Two years ago, I bought a Pearl Short Fuse 10” x 4” snare. It was my first new snare in over 40 years, and the first I bought with my own money. I got it because JB’s annual 40% off sale made it irresistably cheap, and I always wanted an auxilliary snare to contrast my trusty 14” x 5.5” main snare. But when I got home and disassembled it to replace the stock heads with better ones, it became clear why it was so cheap. The wood was soft, the bearing edges were rough, and the throwoff was wonky. I stuck with it though because it looked and sounded really cute. I also figured it would never have to go through the rigors of heavy gigging because I haven’t play outside of my home in years. But these issues continued to bug me nevertheless.
Lately I thought of upgrading the throw off, but that would entail not just buying better parts, but drilling holes in the soft and fragile wood shell to accommodate them. In the end, I finally decided on another first. It would be the first time I would ever sell one of my working musical instruments, and replace it with something better. So I cleaned and preened it to mint condition, posted it in the Facebook marketplace, and priced it at 30% off the price of a brand new one. A few minutes after I posted it, my messenger lit up. By the time I sold it to the first responder the next day, I had had 15 serious inquiries. The buyer came all the way from Cavite on Maundy Thursday, so there was no traffic. From our chitchat he seemed like an unsung but working professional musician. So I warned him about the throwoff, gave suggestions on tuning and maintenance, and sent him on his way.
At the same time I planned the sale, I called all the JB branches in the area, and asked if they had the upgrade drum I wanted, a Pearl Firecracker steel 10” x 5” (FCS1050), which would on sale for 25% off. I found one in Cubao. So I called my suki in Trinoma to get it so I could pick it up from them. I got it on Easter Sunday, replaced the stock heads with a Coated Ambassador batter and Aquarian Classic Clear snare side, and tuned it high.
A Firecracker for Easter. PANG!
Lately I thought of upgrading the throw off, but that would entail not just buying better parts, but drilling holes in the soft and fragile wood shell to accommodate them. In the end, I finally decided on another first. It would be the first time I would ever sell one of my working musical instruments, and replace it with something better. So I cleaned and preened it to mint condition, posted it in the Facebook marketplace, and priced it at 30% off the price of a brand new one. A few minutes after I posted it, my messenger lit up. By the time I sold it to the first responder the next day, I had had 15 serious inquiries. The buyer came all the way from Cavite on Maundy Thursday, so there was no traffic. From our chitchat he seemed like an unsung but working professional musician. So I warned him about the throwoff, gave suggestions on tuning and maintenance, and sent him on his way.
At the same time I planned the sale, I called all the JB branches in the area, and asked if they had the upgrade drum I wanted, a Pearl Firecracker steel 10” x 5” (FCS1050), which would on sale for 25% off. I found one in Cubao. So I called my suki in Trinoma to get it so I could pick it up from them. I got it on Easter Sunday, replaced the stock heads with a Coated Ambassador batter and Aquarian Classic Clear snare side, and tuned it high.
A Firecracker for Easter. PANG!
