snappy snare setting

O

old crow

New member
I would really appreciate any E.Q. settings to help me get more snap from my snare.
The reast of my kit is sounding pretty good. I'm using recorderman's O.H. technique with an added snare and kic mic.
I'm using an SM57 near the rim angled down,thru a 2488 Tascam. I also have other mics and preamps, so any suggestions with other mics, compressor settings, preamps... is also very welcome :)
 
does the snare sound snappy live?.. you can eq in abit of extra crack, or maybe run some compression with a medium attack to bring on the initial hit on the snare abit more, But one thing I've learned is that you'll get better results if you get the sound you want on the way in
 
EQing a snare has always been a problem for me. The hats follow along and can get nasty fast. As stated, fisrt make sure the snare itself sounds snappy. Then play around with mic placement. I like to back the mic off the drums about 6" or so. As far as mics go, I've had some luck with 57's. I like AKG C-1000 on a snare (and toms for that matter). I like an MD-441 a lot. But as I said, make sure the snare itself is sounding good first or you'll never EQ it into submission.
 
Bob's got the right idea. If the snare dosen't sound like you want it to live, it won't sound like you want it to on tape. What kind of snare is it, and how is it being played? Can you post a clip?

The crack you're looking for is probably a function of playing the stick across the rim and the head with moderate to high levels of force, ringing the shell as well as the head and snares. You can't get that sound with eq.
 
Sorry I can't post a clip yet ( still a newbie ) but I can say it's a maple snare and it sounds nice , but the recorded sound isn't quite as snappy, especially with the 57. My O.H.'s, a 421 and beyer 300 are fine and the snare sounds like it should, but when I bring up the 57 track , which should add that extra snap, it doesn't. It has a thicker sound??? That's why I thought maybe some careful e.q.'g may be the answer.
Maybe I'll try my Nady ribbons on the O.H.'s and put either the 421 or Beyer on the snare and see if that improves it. I've been wanting to try the ribbons in that configureation...
 
boosting 3k will add some attack and somewhere aroung 10k will add more of the crack from the snares, but as stated already, you may end up with a snare that's closer to what you want, but with a highhat that sounds like poo.

maybe try tuning the snare a little higher than you normally like to. and tighten up the snares.......just a suggestion.......you might end up hating it, but you're going to have to experiment.
 
My drummer's snare has a terrible "pong" at around 650-750 that I cut quite a bit.
 
you can make a duplicate of the snare track, gate it to just get the snap/attack part of the snare sound, and mix it into the other track.
 
I'd generaly say if you want a fairly natural sounding snare that you should drop out some of the lower frequencies rather than boosting the high ones to get more crack, it takes abit more thinking usualy, but I've found the end results are usualy nicer
 
usernamebob said:
I'd generaly say if you want a fairly natural sounding snare that you should drop out some of the lower frequencies rather than boosting the high ones to get more crack, it takes abit more thinking usualy, but I've found the end results are usualy nicer
Click to expand...

agreed. you can scoop 300 hz or so and get rid of a lot of ring. scooping around 600 hz might make the crack more audible. it's best to get the crack through tuning and mic placement.
 
Also - play with the proximity effect of the 57. Try pointing the mic parallel to the drum head as opposed to at an angle or straight down at it. Or, try aiming the mic at the side (shell) instead of the head.

I have found the angle/placement of the sm57 makes a pretty big difference.
 
Thanks for all your great suggestions :) First we loosened the snare ( it was choked ) then we took all the tape off the head. Big improvement right there :) Then we recorded again using a 421 about 4" off the top angled down towad the strike area. I had the mic rolled off a couple clicks and it now sounds much better.
Havn't had a chance to play with the e.q. yet but hope to tonite. I like the idea of cutting instead of boosting and will try that first.
As for the Nady ribbons, I know it's a bit off topic but they sound quite nice. Not the crisp sound I was after but very warm with really polite cymbals. The toms sound great.I placed them using the recorderman technique, which I think was a good idea for this "tom based" song. Next time I'll try moving them out front of the kit, just below the cymbals. I've read somewhere that this works well with ribbons...
Arceri, thanks for the link. Havn't read it yet , but will do today. I'm also going to try the 57 again with some of your ideas... :cool:
 
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