Provenance Ardbeg 14” x 6.25” Snare Drum

I’ve looked at a number of Provenance snare drums over the years, both in metal and wood, and you can read about some of them;

HERE;

and HERE.

However, Tim from Provenance recently very kindly let me have another drum to look at.

Provenance make drums from reclaimed materials, be it wood or metal. This particular drum used to be a whisky barrel. A whisky barrel from the Ardbeg Distillery in Scotland to be more specific.

If you’ve ever bought a brand new drum, you’ll know that ‘new wood’ smell you get when you take the head off. It can be a great smell. Well, this drum still faintly smells of whisky, so if you happen to like a tipple, this might be for you.

The particular wood used for the shell is American White Oak, which as you’ll see from the video, is quite fair in colour. The shell has been treated to hand finished 45 degree bearing edges and vintage style snare beds.

The drum also features Aquarian heads top and bottom, 8 tube lugs, a Nickleworks strainer and butt plate, Puresound wires and triple flanged hoops.

This is a solid feeling drum to play.

Some snare drums feel a thin when played with a bit of force, but this drum felt good and sturdy, and I liked that. I find it reassuring and comfortable; it gives a confidence that the drum will go with me if I want to push a little further.

I preferred this snare at a medium level tuning but also enjoyed it tuned quite low where it gave a very ’70’s sound, although it really needed a small bit of dampening to control the ring to complete that sound.

This is a stave shell, which means it’s constructed from vertical blocks glued together.

To look at, while the outside of the shell is relatively uniform in colour and finish, but the inside is where you can see the character of the wood.

The shell has been finished to a high standard, as you would expect with a bespoke instrument, and unlike some more run-of-the-mill mass produced drums, the inside is just as interesting visually as the outside.

All in all, I think this is another nice snare drum from Provenance. As I mentioned, it feels good to play, is visually interesting and has a strong sound.