The 10 Best Shallow Snare Drums - Small But Mighty!

[@craigjohnchronicles2504]

I can't stop laughing at this video's thumbnail. You need to make this into a t-shirt... Love that Ludwig Carl Palmer snare.

[@af7119]

You guys continue to set the standard for drum videos. My favorites were the Ludwig (perfect sound and amazing value), the Canopus (impressive amount of body and low end), and the Ahead (it stayed tonal and never choked even as he hit harder and harder).

[@sleether4049]

Hhh

[@richboshart1201]

Shallow snares aren’t generally my cup of tea, but the Erskine snare had way more body than it should have. It sounded great as did the Canopus drum.

[@stevengood6434]

That Ahead snare sounds really good.

[@michaelfontana3158]

The Carl Palmer snare stood out to me. Great stuff guys!!

[@johnweyers2685]

Recently purchased the Ludwig Venus piccolo and absolutely love it. It was also my favorite on this video, along with the DW copper. I'm not a big fan of wood piccolo snare drums. I love the brightness of metal. And as "The Dude" once said: "Abide."

[@artofthesnare]

I came, I saw (heard), and within 48 hours pulled the trigger on the DW Copper! Such great warmth with articulation and clarity. And the Ludwig Carl Palmer is amazing as well, especially at that price, holy cow! Will be adding that to my collection...

[@nairnodrums]

Noble and Cooley just get the sound right for me. It just opens right up on the rim shot, which I like a lot. Good mix of dry articulation with ear bleeding rims. If only Brady were still in good circulation, I’d love to hear one of those on the test.

[@just82much51]

You guys are GREAT! Love the drums AND the humor!!

[@jkf9167]

I had that Pearl Piccolo for the first year that I played. It was awesome, and quite versatile. It'd freak out if you tuned it too low, but as long as you kept it medium-low or higher, it was great. Super loud and explosive too. I also liked the Ludwig Carl Palmer and the DW Copper.

[@TheStokedBloke]

That is the best thumbnail I've ever seen

[@thomasmoje5926]

Really like that Stanton Moore Monoply drum. I have a Ludwig Venus Carl Palmer Signature model..picked it up a couple of years ago at a Carl Palmer ELP Legacy concert he signed the batter head provided some tuning tips for it one thing he recommended was to swap out the OEM batter head for a Remo Emperor really woke that little drum up. I find it to be a very versatile drum it has a wide tuning range one of my best snare drums.

[@davep3786]

i gotta say ..his snare makes me wanna rethink poplar ... i thought it was garbage wood because pearl used to make there export drums out of it ..lol

[@IAmInfinitus208]

I remember in addition to that head, he also recommended to replace the stock strainer or the straps on it if I'm not mistaken. There's a video of him explaining what to replace on the snare.

[@thomasmoje5926]

@@IAmInfinitus208 Yep he also recommended replacing the snare attachment cords with fabric tape..which I did. Other than those two minor modifications it is an excellent solid drum.

[@Claes_Isacson]

Well guys, you’ve gone and done it again - a great video. Thanks. My fav is the Carl Palmer Ludwig closely followed by the Ahead. Rock on! 🥁

[@drumcenternh]

Thank you Claes!

[@GringoLoco1980]

It was hard to focus because the kick and floor tom sounded dope. I liked the Peter Erskine snare.

[@drumcenternh]

We definitely still want the whole kit to sound good!

[@Ashlord]

The Ahead was surprisingly my favorite. After seeing the price, I'm highly considering it!

[@gogo2957]

Great video! BRAVO! Canopus and Tama best!

[@markusthedrummer8143]

Damn you guys and your awesome videos 😮 I just bought the Tama Erskine snare from you. Stop making such awesome helpful videos 😅 With the Tama beauty, quality, fit, and finish, this is going to go perfectly with the Star Classic birch walnut that I bought from you guys a while back. Please please please do not do any Paiste videos or Roto Tom videos or I might have to move in with one of you due to a lack of proper funds.

[@giannibadeau3344]

Great job as usual!

[@telsonalves8060]

Olá amigos da DCP. Obrigado pelo vídeo comparativo. Todas as marcas são excelentes.

[@partondrumworks]

Love that Erskin. Has a warmth to it the others just didn’t have.

