Can I Swap Snare Shells Between Brands?

[Necky379]

So for Christmas I want to upgrade my father's drumset. I've already researched and decided on heads, the next weak link is his snare. The drumset is a lower priced but imo good sounding Peace setup. Money's tight but he's really come through for me this year and i'd like to get the heads and snare up to par in one shot. I can't afford to buy a full snare drum worth having and the heads but i'm seeing on ebay people selling snare shells by themselves.

So onto my question, if I were to purchase say a Gretsch or Tama shell would the hardware from the Peace snare he has fit on there? I know very little about drums so if this question is dumb i apologize, but I'm thinking about it like a Gibson 500t pup will fit in a Dean Caddy or a Kramer neck will fit in a Squier body. I don't want to buy him a shell and have it be useless or require drilling and modification to work. I want him to be able to just disassemble the Peace snare while he's changing heads and throw everything on a better shell. Thanks in advance.

p.s. I realize the diameters of the shells have to be the same, does depth matter in regards to the hardware fiting?

 

[ShadowFactoryX]

if you're getting into that kinda deal, its better you got yourself a keller shell, and drill it out yourself.

but the thing is, that peace hardware (lugs, strainer, hoops) are garbage

most important: what's your budget?

 

[Necky379]

I'm seeing shells for around 65$. Locally i found a Gretsch Catalina birch snare for 100$ obo so I'm leaning towards just holding out for an inexpensive snare after reading your reply. I've got to do some more research and see what people like in that price range. I don't want to spend more than 100$ really. Any suggestions?

The set is used for rough studio tracks so it has to cover a lot of ground. When people come in wanting the best quality drum sound they normally just bring their own set in. Usually he's recording bands that play "bar rock" and need a demo, the usual cover songs you hear. Other times (rarely) it's metal, pop or rock originals. A few years back when I had more cash to throw around I bought him a full set of Sabian cymbals (AA's and an HH splash). He's spent a lot of time getting it dialed in with mic's, eq and whatever else it is you do to get a solid drum sound. Really doesnt sound bad at all for what it is imo but there's plenty of room for imrovement.

 

[ShadowFactoryX]

what kinda snare sound you looking for as well?

 

[rogrotten]

I would recommend getting a stave shell from Joshua Tree Percussion. you can actually have them drill it and everything. you can send them the hardware you want to use and they will fit it to the shell, and install it. Their shells are kind of expensive but if you already have the hardware then you will get a very good snare drum for not too much. and then later you can upgrade the hardware and get an amazing snare!

 

[Necky379]

Again, I don't know much about drums. The drum sounds I like differ from what he likes and it's hard for me to describe what a "good" sound is to me. Not up on drum lingo. I've always considered Abe from Deftones, Shannon Lucas from TBDM & Tim Yeung the best as far as drum sounds go but they aren't that similar overall. I would say the sound my father wants is very Abe-ish. I would call the sound flat (as in not overly bright or bassy) with a natural but short decay if that makes any sense. Not like what I hear from say Vinnie Paul live, loud and booming snare or Adler from LOG, bouncy and unatural almost a "boing" sound to my ears. Those would be an example of the opposite of what i'm looking for.

 

[Necky379]

I would recommend getting a stave shell from Joshua Tree Percussion. you can actually have them drill it and everything. you can send them the hardware you want to use and they will fit it to the shell, and install it. Their shells are kind of expensive but if you already have the hardware then you will get a very good snare drum for not too much. and then later you can upgrade the hardware and get an amazing snare!

Just checked out JTP. Not too bad on the price. I'll look into it a bit more keep this in mind, thanks.

You said I'd be able to upgrade the hardware later. Are you saying that hardware is universal?

 

[rogrotten]

Just checked out JTP. Not too bad on the price. I'll look into it a bit more keep this in mind, thanks.

You said I'd be able to upgrade the hardware later. Are you saying that hardware is universal?

as long as the holes you drilled are the same size ( or smaller and you can always make them larger to fit something else) as the holes that are needed for the new hardware it shouldn't be a problem. However it is important to keep in mind the distance between the holes drilled, for example if the lugs you have right now need two drilled holes that are 1/2" apart then when you buy new lugs be sure that the distance is the same. other than that yeah you can pretty much swap hardware until you like it.