BFSD - Reviews | Big Fat Snare Drum

BFSD - Reviews

Gunnar Olsen - (BFSD Original & Snare-Bourine)

David Raouf/Rdavidr - (BFSD Original Review)

Kenner - (BFSD NYC Subway Series)

Kai Jokiaho - (BFSD Drum Kit)

180 Drums - (BFSD Original Review)

180 Drums - (BFSD Steve's Donut Review)

180 Drums - (BFSD Snare-Bourine-Donut Review)

JazzDrummerWorld - (Snare-Bourine, Original, Donut)

Tyrus Watson - (BFSD Snare-Bourine Review)

Tyrus Watson - (BFSD Product Review)

Tyrus Watson - (BFSD Snare-Bourine-Donut Review)

Worship Drummer - (BFSD Combo Pack Review)

Drummers Corner - (BFSD Combo Pack Review)

DBDRUMS - (BFSD Donut Review)

Kwikstiks - (BFSD Combo Pack Review)

MSH.DRUMS - (BFSD Original Review)

Lee Smith - Drum Smith Studios (GEAR SPOTLIGHT - BFSD)

Drummers Guide to Gear - (Reviews the BFSD)

BFSD review in Drum! Magazine

BFSD review Gear Gods

BFSD review Drum Smith Studio

BFSD review The Steve Goold Blog

BFSD review Music Radar

Big Fat Snareomonials

Bill Resvanis - (Grand Folk Railroad)
Well I tell ya these are the best things since sliced bread! I really love playing with these on the snare, last night i used one on my floor tom, and I just loved the sound, you can really sink into them and they just purrr, thanks!! sincerely, Bill

Adam Steinbacher - (Watershed Charlotte and Five Stones Church)

I received my new Steve's Donut and got to use it at practice last night. I'm amazed. It made quite possibly the worst sounding snare drum of all time sound incredible. Wet, fat and buttery while still maintaining snare response. I play in several local churches and I constantly battle with other drummer's terrible tuning (or lack thereof), but Steve's Donut elminated the time I'd have spent re-tuning and having to strategically apply moon gels to get a somewhat acceptable snare sound.

I showed the worship pastor I played for last night and had him hear the before and after placement, and he said he'll be ordering some for his church's practice kit and his live kit used for worship. I'll be using mine everywhere I play.

Ben Barter - (Lorde)
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the big fat snare drum heads. They sound so great, I love the donut one and I don't think I'll ever take it off my snare.

Jordan Smith - (New Spring Church)
The BFSD is a game changer! We use Steve's Donut every week on our Risen 7x14 and it makes it INSTANTLY sound great! Our drummers, musical directors, and FOH engineers can't stop raving about it!!!

Roy Warren
I got my 14” kit. Used it for 3 gigs this week end. 2 were out doors and one was in a confined space. Instead of having to mike the snare to get “the Sound” I wanted I used over heads instead for the outdoor playing and this gave me EXACTLY what I wanted. The fat sound to crack and cut through and give off the set from my kick was incredible. My Gretsch drum were already the best kit around, but this took it up even more. Now here is the kicker, I am a drummer in a Southern Gospel band. This is able to be used for ALL kinds of music. The BEST 40.00 I EVER spent to get a “sound” I love!!

Jeff Randall
I'm really blown away with the quality of the product. I was expecting a thin piece of plastic. This thing is built to last and really sounds killer. Excellent job, I'm a fan.

Zach Jones - (Secret Someones/Sessions)
Just wanted to let you know how much I LOVE the BFSD. I used "The Original" last week on the Today Show and it sounded killer. Then I used "The Donut" & "The Original" for a recording session over the last few days and the engineer FLIPPED. We got 3 really distinct, great sounds out of one Black Beauty.

Justin Krol - (Hugh Bob & The Hustle)
I had to use a backline kit at a festival (normally I'm a vintage guy) and I popped it right onto a 2014 5"x14" Maple and the snare sounded exactly like my trusty 6"x14" '68 Ludwig Maple without any extra tuning. I couldn't even believe it.

Tyler Stewart - (Barenaked Ladies)
The "Big Fat Snare Drum" is a revelation! I've spent many hours trying to replicate that fat, full snare sound that you hear on Al Green records, or on Eagles songs, or Fleetwood Mac hits. Usually it involves a ton of tape and paper towels, plus an expensive microphone and studio gear. Not anymore! Just tune your snare a little lower than normal and plop on the "Big Fat Snare Drum" and BAM!, It's the 1970's on your kit! Personally I can't wait for the Big Fat Side Burns accessory. I hope you guys are working on that! LoL.

John Wicks - (Fitz and the Tantrums)
Man, the engineer said "Thanks so much for having such great sounding drums. That was the fastest drum sound we've gotten! Literally just set the mic's up and we were done." So awesome. They'll be in the Today Show today too!

