Expanding the lineup of affordable concert snare drums.
When looking for a concert snare drum for your band program or personal inventory, you’re likely considering a few key features: price, sound, and size. You want an instrument that won’t break the bank, sounds exceptional, and doesn’t require a workout to haul from rehearsal to the performance hall. We took these points to heart and set out to design a drum that hits all those key features. The result is the brand new, 3.5” x 13” Concert Maple Snare drum—a compact and lightweight maple shell drum whose crisp, articulate sound defines the modern piccolo snare drum, all with a budget-friendly price tag.
Shop For Black Swamp Concert Maples Snare Drums 👇
Introduction
Our Concert Maple snare drums are some of the most popular snare drum models in the Black Swamp Percussion catalog, and for good reason. These instruments were designed to have the sound of a quality orchestral snare drum without the higher-end price tag. Everything from the shell type, bearing edge, snare bed, and single snare unit contributes to the superior sound of this entry-level snare drum.
We published a full Concert Maple deep dive detailing all of the features and benefits of the instrument and why music directors around the world turn to Black Swamp to help their band programs sound and perform their best.
History and Design
After years of manufacturing our Mercury series snare drums, a collection of piccolo snare drums with our SoundArt and Multisonic snare systems, we felt it was time to introduce a piccolo version of our Concert Maple series. Let’s break it down a bit.
The core of this 3.5” x 13” Concert Maple drum is a ply Maple shell, the same as the 5” and 6.5” models. These shells are constructed with thin layers of wood veneer, helping produce a balanced orchestral sound—essentially, a very universal shell type. We took a deep dive into snare drum shell types and their contrasting sound qualities. Spoiler alert: Ply-maple is the most popular.
Building the shell out from there, we have cute little tube lugs, 2.3 mm hoops, and a compact die-cast strainer. All components necessary for a snare drum, but not taken for granted here. It’s all dependable hardware that won’t begin to deteriorate after a few years of use.
Custom Piccolo Snare Unit
Apart from these standard snare drum components, we have a few other essentials designed specifically to enhance the performance of this Concert Maple piccolo snare drum. Let’s start with my favorite: the snare unit.
After immersing ourselves in a variety of special snare units, made in-house with contrasting cable types, lengths, and snare spacing, we surfaced with a simple yet unique combination of cable type and construction. We published a blog post about Black Swamp snare units, including relevant info on cable lengths and sound qualities that is worth looking into for more information on the subject.
This specific drum has a combination of uncoated stainless steel and guitar wire cable, never before integrated into a single snare unit. The guitar wire responds best at soft dynamics, and the stainless cable best at medium dynamics—perfect for a piccolo snare drum. Plus, these two cable types have different textures or quality of sound, which broadens the overall timbre of the snare drum.
Listen to the new Concert Maple Piccolo snare drum sound sample. Recording live at the Black Swamp Percussion studio and performed by Eric Peterson.
Headphones recommended! 🎧
Custom Snare Bed Design
The deeper snare bed is exclusive to our Concert Maple drums. Now you’re asking, what’s a snare bed? Well, the snare bed is a cut-out or relief in the bearing edge of a snare drum. These beds are adjacent to the strainer and butt hardware and produce an arc or bow in the drum head which the snare passes over or lies on—like a cozy little snare bed. We published a brief tutorial about seating snare side heads and the importance of snare beds if you'd like to dive deeper into the subject.
We designed the original Concert Maple snare bed to be narrow and relatively deep, as opposed to wide and shallow. This creates the proper arc in the snare head to allow maximum contact of the wrap-around snare unit, thus producing maximum response. When prototyping the Concert Maple piccolo drum, we tried multiple snare shapes. After some necessary trial and error, we concluded our original Concert Maple snare bed still produced the best response from the custom snare unit. Even though these snares only lie on the bottom head and don’t “wrap around” the shell, the deeper bed helps create the appropriate horizontal and vertical tension needed for the snare unit to perform its best. And that’s a lightning-quick response and delicate expression.
Who’s it For?
So, if you’re a band director, all this should be music to your ears. We know you’ve got tubas to fix, drill to write, buses to rent, students to wrangle (and band parents to navigate). On top of that, you’re researching the best piccolo snare drum to purchase for your percussion section. The Concert Maple piccolo is designed by percussionists, dependably built, and has a superb sound intended for band and orchestral performance—all at a price point that will make your band boosters want to give you a hug. Plus, the drum is easy to operate and maintain, allowing younger students to quickly sound their best while also extending the life of the instrument. Win-win!
Because we’re musicians here at Black Swamp, we also know finding the right instrument for the job is imperative. If you’re about to hit the audition circuit, spend some time with the Concert Maple piccolo. As percussionists, we designed this 3.5” x 13” snare drum to be your best friend behind the screen. The custom snare unit and exclusive snare bed allow the drum to speak crisp, clear, and quick! We were all fresh out of college once here too, not only trying to build an instrument inventory but also needing to put gas in the car. Again, the Concert Maple piccolo sounds World Class, while leaving room in your budget to get to your next audition and then gig.
This drum doesn’t need to stay in the concert hall either. If you’re a studio, theater, or touring percussionist, consider adding the Concert Maple piccolo to your sonic collection. It’s a wonderful option for securing the distinct orchestral sound needed for a special project or recording you might be developing. It’s light, compact, and ready to integrate into your performance or setup. Then, impress your music director or fellow musicians with the unique texture of an orchestral snare drum, without paying for the extra snare cables and adjustment on higher-end drums, which may not be necessary for your performance situation. Basically, it’s affordable, portable, and musically remarkable.
Wrapping Up
The Black Swamp Percussion Concert Maple Piccolo Snare Drum is a perfect blend of affordability, exceptional sound quality, and portability. Designed with band directors, percussion students, and professional musicians in mind, this drum delivers a balanced orchestral sound in a compact and lightweight form. Its unique snare unit, featuring a combination of uncoated stainless steel and guitar wire cable, and the specialized deeper snare bed, ensure a lightning-quick response and delicate expression. Whether you're preparing for auditions, managing a school band, or adding to your studio or touring setup, the Concert Maple piccolo offers world-class performance without breaking the bank. Explore this remarkable instrument and discover why it's a favorite among music directors and percussionists alike.