I Bought a Fake Tama Bell Brass Snare Drum

IG: / davidraouf
Drum Stems & Mixes available Patreon: / rdavidr
Music used (background & playalongs)
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
- Snare Drum Heads -
Remo P4 Coated:
sweetwater.sjv.io/rQL0jB
Remo Diplomat Snare Side:
sweetwater.sjv.io/9gn9vQ
- Mics & Headphones -
Pair of Slate ML-1 (overheads):
sweetwater.sjv.io/q4WLKj
Austrian Audio CC8 (rooms):
sweetwater.sjv.io/DKWZ6o
Earthworks DM20 (toms):
sweetwater.sjv.io/QyYv9M
Earthworks SR20LS (snare top):
sweetwater.sjv.io/9gVj60
Shure SM57 (snare bottom):
sweetwater.sjv.io/9ggW95
Lewitt DTP 640 REX (bass drum)
sweetwater.sjv.io/5gkDd9
Austrian Audio Hi-X60 Headphones:
sweetwater.sjv.io/jrrW5P
Needless to say, Ive always wanted an 80s Tama Bell Brass, but never wanted to pay full price for one because they are some EXPENSIVE DRUMS! A couple years ago I had the idea to make a fake one by taking the hardware off a Tama steel Mastercraft and slapping them on a brass shell. The shell in this video is a 14x6.5 3mm cast brass shell. Is it the same alloy that Tama uses in the Bell Brasses? Probably not, but still is a beast of a drum weighing 18lbs. The shell was too shiny for me so I wanted to age it with some patina.
My Tama Bell Brass Is Fake

[@rdavidr]

Whats the first song you would play on this beast? 🤔

[@_gigi_1143]

For whom the bell tolls

[@timm1139]

Enter Sandman.... after I learn the song, lol

[@MsChihuahuapower]

Rich men north of Richmond

[@BillTheBubble]

how do i purchase this from you and whats your asking price good sir. i beg of thee.

[@leechick]

Probably Second Death by Black Tongue

[@mrbinky21]

You should make a snare where the whole bottom is covered in snare wires.

[@marcelinebrady5332]

Replying to boost this comment bc it’s hilarious

[@zkyishot]

Replying to boost this comment bc it’s hilarious

[@randomusername396]

yes.

[@vibecheck_gg]

yes

[@Monsterdrumma]

LOL

[@itsfonk]

This “custom” snare is now one of my favorites! Well done bud 🤙

[@mwdrum]

Elvin played one……

[@Officialshayne]

"Didn't have time to put it together" takes it apart and puts it back together*

[@blckbldng]

I think he meant drill the holes

[@CrunchetySmack]

It's a small detail but I like how the ring of the shell after hitting it carries on as the next cut and commentary continued. I really enjoy all of your videos on repair and modification. The organization of your shop is very satisfying as well 👌

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Nice work on that patina! As soon as I saw the snare wires go on I had instant nostalgia from the tape snare straps. My first snare drum (still got it!) was a Tama Artstar from the '80s and it had that same tape. Fun stuff! -Ben

[@hugorezende199]

You are real drum cientist. One of my favorite channels on youtube, so many great ideas.

[@stevenraparelli3396]

I just watched this video again and that snare drum ended up beautiful, and it sounds atomic! Well done.

[@randycassidy198]

The tone matched the song perfect!…and oh those cymbals! ❤

[@GeoffBosco]

“This snare could cover your mortgage for a year.”

[@stephano421jr]

Facts 😆

[@pecsizsolt7081]

It's always a good day when Rdavidr uploads a vid :)

[@joshlevinn6644]

That sounds incredible, like seriously.. holy shit, so much pop but it doesn't bottom out and sound too compressed, I see why people want them so bad 😂

[@eddo00]

Good on you for the disclaimer label. I'd for sure be the one to get duped. Looks sick too

[@SopranoPizzaJMFNJ]

You did a great job with this drum! I never play brass because it rings forever so this would never be for me but it definitely has an audience! Thank you for sharing.