[@DannyDrummer-q7f]

They all have a similarity but the Borlai and DW bronze turned my head. Thank you for this shootout..it helped me make a decision on a shallow depth 14. 🎉

[@billyhughes9776]

The head-to-head really reveals the differences, so,...after listening to that. For me -- the Ahead, Canopus and Noble Cooley stood out the most. Phat af with nice crack and overtones but each have their own voice. The Erskine, Stanton and Gretsch were all very nice too -- The most disappointing for me was the Keplinger. Always wanted a 14x7 Black Iron, but that 14x4 was just ok sounding to me. The Pearl Piccolo just sounded thin to me. Hats off to battling the heat and humidity for another great snare drum video.

[@sleether4049]

All these shallow drums sounds so snappy

[@cfusilier2]

It’s funny. Normally, I don’t care for metal snares, but they really caught my ear this time. If I’m going the shallow route though, I want something different from a deep snare drum. The DW copper and Pearl steel get my nod.

[@robertmcgowan6894]

The Noble and Cooley is my favorite , followed by the Canopus and the Stanton Moore Dunnett. Great sounding drums and as always, a fine presentation by you guys. And hey, a cat Cafe is my kind of place. Bob in Vermont

[@alucard0712]

That's how you destroy your preconceptions.

[@jamesloveswork1]

Love the dry controlled sound of the Keplinger. Great work- thanks gents. 👍🏻

[@drumcenternh]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Batucada408]

That Carl Palmer snare. Gotta get me one.

[@footnotedrummer]

Tony... you're one of my favorite drummers on this channel. You have great feel, buddy!

[@tinterlande]

Thanks so much man!!

[@commonman317]

These remind me of that Pearl Omar Hakim Signature Snare Drum 13 x 5 in. I always wanted one. Seemed like you could make any snare sound you wanted with it, much like these in this video.

[@calzaondrums]

Loved both the Carl Palmer and the Gergo Borlai signatures, but they all sounded great! Loved the video, you guys are the best as always🥁🇮🇹

[@adamfrost3722]

Grazie mille

[@calzaondrums]

@@adamfrost3722 Prego✌🏻

[@stromghouls]

ahead snare. it sound like a much bigger drum, yet is tight sounding and explode with tone. the keplinger is equally impressive.

[@drumcenternh]

That Ahead snare definitely has some power, and of course the mighty Keplinger is hard to argue with!

[@franklinwhaley9835]

I play a pearl no screws (basket) snare I'm in love with this drum.. easily tunable.. hardly any bogus overtones. A beautiful piece of work🙂 .

[@nathanwilkerson4382]

love the erskine, probably going to be my next!

[@wurdofwizdumb1928]

Liked and subscribed!!!! ❤❤❤ you all make great content.

[@klauth_Yksyn]

Great video guys! ....... COHEED 👍

[@drumcenternh]

Thank you and yes, COHEED!

[@skaer36]

Canopus all day long! Saying that, Tama and Ludwig pretty awesome too.

[@AJd1996]

celery 🤝🏼

[@Allinguts]

Will love to see best piccolo snares

[@sierragold]

The DW is stunning!

[@3RTracing]

Interesting. Until the DW Copper was played I was very dissapointed with the previous two. Both seemed shallow with way to little snare sizzle or response. and there was little depth at all. Surprised how that DW sounded. Ahead was a pleasant surprise but it lacks the snare response again, like the DW Copper had. But the Ahead seemed to have the best snap when pushed a little harder. And then wow! The Kepplinger had depth, warmth, snare sizzle sound, overtones, some percussive attack or pop and a overall sound maturity that I didn't hear in any of the others. I did a casino gig recently and they had a deeper Kepplinger in their collection of house drums. It was a real pleasure playing that drum. The Gretsch has the nicest overtone rings, and a nice high fundamental snap too. Canopus, deep, resonant, but no snare response. Ludwig sounded better from a distance. Not a bad sounding drum, good overtones, and good snare response. N&C was the most developed on all counts, fundamental strike tone, overtones, and snare, all balanced, no standout "best" feature but good and very acceptable on all features. Best overall sounding of the bunch up to that point, a toss up between the Kepp and the N & C. And then the Pearl. For such a small drum it has a huge sound and like the N&C seems to be very well balanced on tone, attack, overtones and snare response. I own 3 different Pearl Piccolos: Copper, Brass, and unfinished brass. My snares: Mid 60's Rogers Dynsonic, late 30's Leedy 7 x 14 nickle on brass, early 50's Leedy 4 1/2 chrome on brass, Wood late 60's Pearl, solid mahogany 20's Ludwig 2.5 x 13 (?) Piccolo, Nickle Chrome on Brass Premier, Chrome on Brass Pearl. BTW I have the honor of having lunch with the great Gregg Kepplinger in Seattle next week. Doing some hand mechanics stick control work together. Should be fun, especially if I can tour his facility and play some of his differing snare drums. Good video, although I was dissapointed with the lack of response and strength of what should have been some great snares considering the price point.

