These drums are pretty much interchangeable...providing you are a mature and sensitive player AND (more importantly) know how to finely tension a snare. If you have worked on touch and finesse, you can make most any snare speak for the orchestra or the Electric Light Orchestra. It really comes down to the player.

With that said, yes, there are differences. You have mentioned one (the snare positions). The head choice and tensioning is another. Snares went from the battlefield to Broadway (in a sense) and both by design had "wrap around" snares. Gut was the choice. Eventually, things got louder and more "beat" oriented. Drum manufacturers began cutting corners to trim cost...presto!...the more modern snare began to develop. Both designs were (and are) used in the orchestra. The more sensitive snares tend to be avoided by modern drummers because they don't fully understand dynamics. That's not an insult...it is what it is. Put a micro sensitive snare into the hands of most modern drummers and they will choke it. They lack the skills necessary to pull that off and most are not interested in obtaining them. In all fairness, most modern music is not positioned well to place very very sensitive snare drum passages within.

So, I wouldn't change to "wrap around" snares on a good snare drum. I would suggest learning how to get the most from the snare you have.

And yes...snare beds make a tremendous difference/impact on overall snare sensitivity. That should go without saying. That variable is always going to be paramount to individual snare choice and adjustment.

I am curious as to which snare drum you are speaking of...and which snares. You seem to have a particular drum in mind. Could you give a bit of info on that...and your thoughts on snare choice...that would help.

Thanks for the info. I've heard of orchestral players using older Ludwig snare drums (which I would assume have the wrap around snares for sensitivity). My friend has a Ludwig aluminum snare drum that he put a set of Black Swamp wrap around uncoated cable snares on- not as sensitive as say, a Pearl Philharmonic drum, but more sensitive then it might have been with the regular wires on. I don't personally have a drum in mind, just interested in some history and if this is a common practice. I have noticed that the snare bed is cut deeper on my Philharmonic then the drumset snares I own; is this a common difference between drums designed for different musical settings?

But the question still remains, can you put the extended wires on a say Ludwig Pioneer. I have wondered about this myself.

I also remember Alan Abel saying that he used a Premier snare drum for most of his playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I see that Premier offers orchestral drums today, but I don't know if this has always been the case. This led me to wonder if that drum Mr. Abel spoke of was a snare designed for set used that he modified to use in an orchestral setting.

Actually, all of the questions were answered. I will clarify, if needed. There has not always been a difference. The differences have become greater with the passage of time, the more technologically "improved" snare drum, the developments of different musical styles, and the shifts in snare drum methodologies. Yes, a "normal" snare drum can be used as an Orchestral snare drum. It does not have to have the wrap-around snares if you know how to fine-tension a drum...and you start with a quality instrument. Can you put wrap-around snares on one that did not previously have them? Yes. You can put wrap-around snares on pretty much any drum so long as you have a mechanism in place to hold them. Again, the snare bed is going to make an impact on this. You must adjust the snare placement and the fine-tension used in accordance with the depth and width of the snare bed.

I apologize if the readers here didn't understand my last post. Hopefully, this is a bit more clear.

I've always had an issue with that whole "never give up clarity for brevity" balance.