Ringing in snare

M

mjau

New member
Sorry is this has been covered...
I'm pretty new to recording drums, and am having a problem removing some ringing from a snare. It is a steel 14x5.5 yamaha from a stage custom set. I've replaced the top head with an Evans ST dry, and have that head tuned up pretty well (I think). The snare gets a decent initial transient pop, but the ringing sound afterwards is pretty ugly. I've tried tuning the bottom head a number of ways, but can't seem to get rid of it. I can compress some of that sound out, but I'd rather rely on proper snare setup.
What can be done? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...
 
tune it down a little, the most common tuneing mistake i see is people tuneing the snare too high.

then maby try some moon-gel.
 
And if that doesn't work then use Duct Tape on the bottom of the snare it may be ghetto but it works.
 
Why is everyone solutions on here duct tape or moongel. Oh my you can use other methods that won't make it ugly. My drums have no muting in them at all and they sound amazing.
 
maby you should go visit him in IL, and tune his kit for him.

and buy him a kit with heads just like yours

and teach him to play just like you do.

that would probably do it, no moon gel or nothing!
 
I say you use a moongel also. Try dropping the tuning of the top head lower than the bottom also, that tends to work the best for my snare. You get more of a slamming attack and punch it seems when you lower the top head.
 
I have to chime in here, cuz I've struggled with the same issue. I have a an old Ludwig steel snare and use the Evans ST dry head as well. Moon Gels are very effective, but feminine pads or panty liners cut to size work too. I like just two little halves placed at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock between the nearest lugs on either side. I use a cloudy resonant head, not the crystal clear variety, which helps.

Also, I second the top head tuned lower than the bottom, which I like nice and tight for that Helmet sound (don't laugh, but I get all nostalgic about it).
 
Now, my suggestion?

Get a PINSTRIPE. You'll have a good fat snare sound without any need for muffling.

Need a coated head? Get a coated Pinstipe.


Tim
 
Evans Genera HD Dry. This head will help.

If there is nothing physically wrong with the drum, you just don't have it tuned properly. Tap the head next to a lug, listen to the pitch. Now tap the opposite lug, it should be the same pitch. Do this for all the lugs. You might have to go around twice to make sure they are all the same.

If it still rings, tighten the strainer.

If it still isn't right, it's the bottom head.

This all assumes the the heads aren't all dented up.
 
Usually too much ring is a tuning problem. However, be careful. You probably don't want to get rid of all of it. When I first started recording (I'm an engineer and guitar player, not a drummer), I would try to get the snare real dead, with no ring. When I listen to those recordings now, I wish I hadn't killed the snare so much.

Now days, when I get to the mix stage, it's not unusual for me to wish I had more snare ring. Now, of course, this is all related to the context of the music. Sometime a real dead snare is what you want.

You also mention that you are able to reduce some of the ring with compression. That seems counter to my experience. In general, compression brings out the ring. Are you sure compression is helping your situation, or is it really making it worse?
 
Just go get some moongels. They're cheap and handy, you won't regret it. Tuning is not the panacea some folks make it out to be. You've got a problem because you don't like how it sounds - don't worry about what other people say, or how awesome other people's drums are. The only thing that should concern you is how it sounds to you.

Moongels are better than tape because they won't leave adhesive on your head.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out for you.
 
Brad_C said:
Why is everyone solutions on here duct tape or moongel. Oh my you can use other methods that won't make it ugly. My drums have no muting in them at all and they sound amazing.
Click to expand...




Hey Brad, looking forward to hearing your amazing sounding drums. You can probably teach us all a thing or two. :rolleyes:
 
it has to be said that your snare drum isn't helping you. i have one of those as i havnt sold it and its a real pain to tune well. the best thing you can do on a budget would be to get some self adhesive rubber floor tile and cut a strip that runs around the edge of the drum about 7/8" long. if you can get it to touch the rim then thats even better. however if you have a spare £200 get a luddy 400
 
By acciden, while I was trying differnt things to control snare/toms ...I've found this things work great to my taste ...well and I guess it also depends on snare/tuning/playing style/technique.
Just drop one/two/few near the rim (No press-air-sucking, just let it lay feely), move it(them) around while striking, depending on how you strike/and where you strike you may find the "right" location for the cup(s) to get it sounding "right".
well, I know... this "method" is rather silly and sure is not "professional" ..heh heh :p , but it works for me on snare. (btw, it Does not do any good on floor toms.... the cups are jumping too high and creating buzzzzzz, but on snare - it works cool :) )
My guess is, that the reason why it works well , (maybe!) because as you strike the head - the cup(s) actually jump up and there's no muffling during that short period of time, then the cup lands and stops the ringing. So, the harder you strike - the higher they jump - the longer "NO Ring-Dump Time Period".. hah hah, so it's like "mechanical gete" sort of speak - LOL. Of course the difference in time is very small and the time period while the cups are in the air is very short, but I think it is 'long enough' to actually affect the sound. And the cups are not so hard and not so soft, so they do not work the same as napkin or sock...and the same time are not so noisy as the jump/land.

You may try it. These cups are also come in vary sizes. I've got 1-3/4" ones, and mine are Adams (every cup has: PAT PEND ADAMS MFG Made In USA on it :D )... I guess there are other brands out there.... but I don't know about "sound quality" of other brands - no experience :D

that's just my freaky-trick :D
here, I've made a shot of 'em on my snare...picture attached
 

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Brad_C said:
Why is everyone solutions on here duct tape or moongel. Oh my you can use other methods that won't make it ugly. My drums have no muting in them at all and they sound amazing.
Click to expand...

ok then lets hear what you did.... lol
 
If you take an old towel and cut a 2x2 inch square, tape half of it to your head so it makes a flap. This will let the head have some tone without letting it ring out of control.
 
skipwave said:
but feminine pads or panty liners cut to size work too. I like just two little halves placed at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock between the nearest lugs on either side.
Click to expand...

What does the missus have to say about you using her protection for such devices?
 
This thread is two months old so i doubt that mjau is going to see this post, but.. Is it just the recodred sound that irks you, or are you having trouble with excessive resonance live as well? If its a recording only problem, then I'd play with mic placement, your close mic might be too close. most of the snare sound should be coming from the overheads with the close mic just there for the attack. I'm am now getting the best recorded snare I've ever gotten, and that is without using any close mics.
 
Wow - don't think I've checked this thread since last June. I ended up using moongel, tuned it differently, AND played w/ mic placement (and mic selection). Still not great, but much closer to how I want the recorded snare to sound. Thanks for the input, everyone.
 
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