Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Review

Benny Greb’s signature snare drum is one of the most widely used signature snares around. The latest updated version takes the original concept and improves it in every way. 

The new version has stopped the production of the older one, so you’ll be buying the 2.0 snare when you get a Benny Greb Signature. 

The snare has a few standout features that are resemblant to vintage snare drums, so you get the vintage appeal in a modern package. The built-in internal dampeners allow you to muffle the snare very quickly, and the Teardrop lugs are similar to the lugs that were used on drums in the mid-20th century. 

In terms of sounds, Benny Greb’s snare covers just about everything depending on how you tune it. However, it has an overall richness and deepness to it. The unique tones are largely thanks to the arbitrary shell size. 

We’re going to take a deeper look into all the features offered by the Benny Greb snare to help you decide if it’s worth buying. 

Sonor Benny Greb Beech Signature Snare Gallery

Contents

Sonor Benny Greb Beech Signature Snare Ratings

Sounds

5

5/5

Build Quality

5

5/5

Playability

5

5/5

Finish

3

3/5

Value

4

4/5

Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Sound Quality

The sound quality of the Sonor Benny Greb snare is its biggest selling point. It’s made from nine plies of beech wood, and beech is a harder wood than most others used for making drums. 

Its density causes the snare to have a rich sound that sits on the deeper side. Even when this snare is tuned high, you get an underlying deep tonal impact that sounds amazing. 

The snare has unique tone qualities thanks to its abnormal shell size. The diameter is 13”, and the depth is 5.75”. 

While 13” snare drums are quite common, a 5.75” depth is something that you don’t see every day. It gives the snare a bit more resonance and character than one with a more common 5.5” depth. 

It has a wide tuning range and maintains its rich tone across all tuning settings. This is what makes it so versatile. It will sound beefy when tuned low and piercing when tuned high. 

Another contributor to its versatility is the internal dampening. 

There are two levers on either side of the badge that each control a dampening arm. When lifted, the arm presses a piece of material to the bottom of the batter head inside the snare. One arm has a sheep wool piece, and the other has a cymbal felt. 

You can opt to use the dampening arms individually or at the same time, giving you amazing control over the sound of the snare. 

Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Build Quality

The Benny Greb 2.0 snare is built extremely well for the most part. It comes equipped with 2.3mm Power Hoops. These are triple-flanged hoops, and they give the drum a more focused attack. While triple-flanged hoops typically bring out more overtones than die-cast hoops do, the internal dampeners do well to counter this. 

The snare is equipped with Sonor’s Dual Glide snare throw-off. It’s a fantastic throw-off system that gives you a surprising amount of control over the snare wires. 

In terms of visuals, the snare has vintage Teardrop lugs. These are one of the most noticeable changes compared to the older version of the snare. If you’re into vintage appeal, these lugs will be right up your alley. 

When looking at the build structure of the dampeners, you’ll see that they work on MonoRail mechanisms. You can tighten a dampener in place and then loosen it to move it off the head.

These rails are very sturdy on the outside of the snare. However, the arms that sit on the inside that hold the dampening material are fairly flimsy. You’ll need to be careful with these whenever you leave the inside of the snare exposed. 

Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Playability

If you’re not used to playing on 13” snare drums, it may take some time to get used to how the Benny Greb snare feels. The biggest difference compared to a 14” snare will be the amount of space you have between the snare and your legs. 

Another difference is that the batter head will feel a bit tighter to play on with the same tunings that you would have with a 14” snare. 

This is a high-end snare drum from Sonor, so it feels incredible to play on. The hardware used to hold it together is heavy-duty, making the snare drum give you the assuring feeling that it’s going to handle anything you throw at it. 

The internal monorail dampening system prevents the need for placing things like Moongels or tape on the surface, protecting the top head. Having a clean surface also makes it easier to play with brushes. 

As I said earlier, it’s one of the most versatile snare drums from Sonor. This means that you can use it for just about everything. There is a louder, more punchy brass option available, but I’ll get to that a bit later.  

The snare comes equipped with a stock Remo USA head that features a Sonor logo on it. It’s a lot better than many stock drumheads that come with new snare drums, and you’ll be able to get a killer tone from the snare with this head. 

Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Finish

To complement the beech shell, an inlay of bubinga surrounds the drum to give it a distinguishable look and add a bit of character. The wooden exterior of this snare drum is what has made it so recognizable over the past decade. 

The downside of this snare, and most other signature snares, is that you don’t get a choice when it comes to the finish. If you’re getting the beech version, you have one color option. This won’t bother most drummers. Thankfully, the wooden aesthetic fits well with most drum kit colors. However, it may stop a few selective drummers from getting the snare if they want a color that matches their kit. 

Sonor Benny Greb Signature Snare 2.0 Value

The Benny Greb 2.0 snare’s top-tier construction means it comes with a top-tier price tag. The snare costs over $1000, making it a huge investment to consider. You’ll mostly find custom snare drums at this price, so it won’t be an easy purchase. 

When thinking of its tonal versatility and internal dampening system, I’d say it’s well worth the price you pay for it. However, not all drummers are willing to pay that much money for a single snare drum.

There are dozens of professional snare drums around $600 or so that sound amazing as well, and getting one of those may be a better option for drummers with a lower budget. 

However, this is the type of snare that will prevent you from needing multiple snare drums to get particular sounds. It’s very capable of achieving a wide variety of tones, saving you from buying more snares to add to a collection. 

Verdict

The Benny Greb 2.0 snare is an amazing drum for anyone who can afford it. It’s an excellent option for drummers who tend to play multiple styles of music on different stages, and it works well as a recording snare drum too. 

If you like the appeal of vintage snare drums but want a more modern package, this is the snare drum for you. It has so much value, making it a fantastic addition to anyone’s snare drum collection. 

Just note that the cost is a little steep, and there are plenty of professional snare drums that are more economical to check out if you’re not too keen on spending over $1000 on a snare drum. 

Brass Option

Along with the new 2.0 version of the beech snare, Sonor and Benny Greb also introduced a brass version. It has all the same design features, with the only difference being a 1.2mm brass shell. This shell makes the snare sound a lot louder and more cracking than the beech version. It also costs a bit less, making it a highly viable option to consider. 

It’s a more preferable choice if you play heavy music. The louder volume will help when you need the snare to cut through a mix during live shows.