A snare drum stand is one of the most overlooked pieces of hardware on a drum kit. Let’s have a look at what one is and what to look out for when buying one.
What is a snare drum stand?
Snare drum stands are slightly different from other drum stands in that the snare drum is held in a ‘basket’. This is different from the likes of toms where the drum is normally fitted with a bracket that gets attached directly to a tom holder. Snare drums generally aren’t fitted with such brackets so you need some way of holding the drum in position.
Snare drum stands normally have a ‘basket’ consisting of 3 metal arms. The arms have rubber ends to prevent damage to the drum. The snare drum sits in the basket and you use a nut on the bottom to tighten up the arms. You don’t have to make these arms too tight – in fact many drummers don’t tighten them at all. This makes it easy to swap the snare drum if a drum head gets damaged… or perhaps for a different snare drum with a different sound.
What sort of snare drum stand should I buy?
Most drum kits come supplied with a snare drum stand unless you just buy a shell pack. If you want to buy a better one here’s a couple of considerations:
- Buy one with double braced legs
- Make sure the basket angle is fully adjustable
- Make sure it can take any drum size from 12″ to 14″+
- A ball-joint adjuster on the basket is a ‘nice to have’
If you make sure the basket can handle drums as small as 12″ (some can’t) then you’ll also be able to use the stand to hold a standard 12″ practice pad!