Hello. My name is Eric, and I'm a snare addict...

Possibly the most hotly debated, and fiercely defended component of anybody's drumset is the snare drum. Today's modern drummer has more options available than you could shake a stick at (wah wah wah.) My drum collection was sparked with an unexpected Christmas gift from my grandmother; a Premier Anniversary Signia wood hoop snare. I have only seen one other like it, and it was attached to the matching drumkit. Whoever you are, you're a lucky bastard! Naturally, High School Douche Eric immediately took it to band practice with the punk/metal group I was with at the time, thus denting the gorgeous wood hoops with overzealous rim shots. Sigh. At least I don't have to worry about hurting it anymore. Mine is the black version with gold hardware. If you have the natural clear lacquer one, I'd like to talk to you... The problem with snares is there are waaaay too many variables to consider. In the beginning it was easy: metal for power, wood for warmth. If you were an disciple of Dave Lombardo, or some other ridiculous bazilliom BMP rock band, you went with a metal snare. The cold, brooding, gunshot crack of a steel snare surely instills fear in the hearts of the Tom Jones set. It's Not Unusual for the mellower drummer to select a maple shell (exceptions exist!) for a warmer crack that would be right at home in a Blues Traveler cover band. Now you have to choose between a galaxy of materials, options, finishes, plies, big damn holes in the sides... It never ends. My personal collection runs the gamut from thin shell reinforcement hoop clad wood hoop jazz drums to die cast hoop copper monsters. The snare shown here is my current favorite: It's a Spaun 6.5x14 slotted maple maneater:



The hole (pun) purpose of this type of snare is for the energy of your stick stroke to explode out whatever orifice has been engineered into the snare's design. Play one of these vented Mesa killers and there is no turning back. My previous rock drum feels broken after this one. Maybe Chad Sexton and Travis Barker are on to something here... A word of warning: other than your practice space or 1000+ venues, these are just too freaking loud! Stick with your trusty maple snare, or birch, or mahogany, or ironwood, or zelkova...