Dave Holmes

B uilding on the incredible success of the 14 x 6‑inch snare, Ahead have recently added three spanking new models to their

range. This now includes a 13 x 6‑inch chrome snare and, in a departure from their usual metal models, two wooden snares — the Steam Bent Maple and an African rosewood snare, the Wenge Vert.

UK distributors, BR Distribution, have sent me a nice selection of snares, including the original 14 x 6‑inch drum (the one that put Ahead well and truly on the snare drum map), together with its slightly shallower 14 x 4‑inch brother and one of the brand‑new models, in the form of the

rather cute 13 x 6‑inch snare. All of the drums here feature brass shells and are virtually bursting at the seams with a wealth of high‑quality components, of the sort normally found on hugely more expensive custom‑made drums.

Each of the shells is formed from sheet brass (as opposed to cast or spun) and, once formed, a single vertical welded seam helps maintain the non‑beaded brass shell’s perfect cylindrical shape. To either end, a shaped flange is formed

to create an accurate and perfect 45‑degree bearing edge. The 13‑inch drum is superbly finished in a deep regular chrome plating, while these 14‑inch drums feature stunningly beautiful smoky black chrome over the brass shell — these are the real deal for tired and sore eyes, and look just plain gorgeous. The inside shows off the various nuts, bolts, locking washers and so on for each of the external components, which include the Ahead badge, lugs and snare throw‑off.

Ahead caused quite a stir in the drumming community when they unleashed their radically different aluminium sticks on us a few years ago, and now, this USA‑based company are raising eyebrows again, this time with some seriously good snare drums.

Snare drums

Ahead Black On Brass & Chrome On Brass

106 May 2008 | performing‑musician.com

Just about the only parts of these drums that are actually ‘standard issue’

are the heads — these are Ahead‑badged Remos with a white coated batter and

a clear resonant or snare head, which are tensioned‑up by 10 lugs per side on the 14‑inch

models, and eight lugs per side on the 13‑inch. The sets of lugs are bolted around the shell circumference, and isolated from the shell surface by rubber gaskets. The tubular lugs on the two black chrome models feature a nice gentle taper that widens at the point where they join the lug, whereas Gladstone‑style lugs (after Billy Gladstone, a percussionist, drum builder, teacher and inventor from the early 1900s) are employed on the 13 x 6‑inch model. These give this drum a slightly more retro feel, but they look a little plain in comparison with the lugs on the Black On Brass models.

One of the most interesting aspects of the whole head‑tensioning process lies in the unique TightScrew tension bolts. This is probably the most subtle feature here — so subtle, in fact, that unless you knew they were fitted at each and every tension point, it is likely they would go completely unnoticed at first or even second glance. These do look very much like ordinary tuning bolts and have the standard square tops, but get in much closer and you will notice that these have a tiny 1mm strip milled out of each,

running parallel to the length of the bolt. Slotted into this aperture is a strip of green coloured nylon which acts a sort of ‘break’ upon the interior of the threaded portion of the lug. My only concern about this would be that the nylon could eventually wear after only a few head changes but, according to the TightScrew website, “The rods will likely feel looser when removed regularly, but long time users still report good holding power.”

Getting snappyOn the resonant or snare side, we find a 24‑strand Fat Cat Snappy Snare strainer, which is actually made up of two sections. The outer comprises six wires to either side of a 12‑strand inner section, with the outer parts soldered at both ends, as in a conventional strainer. However, the inner section is only soldered at one end, but allowed to ‘float’ at the other. The middle wires are adjustable at the floating end, with its dome‑headed adjustment screw acting as a separate mini‑tensioner. The philosophy behind this system is that the snare will be able react to varying

dynamics, and Fat Cat say there is no need for two separate strainers to achieve the same effect. Unfortunately, the centre wire adjuster sits quite a few millimetres proud of the lower hoop on all the models here. This could cause some damage if placing the drum down on a flat surface — a small piece of additional hoop riveted in position here, or even a simple rubber stop, would avoid any possible damage to the snare head and the snare strainer itself.

