tuning a snare drum

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nascentjunkie

New member
ok, i'm not a drummer, and i don't know a lot about the tuning of drums. I can get by just fine when i do the kick and toms, but the snare i can never get it to sound "right" I am going for a more rock sound with a lot of snap, and not a lot of tone. Can someone help me out with this. And please give me the quick and dirty of tuning a snare and what kind of sounds you get from tunign it low to high on both top and resonant heads. Thank you very much!!!!
 
The sound your looking for is more characterstic of the make of the drum. Tuning will tighten or expand the sound.
I genarally like a tight snare, meaning tight heads with a tight crisp biting sound.
 
Stealthtech said:
The sound your looking for is more characterstic of the make of the drum. Tuning will tighten or expand the sound.
I genarally like a tight snare, meaning tight heads with a tight crisp biting sound.
Click to expand...

I agree with Stealthtech. Generally, a metal snare will produce more of a “crispy/ bright” (go figure, its metal) sound than a snare made out of wood. That’s not to say that you can’t get a wood shell drum to “snap” (relative term) but you have to provide more info about your setup.
 
the deal...

well first thanks for the article, i was reading it over and it will take some time, but i'm sure that will help. I figured that i would let everyone know in better detail what i have then.... First is an evans dry head, and the resonant is a evans something... (sorry i don't know, its my drummers... he just doesn't really know how to get it in good tune right now either....what a tard) anyway... its a primier snare drum. Wood consturction. And i have gotten it sounding good before, as in very good. So dont say get a new snare, i know its not that. The heads are also new and so is the actualy snare piece so none of the snares are missing... I bascially want to know how to get a better crack with tuning from the drum... I have a remo ring to take out all of the extra ringing it gives off and that part is ok, but the drum just sounds extremely dead in the treble area, and i have it tight as fuck!! what in the hell am i doing wrong??!!??
 
Re: the deal...

nascentjunkie said:
And i have gotten it sounding good before, as in very good. So dont say get a new snare, i know its not that.
Click to expand...

I for one never said you needed a new snare. Regarding your quote above, this may be a really simple question but what changed??? Something obviously changed if you can’t get the drum to sound like it once did.

Not to state the obvious but there are a lot of environmental conditions that will alter the way acoustic drums sound. When you had the drum sounding the way you liked it, what were environmental conditions (e.g., same room, temp, etc.)? You said that the heads are new, are you using the same drumheads (i.e., make, material, etc) as what were replaced?

I have had much sucess getting a snare to jumpout of a mix using compression. Are you using any comprossion?
 
Re: the deal...

nascentjunkie said:
I have a remo ring to take out all of the extra ringing it gives off and that part is ok, but the drum just sounds extremely dead in the treble area, and i have it tight as fuck!! what in the hell am i doing wrong??!!??
Click to expand...

First of all, you are using a batter head that is designed to muffle AND using a muffling device well known for significantly killing the resonance of the drum. It is no wonder it sounds "extremely dead in the treble area". This will only give you "thud" as opposed to "crack". Get some of the muffling off and let the thing breathe.

Second, some wood snares aren't known for their "crack". If it is from a lower model Premier it is probably some sort of Mahagony blend which is known for warmth and thud.

Third a major factor that controls how any drum sounds is the way it is hit. Are you playing rimshots? Are you releasing the stick from the head after each hit? etc etc
 
I'll agree with all of what has been said above, and then, make sure you have your heads tuned so that the tension is equal and the note is the same when struck at each lug, about 1 1/2 - 2" into the skin on both heads. (refer to "tuning Bible")

Also,don't over tighten the snare wires. That will take the crack out of it as much as leaving them too loose puts too much buzz in them.

I personally don't like metal snares drums and I don't like how they record. I own a Tama and a Mapex (one steel, one brass) and I'm getting rid of them. No matter what you do with them, to me they sound way too much like Lars' "St. Anger" sound when recorded (like hitting a metal pie pan). I have my trusty old Slingerland , a Yamaha Custom Birch Absolute, an 8"x 14" 7ply maple that I made and a 6"x14" 10ply maple that I made. All sound real different and I use each one for different types of music and rooms. The sharpest cracking snares are the 6"x14" birch Yamaha and the 6"x14"10ply maple that I made. The deep 8"x14" one gives me a fierce downbeat from the core of the earth :) . A solid resonant drum sound along with the crack of the snare.

You can get what you want and need with proper tuning and head selection. When tuned well even a mellow mahogany snare (like my Slingerland) can give you ample tone.
 
thanks.....

ok well in response to further questions..... the drum is in the same room/temp and conditions, i do realize how a drum sound is affected by the material. That is kinda obvious, just by having played/heard different sounds, i do use compression on my mixes, but right now i am just talking about getting the drum to sound good just by the ear first. I do have it a bit better now... My drummer tightened the damn resonate head so tight that it almost killed it i think.... So i realized it and tuned it down a bit and it sounds a hell of a lot better now! So i proceeded in making sure all the hits sounded the same around each lug. It is alot better now and i can actually stand hearing it... Thank god! But i will keep all this stuff i have heard on here in mind. Thank you all very much!
 
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