This excerpt is taken from the complete article that appears in the January 2017 issue, which is available here.

Features

Snare Drum Effects

16 Add-ons to Quickly Modify Tone

by Willie Rose

The snare drum could be viewed as a drummer’s most important voice and has helped define some of the drumming community’s most revered performances. Consider John Bonham’s deep, throaty snare on Led Zeppelin’s IV, which dominates tracks such as “When the Levee Breaks.” Or Steve Gadd’s dry tone pulsating throughout Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Or the monstrous crack from Elvin Jones that prods and stabs its way through Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil. With these classic tones inhabiting such an important place in drum lore, it’s easy to see how players would spend much of their attention, and budget, collecting snares to help define their sound. Recently a slew of products have been introduced that allow you to quickly modify your existing snare sound without having to break the bank on a new drum. Using these accessories, it’s possible to slash through a band, dry out your sound while adding beef, alter the drum’s pitch, finely attenuate frequencies and sustain, or enhance the snare with specialized effects, all within a matter of seconds. Let’s dig in!

For the complete article, check out the January 2017 issue, which is available here.