Metal Drums

Contents

Metal drums come in a wide variety of materials such as brass, bronze, aluminum and steel. Below, I’ll discuss the most popular metal shells and explain the different tones and musical properties of each. Then, when you’re ready, you can use the link at the bottom to shop for drums.

Brass

Of all the various types of metal used in shell production, brass is probably the one that drummers love the most. It doesn’t sound as harsh as other metal shells can with their unwanted ringing and overtones.

It’s also a drum that spans most any genre. Whereas some metal drums, like steel drums are best for loud rock situations, brass can be applied to any musical setting.

Steel

Steel shells are generally best used in louder genres like rock or metal. They can really cut through the sound, which makes them great for live sound situations, but some cheaper made drums can be somewhat “obnoxious” with ringing and overtones.

However, a nicely made higher end model can be quite dynamic and sensitive.

Aluminum

An aluminum drum is very similar to a steel shell drum. It cuts through loudly, but has more of a dry sound.

They are also much lighter than steel and nowhere near as obnoxious. For this reason, they are often chosen over steel shells.

Top Metal Snare Drums

I want to highlight a few of the metal snares that I think are some of the best sounding and looking drums I’ve played on. If you’re lucky enough to live near a music store you should go try these out for yourself before you buy any snares–metal or otherwise.

The Ludwig Black Magic snare drum is one of the prettiest snares I’ve seen. The nickel shell and black drum hoops are gorgeous.

The sound is similar to the company’s Black Beauty Snare Drums (another pretty snare) which deliver volume, tonal clarity, and excellent response. For even more volume, you can upgrade to die-cast hoops.

I bought a Pearl piccolo snare many years ago. I know that a lot of drummers use piccolos as accent snares, but I’ve always used it for my main snare. I love the crisp pop that it produces and it cuts through the rest of the band.

It’s great for producing crystal-clear blast beats and ear-popping rim shots. But, there’s a but. It doesn’t really mesh well with other genres. I’ve played in a couple different bands (surf/praise/ska) for a while and the drum was too aggressive. There’s not much warmth to it. Still, for what I play now (metal), it’s perfect.

Sonor makes some nice metal snares. Above is their Sideman 10×5 steel side snare which lets you add some tonal versatility to your kit at a decent price.

This particular drum comes with a heavy-duty arm that can be clamped to a hi-hat or cymbal stand to be used as an accent piece.

So, I’ve taught you what kind of sound you can expect from certain metal shells as well as shown you some of the prettiest looking snares you’ll likely to see.

Whenever you’re ready, you can browse through metal drums below:

Aluminum Drums

Brass Drums

Steel Snare Drums