Steve Gadd. Dr Steve Gadd. You don’t need me to introduce him; if you do, where have you been for the past 50 years?! He’s a living drum legend, Grammy winner, and boasts a CV that’s about as long as they come. Over his illustrious career, he’s worked with almost every big name under the sun – from Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, Chick Corea and countless others. To this day, he remains one of the most in-demand session musicians in the world.
Steve is one of Yamaha’s proudest, most loyal, and long-standing endorsees, and has collaborated with them on numerous occasions. He’s brought his knowledge, and musicality to a wide range of projects, from signature snares to overseeing the re-design and release of the new Recording Custom – a modernised take on the classic Yamaha 9000 series.
Every now and then, Yamaha graces us, lowly mortals, with another re-issue of one of his iconic collaborations, and for everything 2020 has thrown at the world, this is one small positive. This time around is a re-issue of the steel shell signature snare. The snare comes in at 14×5.5″ in-depth, and features a suave black nickel over 1.2mm thick steel shell, complemented with Yamaha die-cast aluminium hoops in the same finish. This is nicely offset by chrome beavertail lugs. On top of that, the drum comes fitted with a coated Remo Powerstroke 3 (Steve’s go-to head), along with his signature 10-strand snare wires, designed to increase articulation, and decrease sympathetic buzz. Also included is a limited edition black nickel drum key and certificate of authenticity.
This snare is going to provide Steve’s signature sound and will sit right at home in any player’s arsenal, as a versatile, and adaptable drum. The steel shell will give it plenty of life, while the die-cast hoops will add just the right amount of control to the sound, to stop it from becoming harsh. The 10 strand wires will give the drum a crisp, staccato sound, while the Powerstroke 3 will fatten things up nicely, preventing the drum from sounding thin.
The only thing it won’t do is make you play like him, but we wouldn’t be able to put a price on it if it did…