Natcire: March 2006

Me playing drums at NUS Centennial Open House 2006

Thanks to Iceberg for covering the event!

My snare drum!! Marvin "Smitty" Smith MS1440

Update: I have sold this drum to a NUS 1st year junior who is in the jazz band. Hope he make full use of this great drum!

Marvin “Smitty” Smith Signature Snare Drum

Visual Design. The shell of “Smitty” Smith’s drum is copper, polished up to a rosy finish, and every piece of hardware is 24K gold plated — even the tension rods. It’s a very striking, love-it-or-hate-it color scheme. I didn’t care for it! That said, I will admit that plenty of people who saw it, loved it. They said, “Hey, cool drum.” The sound is warmer though!

Mechanical Design. This copper drum has ten tension rods per head, and uses an SR018 strainer. There are lots of piccolo strainers out there that don’t work. They slip, loosen, stick, get in the way, but this one works well, with a parallel throw and simple cam action. The strainer holds the strings out and away at a flatter angle to the head than the Ferrone snare. There are drumkey heads on the snare cord clamps at the strainer and butt. The CL-05 lugs are shorter than normal and in vogue with the current trend toward low-mass lugs, but big enough to allow the top and bottom tension rods to line up. (Some say offset tension rods lead to twisting of the lug and subsequent warping of the shell’s shape. Not a problem here). The shell has one seam, no bead, and the bearing edges are rounded, not crisp, with a deep molded snare bed. Pearl’s attention to detail is again evident in the fit and finish throughout.

Sound. The sound of this drum takes us into some enjoyable new territory. The copper approaches brass in the wet focus of the sound. There’s a dry attack that you would usually get only with a wood drum, but the whole shell sings out like metal drum. It really has some of the best of both worlds. The flanged Super Hoop II’s keep it sounding open. Very fun. Some of this I ascribe to the 14" x 4" shell, which is a very versatile, lively and funky size. Copper and brass are just different enough to be happy stable mates. The drum easily tuned to high pitches, and can get kind of low, too. Low is a relative term in a 14" x 4" drum, though.

Conclusion.The copper-shelled drum from Mr. Smith is especially worth checking out if you are in the market for a 14" x 4" drum and can’t decide if you want wood or metal. The 14" x 4" size is known to be versatile. The hardware is well engineered. Obviously beautiful to the eye, if you like "pink" drums, this drum is worth a listen. With a retail price of SGD550, it is almost cheap, which is shocking for this much quality, plating and pinkness.

Model: Pearl Marvin “Smitty” Smith Signature Snare Drum
Size: 14" x 4"
Part Number: MS-1440
Shell Material: Copper
Strainer: SR-018, gold plated
Hoops: Pearl Super Hoop II, gold plated
Head: Remo Ambassador
Snare Head: Remo Ambassador snare side
Lugs: CL-05, gold plated

*Info from http://www.pearldrum.com/gear.asp