DrumCraft reintroduces its Bell Brass snare drum, offering you the snare sound of Metallica, Nirvana, RATM and more for under £800!

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Fans of heavy, cast snare drums, get ready to rejoice! DrumCraft - the Thomann-owned and revived drum brand has just announced the release of its new 14"x6.5" Bell Brass model, which puts the iconic sound of a cast-shell, bell brass snare in reach of even more drummers. 

Now, if you know anything about the Bell Brass moniker, you’ll know that it’s a misnomer originating from Tama’s iconic ’80s Mastercraft Bell Brass model - the same drum that supplied the thunderous backbeats on albums from Nirvana, Metallica and Rage Against The Machine. Tama reissued the Bell Brass in 2023, but with a price tag of over £3000, many of us are still left drooling into our bank statements. 

What we’re actually talking about when we use the term is a cast, bronze alloy drum, known for its heavy weight, loud, cutting response and beefy, full-bodied sound. That’s exactly what DrumCraft is aiming for. This isn’t the brand’s first foray with a heavy, cast snare, with its previous model available under the brand’s previous incarnation.

But now, DrumCraft has brought the Bell Brass back, with a few tweaks. First up is the shell - the previous version was 6mm-thick: twice that of the classic Bell Brass blueprint. Here, it’s thinned down to 3mm.

The trade-off, though, perhaps comes with the hoops. While the original DrumCraft featured a die-cast batter-side rim and triple-flanged snare-side, the new model features triple-flanged rims on both sides. It’s joined by DrumCraft’s Nickelworks throw-off, and all hardware is finished in satin chrome.

Elsewhere, it comes with a DrumCraft-branded Remo CS Coated batter head, Remo snare-side head, and DrumCraft 20-strand snare wires. All of which adds up to a weight of 12KG.

The DrumCraft Bell Brass snare is available now, with prices at Thomann currently set at £766/€903/$1004. For more information, head to the DrumCraft website.

Stuart Williams
Drums

I'm a freelance member of the MusicRadar team, specialising in drum news, interviews and reviews. I formerly edited Rhythm and Total Guitar here in the UK and have been playing drums for more than 25 years (my arms are very tired). When I'm not working on the site, I can be found on my electronic kit at home, or gigging and depping in function bands and the odd original project.