--- In drumzillaslair@yahoogroups.com, "S.C. Shephard" <scshephard@...> wrote:
>
> I would like your experiences in tuning snares and why. Do you tune high or
low? Why? Does the snare need it or do you?
>
> What I am really looking for is the difference in snares: wood, steel, brass,
whatever. What makes them different? The reason I ask is because I have a
metal 5.5x14 and a 4x14 wood snare. The wood is very wet and the metal is very
dry. Is this true in every experience? The snare means so much to the kit and
it just interests me. I'm not about to just go out and buy a bunch of snares to
test them. I'm looking for personal experiences and opinions. Don't be afraid
of details!
>

Man, there's a few questions in there, so lets break it down.

Re: Differences in shell materials
This relates to the general sound heard from the snare drum. Different materials
resonate at different frequencies and can bring out certain "nuances" to the
sound of the drum.
The following is a little something I wrote at another forum recently that
relates to some of the more common materials used for drum construction.
"...generally, wood will give a mellower and fatter sound than metal.
Wood can generally give off a 'richer' tone, as well.
Bronze is darker and mellower than brass, brass is mellower but not neccessarily
darker than steel.
Aluminum gives a 'lighter', more 'airy', sound, compared to anything else.
Titanium tends to come off like Aluminum, but is a little more 'solid'.
Because metal is more dense than wood (generally, as there are occassions when
the opposite can be true), metal drum shells tend to be made thinner.
Because of this, metal shells will also tend to sound darker and (again,
generally) tend to possess an increased presence of resonance."

Re: Drum size.
You have to remember that a drum is a chamber with "soft" ends that allow it to
resonate for a rather long period of time.
The size of the chamber can affect the frequency range the drum speaks in and
its sensitivity.
Since the 14x4 is an inch shorter than your 14x5, this puts the two heads closer
to each other, so less force can effect how the snare drum responds.
One reason why Jazz drummers tended to gravitate towards shallow drum, such as
your 14x4 (Gretsch even called theirs "Progressive Jazz").
The same thing can be said for a drum of smaller diameter, such as a 12" or 13"
snare drum. There's less overall mass to the heads, and that creates the same
situation, as far as sensitivity is concerned.
However, it will affect the frequency (or, "note") range it will want to speak
in. Generally, the smaller diameter drum will speak in a higher note range,
compared to its larger diameter kin (and probably why those smaller diameter
snare drums tend to referred to as "soprano" snare drums).