The more lugs a drum has the easier it is to tune and the better it maintains tune. A drum that has fewer lugs should be avoided as this is generally a sign of cost cutting. 8 lug snares are extremly common, there have been more 10 lug snares come out in recent yrs. If tuning seems like work to you, get you a drum dial tuner. They work very well and are very easy to use, if you can afford one. I think they cost around $50

thanks, but what about vintage drums that are all mostly 6 or 8 lugs?

My 1964 6-lug Pioneer sounds great and is easy to tune.

Love my 8-lug Acrolite, too!

And Supras are the perfect snare drum!

Go figure!

I would think the tension would be less consistant on a 6 lug vs a 10 lug snare. From my own experience it is a bit harder to tune a 6 lug. 8 and 10 lugs are the same to me. Once tuned though, they can all sound good, just different.

Ditto, except the 6 lug I have is a Slingy

Must be an oldie !!

Got a pic?

:Santa:

I have found that the main difference for me between 10 and 6 is the tuning range more than being able to tune it at all. 10 and 8 are pretty much the same for me.

Cheers,BigE

I've noticed that 10 lugs also tune a bit "drier" than 6 and 8 lug models. I prefer 8 or 10 lugs, myself...

This is true; I have a 6 lug Slingerland in blue ripple pearl which really sings much more that any 8 or 10 lug snare I own.

I like it a lot, but now that I'm using calf skin heads on it, 8 lugs would be easier to tune.

To get the same tension on a 6-lug, the tension at every lug has to be higher than on a 8- or 10-lug.

I think 8 lugs is the best compromise between tunability and openness of the sound.

10 lugs are just too much for me; they make the snare too heavy and I get confused while tuning with the opposite lug system.