$6K PRS Line 6 Giveaway

DW Performance Series Snare Drum - 5.5 x 14 inch - Cherry Stain Lacquer

5.5" x 14" Maple Snare Drum with 3.0mm Triple-flanged Hoops - Cherry Stain Lacquer
Share
Item ID: PSS5514CS
DW Performance Series Snare Drum - 5.5 x 14 inch - Cherry Stain Lacquer
Price:$637 and 00 cents
Special Financing - Ends Aug 2, 2026. $18/month with 36 month financing*

We Can Get It!

While this isn't an item we normally stock, we can still get it due to our great relationship with DW. Go ahead and place your order and we'll follow up shortly to let you know when to expect it. Estimated July 2026.

Add to Cart
Sales engineer photo
Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

DW Performance Series Snare Drum - 5.5 x 14 inch - Cherry Stain Lacquer
We Can Get It!
Price:$637 and 00 cents
Add to Cart
Add to list
Skip to Description
Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Frequently Asked Questions

DW Performance Series Snare Drum - 5.5 x 14 inch - Cherry Stain Lacquer

Q: What kind of sound can I expect from the DW Performance Series Snare Drum?

Q: What makes the DW Performance Series Snare Drum durable and reliable?

Q: Who is the DW Performance Series Snare Drum designed for?

Q: What are the key features of the DW Performance Series Snare Drum's hardware?

Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

USA Maple Snare from the DW Performance Series

Whether you're craving a matching snare for your Performance Series shell pack or a quality maple snare at an unassuming price, you can't go wrong with the DW Performance Series snare from Sweetwater. Its 10-ply HVX maple shell is crisp, sensitive, and cutting, capable of delivering powerful backbeats to your audience or into a microphone. Triple-flanged steel hoops pack a hearty rimshot and a deep pocket. Unique to the Performance Series are DW's low-profile Quarter Turret lugs and a range of specialty wrap, lacquer, and satin finishes.

DW Performance Series vs DW Collector's Series

Unlike the 100% custom Collector's Series, the DW Performance Series maximizes value by limiting configurable options. If you're in the market for an authentic American DW playing experience at a real-world price, look no further than the Performance Series.

Specialty Performance finishes

DW Performance Series snares are available in several finish options. Choose hand-applied lacquer and satin stains for a contemporary look; or for something more classic, choose DW's durable FinishPly wraps, sourced from Delmar USA's UV-treated specialty plastics.

Your dream kit awaits

As the nation's largest DW Performance Series dealer, Sweetwater stocks nearly every shell size and finish available in the line. Your dream kit is just a click or call away.

5.5" x 14" and 8" x 14" snares in Natural Lacquer finish. Single-ended lugs available on 8" depths only.

HVX maple shell

Performance Series snare drums begin with DW's US-built, handcrafted HVX hard rock North American maple shells. The HVX grain orientation arranges wood plies horizontally, vertically, and diagonally for a deep and satisfying fundamental. Shells are baked in pressure molds (2600 PSI at 200°F) then immediately Cool Tempered to crystallize the glue, maximizing strength, roundness, and resonance. John Good's 60° bearing edges promise effortless playability, whatever your style.

Proprietary DW hardware

Unique to the Performance Series are DW's reduced-size Quarter Turret lugs. These offer a decidedly sleeker, more modern appearance that many DW artists prefer. A closer look reveals much of the same hardware found throughout the DW's Collector's Series:

  • Fine-threaded True-Pitch tension rods maximize tuning accuracy
  • DW's magnetic MAG throw off locks snare wires in the "on" position or tenors them completely to eliminate sympathetic buzz
  • DW-branded Remo heads promise great tone and tuning from day one

DW Performance Series Snare Drum Features:

  • Matching snare drum for your DW Performance Series kit
  • A quality snare at an unassuming price
  • Handcrafted and finished in Oxnard, California
  • Quarter Turret lugs are sleek and recognizable
  • 10-ply HVX maple shell is crisp, sensitive, and cutting
  • Heat forming/Cool Tempering maximizes shell strength, roundness, and resonance
  • 60° bearing edges favored by John Good
  • Triple-flanged steel hoops deliver a fat, open attack
  • MAG magnetic throw off locks snares in the "on" position
  • Fine-threaded True-Pitch tension rods enhance tuning accuracy
  • DW's Tuning Sequence batter head with control dot streamlines tuning
DW's Tuning Sequence batter head cuts down on tuning time.

