Ahead Sticks Black on Brass Snare 13"x6", AS614

As many drummers would agree, we are in constant search for the perfect snare drum, the snare drum that embodies the sound we hear in our heads, the snare drum that defines the way we sound, and the snare drum that finally defines us. After many years of owning and changing many different snares, I can happily say that after receiving this snare drum - my search is over! This is the One snare I need, and I feel that this is the One snare I will ever need. It can do it all, and it looks great doing it.
At first, I was a bit skeptical about "Ahead Sticks" making snare drums, so I was mostly looking at the big brands, but that was my mistake. This drum is top quality, and it sounds even better than it looks. Like any brass drum, this snare is very ringy, bright and fat sounding. The 13 inch diameter makes it a little sharper and more focused than 14 inch brass drums, and the 6 inch depth combined with the 1mm thin shell makes it sound very deep and full-bodied. Combining these qualities with the huge tuning range, you can achieve any sound desired. If you tune it high, it makes a pleasant pop and crack with a great amount of body and sustain. If you tune it low, it starts to sing with beautiful and musical tones, still maintaining the higher pitched attack, complimented with lower and fuller resonance. Its hard to describe it in words, but the snare just sings! This drum is also very loud, especially when you lay in it with rim-shots, but it can also be tamed down with softer playing. It is very dynamic and it can handle anything you throw at it - from acoustic jazz to heavy metal.
The 13 inch diameter also fits more nicely between the legs than 14 inch snare drums. The "S-Hoops" are also great, they work as advertised - making the tuning more even and solid while retaining the resonance of triple-flanged hoops. They also make playing rim-shots much more pleasant and easy, and the rim-shots sound almost as heavy as on die-cast hoops.
I didnt see the reason for putting the "S-Hoop" on the bottom side, because, while it looks better that way, there is one problem with this: The "Fat Cat" snare wires have an adjustment screw for the middle section of the wires, which is raised quite high, and because the "S-Hoop" has a very low profile, this adjustment screw sticks out below (or above) the hoop level, making it impossible to put the snare drum flat on the ground without damaging the bottom drum head with that screw. Its a minor problem of course, because no one usually puts the snare drum on the ground, its either on the snare stand, or in the case, but these things sometimes happen, especially on tour. For this reason, I changed the snare wires to "Puresound Custom" and they work great. The "Fat Cat" wires also sound great, so I guess "Ahead" should have put a simple triple-flanged hoop on the bottom side to eliminate this problem. The "S-Hoop" design has its advantages on the top side where the playing happens, but no one plays the snare drum on the bottom side, so there is no real need for that on the bottom, except for looks.
Everything else about this snare is simply fantastic, I cant stop playing with it and discovering new sounds all the time, while enjoying every bit of the process. The guitar players also love it, and it sounds great under the microphone. Its like having 10 fantastic snare drums in one. I highly recommend this drum to anyone in search for his or her own perfect snare!