[@gibby3350]

Dude that drum sounds amazing!! I am a total sucker for brass snares!

[@junhyoungream1127]

sounds awesome !!!! It doesn't feel at all worse than the original.

[@13StJimmy]

Glad to hear you say you like the look of old crusty drums, because my drum set is one I found in the literal trash and was covered in rust. Took it home sanded and grinned the rust away and tbh it looks cool to me too, very diy crust punk cool but still

[@scottspencer979]

If I ever become a famous drummer I would hire this guy in a heartbeat as my drum tech!!!!

[@DulceDul217]

This is great! Definately not what I was expecting of the bell brass, but a pleaseant surprise (:

[@benjaminolsen8774]

hel yeah dave this is probably one of your best soundings snares yet! Also great head choice.

[@bill_4359]

I own a Tama Imperial Star King Beat, w/ KG Parallel Strainer, 6.5" x 14" , Chrome, It came with Remo Ambassador heads. S/N: 125517, purchased in 1978.

[@timbofromkeno]

LOVE how this looks and sounds. Big props to HHG to putting this together and to you for nailing that patina. Incredible! Is this a 3 or 5 mm shell? I don't think I heard you mention that spec in the video!

[@rdavidr]

3mm. I doubled checked the measurement when I had it apart but forgot to say it in the vid lol. Also from what ive been told, all the Tama BBs were 3mm and the catalogs that say 5mm were typos. Idk how true that is though...

[@timbofromkeno]

@@rdavidr I saw that in the catalog, but I thought they were all 3 mm too. Too funny. hahaha

[@sky.london]

I love that snare, both the look and the sounds. YES.

[@gillesrichard2228]

Looks and sounds fantastic. Well done!

[@fikon1]

The sound of that snare ❤️

[@MusicandTractors]

Love the sound!

[@luiszuluaga6575]

Phat snare sound, great mixing and love your feel on dem drums, you mad talented dude, you. 🤷🏻‍♂️🥁

[@mountainhobbit1971]

guitar drum hack...use lighter fluid (naptha) to clean up grease and gunk on your drums and hardware (just make sure not to use it on bare wood)...A guitar tech showed me this trick and it works amazingly well. Naptha has a high flash point so it evaporates very quickly. I guess it is a super refined petroleum product like jet fuel and it's cheap.

[@KennethHard]

Another great drum and video!

[@adanvaldcontreras4283]

Nice job..sounds great 👍🏼 That's a keeper.

[@RyTrapp0]

Some cool things you can do is mask off stripes or patterns, so the unmasked brass gets patina, but you pull the tape off and have fresh brass to contrast with the patina. You can also do it in multiple steps, adding and removing tape every so often during the patina process so you can get different levels of patina in the design and really get a lot of depth and layering. Hell, you can even mask up most of it if you want the patina to be the accept instead of the primary finish too, lots of ways you can get creative with this. Damn, gonna have to find me a brass shell now... Might be cool to take the inside of this shell back down to fresh base material(masking off the lettering to keep that) and polish it up so you have that 'yin/yang' of this old, used looking, patina'd outside, but reveal a nice bright shell inside. That's a lot of extra work just for a little bit of a quirk though lol. Definitely needs a bit less muffling, has a great pop that's just being subdued a bit too much by that head, minor fix though; killer snare!

[@joeovermoe2124]

This sounds and looks AMAZING!!!

[@BretCahill]

That thing sounds awesome!!!

[@reubenk7331]

Ok, that ended up looking pretty sweet when it was done 🙂

[@spasevrp]

Remo CS dot heads are pretty good. I was gonna say you could try scorching the shell to see if would look like the lars ulrich model. Cool video!

[@85devlin48]

sounds dope man

[@DarrenHicklin]

I don’t know if it was just really good mixing in your video but I thought the P4 sounded awesome. It was nice and fat and definitely gave me that early Nirvana vibe. Well done! I’m off to go scour the internet for a brass shell now.

