NEURO 321,
The following information is from an article on musicradio.com.
The two snares you're looking at have the same shell material - steel - but differ radically in construction.
The first drum (STAINLESS) is the BPST4551A, which is a 14"x5½" 10-lug snare with a 1mm thick steel shell. The exterior of the shell has been rendered smoky black and polished to a deep shine. Being a Black Panther, virtually all of the shell hardware is also black - the lugs, the 2.3mm pressed hoops and the snare strainer and butt. The tension rods are also of a darker hue than plain steel. The whole effect is pretty stunning. In use, the snare delivers an archetypal metal-shelled sound, opening with a crisp, warm crack that bites in all the right places. The relative thinness of the shell ensures sympathetic overtones and just the right amount of ring. Rim shotting magnifies its qualities and stick response is excellent, with brushwork being particularly pleasing. It's delightfully playable and sweet-sounding.
The second snare (SOLID), the BPST455SLB, is an altogether different proposition. This time, the shell is
3mm thick solid steel, which increases to 5mm at the top and bottom with additional bands of steel that
Mapex terms Sound Control Rings. The shell begins life as a cast steel pipe, which is then cut down and routed.
This drum also has 10 lugs and is dressed with the same black hardware, the only exception being the hoops, which have been upgraded to die-cast examples. Rather than being polished, the shell is etched with a fine diamond-based pattern that gives the drum an almost industrial look. A tattoo-like stencilling in the same vein creeps halfway across the batter head.
With this amount of metal at hand, the drum gives the sort of taut, controlled rifle crack that would make dogs in the next town yelp. There is a hardness to the sound that suggests that the snare would rise to any volume of music without breaking sweat. Overtones are virtually non-existent.
The SOLID snare is a Special Edition model and the price includes a decent zip-up, semi-hard case. Production is limited to 300 drums worldwide, with about 60 in the UK.
These two snares differ considerably but offer plenty to the type of player that they are aimed at. The thinner shelled (STAINLESS) BPST4551A is a classic-sounding, smoothly responsive metal snare drum. The (SOLID) BPST455SLB meanwhile, is a high octane, riff-cleaving monster that you wouldn't want your son or daughter getting within 20 paces of. Both offer tremendous value and required investigation for anyone seeking a metal-shelled snare.
Sam Ash is currently offering the STAINLESS for $232 and the SOLID for $354 - $473.
Here's a part of a review about the SOLID that appeared in drummagazine.com:
APPEARANCES, APPEARANCES
The outside surface of the black-chrome finished SS is tooled in a sleek crosshatched pattern that’s left smooth at the top and bottom to ensure proper head seating, while the inside retains very fine grooves left from the routing process. All the hardware, including lugs, tension rods, throw-off, butt, and heavy die-cast hoops, are plated in the same glossy black chrome. The overall appearance is all business — serious and hi-tech looking.
AN IMPENETRABLE HULL
I was especially impressed with the unique construction of the SS Solid Steel drum, which isn’t just another rolled sheet of metal like many lower end snare drums. Instead, it’s fashioned from a 14" 5mm thick steel pipe cut to a length of 5.5". The tube construction gives the solid shell a structural integrity and consistency of sound that even a seamless rolled metal shell can’t match. Once the pipe is cut to length, a 3" band around the center is routed out to 3mm thick, leaving the steel equivalent of a
1" “glue” or sound ring on the top and bottom edges. This dual thickness has beneficial effects on the voice of the drum. You get both the positive tonal benefits of a thin-walled shell (tuning range, rich sound) as well as the advantages a more substantial width and weight have on the bearing edges and snare beds (controlled
attack, volume, and dynamics).
Mapex also wisely chose to cut a deep and fairly quick snare bed into the shell, making the SS one of the more sensitive “loud” drums on the market. Try as I might, I was unable to get the drum to choke up and lose sensitivity under very hard and loud playing conditions. I played a hip-hop gig with the drum, backing rappers in a small semi-acoustic setting. I was surprised how well the drum responded to multi-rods and brushes. Another surprise was how stable the drum stayed in different tunings. It never got honky or dead sounding when I tensioned it loosely, or brittle when I tensioned it tight.
SAILING IN THE STUDIO
To test the SS in the studio, I put it on the stand for a session with Breaking Benjamin drummer Chad Szeliga, who was recording with former Fuel member Ronny Paige’s new project Forever Oeuvre at The House Of Loud in New Jersey. One song, “I Am,” called for lots of crisp, defined snare work and several dynamic volume changes. Close-miking doesn’t convey volume; that job is left to room mikes, so sometimes drums that are just loud without any real character can sound very flat in the studio. The Black Panther SS drum didn’t have that issue. While it is capable of radical volume, it has a musicality that is more common to brass snare drums. It turned out to be the perfect instrument for the song. There is a focus to the
attack that makes it perfect for the under-the-microscope environment of the studio.
While most snare drums need at least a small bit of dampening to remove overtones, I kept the SS wide open. While the drum is very powerful, it was never cover-your-ears harsh or ringy. The snare response was top notch, aided by adjustment knobs on both the strainer and butt end. If you’re lucky enough to play one of these drums, make sure to tighten down your snare stand — at 17 lb. the SS is a pretty heavy drum and could cause serious damage if it landed on your foot.
So there you have it.
oh but the stock heads are pretty good. so if you dont have the $$ to replace it. its not to biga deal
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