Building the Bill Bruford Signature Snare - Part Three

In my previous blogs, I recounted how I successfully restored a Bill Bruford "Signature Palette Series" snare drum, built an all chrome version and followed it up with a complete Bill Bruford symmetrical kit. That was awesome, but I decided to expand the kit by adding a 14" x 12" floor tom. My usual set-up is an open handed one, modeled on the drummer Rayford Griffin of Jean Luc Ponty's group. I now had a 7 piece, all-yellow Tama kit with a choice of 2 snare drums. The kit is one of the best sounding ones I've eve made. I soon added a full compliment of Nady DM 70 and CM 70 drum microphones, routed them through a M-Audio FastTrack Ultra 8R interface and a MacBook Pro. One of the first things I noticed was the thinner sound of the original Bruford snare; It was much brighter than any of my other 14" x 6" snare drums. Perhaps it was the 2 ply Maple, 2 ply Birch and 2 ply Maple construction that gave it that quality. It was great for jazz, as I'm sure Bruford had intended, but not as versatile for other applications. This was also borne out in the Tama forums. 

I next turned to my 6 ply Maple, all-chrome replica snare. The difference was striking; The tone was deeper, warmer and seemed to be a better match for my "Rayford Griffin" style set-up. The chrome snare looked good and sounded good; the toms rang out like they were part of Tony' Williams' famed Gretsch kit. After seeing the kit, a friend remarked, "Where's the yellow snare?" I hadn't made one obviously, but it got me thinking. I love my Tony Williams 14" x 6.5" Gretsch USA snare which sounds perfect with my Gretsch USA kit; If I did make a yellow snare, what size would it be, and what would work with this kit. As fate would have it, Bruford's yellow Tama snare was a Maple Starclassic 14" x 6.5", the same size as both Tony Williams and Rayford Griffin! Bruford recently put most of his kits up for auction at Graham Russell Drums of London, and his yellow snare was there, sitting atop the rest of his stack of yellow Tama drums.


Well, as I learned in making those previous snare drums, finding those vintage Tama lugs, strainers and butts were virtually impossible; I actually had to buy parts from Greece in order to make the all-chrome snare! I resolved not to go through that again, yet make a good sounding and good looking snare. I'd get the wrap from Jammin' Sam, 14" 10 hole snare rims, Evans heads and matching black Shaw Percussion lugs. Next, I needed a 6 ply, 14" x 6.5" Maple shell, and as many Tama parts I could find to go with it. I managed to find a $70 Tama Soundworks snare shell on ebay; It had all the requirements I wanted; 6 ply, Maple, 14" x 6.5" and Tama. So far so good. I'd have to drill an additional 20 holes for the Starclassic lugs, but that would be easy. The Tama Soundworks snare sells for around $200 and is considered one of the best drums for that price. It also uses Tama's MCS70ABN Strainer and MCS70ABBN Butt, and a Tama MS2014S Snappy Snare Wire. Those were still available, however only in Chrome and Black Nickel. I bought the Black Nickel version and decided to be adventurous, I could sand them down to prep them for painting, and so I bought 600 grit sandpaper and Krylon Fusion All-in 1, Black Satin paint for the strainer, butt and for the pair of 2.3 mm 14", 10 Hole snare rims that I had from an old Yamaha Rock Tour snare. Those rims were Silver, so I sanded and painted them first. After a few coats and they were good to go. The Tama strainer and butt arrived the next day from Japan. I wanted the all-black, however they had also been discontinued, so the only ones I could find were Black Nickel,  so I disassembled them and painted them as well.


After the Tama snare shell arrived, I drilled the additional 20 holes in the shell and added the yellow wrap over it. Next it was time for the lugs, air vent, strainer, butt and of course, the Bill Bruford Signature Palette Series decal. Like the previous snare drums, I use Evans Hazy 300 Clear for the bottom head, and an Evans G1 Coated head for the top. Once the snare wire was installed, it was time to tune it up to hear how it sounded. Based on videos of the Tama Soundworks snare, I already had a pretty good idea of what I'd be getting. How would it compare to the other 2 snare drums and the rest of the kit would be true test. The first thing I noticed was the weight of the drum. Despite the extra depth, the Soundworks snare was lighter. I think that was due to the difference between the heavier Tama Starclassic lugs and the lightweight Shaw Percussion lugs. The original Soundworks uses 10 double ended lugs; I drilled addition holes and a total of 20 of the Shaw lugs. Nevertheless, the snare tuned up well and sounded great. Definitely a brighter sound that I expected, but as you might imagine, it sounded like a Tama Soundworks snare at the end of the day. Crisp, clean and bright, with a touch of warmth that comes from a 6 ply Tama Maple shell. 
























The snare complimented the rest of the kit nicely; Cosmetically, and most important, tonally. The 23mm flanged hoops on the snare and toms made for a very lively kit with all the overtones and harmonic ringing that comes from a kit with pieces designed to work together. All in all, this snare was a pleasant surprise, and one I'm really looking forward to recording with. I can get that patented "Bruford rimshot" when I need it, as well as the crispy, classic Tama Maple snare sound. In my next blog, I'll be putting the replica chrome snare to use in yet another Bruford-inspired kit, alongside the clanging of Remo Rototoms!


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