[@hippydippy]

All his mic's can make the "worst drums" sound good. They cost thousands & thousands of dollars. One day I'd like to hear him do comparisons with an average drummers mic budget, so you really hear what most of us in the real world would.

[@ctogive]

@@hippydippy The most expensive mic's in the world are not gonna make a shitty drum sound good, they will only capture the shittyness better. As long as your mic is decent, i'd say tuning, mic placement, the players touch and post processing are all more important for a good sounding drum recording.

[@m6hill983]

That sounds awesome! Even though I'm an aluminum guy, a brass shell is a brass shell, and you always get nice body and depth with them. Some sources say that the 80s original BB shell was just a very small bit over 14" in diameter, which most likely made all the difference in becoming the legendary drum it is..

[@djentlover]

The patina looked way better than I expected! Would love to hear this with Ambassadors

[@cymbalism1]

That thing looks and sounds amazing!!!! You nailed it!!!

[@kzarnold3678]

Nicely done 👍

[@JulianFernandez]

sounds really good!

[@wyatt7231]

Oh it looks so good with the kit

[@smokymountaincabinrentaltours]

Sounds and looks fantastic.

[@stevebrown3955]

Great sound and a really cool looking drum in the end!!!

[@Frollicking_Gurnard]

If you have the option with your plotter, you can adjust the offset of your blade and it might sharpen up the corners of the letters a little more.

[@AnimalJohn85]

That is such a cool snare sir nice job :)

[@Bensworth_Drummington]

Helpful tip for remo powerstroke 4's. Cut the inlay ring out. I use one on a gretsch limited edition 14x7 aluminum. What you end up with is a remo emperor coated with a clear top dot. Awesome head for thicker shell snares.

[@shubniggurath47]

Sounds good!

[@davidenorth]

I keep collecting drums because of David. There is a Tama Japanese Imperialstar set close to me I want to pick up for a good price that is the same finish in the video. It comes with an Acrolite snare as a bonus.

[@daynelawless]

Looks sick!

[@Cancun771]

No no _no_ *NO!1* You need to play this snare with the *Sonor* kit of course! Love from Germany!

[@edwardvanwormer6993]

That looks awesome and sounds amazing! Cool project!

[@JacobPorras-dj3cq]

Pain in the Booty experimenting different shell hacks for yourself to make it look and sound better. I get your perspective, and I’m glad you fixed it! I find this video very helpful! Again I’m afraid to try it for myself cause it’s just not necessary and I don’t want to ruin my DW black nickel over brass Designs Series. Just wanna thank you! Sounds incredible! Awsome. ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@romelshowell7638]

SNARE SOUNDS INCREDIBLE!!!!

[@tikidrummerpoi]

That turned out way better than I thought it would. Good call with the ammonia!

[@Doyledrumz]

It sounds awesome 👏

[@Regorsnare]

I gave you a Ps3 on that Superstar, I don’t think I’ve ever used a P4! Glad to see you play that drum so much.

[@rdavidr]

im an idiot, idk why I thought it was a p4 😑

[@stevewest2849]

Sounds really nice. Tight and thick with a drop of brightness topping it off.

[@RokDAWG1]

Yeah I’m digging this big time!

[@b.p.879]

The entire kit sounds amazing.

[@MartinScheuerJr]

Thing looks great!

[@brianphillips9152]

I have a "fake" 1980 Terminator and I found that Emperor coated was the correct head choice.

[@davedecker1042]

Sounds so good

[@Miloshe71]

I’ve recorded with the famous one the drum doctor has in LA. Also used the Sonor bronze snare too he has. Sound amazing.

[@mikecortes8481]

ive done this before! definitely changes the sound in the best way!!!

[@mazsietsma6565]

That snare sounds good AF!!!!!

[@letsgobubblegum]

sounds great!

[@CarlosAnglada]

Sounds absolutely badass

[@schwarzerrogen930]

I think the big difference is the first 'Bell Brass' Tamas were actually bronze, which patinas very differently to brass.

[@Lumerdrums]

great build! I would love to hear it with a more open sound/head :)

[@GMtheTurtle]

need to hear this snare cranked and with a clear ambassador 😫

[@Bassragerstitch]

Sounds fucking awesome!

