Rick Dior on What Makes Dialtune Different

When a drummer like Rick Dior spends serious time with an instrument, you can hear the difference in how he talks about it. Not hype. Not buzzwords. Just honest feedback from someone who knows what great snare drums feel like under the stick.

In this video, Rick compares two Dialtune snares—a nickel over brass model and a maple model—against some of his favorite snare drums, including vintage classics and high-end one-offs. What stands out most is not just the range of sounds he gets, but how quickly he gets there.

A Real Player’s Take

Rick approaches this review like a working drummer. He’s been using the nickel over brass snare on gigs and in the studio, and his takeaway is simple: it works.

“It’s a great drum. And what makes it so great is that you can change the heads really fast and you can tune the drum to any tuning really fast.”

Whether you’re moving between sessions, changing heads before a set, or chasing a sound that lives somewhere between tight, dry articulation and wide-open ring, Dialtune lets you get there without breaking your flow.

Two Shells, Two Different Voices

One of the most useful parts of Rick’s review is how clearly he describes the difference between the two Dialtune snares he tested.

Nickel Over Brass

According to Rick, the nickel over brass drum feels a little tighter and more sensitive, with extra snap and a longer, purer sustain. At higher tunings, it delivers plenty of crack and responds quickly around the edges. For players who want articulation, cut, and a fast feel, that voice is immediately compelling.

Maple

The maple version, finished in a honey maple look, pulled Rick in for different reasons. He describes it as more absorbent under the stick—less snappy than the brass, but fuller and more immersive to play. It still tunes across a huge range, but with a different kind of warmth and body.

“They are completely different sounding and feeling drums. Both great, but different.”

Fast Head Changes. Full Control.

Rick spends a lot of time showing the practical side of the instrument: changing heads, adjusting snare tension, matching pitches, and moving between tunings without reaching for a drum key. 

Instead of treating tuning like a chore between songs or setups, he treats it like part of the musical process. He loosens both heads together, listens to the shell, fine-tunes the response, and quickly reshapes the feel of the drum in real time. That freedom is exactly what Dialtune was built for.

Compared to the Classics

Rick brought out some of his favorites: a Ludwig Black Beauty, a Gretsch 4160, a Slingerland Gene Krupa model, a Canopus Zelkova, a Gladstone, a Craviotto, and a vintage WFL Ray McKinley snare.

These aren’t “before and after” comparisons meant to put down traditional drums. Rick clearly loves those instruments. What’s exciting is hearing how quickly the Dialtune snares can move toward different personalities while still sounding like serious instruments in their own right.

In some cases, the Dialtune maple held its own against drums with totally different shell construction and edge philosophies. In one comparison, Rick flat-out preferred the Dialtune response. In others, he pointed out where older drums still have a unique magic. 

Why This Matters

We build drums. But players like Rick help show what they can become.

Dialtune is not about replacing every drum you already love. It’s about giving drummers faster access to more usable sounds, more control over feel, and more room to experiment without losing time or momentum. That’s especially meaningful when it comes from someone who has spent decades developing his ears, hands, and standards.

Rick’s review is a reminder that innovation only matters if it holds up in the real world—on sessions, on gigs, in comparisons, and under the hands of players who know exactly what they’re listening for.

That’s the kind of conversation we want to be part of. Honest, curious, drummer-first.