Choosing your snare drums

Choosing your snare drums

The three main contenders are;

Pearl FFXPB1412
Premier HTS800
Andante Reactor

Each has its advantages over the others. Consider carefully what you want from your drum and buy the drum that delivers this.

Things to consider when choosing your drum:-

Sound

Each of the 3 main drums delivers something different in this department.

The FFXPB1412 from Pearl has a robust sound, clarity from the top head, nice crisp snare sound with good projection from the rear.

The HTS800 from Premier was launched in August 2008, historically its forerunners, theHTS200 and then HTS700, had a name for having the best all round sound for the pipe band, a crisp sound off the top head, a lovely snare sound and good projection from the rear.

The Reactor from Andante has the brightest sound of the three, very bright from the top head, very crisp snare sound.

While this is the opinion of one drummer it is always good to get the opinion of many drummers and those that don’t have a vested interest in one brand over another. Also don’t follow the crowd and make the right decision that will give your corps the edge over the competition.

If you are not sure of the differences in sound you could have a listen to the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships CD.
Pearl Drums are played by Simon Fraser University, Strathclyde Police and Scottish Power.
Premier Drums are played by Shotts and Dykehead, Field Marshal Montgomery and St Lawrence O’Toole.
Andante Drums are played by Boghall and Bathgate and The Vale of Atholl.

Finish

Does the drum you want have the finish you are looking for? Consider the colours available and the finish of the metalwork. Special finishes such as chrome metalwork or special colour finishes will normally carry an extra charge.

Delivery

Drums can take between 6 and 20 weeks to be delivered. In general Andante take between 6 and 8 weeks as they are made in Northern Ireland. Both Premier and Pearl drums are not made in the UK, these can take 16 to 20 weeks for delivery, unless they have the drum you want in stock. You should plan ahead for drum purchases for this reason.

Cost

The snare drums from all three manufacturers are similar in price, however there are considerable differences in the price of bass and tenor drums. For instance the standard bass and tenor drums from Premier cost much less than the Hosbilt range of bass and tenor drums from the same manufacturer. Likewise the standard bass and tenor drums from Pearl cost less than the new style bass and tenor drums from them.

It may seem that there are a lot of questions to be asked, there are, but you will be spending a fair amount of money and want to get the best instrument for the job and with the best support available.

Please contact us with any questions you may have on drums or accessories on info@rghardie.co.uk

Choosing your Bagpipe

Before considering which bagpipe you want to purchase you should answer the following questions:

What is your budget?

Have you consulted with a reputable teacher or professional piper?

What level of piping do you want to achieve?

Is it important that the pipes have fancy ornamentation?

How long have you been playing for?

Have you considered all the options available to you?

Why buy a bagpipe made by R.G. Hardie?

The following points may help you answer these questions.

Budget:

This will determine ultimately what set you will end up purchasing. The price of bagpipes is determined by the ornamentation. The basic models will have nickel metal mounts with little or no engraving while the more expensive sets will have silver which can be engraved. The basic sets start from around £500 for sticks only while the most expensive sets with full hand engraved silver will cost around £5000. We have used technology to enhance the appearance of our pipes by using a state of the art engraving machine to engrave nickel mounts, these sets such as the PH01 Peter Henderson model look very similar to an engraved silver set, from a distance some pipers can’t tell the difference.

Advice:

Before making the jump to buy your set it is very important that you seek advice from professional pipers. Be careful not to take the opinion of one person as they may have a vested interest in promoting one brand over another. You should consider how the pipes are produced whether it is by machine only or hand crafted as this will determine the price and quality of finish on the pipes. Check out who is playing the pipes, if the top players and pipe bands are using them then why shouldn’t you?

Personal:

Not every piper has the same goals they want to achieve in piping, some want to win the Gold Medal in solo piping, others want to win the World Pipe Band Championships. However the majority are quite happy to play a tune now and again and have no ambition to achieve top flight success. You should probably ask yourself how important is it that you buy a basic set or an expensive set and will the more expensive set help you achieve your goals any easier. At Hardie’s we believe our most basic model is good enough to win the top prizes and will sound great in competition or your living room or on a street parade. If you are a beginner we would not advise you to buy an expensive set as you may play for a year and decide it is not for you and although Bagpipes hold their value it would be a shame to sell your first set of bagpipes or worse, to have them kicked under the bed to gather dust. If you feel after a few years of playing that you want a fancier set you could sell your basic pipes and use the funds to purchase your dream set with engraved silver.

Options:

Unfortunately it is not just as simple as selecting the bagpipe itself, there are many accessories and other decisions that need to be made before you buy. To use the example of pipe bags: –

There are two main categories of pipe bags, leather and synthetic. Traditionally piper’s have used leather bags such as Sheepskin or Hide, but since the late 1980’s synthetic pipe bags have come to the market with great success with solo pipers and pipe bands winning many of the top prizes. However recently the top grade pipe bands have reverted back to Sheepskin bags due to the quality of sound they produce. In choosing the right pipe bag it basically comes down to your circumstances. Are you a wet or dry blower? Do you want to sacrifice the quality of sound for stability? Do you play frequently enough to maintain the moisture content a leather bag needs? Synthetic bags have revolutionized how stable the bagpipe can be but this has sacrificed the quality of sound the pipes produce. Most top pipers who are wet blowers and play a synthetic bag feel that they have no choice because their pipes would not last the performance and so they wouldn’t achieve the best results they can if they played a leather bag. Pipers who play infrequently don’t want the hassle of having to season the bag every time they play and so choose a synthetic bag.

I think the point has been made about pipe bags and the different reasons there are for choosing one product over another. But don’t forget there are many other products with similar decisions that need to be considered. Drone reeds, chanter reeds, pipe chanters to name a few. There are a few easier choices to be made such as the colour of the bag cover and cords.

To conclude this topic remember there are no right or wrong answers and if you choose a product that doesn’t work for you then you will learn from that experience thus making it a good decision. Most pipers that have found what works for them will be adamant that their way is the best, but their set-up may not work for you.

If you want advice on making a decision relating to your bagpipes then please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@rghardie.co.uk.