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Type: Snare drum
  • Drum Depth: 5.5"
  • Drum Diameter: 14"
  • Shell Material: North American Maple HVX
  • Shell Construction: 10-ply
  • Hoops: 3.0mm Triple-flanged
  • Lugs: 10 x Quarter Turret Lugs
  • Color: Cherry Stain
  • Finish: Gloss Lacquer
  • Heads: DW by Remo USA
  • Manufacturer Part Number: DPQHM5514SCX323

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Reviews

AWESOME DRUM
This has got to be THE GREATEST maple snare drum EVER! The tone is incredible, and by adjusting the snare tension, you can get a TON of tones. I've never even needed to retune. However, I will warn you: It's still a wood snare. If you want a HUGE snare that doesn't sound like wood (because it's not), go with a Ludwig. However, this a GREAT snare.
Music background: Professional Drummer
This is truly a fine musical instrument.
I originally wanted to give this a 4.5 star rating because for some reason, the heads were not *properly* installed and tuned up. They were too loose and the tension was extremely uneven. The sound it produced out of the box was completely unusable (this wasn't a surprise though because the 6-piece Performance Series kit and 7-piece PDP Concept Maple sets I put together had the exact same problem). Fortunately, something happened that was awesome and totally unexpected. Read on. :)

When I discovered that the heads seemed to have been installed by someone who doesn't know what they are doing (or doesn't care), I thought I was going to find that they're permanently damaged from sitting in the box so long with that uneven tension just like I had with the two sets I mentioned parenthetically above (yeah, I had to replace all the heads on those drums). So, I carelessly "tuned" the drum without testing the sound ONCE (I fully expected to be replacing the heads at this point). All I did for both heads was I raised the tension to something that felt normal and mostly even to me with my ~20 years of tuning experience, and then I played one solitary note on the drum. I mean, I only hit the drum once. After that, I was instantly in love! I sat there for a few seconds in disbelief at what I just heard. There I was, hearing a FANTASTIC sound from these heads that were installed extremely carelessly by someone.

So then I kept playing it. I couldn't stop. This thing is unbelievable! It has a sound that has to be heard to be believed. It's powerful and yet extremely musical. It has a very very very wide tuning range and it always produces a fantastic sound in all tunings. This snare is truly a fine musical instrument. It's very easy to play this drum too because it's almost plays itself due to being quite loud. It definitely projects! Even so, it's fully capable of being super quiet too. It is truly a high-end DW maple snare drum. It is truly a fine musical instrument.

I'm still using the stock heads and even the stock snare wires (but I realize that these are actually high-end DW stock heads and snare wires). I purchased my preferred heads and wires before buying this snare with a plan to replace them all immediately, except now I don't want to! I haven't even taken these heads off yet to have that fun of inspecting the interior and admiring the DW craftsmanship and I've had this snare since early December of 2016!

Then there's the awesome DW MAG Snare Throw-Off (but with a standard style but stylish butt-plate, so it's not the full system). This thing is awesome for more than just the magnetic design that holds the lever up. The tension adjustment knob is designed in such a way where even turning it just a couple of millimeters adjusts the snare wire tension noticeably. It's extremely convenient because making big adjustments to the snare wire tension can be done SUPER fast with this. I used to hate changing my snare wire tension for certain songs because sometimes I didn't have enough time and I'd have to continue trying to find the right tension after the song started, but now I just make one little adjustment and I'm done. Even if I need to make another adjustment after the song starts, that's fine because it's super easy with this. Even though noticeable changes can be made with super tiny adjustments to the knob, it's still super easy to make extremely tiny changes for fine-tuning the tension.

Unfortunately, I have to nit-pick something, but I think it's something most people don't care about. There's one more reason why I wanted to give this a 4.5-star rating. Out of the box, this snare drum was rather dusty and it had some sort of greasy or oily finger prints in several places on the shell, lugs, snare throw-off, and the hoops. So yeah, I had to clean it. Well I guess I didn't *have* to, but still. No, the fingerprints weren't coming from me (I checked, and besides that, I washed my hands just before unboxing it).

Anyway, so yeah, this snare drum is truly a fine musical instrument. My only disappointment is, DW didn't do the high-gloss lacquer on the inside of my snare. I am guessing they decided to stop "enhancing brightness and attack" with that. So, this disappointment is extremely mild. I was really only looking forward to seeing the clear high-gloss lacquer on the inside for myself. I was thinking that I'd like to see that in person to admire the beauty. The snare still produces an absolutely fantastic sound with a "normal" interior. I think I'm glad they didn't do the high-gloss lacquer on the inside because this snare doesn't need enhanced brightness or attack. It's perfect as it is!
Music background: Playing drums semi-professionally for close to 24 years
See also: Snares, DW, DW Snare Drums