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“What Makes These Wires So Special?”
Bibin snare wires are handmade by Zoran Bibin in Serbia using the finest alloys. Each set is calibrated and designed to lay as flat as possible on your snare drum, helping to reduce snare buzz*. Bibin wires buttplates are low profile and allow maximum snare contact with the resonant head.
What’s With The Different Gauges?
- Think of snare wire gauges as if they were different grades of sandpaper. A thinner wire is going to provide a finer and smoother “buzz”, whereas a heavier wire will offer a brasher sound.
- Thinner wires are great for lower volume settings, while the heavier models lend themselves to more projection. Silk vs burlap.
- Finally, thinner wires also make the snare drum sound fatter, as their actuation is a mellower sound; they seem to “flex” more under a stick, and it’s a pleasing tactile feeling. Thicker wires will offer more cut and rigidity.
You’ve chosen the perfect heads, sticks, counterhoops, even your favorite throwoff mechanism. Why stop at the snare wires? It’s your sound to dial in. Discover your unique gauge!
*Snare buzz is going to happen, no matter what. It’s all within the environment of the specific snare drum, and how well its tuning and that of the other drums relate to one another.
I never would have thought that the snare wires could make such a big difference, but they sure do.
I tried some sets on my favorite snares based on a recommendation, as well, and they made an instantaneous difference!
These wires completely transformed my drums.
For years I’ve used another brand of wires that, in their heyday, were really special. Finding Bibin’s wires were like going back to a time 30 years ago when I felt great about what I was putting under my drums. They really do make a difference!
These Bibin wires have been game changers for me on several snares.
They are extremely well soldered, very straight, and sit quite flush with the resonant head regardless of the drum’s particular snare beds and what cord I am using. They provide great articulation and clarity without being overly dry and without having to over tighten them. Coming from Canopus, Ludwig, and the Noble & Cooley Cam Action wires, these Bibins really deliver and are a noticeable improvement on all the snares I’ve tried them on.
He meticulously hand-builds wires that fit common drums, unusual drums, historic drums, unique drums, and much to my pleasure, he makes them to fit the Premier Royal Ace.
When I was a kid back in the ’60s, my first drum kit was an early ’60s Premier. Included in that kit was a Royal Ace snare drum. That design featured a parallel throw snare mechanism that kept constant tension on the wires, and extended the wires out past the shell of the drum. It was a pretty advanced system, but if you’re a kid and you don’t know just what to do with it, it’s a struggle. It was for me, anyway. Another part of the mystery was that the snare wires themselves were unique. Instead of the normal 20 or 25 strand set of wires that you run a string through and tie off on the strainer, and clamp to a snare butt on the other side, these Premier wires came as a pair of 10 strand units, with a u-shaped extension that slid over a horizontal bar at each end of the snare mechanism. No strings to tie, just drop the wires over the bars, tighten them up, and Bob’s your uncle. Cool, but I never could get mine to sound right to my young ears.
Fast forward to Spring 2023, and I’m overtaken with nostalgia when I walk into a Colorado drum shop and spot a clone of that snare drum that was on my first kit. The owner makes me a ridiculous deal, and I take it home. It’s nice and clean, and the only thing missing is… the same thing that’s always missing on these Premier drums… the snare wires. Because Premier hasn’t made them in decades, and whoever else made them stopped doing so a long time ago.
Except…
…this guy in Serbia named Zoran Bibin.
And apparently, he meticulously hand-builds wires that fit common drums, unusual drums, historic drums, unique drums, and much to my pleasure, he makes them to fit the Premier Royal Ace.
I don’t know much about the process of making snare wires, but I can tell you that any of the issues that I had with getting a sound out of my Royal Ace when I was a kid are gone. Instead of splitting them into the Premier-style double tens, the Bibin wires are a good old-fashioned 20 strand setup, and a perfect fit for my Royal Ace. (Can somebody please tell me why Premier did the two-unit Double 10 thing?) There’s no rattling and buzzing, the drum is crisp and focused. When I bought it, I figured that old Premier drum would just be a decorative piece, a bow to my earliest drumming days. But these snares have brought it to life in a way I had not anticipated. It’s going to see some gig time.
Andrew Hambleton
June 25, 2023
Olathe, Kansas
Thanks so much for my Bibin Snare Wires you were able to acquire for my Pearl Jupiter Snare.
I have not been able to find any available anywhere to fit my Jupiter Snare until I became aware of you and Bibin Snares. The snare strand fits perfectly, sounds great and I have the Snare Drum back.
Having recently acquired a 1920’s Ludwig Supersensitive snare drum, minus snare wires I was at a loss finding a replacement.
Happy to have located Bibin snare wires through a recommendation from West Coast Drum Shop via Don Bennett. Thankfully Zoran & Bill, through their dedication and commitment were able to provide excellent custom snare wires that brought this antique drum back to life. Most importantly, the wires are of high quality with attention to detail, the drum sounds fantastic and is a joy to play. I’m so grateful and thoroughly recommend their wires for your vintage, or modern drum.
Sincerely,
Jim
Loving the 16 strand wires. Durable, responsive, musical. Highly recommend!
I just put the wide model with thin wires on a 6 inch Maple Drum Workshop snare with Remo heads. It sounds great especially when playing light.
I just put the wide model with thin wires on a 6 inch Maple Drum Workshop snare with Remo heads. It sounds great especially when playing light. It allows the tone of the drum to come through and it has a smooth effect in the decay of the drum’s note. I used it on a recording session and was very pleased with the results. You’ll be surprised of what difference the thin wires make on your dynamics.
