This New Anton Fig Signature Snare Drum uses a 14" x 6", solid-black, finished-maple shell with a newly developed vintage-style wood hoop for a more natural sound. The ten-lug design offers minimum shell-to-lug contact, which allows the shell to vibrate freely. Here's what Anton had to say about his signature snare: "A few years ago, Yamaha asked me if I wanted to have a signature line of snare drum. I was very honored and jumped at the opportunity. I had been experimenting with wooden hoop drums, so we decided to build one of those for me. The first prototype hurt my ears a bit and I made some sonic and design suggestions—they got it right on the second try. "This drum really works. It is very simple in that it has a basic snare mechanism and lugs. The shell is a thin 6-ply maple and the rims are very strong with 19 plies of maple. I have been bashing on the drum at the show for a few years now in the same spot and there is very little sign of wear on the rim. "I love the sound of it because you can get a deep strong bottom and a lot of crack on the top. The cross-stick sound is also phenomenal. I use a Remo CS batter head (white coated with black dot on the underside) to get my sound. Sometimes I put a half-inch Deadringer on it if I want to dampen it a bit. I usually make the bottom head a little tighter than the top, which is at medium tension. It really works well, both live and in the studio. "Kevin Shirley—the producer who mixed 'Know Where You Go' and 'Any Way That You Want Me' for me—uses it all the time. In fact, he insists all his drummers use it—from Aerosmith to Journey—because it records so well. "I'm not just raving about it because it is my model. I truly believe this is a quality drum."