Ahead offer a choice of two snare lever mechanisms — an R‑Class Dunnett and a Trick

GS007, which adds a further £51 to the price tag. Just in case you are not too familiar with either of these devices, read on and let me explain. The Trick GS007 (as featured on the 14 x 4‑inch snare) is operated by a large, cotton bud‑like lever that rotates a hardened‑steel cam around a precision‑cut helical gear. This sends the mechanism gliding up and down, lifting and lowering the snare. The gearing sits on a pair of thin rails and, just to make sure everything remains velvety, each component part sits in a bed of synthetic lubricant.

The other two models here (the 14 x 6‑inch and 13 x 6‑inch snares) feature Dunnett R‑Class throw‑offs, made by Canadian custom drum builder Ronn Dunnett. At first glance, the mechanism, together with its chunky lever, appears to operate much more conventionally than the Trick. The whole assembly is equally well engineered and has a precise and smooth

These fantastic snare drums ooze quality, and have many features that you’d normally only see on custom models. They look stunning, and not only are they loud, but they’re also extremely responsive.

BR Distribution +44 (0)1207 282806www.brdistribution.co.uk

Ahead Black On Brass & Chrome On Brass £299(+£51 for Trick GS007 snare throw‑off)

PerformingMusician

The inside of the 14 x 4‑inch snare’s brass shell.

The TightScrew tuning bolts have a 1mm strip milled out, which is filled with a green nylon strip to help maintain holding power.

All Ahead snare drums are fitted with 24‑strand Fat Cat Snappy Snares, which leave the middle 12 strands floating at one end, allowing you to adjust the tension using a small screw.

107 performing‑musician.com | May 2008

This would easily make main snare status in a funk/fusion band, or as a great second snare for some quick cutting fills in almost any musical genre. Cross‑sticking becomes quite a fascinating experience — such a woody ‘thwock’ sound coming from the shoulder, and turn the stick around to the butt end and you’ve got a cross‑sticking volume to challenge a rim shot on a ‘normal’ drum. Speaking of which, I tried just a few rim shots out, especially on the 13‑inch snare, and it’s like putting your head inside a rifle. Fast attack (blisteringly fast, in fact) and it takes the ears a few bars before any of the upper frequencies begin to reappear — seriously, earplugs are a must!

I was pleasantly surprised at the incredibly snappy response from the 14 x 4‑inch model. This has similar dimensions to a piccolo snare I once owned a few years ago, but that old drum had a pitch reminiscent of one those very annoying and gutless mopeds that just about make it up the tiny hill near my house. Fortunately the dimensions were the only similarity this model possessed, as its depth belies its warmth and pure, unashamed punch. This gives a great snare response no matter how hard or softly I played — razor sharp, lightning quick, and very versatile.

ConclusionAt this price point, the standard of workmanship, design and engineering is (with one small exception) absolutely amazing — drums that are built to last and sound great too. What a combination! One fine example of the quality engineering would, of course, be the Trick GS007 snare throw‑off, which is a beautiful combination of machinery and engineering wizardry. If we consider describing the usual standard throw‑off as slap across the face, then the Trick is more like a comforting stroke across the cheek — yes, it really is that quiet and smooth! These, quite simply, are an amazing trio of snare drums — I love them all!

I know you will be pleased to learn that the only characteristic of those bespoke and custom models missing from this handsome threesome is the wallet‑wrenching price tag. Ahead offer an interesting and, from my point of view, a fair pricing policy, where the size of the drum doesn’t affect the overall cost — fabulous. So, if you want to know the true meaning of the phrase “more bang for your buck”, go out and get one these beauties and you’ll know in an instant.

out. But, arguably, the most significant aspect this offers is simply a far more rigid hoop, without the need to be constructed from bulky, thick and weighty material. The lack of flexing should help improve the overall tuning process and indeed tuning stability too.