Elliot Jacobson - (Ingrid Michaelson)
They are amazing! I wish I had this 10 years ago. So well made AND such a good idea. You have an instant fan/promoter. I'll probably use these on the Ingrid tour and definitely be using them in the studio all the time. Well done!

Ben Smith - (Pilot Records Australia)
Just wanted to let you know I played at Wide Open Spaces music festival over the weekend and achieved the best snare sound to date!!! Great product brother.

Jake Morelli - (Producer - JMoTone Studios)
Wow, wow, Wow!! This thing is very Unbelievable!! Thanks a million!!!!

Ben Satterlee - (Session/Educator)
The BFSD is just out of sight. I'm literally flying with only my cymbals/sticks, and my BFSD. Overnight it’s become as much a staple of my drum setup as the snare itself.

Alejandro Contreras - (Session/Producer)
I've been using the heads for a couple of days now and all I can say is OOOOOHHHHHHH!!! This is crazy, man, for real. The fact that it's so simple to use but at the same time so effective is what makes BigFatSnareDrum the best of the best of all that I've tried over the years.

Trey Smith - (FOH/PM - Sara Bareilles)
"The Donut” and “The Original” both change the snare sound to where it actually sounds like a different drum. From a mix perspective, it doesn't affect the level of the input but a db or so. Truly a game changer, and would highly recommend this to anyone!"

Christopher Beals - (Nashville Sessions/Touring Drummer)
My favorite BFSD product is the solid head overlay. I thought that I’d use it only on ballads live and tracking in the studio, yet I’ve found myself using it constantly LIVE! so that the snare drum ‘blends in’ with the mix in ANY room. No more ‘tearing people’s heads off’ with the snare drum being the loudest acoustic instrument on the stage....EVER. I’ve made many more new friends this way!

Phillip JD Schinbein - (the Bon Scotts/Schinbein Drum Co)
Just thought I’d drop you a line. Spent all day in the studio yesterday with my band “the Bon Scotts”. The snare drum sound for our next album is a Yamaha 14x4 Copper Nouveau with maple hoops, 42 strand snare wires Evans HD Dry and your snare-bourine. We’ve laid down the beds for a third of the album so far, and that slightly jangled snare sound fits everything we’re doing right now. I’m going to have to keep that thing in my tech case for sure...

CHRISTOPHER ALLIS - (Deana Carter, Jacob Szekely Trio, Independent)

We have all done it. Cut up old drum heads and laid the mylar circle on our snare drum or tom head. Or, just placed tea towels or a handkerchief on a drum to give it some more body and wallop. These are all fine and they work great. I use them all the time. What the good folks at BFSD have done is create a much better mouse trap.

BFSD couldn’t be easier to use. You place one on top of your existing snare head and it lowers the pitch of your drum quickly and easily. “Yeah, but I can already do that!” you say. Fair enough. What makes BFSD a better mouse trap are a couple of things: there is a thin rubberized gasket that goes around the outside perimeter of the ring for weight, balance and stability. There is also a thumb cut out for quick removal. This is where BFSD comes into its own. It’s easy to use and effective. The combination of mylar and rubber ring gives your snare drum that deep & warm tone. There are several different varieties of the BFSD ring (available in 13″and 14″ sizes). I’m going to highlight a few of them here.

The “Original”
This is a full head with the rubberized gasket and thumb cut. This gives you that fat, gushy, ‘birthday cake with a baseball bat’ kind of sound. Try adjusting your snare tension once you put this on and you can get some really fantastic results. The ‘original’ muffles things enough where you really hear the rattle of the snares underneath a very pleasing ‘thud’ from the head.

“Steve’s Donut”
Designed by Steve Goold, this option has about a 4″ hole in the center (hence, donut) and it gives you a more medium muffling choice on the drum. Not quite as gushy as the ‘original’ but wonderful for that fat 70’s drum sound. Think “Take the Money and Run” from Steve Miller and you get the idea.

“Josh’s Snare-Bourine”
I’m really happy to see my friend, Josh Day, get a nod with this item. Take the “Steve’s Donut” and put 4 sets of tambourine jingles on it. That is the essence of “Josh’s Snare-Bourine”. This is great with a mallet and the snares off. With the snares on and a stick in your hand it has a great snap to it. Playing nearer to the jingles (obviously) make them more pronounced and everything stays in place because of the rubber ring around the perimeter; so you can really have at it.

“Snare-bourine”
This is a full BFSD head with 4 sets of tambourine jingles attached. You get a bit more thud in your sound because of the full head and I find that the jingles are a little more pronounced because you’re taking a little more frequency out of the drum. It is also really wonderful on 16″ and 18″ floor toms.

I use these a lot either on their own, or in combination (typically “Steve’s Donut” on top of “The Original”, or “Josh’s Snare-bourine” on top of either “Steve’s Donut” or “The Original”). I also, on occasion use “Steve’s Donut” and “Josh’s Snare-bourine” on cymbals. I like what they do to the decay.

Send us your reviews and Big Fat Snareomonials to: info@bigfatsnaredrum.com