Two parter:
1. I agree about the misuse of the phrase Bell Brass,
2. It seems that part of the myth about these snares is down to the "Terminator" which Drum Doctor rented to Grohl for the Nevermind recording. Probably that snare's rep has inflated Bell Brasses in general
It's hard to determine correctly in theory, because density of these metals have a wide range dependent from difference alloy's % ingredients:---bronze - 7,40 to 9,10;---brass - 8,20 to 8,80;---copper - 8,60 to 8,96.If we take any approximate value, then all of densities can be about 8,6... :)George
that was the point of the question, George. You can't tell the difference between brass and bronze by weight if the cubic volume is the same. some bronzes are lighter than some brasses and visa versa. obviously, a thin shelled brass snare will weigh less than a cast shell bronze snare----a thin shell brass snare would weigh less than a cast aluminum snare! and no one makes a thin shelled bronze snare because it would likely crack--------perhaps phosphor bronze , wouldn't.
these drums are misnamed and as far as their acclaim ,it does stem from Nirvana( as patrick has said) and Rage Against the Machine recordings which is as much to do with mikeing as anything; baffling , compensation, equilization,lots of touch up. and too---- a liberal amount of smoke and mirrors. Tama of course, is going to take claim for those recordings and make the most out of what might not be as great a drum as the price would lead you to believe and everyone else is going to try to get in on the act.
While Tama may have been the first, Sonor were casting bronze shells long before Nirvana or RAM ever recorded their albums. And Ocheltree has been casting almost as long going back to his Paiste shells.
As far as price, the cost to make these is up there. Depending on the molds, each shell make take up to 70 or 80 lbs of bronze to make. Not cheap. Then you have to pay the foundry. Then machine time. All of this just to get it to look like a drum. It still needs to be drilled and finished, hardware added, etc.
These drums aren't for everyone......
Here's a quick bit on how they're made.. You have to skip to 16:10
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aw7rd3Msto&t=16m48s[/ame]
And that is why those are $2,500 drums! Can you imagine what it costs to superheat bronze for four hours, not to mention to rest of the process? I remember watching a show about the workings of a foundry and their electric bill was well into seven figures per month. Yikes!
