I've had it up to here... HERE! with my snare drum

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Nick The Man

Nick The Man

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Dammit Dammit Dammit. No matter what I do I cannot get my snare drum to sound like a snare drum. Well it was all working fine, then genious me decided to get all new heads top and bottom which forced me to take the snares off, and now when i put them back on (which I have tried at least 15 times now) it does not sound right. The drum is tuned as most snare drums would be, so it's not a loose tuning that is causing the problem. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I posted some pictures just in case I'm doing something really obvious wrong.

SNARE1.jpg


SNARE2.jpg


SNARE3.jpg


SNARE4.jpg
 
Nick The Man said:
The drum is tuned as most snare drums would be, so it's not a loose tuning that is causing the problem.
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Yes it is. And the coils on the snares are bent. They look too tight, too.

Tighten the heads. Then tighten them some more. Do it again.


Did you crack the glue joints on the head?
 
Too many wires as well.

You didn't take the hardware off, did you?
 
Also, when you put a new head on any drum, before the lugs get any more than finger tight, make sure the rim is setting level on the drum, not tilted.
 
Are you a drummer? The reason I ask is because drums are the newest instrument for me. I am only beginning to know what a good snare drum should sound like and how to get it to that point, and it's been about 4 or 5 years or relatively consistant practicing, and fiddling with the drums to get a better recording out of them.

Do you have a music store local? Take it in.
 
Tighten the heads. Then tighten them some more. Do it again.
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They are REALLY tight, I've loosened them slightly just to prevent damage to the head. It's tuned tighter than they way i used to have my snare tuned so this can't be it.

Did you crack the glue joints on the head?
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Yes Sir.

Too many wires as well.
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It's a 42 strander, I like the sounds I got with it before. Do you just use the standard 12 or 14 or whatever it is?

You didn't take the hardware off, did you?
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No Sir.

Also, when you put a new head on any drum, before the lugs get any more than finger tight, make sure the rim is setting level on the drum, not tilted.
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This is a good idea, I plan on trying this one once I'm done posting this reply full of quotes.

Are you a drummer?
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Yes Sir. I'm just starting to try to figure out what a studio drum kit should sound like. Up to probably about 3-4 months ago i just focused on getting a good drum sound by ear. Not that a studio kit shouldn't sound good but there's things to listen for.

And lastly, Thank you for all the replys, I'll update you with what happens after I attempted to level the head.
 
Nick The Man said:
And lastly, Thank you for all the replys, I'll update you with what happens after I attempted to level the head.
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No problem.

Do you have a set of wires you can throw on the drum, just in case the 42 strand has a few bent wires on it?
 
i have that exact same snare drum. if you have your heads cranked too tight, i would suggest loosening the snare side head quite a bit, that will alow the snare wires to bite in more. also, loosen the damn snare wires while you're at it. we had a similar problem with my cousin's snare drum (although i've had nothing but good experiences with that particular PDP snare). i could tell right away he had his snares on way too tight. so first loosen the snares to the point where you can hear em sizzle, then loosen the bottom head. loosening the bottom head should make the snares sound tighter too. are you using a significantly different batter side head too? my cousin tried switching to an Emperor X and we just could not get it to sound good no matter what. went with a lighter weight Controlled Sound reverse dot and it tuned up a whole lot easier.
 
ez_willis said:
No problem.

Do you have a set of wires you can throw on the drum, just in case the 42 strand has a few bent wires on it?
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Well I orginally had a different set of 42s that i had on on it and then i bought a new set of 42s yesterday. I've tried both on this drum. Also the drum originally came with the standard size, however I'm missing the tabs to put it on with. I didn't see just the tabs when at guitar center yesterday.
 
zed32 said:
i have that exact same snare drum. if you have your heads cranked too tight, i would suggest loosening the snare side head quite a bit, that will alow the snare wires to bite in more. also, loosen the damn snare wires while you're at it. we had a similar problem with my cousin's snare drum (although i've had nothing but good experiences with that particular PDP snare). i could tell right away he had his snares on way too tight. so first loosen the snares to the point where you can hear em sizzle, then loosen the bottom head. loosening the bottom head should make the snares sound tighter too. are you using a significantly different batter side head too? my cousin tried switching to an Emperor X and we just could not get it to sound good no matter what. went with a lighter weight Controlled Sound reverse dot and it tuned up a whole lot easier.
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Oh yeah thats right I remember you bought the same set. Well I had the original bottom heads that came with the set on there. Now i bought a Remo clear Ambassador for the bottom, and when you order the Remo Pinstripe Fusion set it comes with a free 14" coated Powerstroke III so i put that on the top of my snare.

With loosing everything I guess I'm starting to get better results but it still sounds pretty bad, it's pretty damn frustrating!
 
is that a Snare Side ambassador, or just a regular ambassador? my cousin had good experience with the Powerstroke 3 on his snares before, shouldn't be that hard to tune. i have the Hazy Ambassador snare side on that exact snare, with a Evans Power Center rev dot and it sounds great with the original snares (i think they are 20 or 16 strand, something like that).

you don't have to loosen everything, you can keep the top head pretty tight, but loosening the snare side should help with getting the snares to sit better. isn't that the problem you were having? or what exactly is the problem with the snare? lack of sensitivity?
 
zed32 said:
is that a Snare Side ambassador, or just a regular ambassador? my cousin had good experience with the Powerstroke 3 on his snares before, shouldn't be that hard to tune. i have the Hazy Ambassador snare side on that exact snare, with a Evans Power Center rev dot and it sounds great with the original snares (i think they are 20 or 16 strand, something like that).

you don't have to loosen everything, you can keep the top head pretty tight, but loosening the snare side should help with getting the snares to sit better. isn't that the problem you were having? or what exactly is the problem with the snare? lack of sensitivity?
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Yeah, the problem is that you really don't hear much of the actual snare sound, almost like a "snarey" hi tom or somthing. I'll have to find some tabs for the original snares so i can try those.

I wish there was a way you could percisley tell me how you have things tuned but i know theres no way to do that... got a drum dial? :D I've kinda thought about getting one.
 
if that's a regular 10mil ambassador clear, that could be your problem right there. are you sure it's a snare side head? the snare side ambassadors are 3 mil. that would have a pretty big effect on the sound.
 
zed32 said:
if that's a regular 10mil ambassador clear, that could be your problem right there. are you sure it's a snare side head? the snare side ambassadors are 3 mil. that would have a pretty big effect on the sound.
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Shit... it is the 10mil!

I can't seem to find the 3mil one on MF.
 
zed32 said:
well that's your problem, duh! :p


i recommend the Ambassador hazy, and if you can't find that, go with the Evans Hazy 300.
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Oh yeah, i found it on Zzounds. Why do you like the hazy-s? Are they 3mil?
 
Nick The Man said:
Oh yeah, i found it on Zzounds. Why do you like the hazy-s? Are they 3mil?
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i like them because they sounds good. and yes they are 3 mil snare side heads. :cool:

that should help a ton in getting the sound you want, very versatile snare side head.
 
Alright... the hazy has been ordered. You ever order from Zzounds?
 
i think so, but it's been a while. they are a sponsor of the board, a pretty reputable store.
 
Jesus. You said you're a drummer, right? :p

Personally, I'm not a big fan of either brand of hazy heads on the snare. It's a matter of taste though.
 
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