Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. Tuition

5 best artist signature snare drums

By Rhythm magazine
published 11 November 2009

Buyers' guide: from Carey to Copeland

How to buy artist signature snares
Everything you need to know

How to buy artist signature snares

Not all drum companies offer signature snare drums, although the trend is on the up and it does seem an obvious ploy. Along with the ride cymbal, the snare drum is usually the most recognisable part of a drummer’s sound and adopting your hero’s snare should at least give you a leg-up towards mastering their signature beat.

Picky artists

It’s quite a big commitment for a company to invest in a radical signature snare design, so it’s perhaps not surprising that only the bigger companies - like Pearl, Yamaha and Tama - have a wide selection. Some designs are pretty far out - they probably wouldn’t have been thought of had they not been specified by the picky artist in question. Of course, this is how it should be, and shows just how personal the snare drum is compared to the rest of the drum kit.

In other instances, a signature snare may simply be a tweaked version of a standard model, which you could buy more cheaply without the name (Neil Peart’s 30th anniversary DW Edge, for example).

Talent

Remember, though, that it’s not just the instrument itself that gives your drumming hero their particular signature sound. It has just as much to do with the way they hit their snares, tune them, and what head combination they use. Not to mention the considerable talent and ability they bring to it…

Next page: 5 best artist signature snare drums

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
ddrum Travis Smith
£229

ddrum Travis Smith

A genuinely different signature drum at a tempting price. The 14"x7" shell is a heavyweight 15-ply mix of birch and basswood, which gives a bitingly powerful crack. The 18 vent holes and the die-cast hoops make for a focused and dry sound with phenomenal attack.

(Read the full ddrum Travis Smith Signature Kit review)

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
Sonor Danny Carey Snare
£620

Sonor Danny Carey Snare

A 1mm thick bronze shell measuring a fairly monstrous 14"x8". Triple-flanged 2.3mm hoops are teamed with Artist Series lugs. More open tone than you might expect from such depth. A simple yet nicely-styled and executed snare that does Danny’s tasteful playing style justice.

(Read the full Sonor Danny Carey Signature Snare Drum review)

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Tama Stewart Copeland
£399

Tama Stewart Copeland

Recreates the unmistakable Tama snare Stewart used on the classic Police recordings. It has a chromeover- brass, 1.5mm shell, with a diecast top hoop and steel mighty hoop beneath for high tuning, enabling Stewart’s snapping, edgy beat.

(Read the full Tama Stewart Copeland Signature Drum Kit spec)

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Pearl Chad Smith
£288

Pearl Chad Smith

An unpretentious snare that kicks ass and looks good, with black nickel-plated steel shell with 2.3mm SuperHoop II’s, minimum contact lugs and Gladstone-style vertical pull strainer. The combination of medium depth and steel shell means a versatile drum, sensitive but loud....

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Yamaha Steve Jordan
£374

Yamaha Steve Jordan

Our top pick! Mr Funk Steve Jordan’s 13"x6 1/2" maple snare has an old-school thin four-ply maple shell with thick six-ply reinforcing hoops for that classic ’60s sound. The non-plated snare wires add to the dirty, wet sound of the snare. What’s more, Steve insisted on environmentally friendly wood, finish and adhesives. Very cool indeed.

For up-to-the-minute drum buyers’ guides, check out Rhythm Magazine.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
Rhythm magazine
Social Links Navigation
More about drums
EFnote 3X kit from the rear on a white background

EFnote 3X review

Foo Fighters performing with new drummer Josh Freese at Studio 606

Foo Fighters make live return with new drummer Josh Freese, unveil new song and pay tribute to Taylor Hawkins

Latest
Noel Gallagher

Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Try these 16 inspiring guitar chords that use open strings

By Total Guitar19 April 2023

Led Zeppelin II: Jimmy Page guitar lesson

By Total Guitar17 April 2023

Bored by your own guitar chord playing? Try inversions!

By Rob Laing17 April 2023

Learn 5 essential blues guitar turnaround licks for your solos

By MusicRadar15 April 2023

Computer Music 321 June 2023: free downloads

By Computer Music11 April 2023

Learn 7 extended jazz guitar chords

By MusicRadar11 April 2023

Learn 20 blues, prog rock, folk and funk guitar chords

By MusicRadar6 April 2023

Learn to play 4 awkward but awesome-sounding chords

By Leigh Fuge5 April 2023

How to use the '3 reverb approach' to nail reverb in almost any mixing scenario

By Jon Musgrave29 March 2023

How to optimize your PC for music production

By Matt McCracken27 March 2023

22 essential reggaeton production tips to help you sound like Bad Bunny

By MusicRadar22 March 2023

  1. Nirvana In Utero cover
    1
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"
  2. 2
    Gryffin: "After I discovered deadmau5, Skrillex and Avicii, I immediately downloaded Ableton Live"
  3. 3
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  4. 4
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  5. 5
    Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?
  1. Orange Box: The iconic British amp brand enters the Bluetooth speaker market
    1
    Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box
  2. 2
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  3. 3
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  4. 4
    Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart
  5. 5
    New Van Halen documentary takes us back to the early ‘80s to tell the story of how Eddie built 5150 Studios as the band were coming apart

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.