Bringin' Out the Snare

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BDiNkY30

BDiNkY30

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I have a beautiful fat cracky snare in my mix and i cannot for the life of me get it to stand out. It is compressed as a snare should be and eq'd to my preference. Does anyone have any advice to really bring the snare out of the mix??? (btw i am playing a very progressive heavy style of music with multiple guitar backings)
 
is it dead center in the mix? try panning it slightly one way or the other.
 
try bringing up the bottom mic on it, that little extra bit of rattle can make it stand out...worked for me on my last track??
 
RAMI said:
Turn it up.
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It clips when i turn it up.. I have the compression thresh at about 6db reduction with a 2ms attack and 290 release... why is the snare not cutting the mix im getting very frustrated
 
When you say 'compressed as a snare should be'... can you elaborate? Posting audio clips is best.

There is no single correct way a snare should be compressed, but it could just be that you're squashing it a bit too much or in the wrong way. 2ms sounds awfully short - you'll be squishing all the attack of the snare with that. Relax the attack time a bit (10ms at least) to allow the transients through intact, if not 'enhance' them by bringing down the level of the main body of the sound relative to them. The uncompressed attack of the hits will punch through the mix and help the snare hold its ground amongst heavy guitars without having to be too out front.

As kcearl said, the bottom mic (if you tracked with one) can add some nice high-end crack, but don't overdo it. The snare can end up sounding very rattly, harsh and brittle if you push it up too much.

Another thing to consider is if the guitars are eating up too much of the space in the mix. Maybe some subtractive EQ'ing to scoop out some room for everything else? Are the guitars hard-panned? This helps create space in the middle for drums and vox.
 
Also, if you give us a run down on your micing set-up for the drums, it would be easier to help you. How do you place your overheads, etc???....The majority of your drum sound, including the snare, is all about rhe overheads.
 
BDiNkY30 said:
It clips when i turn it up.. I have the compression thresh at about 6db reduction with a 2ms attack and 290 release... why is the snare not cutting the mix im getting very frustrated
Click to expand...

If it clips when you turn it up, then turn everything else down. You're obviously mixing too hot.
 
mattr said:
When you say 'compressed as a snare should be'... can you elaborate? Posting audio clips is best.

There is no single correct way a snare should be compressed, but it could just be that you're squashing it a bit too much or in the wrong way. 2ms sounds awfully short - you'll be squishing all the attack of the snare with that. Relax the attack time a bit (10ms at least) to allow the transients through intact, if not 'enhance' them by bringing down the level of the main body of the sound relative to them. The uncompressed attack of the hits will punch through the mix and help the snare hold its ground amongst heavy guitars without having to be too out front.

As kcearl said, the bottom mic (if you tracked with one) can add some nice high-end crack, but don't overdo it. The snare can end up sounding very rattly, harsh and brittle if you push it up too much.

Another thing to consider is if the guitars are eating up too much of the space in the mix. Maybe some subtractive EQ'ing to scoop out some room for everything else? Are the guitars hard-panned? This helps create space in the middle for drums and vox.
Click to expand...

The guitars are panned 40% left to right i've tried to pan the snare a smidge to the left. I didn't track this particular session with a bottom mic. If i turn the guitars down the mix looses its beef..
 
BDiNkY30 said:
The guitars are panned 40% left to right i've tried to pan the snare a smidge to the left. I didn't track this particular session with a bottom mic. If i turn the guitars down the mix looses its beef..
Click to expand...

turn everything down...then mix it again??
 
RAMI said:
If it clips when you turn it up, then turn everything else down. You're obviously mixing too hot.
Click to expand...

I feel like my guitars aren't giving off enough of a signal on my mixer when i turn everything down.
 
BDiNkY30 said:
If i turn the guitars down the mix looses its beef..
Click to expand...
If you're trying to get the snare to come out and it clips when you turn it up, then you should turn everything else down, not just the guitars. Nothing will lose it's beef, your overall mix will just be a little lower in volume. You just get the perception that it loses beef because it's lower.

Again, if your mix clips when you turn something up, you're tracking too hot. The only solution is to turn everything else down. Your master shouldn't go anywhere near 0db on a pre-mastered mix.

You didn't answer the question about your micing set up. It' would be very important in helping you.
 
RAMI said:
Also, if you give us a run down on your micing set-up for the drums, it would be easier to help you. How do you place your overheads, etc???....The majority of your drum sound, including the snare, is all about rhe overheads.
Click to expand...

I have spot mics on every piece 3 toms, snare, kick, high hat. One over head 2 stick lengths from the center of the snare, and a room mic about 5-6 feet away.
 
BDiNkY30 said:
I have spot mics on every piece 3 toms, snare, kick, high hat. One over head 2 stick lengths from the center of the snare, and a room mic about 5-6 feet away.
Click to expand...

One possibility is that you have phase problems and your hi-hat mic (or tom mic, etc.) is cancelling out your snare mic. Try flipping the polarity on your snare mic and see what happens. Just a shot in the dark, but possible.
 
RAMI said:
If you're trying to get the snare to come out and it clips when you turn it up, then you should turn everything else down, not just the guitars. Nothing will lose it's beef, your overall mix will just be a little lower in volume. You just get the perception that it loses beef because it's lower.

Again, if your mix clips when you turn something up, you're tracking too hot. The only solution is to turn everything else down. Your master shouldn't go anywhere near 0db on a pre-mastered mix.

You didn't answer the question about your micing set up. It' would be very important in helping you.
Click to expand...

I have spot mics on every piece 3 toms, snare, kick, high hat. One over head 2 stick lengths from the center of the snare, and a room mic about 5-6 feet away.
 
BDiNkY30 said:
I have spot mics on every piece 3 toms, snare, kick, high hat. One over head 2 stick lengths from the center of the snare, and a room mic about 5-6 feet away.
Click to expand...

BDiNkY30 said:
I have spot mics on every piece 3 toms, snare, kick, high hat. One over head 2 stick lengths from the center of the snare, and a room mic about 5-6 feet away.
Click to expand...

I know. I heard you the first time.
 
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