With sticks, stool and stylus in hand, Andy Duncan surveys a cross section of today's snares.

You've got to laugh. There I was admiring the snare drum sound on David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' and giving producer Nile Rodgers a tug of the imaginary forelock for his work, when someone tells me that he lifted it from a record that he particularly liked, stored it in the memory of a nearby AMS, and only used the snare that he had recorded to trigger this groovy alternative. Since which time, countless other music makers will have heard the finished record, thought — great sound! — and immediately liberated a sample of it for their own use.

Now this kind of percussive re-cycling may be what you would term ecological recording, but it can't go on forever otherwise everyone will end up making music which consists of sounds which they've stolen from each other and all of which emanates from the same source. I know that chart music has never been the most morally upright of media, but what I'm trying to explain is that it all has to start somewhere.

Sooner or later someone has to place a mike near a drum and capture the sound of it actually being played. So assuming that your forthcoming record will include real drums rather than the sound of scrap metal in torment (which is equally noble in its way of course), the quality of that sound source is as important as it ever has been.

In many ways the profusion of sampled rifle shots, backfiring cars or walloped drainpipes, all hopping merrily along on the off-beat, have actually encouraged more resourceful drum tuning and made it more acceptable. No longer do all drummers fear the overtone. Gone are the days when the snare was hidden 'neath a pile of toilet paper, fag packets, dead budgies and gaffer tape. Gone are the days when the idea of a good sound was the feeble clop of 'Night Fever' (the Bee Gees). Now anything goes, and quite right too.

The only problem is that you're spoilt for choice. As you can see in the kit feature, there are drums for all occasions and prices, but the snare remains the most enigmatic and personal part of the set-up.

You may like one brand of tom, and bass drum but loathe the oink of their snare. You may want to incorporate a two-snare sound into your kit, or you may just be interested in a variety of sound choices. Either way, here are some of the drums you might find at your local shop.

LUDWIG 400 14 by 5in metal rrp £210.96
The yardstick by which all other snares are judged. The design hasn't changed for 25 years, simply because it has been so successful. Cosmetic up grades to the snare release and damping system have marginally improved looks without affecting sound, and don't assume that you need a deeper shell for a deeper tone. Just listen to any record with Steve Gadd on it to be reassured that it's all down to tuning, choice of heads and subtraction of the number of snares on the strand with the pliers. Of the original 18 on mine, only six are left. For the definitive blend of power and rich tone, it's unbeatable.

Unlike the electric guitar or bass, the drum kit has generally been steadily improved over the years, but this drum is the exception which proves the rule. The drummer's Strat or 335.

GRETSCH 14 by 5in rrp £135.00
This is another drum which has stood the test of time very well. It now has ten lugs and a deeper rim to hold everything in tune plus a spray coat of grey paint inside to enhance the brighter harmonics. The simple, and very efficient snare release, is located on the opposite side of the drum from the adjustment screw (which I like), and holds a set of bronze snares in place by means of the nylon tie, a quaint method in this era of super-precision engineering but still one of the best. The sound is a pleasingly mellow affair with muscle-a-plenty. A beautifully made drum which no owner in his right mind should want to part with.

TRAK SD5-2 14 by 5in metal rrp £53.00
The Japanese have had a terrible time trying to match the quality of the American snare drum and this one is no exception. Well enough made, to be sure, with a straight-sided shell, double-ended nut boxes, and solid hoops — perfectly acceptable for a crisp, military sound and table-top tension, but somehow lacking in tone at any lower pitch. So if you prefer the cutting tang of Stewart Copeland's sound on all those Police records, this drum can get you there, but not really anywhere else.

PREMIER 1035 14 by 5in metal rrp £99.00
In the late seventies Premier realised that if they couldn't beat Ludwig they might as well copy them. This ten-lug drum is so similar to the design of the 400 that I can only assume it's out of patent by now. Otherwise it would have been lawyers-at-dawn. Improvement in the quality of the Premier heads also helps this lookalike to soundalike, too. So it's a good buy, and don't worry about the small, fragile-looking snare release. It works perfectly well and the original version on my mid-60's 400 is still going strong. This one should be okay for a few years.

PEARL M-514D 14 by 6½in metal rrp £69.00
The deeper shell really became popular when drummers got bored with the 5in model and started using the orchestral, even military models: (a) to be different and (b) to make more noise. Rather like hi-fi manufacturers, the drum companies were always on the lookout for a way to make former models seem redundant, so before long, everyone was using the 6½in, and have continued to do so ever since.

I inherited a Pearl 6½in with a kit I once bought and for the life of me couldn't make it sound anything other than flat. Crisp and loud, but flat. This model has what they call the 'S-015EX Extended Gladstone' type strainer. Very impressive, I'm sure, but it only serves to make the drum even more crisp — a touch heavier but still flat. The deeper Superhoops are good for crack and volume but they can't give the sound the tonal quality it lacks. Good for the tight tuner, though.

TRAK SD6-4 14 by 6½in metal rrp £82.00
This drum challenges the old Rogers Dynasonic as the loudest drum ever to assail my ear. In the hands of Fallon, drummer with Steve Marriot's Packet Of Three, it almost qualifies as an offensive weapon. That boy certainly hits hard. After watching him at a recent gig I can vouch for its strength and recommend it for those who want maximum volume and a metallic tone. Like being hit over the head with a tin tray.