[@charlesseagraves6210]

I’d SO love to have a Tama Bell Brass snare! The first song I’d play is “When The Levee Breaks!”

[@HolaHola-tq8xx]

Very good video!

[@dancorvalan3205]

Break cleaner, thats when u know the person truly knows about material cleaning prep. Congrats man on the "fake snare drum", i would try the same thing if i wasnt an absolute failure that cant afford even a single hardware nug m. And great video!

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

That's amazing, really cool.

[@matteogrosso4471]

FANTASTICO!

[@TrashMarineMusic]

I think that is the best sounding snare I've ever heard

[@AdamSoucyDrums]

God DAMN that thing looks fucking awesome

[@drumdotpizza]

Beautiful drum! I too have a Bell Brass Mastercraft clone (mine made by Cade at Savage Drums). Will likely do a video on mine soon, though Cade built the entire thing with the donor hardware (mine too was sourced from a. steel Mastercraft, though mine has coffin lugs), so the only thing I did myself was put an era-correct Superstar badge on it (don't worry though, like you I don't want anyone to think it is original, so I had Cade put his 'Savage' badge on the interior of the shell like you did your lettering -- good man!) BTW, I use typical straps for my snare wires... what tape did you get for yours? I'd love to do that with all my Tama snares (I have several Mastercrafts and a few others as well). GREAT VIDEO!!!

[@net6403]

fun fact: the tama bell brass is actually made of a bronze-brass alloy (hence the name bell brass), not just brass

[@CharlieLord]

Holy heck that could be absolutely anything with that head combo on it

[@andreaskallee103]

Absolutely cool! I have a faked Sonor SQ2 with Purple Heart shell (befassen Sonor dont offer one) which is as good as the original Snares. Payed maybe 400€.

[@graemelaw5808]

great vid as usual 👍, is that a duluth shell by any chance ?

[@joshtaylor6086]

Sick!

[@gjcart26]

Sounds great

[@jeffbridges6110]

dude , that middle eastern sounding riff you had going on , sounded cool. And YES , the snare does too/

[@mightyV444]

Being from NZ, Odie's is a brand I'd not been at all familiar with - until it popped up in a video on another channel only a couple of days ago, and here it is again now! 😆

[@thumperpaul]

Nice job, ordinarily I like shiny bits, but this looks ( and sounds) awesome! I would play “ The Ocean “ by Led Zeppelin for the first tune on it.

[@mynameismudd1518]

I was not expecting this. Wow.

[@thedrummingcuber]

This is the best snare drum I have ever heard, and the first song I would play would be Wipe Out.

[@williamperri3437]

Your an honest “Goodfella” for not ripping someone off and selling it for five or 600. And the drum sounds great regardless.

[@DeadKoby]

I've been a "Ludwig Guy" for what seems like an eternity...... but I have nothing bad to say about the Tama gear. I fixed up a Tama kit for Church, and I play it often... does a great job. I THINK these bell brass snares were associated with Lars from Metallica also.

[@Leotardoification]

Apparently what was so special with the original compared to all the replicas was that the shell was slightly oversized. You really had to jam the head on there but it also meant it was more like a 14.1"

[@HushAngel]

Awesome vid.....the brownish patina is the signature of the raw Tama 1980 Bell Brass with the short lugs, 1981 to 1986 TBBs with the long lugs were lacquered at factory....is your shell a Duluth or a Guven ?...13.9375'' (13'' 15/16) oversized diameter is everything...

[@srm0074]

I love my '81 Tama BB. I has developed a nice warm patina over its 40+ years. And of course, nothing hits you in the guy like it does.

[@RustyKnorr]

What’s your address? 😂

[@BADD400]

Sweet

[@MM-ig1iv]

My God that sounds amazing! seriously. there are reasons for things to be this expensive really. It's like buying that Gibson les Paul or REAL USA Fender Strat for guitars.

[@maxalmaraz6463]

You should do a vid on the black beauty