[@MrBulldogDude]

Thank you for this. Great video that is tremendously helpful.

[@drumcenternh]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SS-qk8oc]

Apparently, I hate the Dunnett with a passion. I really just want to beat it with a stick again and again. Just keep hitting and hitting it in time to music. Maybe two sticks. 🤔 They all (always) sound amazing mic’ed up and played by these guys. The Ahead is recorded particularly well. That’s why I love the room mic. Keep up the good (fun AND hard) work. I don’t think sweat is obscene on a drummer, but sensitivities differ and I guess some will appreciate the blur! Besides the beastly playing, I love the nonchalant adjustments of the eyeglasses while playing. Every demonstrator on this channel makes drums (and cymbals) SPEAK. Always inspirational. I watch yr hihat shootouts just to hear you make em talk.

[@jamesspafford5985]

First off, I don’t know what it is about Pearl and their 13 x 3’s, but they all sound incredible!!! Having said that, the big surprise for me was that DW Copper!!! I’m not a huge fan of the lower fundamental tone of copper, but it sounded quite pleasant to my ear!!! The other 3 I really like were the Peter Erskine, the SS Classic Maple, and the Venus!!! And, honorable mention to the Pearl steel!!!

[@panicking5190]

More mainstream here, but I like the Pearl. I have one and it doesn't fall out of tune. You know how to fix that though for cheap if it does happen!

[@acrylicrecording]

The Carl Palmer sounds INSANE

[@DrummerGrrrl]

Damn, Canopus drums sound so awesome too! Hell, I loved all of them except that Gretsch.

[@jimc9403]

I loved the gretsch drum.

[@jeffbridges6110]

That Black Iron. Love it.

[@LDdrums20]

You guys are the best. Laugh with the sweat meter

[@BayouMaccabee]

Best bang for the buck is definitely the Ludwig Carl Palmer. The full sound you get for that low of a price tag makes it the clear winner for me.

[@LaJoMa87]

Erskine and Palmer are smokin’!

[@alucard0712]

Black chrome on brass sounds OH MY GOD!

[@marcocasarini]

Very good video. Thanks DW copper won 🎉

[@drumcenternh]

Thank you Marco!

[@AngelAsylum78]

I’m not a connoisseur…. But that Canopus sounds sooooo good.

[@drumcenternh]

It sure does!

[@amirbendayan376]

Get these guys some AC, they sure deserve it

[@CornerStoreDrums]

Oh my goodness!! Love the little snares! DCP = Top Shelf Always! -Indiana Love 💯🥁

[@drumcenternh]

Thanks Al, glad you dug it!!

[@benroe]

really am amazed at the keplinger iron. just so much gut punching tone.

[@trafalgerdavis7839]

Wouldn't your relative humidity affect the drums, especially wood shell's? just wondering... My set is in my basement, which tends to hold on to humidity. I have de-humidifier, but was curious if anyone has done imperial tests on drums and humidity. I liked the Canopus and Ludwig snares.

[@adamfrost3722]

If they were stored there for a prolonged period of time, but they weren't 😊

[@DrummerGrrrl]

The LEAST interesting snare drum to me, was the Gretsch Gergo Borlai and that surprised me because I usually love Gretsch drums. I think the die-cast hoops were to blame for it sounding a bit choked. But, your mileage may vary, of course. Absolutely loooooved the Peter Erskine Tama snare drum. That little beast could do it all. Wow!

[@bryanherward4679]

Yep, that Erskine snare..

[@billbunkers3700]

I had the same feeling about both drums. The Gretsch was just "meh". The Erskine was a standout, along with the N&C and Dunnett. So maybe I really like wood drums with flanged hoops in this size. I didn't like any of the drums with diecast hoops.

[@bryanherward4679]

@@billbunkers3700 been wanting a 5x14 single flange lately...love those Dunnett's as well

[@ZackMester]

Thanks for the vid! I might finally bite on that Phil Collins N&C but the Carl Palmer Venus has me wondering for 1/3 the price!

[@U2WB]

The Ahead and the DW are my two favorites. I wish you would do one whole section of room sound because to me that is a more realistic representation of what the audience will hear unless you’re fully mic’ed up.

