Good luck Ryan---MRP's are sweet

[robstafaria]

You can still order a new SMX kick drum or toms from Pearl. Check with Frank (ntime) and he give you some details.

Ive had them all and agree with the others here, 6ply maple is mostlikely your drums. Myself, I like the tone of the 4ply and that you dont have to lay into them to get that nice tone. My venues are somewhat different than most, small-medium sized churches and usually mic'ed up.,

[RYAN LOWE]

Rob, I am ordering an SMX kick and floor tom for my green burst, however I want a super nice dreamy kit, full up, and I have started the ball going talking with my new pearl dealer. I am simply waiting on him to nail the price down for both an MRP order and a MW order. I will decide and order the second he gets back to me. I will wait another month before ordering the SMX drums, since I believe I will find a used green burst shell pack soon, which would save me time and maybe money. I think in the end, I will order another masters premium, either green sparkle or deep blue sparkle with chrome hardware, MRP of course. Same specs as my last BRP order (which I would die to have again).

[robstafaria]

Gotcha! To bad we couldnt jump back in time a few years, I sold my first custom Masters that was about 2 months old. It was a MRX shell kit in Emerald Fade with Black hardware, beauties to say the least!

[RYAN LOWE]

Gotcha! To bad we couldnt jump back in time a few years, I sold my first custom Masters that was about 2 months old. It was a MRX shell kit in Emerald Fade with Black hardware, beauties to say the least!

Yep, would have loved that combo. That would be a kit that would keep me from ordering new. That would be about it now, something 6ply, masters or MW, 45 degree edges, like the SMX. I tell you, my SMX is the best sounding kit I have played in ages. It's actually refreshing. So warm, but loud, and sweet. I cannot explain in words how impressed I trully am with that 6ply maple sound!

[Drummer764]

I own Pearl Masters Maple Reserve Kit (4ply) and I really like it!
I don't know how much projection would be an issue, since for now I only play on my own.
But for gigs I think you definitely can't go wrong with it.

I am also really interested in what differences all the parameters of a drum make, so I decided to compare two 14x6.5" snares I have myself.
I still have to get my recording software to work, so MAYBE in the future I will do video comparison on YouTube.

So I compared my Pearl Session Studio Select (SSS) 14x6.5" snare with my Pearl Special Reserve (SR) 14x6.5" snare (only available from the German retailer Thomann, but seems to be discontinued now sadly...). It is basically identical to a Pearl Masters Maple Reserve snare, only at a much lower price of 289€, and with different lugs.

These are their detailed specs:

SSS snare:
6 thin plies - 4ply birch + 2ply mahogany
5.4mm

Attributed properties of the wood(s):
- Mahogany: strong lows, with good mids and less highs
- Birch: emphasized highs with fewer mids and balanced lows

Rounded outer 60° bearing edge (with the 60° meaning a flatter angle, most probably refer to it as 30°)
CL-65 lugs
10 lugs
Piano Black finish


SR Snare:
4ply maple + 4ply maple re-rings
5mm + 5mm

Attributed properties of the wood(s):
- Maple: balanced mids, highs and lows; said to resonate for a little bit longer than some other woods

regular 45° bearing edge
STL-100 lugs
10 lugs
Brooklyn Burst finish

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General rule for shells (from what I have heard):
- Thinner shells have a lower fundamental and resonate longer; thicker shells have a higher pitch and don't resonate as much
- The less hardware touching the shell (including the hoops), the more it should be able to resonate
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I have added die-cast hoops to both snares (maybe some people prefer otherwise, but I like the focus they bring to the sound).

On both snares I have added a clear Remo CS on the top (I know it's not the most typical snare head, but I like it, because it gives me a nice pop), and a Remo Ambassador Hazy on the bottom.
I don't know their particular pitches in hz or note values, but I tried to tune them the same and of course made sure the snare side was pretty high (around 2 full turns, maybe 2 1/2 - note: this are die cast hoops, so I think you can achieve the same pitch with less turns than triple-flanged hoops).
The top was probably around 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 turns.

Of course I also tested both with the snare wires off, to get the most accurate comparison.


So here is what I found:
Of course, they both sounded like drums, and as some say, you might not notice the differences as easily from an audience perspective and with music, BUT I did notice some differences from the player's perspective worth pointing out:

The SSS had a little bit deeper fundamental note with a bit of high end to it, mids were nice and clean.
You can even feel the low end in your stomach a bit more than the SR, which I like.
The initial impact (if you attribute it to the shell) didn't seem to resonate as long as the SR.
Maybe the piano black finish could have slightly inhibited the resonance? Who knows...
I would certainly like to hear someone doing the comparison with a more natural finish like gloss barnwood brown.

The SR to me had a little bit more focus on the mids and low-mids. Hard to describe, but a pleasing, full bodied "oomph". It also seemed to resonate slightly longer.

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So it does seem that the attributed properties of the wood are noticable.
Maybe you could say it was a placebo effect based on what I have read, but I compared them many times back and forth, even with my headphone mic audio through my Vic Firth SIH2, and still noticed those differences, even with the snare wires engaged.

Of course the heads, hoops, wires and even lug count have a large impact, but I think that can help you decide on which snare might be best for you.

PERSONAL recommendations (of course experimenting yourself is the most important thing):
If you are going for a low tuned, fat snare sound, the SSS should work best, because of the slight additional low end the mahogany seems to bring out, which you can even feel in your stomach.
But in higher tunings it should work nicely too, by adding the SLIGHTLY more cutting, higher frequencies from the birch, and retaining some lows through the mahogany.

The SR seems to be a bit more versatile in the medium to higher tunings, especially because of the slightly higher resonance of the maple, and the full-bodied sound that starts to come through at medium tuning, and gets more, as long as you don't tune it too high where it chokes the drum.
But that's not to say you can't use it for a lower tuning; I think for a low, fat sound, the snare material is almost of no importance at all; just put a big fat snare on it, choose the right wires, and you are good to go.

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In the end, of course you could get away with any of these snares in any tuning with the right heads, wires and muffling, and maybe I only noticed those differences by actively listening and comparing them.
BUT to me, it makes a big difference in your playing when you have found a sound you really like.
Then it is really up to you to decide on what is worth it to you.

So I hope this helped you!
But by all means, if you can, try comparing your snares yourself!
In the end it is all about finding the right one for you

Good luck!