PerformanceThanks to the rigidity of the superb S‑Hoop rims and the other quality components, I am able to hear the smallest variation in tension and therefore pitch between each lug point. All too often I find that when tuning on a model with a standard triple‑flange hoop (and even die‑cast too), applying tension to one lug affects the pitch at the opposing lug point. This just doesn’t happen with these S‑Hoops — pressure is applied directly and exactly where it is needed. Tuning was so quick that it literally took me around 15 minutes to get each of the drums tuned, into the snare basket and ready to play. After just a couple of medium whacks, aimed squarely at the centre of the 14 x 6‑inch, I was amazed — no, stunned, at just how much volume it pumped out. Of course, it’s not just about making the ears bleed, but this drum is more than capable of severing through any music barrage that gets in its way, without being brash or aggressive.

After the first few hits, my first thought on this model was “ouch, the volume,” and the second had me applying not one, but two pieces of Moongel, thinking this had far too much resonance. I quickly realised I was possibly close to madness at this stage (brass‑shell shock most likely), and saw the errors of my ways, deciding this would be much like ‘governing’ a Ferrari! There is simply no holding this snare back — it needs to be set free, let loose and allowed to completely stun the audience and those in close proximity.

Once I had spent some time making a few fine adjustments to the Fat Cat snare, performing the usual (and often dubious) buzz roll suddenly became a much more controlled operation, as the strainer responded with absolute sympathy to the dynamics in stick velocity and speed. From the centre, over to the bearing edge and back to the centre again, the 14 inches of drum became one big sweet spot!

It’s much the same story with the 13‑inch model, where I was equally surprised and pleased with how this drum responded to every little tweak of the drum key. As expected, this wasn’t quite as punchy or gutsy as the 14 x 6‑inch, but it cut like a red‑hot knife through soft butter.

lever operation from the die‑cast and chromed device. However, the lever is mounted on a pivot, which allows it to fully rotate 180 degrees — turn the lever around 90 degrees and it becomes a side‑pull throw off, rotate it a further 90 degrees and the lever pulls away from you — so this snare lever can cater for both left‑ and right‑handed players.

Tasty S‑hoopOver the years, counter hoops have come in all shapes and sizes, and have been made from a variety of materials, including brass, steel and wood. By far the most popular type is the triple‑flange model, with the die‑cast coming a close second. Many of the triple‑flange hoops have the uppermost lip or third flange facing outwards, but on some models, like Slingerland’s Radio King Snare, the hoop of the day (sorry, couldn’t resist it!) was called the Rim‑Shot and featured an inverted flange, facing inwards towards the centre of the drum. Ahead have employed an S‑Hoop counter hoop, but have taken this name quite literally, elongating the top flange to protrude just over a centimetre — way, way over the bearing edge itself. The S‑Hoop owes its name to the S‑shaped profile, with the top of the ‘S’ represented by this rather overgrown protrusion, which tapers slightly and dips down towards the centre of the drum.

There are several distinct advantages here over the more conventional hoop. Firstly, the broad flange will be less likely to dink your sticks (a process which can munch the shoulder into something a beaver would be proud of). Also, if you are especially into the Bonham, Joe Morrello or Tommy Aldridge ‘hands on’ approach (ie. bare‑naked hands), that rim will be much more sympathetic to those precious digits and may even help avoid a broken finger or two. The sound from cross‑sticking is said to be greatly enhanced, and I can’t wait to try this attribute

Black On Brass & Chrome On Brass Sheet‑brass shells.•

45‑degree bearing edge.•

S‑Hoop counter hoops.•

Fat Cat Snappy Snare strainer.•

TightScrew tension bolts.•

Black or Chrome finish.•

R‑Class Dunnet or Trick GS007 •

throw‑off.

Tech Spec

The R‑Class Dunnet throw‑off on the left, and on the right, the Trick GS007 mechanism.

Ahead have employed S‑Hoop counter hoops on all their snare models.

Ahead Black On Brass & Chrome On BrassSnare drums

108 May 2008 | performing‑musician.com

This article was originally published in Performing Musician magazine, May 2008 edition.

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