I just bought this snare and it really is a great sounding drum , I played this and many others at a local shop and for the money its hard to beat . It sounds just like a black beauty, and rivals if not sounds better than drums that cost 2-3 times as much , a great value if you are looking for a brass snare to play rock music on...worth every penny

Like most people have said...this snare is absolutely worth every penny and then some. I've been playing on it for several months now. Aesthetically beautiful with tube lugs and a deep gunmetal finish that is SO clean looking. Sounds excellent through the tuning range. Rim shots give you a distinct pong sound which results from the combination of geometry and brass construction... saucy. I've never played the black beauty, and i dont think i ever need to.

I play all over the world and have half a dozen snares(for different music styles, venues,musical demands) and this snare is an incredible value for the sound quality. It has tons of range and just awesome tone quality.

I did a trade in for this thing at guitar center last march. I traded my 6x14 Gmaple in for it and don't regret it at all. Like others have said it really does have a wide tuning range to it it can go from deep and fat to high and earspliting just like that. If using a double ply head moongel isn't really needed unlike some other guys have said. Iused a coated emperor on mine and that pretty much eliminated any overtones , I just got a warm high end crack with body

It takes me back to the days of listening to Led Zeppelin. This thing sounds almost identical to my "Ludwig Black Beauty Snare". If I would have known how closely they resemble, I wouldn't have spent the original $580 on my "Ludwig Black Beauty". This drum has a perfect pitch from hi to low. It hits you in the chest like a cannon. The wire torque switch gives you an unusual difference in sound by turning it left to right. It can sound very tight "or" very open, or somewhere perfectly in middle. It also looks astonishing. In the picture the drum just looks black but the picture is deceiving. In person the paint is awesome while it looks like polished meteorite, the stuff meteors are made out of.