Wooden Snare Drums Take Over! | Week 2 of the DCP Royal Drumble

What is up, drum fans? We are formally welcoming you to the  Drum Center of Portsmouth’s  newest and most badass drum event of the year where you — YES, YOU! — decide who will prevail. Are you ready for this? I sure hope you are, because this will be phenomenal. Make way for — the DCP Royal Drumble! So, what exactly is this event? How does it work? And how do you guys — our BIGGEST FANS, decide who prevails?

The DCP Royal Drumble is an ultimate snare drum competition where we will be featuring a total of 64 SNARE DRUMS from our showroom floor and make them battle head-to-head to compete for the title of “The Ultimate Snare Drum”. Every week, four (4) snare drums will square off with each other with the winner advancing to the next round. Now here’s the catch — the winners will be decided by you, our biggest fans! We’ll be gathering votes from our  YouTube Channel’s  subscribers each week to determine the winner. To cast your precious votes, all you have to do is type in the comment section and specify which snare drum deserves to win and advance to the next round. See? Piece of cake!

But hey, wait ‘til you hear this irresistible and amazing treat — when you are subscribed to our YouTube Channel and you cast your vote, you’re AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFIED to win one of several awesome prizes including a chance to bring home your very own  Ludwig Universal Snare Drum!

How ‘bout that? So make sure that you hit the subscribe button, ring the bell, and always be on the lookout whenever we drop new videos on the DCP Royal Drumble!

Week 1 has been a tough battle between four (4) brass snare drums — it was an EPIC match indeed! But hey, I hope you’re ready for some more because things are just starting to heat up in this ultimate snare drum competition!

The second week of the DCP Royal Drumble comes in hot with four (4) new contenders from famous drum makers namely Mapex, Ludwig, DW, and Pearl. That’s right! Week 2 will be yet another awesome matchup featuring outrageously beautiful wooden snare drums all packed with elite musicality.

Well, we all know that a lot of people really admire the sound quality, versatility, and aesthetic appeal of wooden snare drums, right? The full-bodied sound they often produce, the stunning appeal of their natural look and finish, and their ability to cover tons of genres thanks to their wide dynamic range is absolutely impressive. Oh, and not to mention that a wooden snare drum can also be made from various types of wood such as maple, birch, oak, and even mahogany.

See? These incredible facts showcase the undeniable power held by a wooden snare drum — making it indeed a formidable opponent in this ultimate snare drum competition! So, are you ready? Prepare to fall in love with wooden snare drums even more when you see Week 2’s contenders!

Our first contender for Week 2 is no other than the  Mapex Black Panther Shadow 14x6.5 Wooden Snare Drum  with a classy and appealing “Natural” finish. And you know what? Make sure to ready your wallets because with this Black Panther Shadow — Mapex guarantees to have made the best sounding and performing wooden snare drum at a very attractive price point!

The Black Panther Shadow is actually a complete redesign, highlighting some amazing features from the renegade Design Lab series of Mapex. Some of these notable features include the Design Lab Air Flow Venting and the impressive Soniclear Snare Beds for enhanced response and sensitivity. All its bearing edges are also equipped with Soniclear Edges for easier tuning and allowing the drum head to sit flatter on the shell, making better contact. Oh, and of course — the Sonic Saver Hoops are a standard in all Black Panther Shadow drums as well. See? The complete redesign conducted by Mapex on these wooden snare drums absolutely makes sense. Every added spec and feature elevates not only the sound quality of the drums but its aesthetic appeal as well!

The  Mapex Black Panther Shadow 14x6.5 Wooden Snare Drum  packs a dramatic, deep, and dark sound — perfect for making your presence felt especially during live performances. Ah, but you know what? One of the amazing elements of playing this Black Panther Shadow is the “feel” of the instrument. The key to this “feel”? The venting. Each BP wooden snare drum is designed to contain the ideal quantity of vent holes, leading to the best possible sound and resonance!

See? All the intricate details and added features perfectly align to provide you with the best possible performance whether on stage or studio. Indeed, Mapex just created the “New Standard in Professional Wooden Snare Drums”!

Ah, there it is! Coming in at number two is this beautiful  Ludwig Classic Oak 14x6.5 Wooden Snare Drum  with a cool and captivating “Blue Burst” finish — a gradient that transitions from a deep blue to a lighter blue with a natural wood color. Visually striking, indeed!