[@JulianFernandez]

these dudes are great! haha

[@RaelThomas]

The Carl Palmer sounds amazing. But it's pretty hard to argue with that Pearl, too. $300 vs $1500 (Australian) and honestly it was a close second for me.

[@Sundaydrumday]

OH DAMN , SEE THAT IS WHY I PLAY PEARL, IF YOU PLAY THEM CORRECTLY AS TONY DID, THEY HAVE A VERY DISTINCT , QUICK , DIRTY, TOP END, THAT IS PLEASING TO MY EARS FOR SURE.....AND I BELIEVE THAT SNARE IS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE Edit: Tony that Coheed shirt is pretty sick!!

[@ImMaleven]

That bass drum sounds evil personified. And I mean that as a compliment.

[@dancalabrese3523]

I have to go with the Tama, Noble & Cooley and (surprisingly) the Ahead snares. The Ludwig was in the running too until I heard it on the Head-to-Head. I knew I'd love the Noble & Cooley but how much I liked the Tama and Ahead really surprised me. The Tama might be my favorite in this comparison. Maybe because it was the deepest? It had such a full sound and great crack. It reminded me of a Gretsch Progressive snare drum I use to own. And I loved those cymbals, Tony. I'd buy them.

[@tinterlande]

Right? The cymbals are awesome!

[@weschilton]

One of my favorite shallow snares is the DW PI 3.14x14 carbon fiber snare... it just sounds amazing and has a huge usable tuning range. Of all of these, the Keplinger and Gretsch were my favorites. Also, I just recently purchased a Paiste 21" big Beat crash/ride cymbal and am loving it! Oh and it was 111-degrees here in LA yesterday. Bluh!

[@streetsmartdrumming9567]

Gergo Borlai ❤️🔥

[@philwelch9218]

I like the Erskine model and the Carl Palmer models!

[@jonathanromo2305]

I was really rooting for the pearl because that’s my go to piccolo but man… my heart belongs to the Canopus and the Cooley SS

[@MrWarwizard33]

The Gergo Borlai and the Stanton Moore, after thet the Petrr Erskine. Would have loved to have heard a DW PI in this mix.

[@NorthSeaWisdom]

Oh Canopus!

[@drumcenternh]

Such a great sounding drum!

[@NorthSeaWisdom]

@@drumcenternh amazing!

[@ericBcreator]

Hmm, you can hear the Pearl Piccolo detuning at 19:32 when hitting those rimshots 🙄

[@rogerweiland6384]

I really like the Ludwig

[@roomdog40]

That Noble and Cooley and the Peter Erskine did it for me.

[@ronniek7748]

I love the shallower drums, especially the ones that are made out of wood. To me, they don’t have as many overtones and are a little warmer. Some of these drums are only 1 inch shallower than a regular drum. I didn’t think that would matter, but my wife says that 1 inch matters! 🤷‍♂️

[@alkingborn]

Maybe I'm biased, but N&C is a different world compared to all the others. Ahead and Canopus are very very nice too while all the rest have a pretty standardized sound. Great video again, c'a va sans dir

[@claudeabraham2347]

Best sound - Noble & Cooley. Best sound for the money - Pearl piccolo.

[@sega.milkis]

I have a Pearl Brass Piccolo. As a touring snare - can’t beat it 😊 Would love to get the Carl Palmer one, considered it but it was larger. Gergo Borlai snare is just great. PS Please, do a MIXING TUTORIAL/WALKTHROUGH because ypur videos are THE best sounding drum reviews on the internet >__

[@drumcenternh]

Thanks so much, we may do that at some point. I will warn you, it would be VERY nerdy...!

[@sega.milkis]

@@drumcenternh Ohhhh, the nerdier, the better! 😻

[@sega.milkis]

@@drumcenternh damn, I completely forgot that I purchased my Pearl piccolo from your website!!! Thank you, Drum Center of Portsmouth! 🤘

[@clesposito9744]

Canopus

[@jonathanhill3965]

Despite dropping tuning, those Pearl piccolo's (all flavors of maple, brass and steel) always surprise me, especially when considering how inexpensive they are.

[@jkf9167]

I had the steel one. It was awesome. My tuning probably wasn't as precise as DCP's to begin with, but I don't recall it being an issue.

[@markmullen1852]

Something about Ludwig snares. They just sound great. But that Keplinger, WOW!!

[@dogmart]

Tama Erskine Kepplinger Iron N&C Maple Pearl Steel Worst: Stanton Moore poplar And Paiste Signature hats are the best!!

