Snare sound

S

sketterman

New member
Hello all,

Some of you may have spotted me in other areas here asking noob questions, and I've got another one right here :-)

For those who are reading as my first post, yes, I am VERY new to home recording, and I am the drummer in a band that a buddy of mine are forming.

Not having huge amounts of cash, I bought the Audix Fusion 7 mic kit, and with those mics, I can get a pretty nice kick sound, and a decent tom sound as well, but I cant seem to get anything with my snare that I like. I'm using a 14x5.5 pork pie piglite snare, it still has the factory heads on it (3+ years old now) but I never changed them because it sounds amazing live. My room is not bad acoustically either.

I'm wondering how much different (better) a sound I can achieve by changing out the head? Would keeping the same head but using a 57 make a world of difference? I'm not using any preamps, only a mackie 1604 vlz pro, then into a tascam MTR.

Please have a quick listen to the first track that plays at this link:

www.myspace.com/friendsoffoes09

What you are hearing is the latest recording I did using the equipment listed above. I dont think its a TERRIBLE snare sound, but its nothing exciting by any stretch.

Would it be worth it to upgrade the heads on the snare or get a better snare mic or both? I've tried mic'ing the bottom head as well, which made the snare track louder overall, but not better, in fact, the bottom snare mic sounded HORRIBLE. I'm gonna do a search here for micing the bottom snare head, but in the meantime, any advice from some fellow drummers? Thanks gents.
 
If you say it sounds good live, it should sound good recorded. I'm not familiar with the mic you say you're using, but a 57 should be fine. But, I don't know, a 3 year old factory head????

As far as micing the bottom head is concerned, I've never needed to even try it. But I know that if you do, you have to flip the polarity on the bottom mic.
 
I've heard this before, and I THINK I read that there would be a switch on the mic to do this, but my mics dont have that option. Is there another way to go about doing this?

Oh about the head, yeah, tomorrow I'm going to guitar center for some new snare skins for sure. Even while I was typing my first post I felt as if I was reading someones elses post and a 3 year old factory head?? No wonder Im not able to get a good sound haha.
 
Choices:

  • Record it on a separate track and use software to reverse the polarity.
  • Use a pre that has a phase reverse switch.
  • Use an adapter that switches the polarity for you.
  • Take an XLR cable apart and swap the two non-ground wires.

Unless you're trying to do this for live sound, I would tend to recommend the first one....
 
If your snare sounds good live, then changing your heads isn't going to fix your recording issues. I'd be more concerned with mic choice, mic placement, room acoustics, and the way you're processing the snare, to be honest. A snare that sounds good live will sound good recorded, provided you are using the right technique and equipment.

Now, given that you're using the Fusion kit by Audix, I take it you're using an Audix F10 on the snare? From my experience with this mic, it would be the first I'd replace in the Fusion kit. They go alright on the toms, the F15's can get a good overhead sound, and the F12 can get an alright sound from the kick; but I wouldn't count on getting a ripping snare sound from an F10.

When I was using the Fusion kit, I replaced the F10 with an SM57, which I later replaced with a Beyer M201. It was well worth it.

With all that being said though, replacing the heads definitely won't hurt. It's just that it doesn't seem to be your issue. I think you'll be surprised how much better your snare will sound if you replace the heads (both top and bottom) and give it a nice tune. If you haven't really trained your ears yet, you might just not be noticing that the snare actually doesn't sound all that great live. I can't really imagine a snare using 3 year old factory heads sounding too special, lol.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll be replacing the heads later today, tuning the snare up real good, and doing some recording. If I still cant get a sound I like, the next step will be a new mic, I'll look into the Beyer mentioned. Again, thanks for all the help!
 
One thing I forgot to ask - when it comes to using high quality mics, such as the beyer 201 (or ANY high quality mic) will it do that mic any justice to use it without any preamps? Would using it on its own kinda be like having a JL W7 in the trunk but powering it with a 200 watt amp? I'd hate to spend that kinda money on a mic if I cant get a sound that you NEED good preamps to justify buying the mic. Does that last sentence make any sense lol??
 
After listening to that track you need to stop worrying about the snare (it sounds fine) and focus on the kick. That sounds really ...um...mushy!
 
haha damn I was proud of that kick sound!

Well, I did replace both snare heads and there is a definate increase in sound quality. I threw the heads on, gave it a quick tune, and recorded a few tracks. I'll need to retune it again now that the heads have settled...it was a bit low yesterday when I recorded as well, I think it will sound even better if I go a step or 2 higher.

I also went ahead and ordered a 57. I've been wanting to pick a few up anyway, so I'll see what kind of sound I can get with it vs the audix. I think these audix F series mics cant handle the SPL as well as they claim...I need to adjust the trim on the tascam almost all the way down on the "line" side just to keep it from clipping, and I am by NO means a heavy hitter. That is the mic, not the recorder right??

Also, if anyone is still reading this, I've been wondering since I go through a mackie board before going into the tascam (it has the button that cuts everything below 75hz). Anyways, both the mackie and the tascam have individual trim knobs, so what is the optimal way to set them?
 
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