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The cheap'n'nasty steel shell snares that many of us endured as part of our first drum kits have much to answer for. Clangy, over-bright and hard to tune, most of them were ditched as soon as we could afford something smarter - but not before they put us off steel snares for life.

 

Such budget steelies never did much for the reputation of metal shell drums, hence the growing popularity of wood snares a few years back. Nowadays, youngsters are spoilt by the number of half-decent wood shell snares coming with even low-end set-ups. But, as ever, the situation is not as simple as wood equals good/metal equals minging. Far from it.

 

While a nice maple or birch snare is something to behold, the benefits of 'proper' steel, brass and copper snares are many and various. Yamaha is one maker so convinced by the attributes and saleability of metal snares that it now offers a range of no less than 18 Handcrafted snares, in a wide variety of materials and sizes.

 

While the close inspection of close to 20 metal snares would doubtless be illuminating, the interests of preserving hearing and sanity we've chosen to cover just eight from the line-up here.

 

Steeling thunder

 

Brace yourself, because this review is going to feel like a whirlwind introduction to a few faces from a sizable family. So, let the following whet your appetite, then go and experience the instruments that take your fancy for yourself.

 

If there's such a thing as the 'bog standard' snare drum spec, it would be the 14"x 61/2" steel shell snare, so that's where we'll start. Yamaha were good enough to also furnish us with 13"x51/2" and 12"x4" steel drums, but I'd wager that a good proportion of us started out with something close (in basic terms) to the 14"x61/2" here. Rest assured, though, this drum is in a different league to the entry-level 'instruments' of yore.

 

While it sports a fairly simple specification (1.6mm triple-flanged hoops and unfussy 'SD' lugs' - 10 on the 13" and 14", six on the 12"), the 14" sounds remarkably upmarket compared to expectations. It delivers a much more rounded, thicker tone than one might have predicted, and the ever-present 'zing' of the steel is tempered by a healthy dose of low-mid punch. The slightly shallower and narrower 13"x51/2" is also on the right side of bright, so it's crisp without being ear-drum piercing - and lovely for electronic pop, and the like.

 

We've always liked 13" snares for their tight, 'together' tone, and although this steel snare is more open-sounding than an equivalently sized maple type, for example, the drum still displays these integral characteristics.

 

The 12"x4" steel is the most extreme drum here in terms of dimensions, and the fact that it's fitted with a tom-arm clamp points to Yamaha assuming that it will be used as an auxiliary snare by most owners. Super-high head tension suits the snare down to the ground, and tuned as such, it throws out a controlled 'pop' that's immediately responsive to each stroke. The size of the drum means that overtones and decay are limited, and it slots into busy beats with aplomb.