What’s special about this Ludwig Classic Oak wooden snare drum is its cross-over oak shell formula featuring a masterful blend of oak and maple. That’s right! This genius formula has captivated several professionals over the last decade. And when you hear how this fantastic wooden snare drum actually sounds — you’ll realize why it’s special. Ludwig’s exclusive design of blending oak and maple produces a rich tone that’s balanced, focused, and loud. The best part? Ludwig’s Classic Oak line brings lots of new finishes and more configuration options — sparking excitement within the drumming community anew!

With highly anticipated features and innovative designs, Ludwig’s Classic Oak Series joins its counterpart, the Classic Maple Series as powerful and dynamic professional wooden snare drums. And hey, these are formidable opponents indeed within the DCP Royal Drumble. So get ready for more!

Ah, now here’s a special wooden snare drum we’ve got right here — the  DW Collectors Maple Custom Profile 14x6.5 Wooden Snare Drum! Wanna guess why this classy and fantastic-looking wooden snare drum is special?

Absolutely. What you’re thinking is correct — it is custom-made with DCP specs! Well, we’ve always liked and have fallen in love with the sound of the traditional DW Collectors Wooden Snare Drum. But we always wanted something a little different, so we asked the folks at Drum Workshop if they could help us build our own DW wooden snare drum from the ground up. Guess what? They were more than happy to do so! We started it with a no-frills, 7-ply shell with no reinforcement rings and no lacquer on the inside. Oh, and we also requested LESS HARDWARE, with only eight lugs and a Mini-Mag Throw-Off. And to top it all off — we requested that they cut slightly wider and deeper snare beds.

The result? Definitely amazing. We made an incredibly versatile wooden snare drum that is more dynamic and sensitive! It also comes with a little extra bottom end at all tunings. Just the perfect outcome we’re expecting. Overall, we’re extremely excited with how this project turned out and we absolutely love the sound of this  DW Collectors Maple Custom Profile 14x6.5 Wooden Snare Drum!

Finally! Our last contender for the week is this handsome  Pearl Stavecraft Thai Oak 14x5 Wooden Snare Drum, which is screaming beauty and class from all angles. Oh, and not to mention the top-tier craftsmanship that Pearl is most famous for!

The Pearl Stavecraft Thai Oak wooden snare drum is a perfect fusion of old-world workmanship and new-school performance, just exactly what everybody loves. I mean — with that beautiful combination, the possibilities are absolutely limitless for the Pearl Stavecraft Thai Oak. Let me walk you through the process of creating this amazing wooden snare drum — each 25mm thick shell is composed of two layers of meticulously beveled solid Thai Oak staves. Then, a Makha Wood stave, which is a principal exclusive to Pearl, is inserted into the center Dado channel which forms what is famously known as Pearl’s DadoLoc Joint. You know what’s even more impressive? The DadoLoc Joint increases the total shell strength of the wooden snare drum by a whopping 50%!

Oh, you thought that was it? No, because there’s a whole lot more! The shell is then lathed to a perfectly round 25mm thickness, hand-finished, and fitted with Swivel Tube Lugs and MasterCast Diecast Counter Hoops for added volume and tuning precision. The overall result? You enjoy sharp sonic focus and piercing volume especially if you’re a heavy player. Indeed, the  Pearl Stavecraft Thai Oak 14x5 Wooden Snare Drum  is a wondrous addition to any pro player’s drumming setup. Make sure you don’t miss out!

And with that, Week 2 of the DCP Royal Drumble officially concludes! Which wooden snare drum do you think deserves to advance to the next round of DCP Royal Drumble? Is it the Mapex? Ludwig? DW? Or Pearl? Remember — the choice is yours to make, so pick the best wooden snare drum among this week’s four awesome contenders!

Oh, and make sure that you’re already subscribed to our YouTube Channel for a chance to win awesome prizes from us, the Drum Center of Portsmouth — the LARGEST independently-owned drum store. IN. THE. WORLD! Oh, and of course, every wooden snare drum you saw in this article is available to purchase here at DCP. That, and a whole lot more! And hey, if you want a closer look at the actual performance and sound quality of these amazing wooden snare drums, just watch this video! As always, we’ve got you covered! Don’t miss the chance to catch the live performance of each of these stunning wooden snare drums!

Are you still looking for more remarkable drums and percussion instruments to add to your collection? Feel free to visit our website www.drumcenternh.com or make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel Drum Center of Portsmouth for more amazing content. From insightful drum and cymbal reviews to exploring everything new in the world of percussion, we’ll never run out of things to talk about. See ya around!

So, did those impressive wooden snare drums catch your attention and leave you wanting more? Well, don’t worry because we’ve got a whole lot more of ‘em available to purchase only here at DCP. Check them out below!