I played this in my local music store, and it's awesome. I played the 14" x 3.5", so I'm not sure how the other sizes will sound, but I love this one. It's incredibly sensitive, and loud. It's bright, but not as high-pitched as a steel snare. I'm buying this.

The best snare I have ever played. I have the 6.5" maple. Defintely my "go to" snare. Sensitive, full and loud if needed. I have many snares, including Noble & Cooley. This is by far the best one I have ever played.

I recently tried an acrylic shell on my 5 x 14 free floater and this thing was the loudest cutting snare I have ever heard. I had to go back to the maple shell cus it was to load. But great for large venues. I am now looking into a bubinga segment shell to try out. That's the best thing about this snare is the versatiltiy. I have an ec2 snare head with hazy 300 resonant and puresound wires on it. I crank it cus I like the response and clarity of a tight snare head. I like the new model with the double snare adjustment cus its lock mechanism prevents the wires getting loose.

Just got my snare and it sounds great, just enough body and crack. Sounds like a gunshot and cuts thru the amps without a problem, Stick responce is the best I have ever experienced.

The quality, and craftsmanship of the hardware is like nothing I'd seen. From the cast hoops, to the snare throw-off, this is the best snare I've ever owned. Even the bolts are made of stainless steel so you'll never have to worry about rust (from dripping sweat on it...if your not dripping sweat by the end of the night.... I replaced the included Remo coated ambassador with an Evans EC Snare. It gave this snare just the right amount of "darkness" to get rid of the "poppy" sound of the Remo. I cranked the included bottom Remo quite tight, but left the included copper snare wires just loose enough to give this monster a beautiful "studio" sound. By the way...I love the "fat" stick sound this thing makes. There doesn't seem to be a "sweet spot". You can hit the cast hoops anywhere with your side stick and it makes the same sound consistently.