The only good drum for any kind of Kevlar head is a modern marching drum and only if you want a modern high pitch sound. I have a Kevlar head on a Premier Scottish pipe band drum and it is appropriate there. I would recommend a single ply Mylar head that is relatively thick. I am thinking of a smooth white head which is kind of an old school sound. If you want to use wire or plastic brushes then you can try a coated Remo Emperor or similar head (single or double ply). You also may want to try for more of a calf sound with a Remo Fiberskyn, Evans 56, or similar heads. I don't have a lot of experience with either but I have heard many satisfied users. I think you will be pleased with the sound of a slightly different head that you may normally use for drum set drums, I like to get a sound that is lower than the tension would seem to allow, in other words, I tune floor toms to be easy to play stick rebounds but still have some bottom end. Hope this helps, and good luck. You can channel your inner Levon!

Thank you VERY much, Pedal_Pusher! That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for! Your advice is much appreciated!

Brian

Brian, You are quite welcome. I forgot to ask what diameter is the drum? In the past a lot of marching drums were 15" but the style has gone to higher pitch and 14" it seems to me. Drum companies always made 10" by 14" for younger school bands. Also, are the snares wire like on your Supra or synthetic gut or some other material? The reason I ask if that it might affect your head choice a little. From what I read in your earlier posts about a low snare stand, it seems to me that the sound you are looking for is a lower pitch version of a Supra, is that right? We used to make 8" by 14" snare drums for loud rock bands and also country groups who wanted a different sound. I recently found an 8" by 14" A. F. Blaemire fiberglass snare drum and it is one of the loudest drums I have ever come across. Great if you want to play stadium rock and not have to work so hard! You may need to swap out the snares if they are not the sound you are looking for. The other fun aspect of some older marching drums is the tall wooden hoops, they make a different sound for cross sticking and rim shots.

Pedal_Pusher,

Thank you again! You are right again about the sound I am looking for! The drum is a 12 X15 inch. The snare wires were those pesky synthetic gut which had to be tuned individually. Drove me insane! I've gone to a Puresound set of wires instead and am using an old snare butt that I had which matched the holes. Just a small modification. It's very close, but not quite there. For me, part of the fun is experimenting once the drum has been "prettified" as much as possible. Thanks again for your input! I REALLY appreciate what you are suggesting!!!

Brian

Brian, Since you have a 15" diameter drum you made the perfect choice with the WFL snare stand. My high school band marched 12" by 15" parade drums and I remember that they would fit on those stands with the two movable and one sliding arm. I think the Slingerland version of that stand will even accommodate a 16" diameter drum. Its hard to go wrong with Puresound snares. Save your Kevlar batter head and the synthetic gut in case you need to join a drum and bugle corps or scare away birds. One last option is using some ribbon from a sewing goods store instead of string to attach your snares. Some times that works better on a drum with not much of a snare bed. Okay, I will leave you alone now. Best of luck with your new snare drum. Of course this means that you are now in the market for a piccolo snare drum or one of those 5" by 10" "popcorn" drums that are small enough to hang off of your high hat stand...

Thanks for everything, my friend! You really have given me a lot of sound advice. Actually, I did use some plastic snare ribbons I had lying around. The old marcher is sounding better and better! I play with a late seventies Supra with die cast rims and tube lugs. To be honest, this old parade drum will probably never match that sound, but it still is a lot of fun trying to get close. I like the idea of a popcorn snare! If I had an old marching band hat, maybe I could mount it on that somehow! I could twirl a baton and occasionally, smack myself on the head! Maybe that might cure me of buying these old drums that I really don't need! Thanks again, amigo.

Brian

Pics of the Blaemire, please? :)

Sorry it took me so long to get some photos of the Blaemire snare drum shell. I got this from helping Tommy Winkler of Nashville move out of his shop. If I understand correctly he custom made it for a rock drummer in Atlanta many years ago, possibly when the hardware was new. The hardware was all late 1970's Pearl mounted with Allen head screws. It originally had a tone control and Pearl's version of super sensitive snares. The original snare mechanism was a royal pain to adjust correctly , so I replaced it with an Indie strainer and some Patterson wire cable snares. It is a very loud drum but in its current set up might be used for concert bands (military drum sound) or symphony rentals. I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Blaemire at his home in Eagle Rock, California in the early 1980's. He showed me his machine for winding the fiberglass fibers into a shell form. I remember all of his raw shells being a blue green color but this drum appears to be red, or maybe was painted with the insides getting spray over. I have not scratched the shell to see what is underneath the red paint. Hope this helps, Blaemire drums have a very good sound as far as the ones I have heard.

Cool drum. Nice story about meeting Allen. I’m wondering if there is a label on the inside. It would be nice to restore that shell, pm me if you want to go that route.

Greg Mendoza