Dave Grohl has an exquisite new signature DW snare drum, and it has made him very happy indeed

DW Dave Grohl Icon snare
(Image credit: Drum Workshop, Inc.)

These days, Dave Grohl is primarily occupied by his job as effervescent Foo Fighters frontman and guitar player, but for many he is still one of the best drummers in the world. No question. And DW agrees, and has duly unveiled a signature snare drum in his honour.

The DW Dave Grohl Icon Snare is resplendent in graphics representing Grohl's feather tattoos, and celebrating his association with LA's Sound City recording studio, and Studio 606 – whose control room now houses Sound City's legendary console. 

From top to bottom, the snare's build and specs are high-end. Made in California, Grohl's signature snare is built from 11-ply North American hard rock maple that's treated with VLT grain orientation technology. It is fitted with True-Hoops, True-Pitch 50 Tuning, True-Tone Snare Wires™, a MAG throw-off with 3P butt plate and DW Heads by Remo.

Finished in teal-dyed exotic birdseye maple, the graphics are hand-layered from laser-cut 1/36" veneers of black pear and sycamore before being sprayed with a clear gloss to topcoat. DW says it used no paint whatsoever for the graphics.

“I’d like to thank everybody at DW, as this is something that blows my mind,“ said Grohl in a statement. “I’ve never had my own snare drum before, and this is pretty beautiful.”

The project was a labour of love for DW drum designer John Good. “We’d been waiting a long time to present this special project to Dave,“ he said. “When he saw the drum for the first time, we couldn’t have asked for a more amazing reaction. We finally get to share this with the world, and we know his fans will appreciate the thought and effort put into this very special ICON drum.“

The DW Dave Grohl Icon Snare is priced $1,599 street and is limited to 250 pieces worldwide, each numbered and signed by Good, with a portion of the proceeds going to the National Independent Venue Association at Grohl's request.

See DW for more details.

Dave Grohl has been a busy man. The Foo Fighters have a new album, Medicine At Midnight, out on 5 February 2021, while Grohl has mooted a mysterious side project that sees him return to the drum kit and collaborate with “people you would never expect.“

Jonathan Horsley

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.