Hey all,

I am helping start a pipe and drum band for my Fire Dept. I have been outta the marching drum scene for a very long time. I was wondering what brand/type of snare and bass drums I should be looking for. I am also looking for a place that I could purchase them.

I play a kit on a regular basis and have great experiences with Pearl and was kind of leaning that way, but I don't really know what is different in the type of snare drum for a pipe band. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hey -

Feel free to PM me about this as well, but if you're buying new, then the two best resources out there are Hugh Cameron and Mulligan and MacHenry.

Pipe snares are different in that they have a dual snare mechanism - one under the top head and one under the bottom head. Both use wire snares.

The three main pipe band drum makers are Andante (Ireland), Premier (UK) and Pearl (US/Japan). If you're used to Pearl, then there's no harm in going that way, especially if you're not going overseas to compete.

Hope that helps!

Mike New
Webmaster - Silver Thistle Pipes and Drums
Austin, TX

May I ask do you live in Ohio??? If you are looking for groups to practice with please let me know..Be safe..Matt