[@joeldrummer23]

I love that DW copper

[@drumcenternh]

She's a beaut!

[@johncollins5552]

Great floor tom sound, what heads are on there, I can't see what it is,! Oh I don't know who Stanton Moore is but I liked that 🥁 Only shallow snare I ever tried was mapex brass 14 by 4.5 and it was too ear piercing for me and the singer from the band who was with me said "No brass drums for you because nobody will hear me sing "😆

[@yulhyeonlee7830]

wood : Canopus / metal : Carl palmer

[@Theratron]

Ah, finally we get some pancake drums! Woohoo 🥳 I used to have multiple snares, but since I got a 14" x 3.5" Pearl Free Floating snare (that one was missing from this line-up 😉) that's my permanent snare. Love it. Out of these I loved the Noble & Cooley SS and the Gretsch Gergo Borlai. The N&C is still the best sounding snare I ever heard in a stadium concert (Phil Collins used it for years, check out his Serious Hits live tour), and the Gretsch would fit my Gretsch drumkit the best, haha. I love how direct and throaty it sounded.

[@MikeLumer]

What's the mic setup on these mixes? They sound fantastic, and I'm amazed at the articulation without a bottom head mic *Edit: By mic setup I mean physical positioning & signal chain. Thanks!

[@drumcenternh]

It's funny, Tony actually set up a bottom snare mic for this and didn't end up using it in the mix. Signal chain is mics - Presonus StudioLive - Pro Tools. The rest happens in the box.

[@MikeLumer]

@@drumcenternh Just standard EQ and compression? No parallel comp or other tricks? It just sounds so open and clear. I want this!

[@tinterlande]

@@MikeLumer mostly just standard stuff, a couple of more “nerdy” things mixed in there too. Thank you for the kind words!

[@MikeLumer]

@@tinterlande How nerdy we talking? Izotope? Transient designer?

[@AlbertMoyerJr]

The Carl Palmer and Peter Erskine sound cool and look cool. The others sound great too, but not as much style. That Pearl Piccolo is the official "ZYDECO" drum of Louisiana. Just kidding! That's not documented, but you see a lot of them. Ha ha!

[@Not_Andrew_Huberman]

I had that Pearl snare. Actually threw it in the trash😂😂

[@cartoune]

Dude, this is great! My kingdom for a head to head between a piccolo snare and a deep (14x8) with the same brand, materials, heads, post processing.

[@paulbila9430]

For me it's a tie between the Ahead and the Noble and Cooley. I wanted to like the Erskine snare more because I've been eyeing them since it came out, but it really didn't stand out as much. Still great, and probably the best looking imo, but most of the others had a bit more pizzazz and character to them. Awesome content as always guys!

[@kman4310]

It's the Ludwig for me.

[@TXMusicDrummer]

My top 3 in terms of sound were Noble & Cooley, Ludwig and Tama. Best looking is the Ludwig Carl Palmer. They all sounded great, but I wasn't too crazy about the Keplinger or the Stanton Moore snare drums.

[@Twotontessie]

Keplinger, Pearl, Erskine, Canopus didn't do much for me. The others were great. Would have been cool to work in an old Yamaha 493 - would have smoked them all? :)

[@betulaobscura]

All sounded like tiny boxes (which was obvious) but the best were: Tama and Ahead.

[@janmalec7349]

If you're looking for the best value shallow drum - peace 14x3.5 steel is absolute steal for something around 60USD?! when you change the heads and snares it's absolutely phenomenal drum

[@DynamicRockers]

Pearl steel piccolo 13x3 for 250$ you just can't beat it.

[@DrummerBoy2513]

Especially for the money, the Tama Erskine is my favorite! I know there are other incredible drums, but the prices are just obscene. I won’t spend more than $650 on ANY snare. NO REASON!!!

[@davep3786]

where were the different diameters? where was the mapex night hawk ? the pdp eric Hernandez snares ? 13 and 12 inch anares ? your definition of piccolo and a lotta other definitions are not the same i think ...lol i i love 10 and even 8 inch snares :)

[@Sundaydrumday]

OK GOTTA ASK DOES THAT HEAT NOT MESS WITH THE INVENTORY? JUST CURIOUS WHEN I HEARD YOU DIDNT HAVE AC I WAS LIKE HOW THE HELL THEY KEEP THOSE DRUMS SOUNDIN SO GOOD, IVE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT HEAT AND COLD, SO WONDERING IF IM JUST PARANOID?

[@kazunorikawasaki7081]

👍👍👍