Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare - £744 - www.sonor.com

Superbly versatile snare from the German maestro

Over the last several years, Benny Greb has become a major name in the drumming world, a name synonymous with taste, groove and musicality, with his clinic appearances and numerous recordings and projects (not to mention his best-selling DVD) offering a truly fresh approach to the art of drumming. In the relatively short time that Benny has been so prominent, he has already helped design a highly regarded range of cymbals through his association with Meinl (the signature sand ride and hi-hats), and now has his very own signature snare drum that he has developed with Sonor. As a long-time fan of Benny’s playing and approach, I was very eager to get my hands on this snare.

Construction

Measuring 13” x 5.75”, the beautifully clean-looking shell is made of Benny’s preferred beech wood with a Scandinavian birch veneer finish. The shell is 5mm thick, with eight lugs top and bottom, featuring Sonor’s TuneSafe system, which holds in place the 2.3mm power hoops. Heads-wise, the drum features a medium single-ply white-coated batter, along with a thin, clear resonant head, both made for Sonor by Remo. The simple, unfussy snare mechanism holds in place an 18-strand snare wire. A special ‘personalised’ Sonor badge, featuring a cartoon head of Benny with his signature underneath, also adorns the shell. All shell hardware is finished in chrome, which further adds to the overall clean appearance of the drum, but as you’ll see from the photos, that is not the end of the story: the birch shell also features a rubber-like inlay around the middle of the shell, which at first look made it appear that the shell was vented, but alas it’s not. While this ring makes the drum aesthetically different, whether it actually affects the sound or not I’m unsure, even after spending a lot of time with this drum.

In Use

Straight out of the box this beautiful-looking instrument sounded as good as it looks. Without changing the tuning, which was tensioned quite high, it offers a clear, precise tone that is very responsive to the slightest touch, giving you perfect ghost strokes to embellish any groove, along with great depth and body, giving this drum a much bigger sound that belies its 13” shell. Rim-shots are bright and loud with a significant amount of high-end ring which projects incredibly clearly but never overpowers the full tone of the drum. Play with brushes and you get even more of that fantastic response, with even, consistent tones being coaxed out of the drum from even the most delicate of strokes, making this one of the most versatile snare drums I’ve played in a long time.

Conclusion

This drum is quite easily one of the nicest, most versatile instruments I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Each stroke, no matter what velocity, is met with superb response, from the quietest of buzz rolls to the heaviest onslaught of rim-shots. Every beat is delivered with true clarity, making this drum as musical as the player whose moniker it carries. Quite simply superb!