I was never a fan of metal snare...but when I bought this snare just because my favorite drummer plays it...I was really impressed with the sound...for me it sounds best when equipped with thicker head...in my case it is Evans ST. I tune it medium tight on top and medium on the bottom (find the balance between body and snare) and oh wow...this snare has alot more frequencies than your ears can hear....when mic, you can hear a lot of bottom end and that resonant....mmmm...mmm...mmm it sounds so musical. it's dark and yet pretty short(well maybe the head selection matters). Anyway my snare really cracks and crispy without losing that body....and you don't need to slam on it because it is very sensitive...even with the thick head.

It does not stack up against the UDRUM Cherry Bomb. I gave mine away to some kid and kept the UDRUM. The throw off on this is the average basic pearl one and the rings are not die-cast, so they don't hold tune as well when tightened a lot. But nevertheless it's almost as good as the Cherry Bomb and still more expensive.

The moment I saw it, it was like love at first site. The all black snare gets your attention visually. Once given a hit, I knew this was it. I was choosing between this and a Sensitone snare drum. Although it was a bit more expensive, I knew that it was value for money! Buy one now! Its great for recording and especially for live shows! It cracks bad!!!

I have the 5*14 and it is a incredible sounding snare. Aluminum is unique. You could fool most sound engineers with this snare. Is it Wood? or is it Metal? I'm sure you would have to tell them. It's a bit expensive... but it's worth every penny!

I recently purchased this snare in the 6.5 x 14 size to replace the crappy stock snare my set came with an let me tell you, what a difference it made! this thing sounds like a wood snare but its freaking loud like a shotgun too and very sensitive, u can get a snare response from the lightest tap. I had a 42-strand snare strainer on my old snare and this thing with its 21 strands cracks just about the same as a 42-strand snare.

its a bit pricey, but its a good investment. Since pearl makes it you know your getting quality. it has good tuning integrity and takes a lot to get it out of tune. It even has a glidelock throw off, which is what pearl's recent reference series has on it too. Great stuff, works great for just about any genre of music literally. This thing is an investment, if you get it and take care of it, it will give back to you, though expensive, i suggest buying it.