The stock Pearl heads,no matter what type,are ATROCIOUS!They create a sort of "wax paper-tightened"sound.If the bottom stock head is on the snare,you have no hope of a good sound.All my cheapo Pearl stencil snares sound good with a coated Ambassador on top,clear Ambassador snare on the bottom and a little square of felt resting on the edge of the head with a piece of duct tape.

I agree with Teverson regarding the quality of Pearl stock heads. I will bet it won't take much muting to darken the sound of that drum with better heads and tuning. A little goes a long way. If some of these muting techniques are new to you, then I am a fan of experimenting with "found" materials like tape, paper towel bits, etc. Once you get a handle on what works, then go out and spend some $$ on materials that are purpose built if you so desire. Some guys are OK with tape and all manner of stuff on their drums. Some guys prefer a cleaner look. Both ways are fine just go with what you like and what makes you feel good when you sit at the kit. To me, a great looking and great sounding kit makes my playing better.

Alright I,am going to change heads as soon as I can and try to salvage the snare. What I do like about this snare is it really sounds good with the snares off, it has a great booming tom sound,snares on it does not have a good solid rock sound. Don,t know how to explain what I like, so I,ll try your suggestions. Btw, I have two of these snares so I really need to know how/when to use them. I may record them if they can be tamed. I,ll even try brushes with a coated head on, see how they sound? If I cannot find the right sound for me, althought my grandson will be using them, I might take the bottom heads off tighten them down and see how they sound in Latin pieces.

Tom

It will tame the Liberty Bell.

Experiment with placement first.....

Use a whole one and try various places and directions.....

You can hang just a little off the rim or cut to size as well, as tnsquint mentioned.

I played a cheap steel snare drum for years until I got my first COB Rogers Powertone snare.

Anyway, to tame the beast, remember that thick or twin ply heads (such as pinstripes) have a higher fundamental. To take some of the 'ring' down, you want a thinner head. Coated ambassadoor batter and ambasadoor snare heads are my go-to and what I always use when evaluating the 'sound' of a snare. Heads can change the sound a lot, so don't give up! The CS "black dot" heads may be a good choice as well, but coating is better for brush work.

Another trick you can try (I have never done) is to cover the inner shell surface with thin felt. No felt touching the heads. This takes the 'edge' off the hard shell while still letting the heads 'sing'.

Also, head tension was covered but not snare tension. Over-tight snares can sometimes tame an otherwise 'wild' drum but it can also choke it up so that you reach a point where no matter how much harder you hit it, it won't project any louder. You probably want to avoid that place, but if you get there, you at least know you need to back down the tension on everything...

I have also found the tighter the batter, the tighter the snare head and snares need to be. In other words, it needs to be balanced- over-tight heads and loose snares sound really buzzy but loose snares on a loose head sound warm and fuzzy (great for buzz rolls). I prefer pop and buzz so I play a 3.5X13 in brass on the looser side but that is another story.

I hear good things about the Evans coated heads (EQ dry or something) but always have used coated ambassadoors on my snare drums so no first-hand experience with those.

(I hope at least some of that helped):)

I go to the county dump occasionally to get rid of stuff the garbage men won't take. One day at the dump, I was watching one of their trucks haul away a large dumpster full of junk off in the distance. On top, was a red five piece Asian firewood set, with both toms still on the bass drum. I assume the floor tom and snare were there too. I stood there helpless while the truck drove away to deposit this set in the landfill on the property. I thought to myself, what a waste, I could have cleaned that set up and given it to a poor kid who wanted drums. It's amazing what people toss out.