LUDWIG 552 14 by 6½in bronze rrp £398.03
For this kind of money you expect the best and with this drum you get it. I thought Ludwig were crazy to stop making the Black Beauty (which is now a much sought after rarity), but this drum replaced it and is every bit as good. It's a deeper 400 with a bronze shell and the same snare mechanism and is hard to fault in sound terms. Across a wide selection of tensions it will give you whatever you want, rich depth of tone, cut, power, even snare response across the batter head, all the good stuff and none of the rubbish. A first division drum.

TAMA 7006 14 by 6½in metal rrp £108.00
If the Ludwig is in the first division this one is mid-table in the Southern League. It's ideally suited to the player who likes the undamped, ringing sound which Bill Bruford uses with King Crimson, or for use as a fake timbale somewhere left of the hi-hat, as Budgie does with the Banshees. In other words, it's another Jap drum with trouble in the tone department which is well made and good value as long as you're not planning to: (a) audition for the reforming Little Feat or, (b) try and coax Al Green out of retirement with your socking Al Jackson backbeat.

PREMIER 2006 14 by 6½in wood Black Shadow rrp £160.00
This straight sided drum with its snare release flicking away from the shell is derived from the old 2000 but its wood shell lends a great deal more body to the sound than its forerunner ever had. Still there, though, is the raw punch and crisp response. The deep hoops hold the tuning very well and give the drum even more crack. Somehow it asks to be hit, which is the ultimate compliment. I like this snare very much and it offers great value for money.

GRETSCH 14 by 6½in wood rrp £150.00
LUDWIG 402 14 by 6½in metal rrp £226.28
I put these two drums together because they are both deeper versions of highly successful 5in models that the makers have produced merely to keep up with the fashion of the times. They are the same as their smaller brothers in all respects, plus 1½ inches of extra shell. This makes the Gretsch a little louder and perhaps slightly crisper, but essentially it's barely distinguishable from the five. The 402 sold well until the Black Beauty came along, but has always been overshadowed by the other Ludwig snare. Not for any particular reason other than the fact that the 400 was there first and, like I said earlier, this one doesn't do anything that the five can't do just as well.

YAMAHA SD-980RP 14 by 7in wood rrp £208.00
You could be forgiven for assuming that the deeper the drum gets, the deeper its pitch goes too. This, strangely, is not the case. If anything, the 8in drum is even more crisp in its snare response than the 5in or 614 in which goes a long way towards explaining why the marching snare is so deep yet so crisp itself.

Like all other aspects of their products, Yamaha snares are well thought out and expertly made, but the smaller metal versions still suffer from the same lack of tonal quality that afflicts the other Oriental drums. This is the pick of the bunch, however, with a much warmer sound across the dynamic scale (ie, whether you hit hard or soft). For a good example of this drum sounding at its best check any of the recent Miles Davis albums which feature Al Foster, a precise yet natural groover, on drums.

LUDWIG COLOSSEUM 14 by 8½in wood rrp £238.82
It's easy to see why Ludwig drums are so admired by players and imitated by other makers. This Maple shell drum is simplicity itself in terms of design: rugged, double-ended nut boxes, the same snare mechanism as the 400 and the Bronze, plus the same damping. But what a sound. Arguably the best blend of tonal richness and raw excitement of all the Ludwig snares which will go from a roar to a whisper effortlessly and without a trace of ugly overtones or buzzing snares. A belter in every respect and a serious contender for best drum of the lot.

TAMA 14 by 6½in Bell brass rrp £558.00
I saw this drum when looking at the Artstar range, and it's going to be as hard to get hold of as they are. Being made of brass it will come as no surprise to discover that its very loud and weighs an absolute ton. A definite wheelbarrow job, so if you happen to roadie for Level 42 watch out because I'm told that their man Phil Gould is interested in acquiring one. It does seem ideally suited to the tight, cracking sound that he prefers, which is itself reminiscent of the tuning first popularised by Billy Cobham playing all those ridiculous patterns for the Mahavishnu Orchestra (and Big Time Banjo Band).

SONOR SIGNATURE HLD 580 by 8in wood rrp £315.00
As I've said before, you can spot a good drum straight away, regardless of the tuning that it happens to be set at, and this one is a monster in all respects of construction and sound. Twelve plies of rare African or Indonesian hardwood, 12 mighty lugs, deep cast hoops and the sort of complex and heavyweight snare system that usually looks good but chokes the drum and sounds terrible yet here works with smooth precision. One tap of the stick said that it would please the lighter player with its delicate responsive tone, and another confirmed that any rocker, HM exponent or other basher, has here the perfect partner. What amazed me was that although it was heavily damped (internally) it still had so much get up and go. All in all, a drum for all seasons.

Seen but not heard the PREMIER 2009 'PROJECT ONE' 6½ wood rrp £175.00
Looks somewhat gimmick-ridden with its hole in the side for miking, its felt-lined 'sound chamber' and shell-within-a-shell structure. Not to mention two fiddly looking snare buzz controls which are fixed to either end of the snare strand.

It looks like trouble to me, but might suit a Radio 2 session, though I could be wrong, and would need to have an extended go at it before shooting myself in the foot any further. Also worth a look: the TRAK SDW8-4 14 by 8in wood rrp £poa, and the PREMIER 2008 BLACK SHADOW 14 by 8in wood rrp £180.00 (Right. Sort that lot out.)