Ring in snare drum

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Aoliver17

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Hey, all--

I have a very interesting problem-- one that really perplexes me.

I've tracked a million drum tracks a million times. Recording drums is not new to me, and I'd like to think I'm highly experienced. However, whenever I record this one certain snare, I always get a very metallic, low/mid hum in the attack. The weird part about this is that it doesn't have the hum when I attack it and there's no microphone on it. Also, the only thing in the tracking room that's metal besides the drum kit (which I've tested every piece of metal on there to make sure there's no weird ring) is the door handle, and I've even put something soft over that! I'm totally baffled! I've tried EQing it out, re-tracking, re-tuning, and yet it's ONLY this ONE snare that does it to me, and ONLY when it's recorded. I've even opened up the microphone itself and done little tests to see if there's anything weird vibrating that isn't supposed to be, but then I realized that it's only this snare that does it. Now, to be honest, my friend gave me this snare for free a while ago, and I honestly don't know the brand name. It looks like a VERY generic silver metal snare (and yes, my normal snare is metal, so it's not just that that's doing it).

I couldn't be more confused if my life depended on it. Anyone have ANY ideas, or has anyone experienced ANYTHING like this?

Anyone?
-A

OH! The reason I even bring this up is because it gets the PERFECT tone I'm looking for in the song I'm working on, except for that damned ring!
 
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When I've had this trouble, it turned out to be mic position...too close to the head, and too the side...not pointed enough to the center. And for me, it only happened after changing to a head that had a dampening ring on it....sounds good in the room, but seems to record more of the ring for whatever reason.

Just some thoughts.
 
Aoliver17 said:
Hey, all--

I have a very interesting problem-- one that really perplexes me.

I've tracked a million drum tracks a million times. Recording drums is not new to me, and I'd like to think I'm highly experienced. However, whenever I record this one certain snare, I always get a very metallic, low/mid hum in the attack. The weird part about this is that it doesn't have the hum when I attack it and there's no microphone on it. Also, the only thing in the tracking room that's metal besides the drum kit (which I've tested every piece of metal on there to make sure there's no weird ring) is the door handle, and I've even put something soft over that! I'm totally baffled! I've tried EQing it out, re-tracking, re-tuning, and yet it's ONLY this ONE snare that does it to me, and ONLY when it's recorded. I've even opened up the microphone itself and done little tests to see if there's anything weird vibrating that isn't supposed to be, but then I realized that it's only this snare that does it. Now, to be honest, my friend gave me this snare for free a while ago, and I honestly don't know the brand name. It looks like a VERY generic silver metal snare (and yes, my normal snare is metal, so it's not just that that's doing it).

I couldn't be more confused if my life depended on it. Anyone have ANY ideas, or has anyone experienced ANYTHING like this?

Anyone?
-A

OH! The reason I even bring this up is because it gets the PERFECT tone I'm looking for in the song I'm working on, except for that damned ring!
Click to expand...


You don't hear the ring when you're playing it because you're listening to the whole drum and the room. The mic is listening only where you point it.

You could try to rely on your room mics more for more of the whole sound, try different close mic placement, different heads, rings, gels etc.

I would try to find a way to make the sound work without too much dampening (it's all taste, really), or choose a different snare. That ring is an important part of the snare sound and you don't want to completely kill it.
 
Aoliver17 said:
Hey, all--

I have a very interesting problem-- one that really perplexes me.

I've tracked a million drum tracks a million times. Recording drums is not new to me, and I'd like to think I'm highly experienced. However, whenever I record this one certain snare, I always get a very metallic, low/mid hum in the attack. The weird part about this is that it doesn't have the hum when I attack it and there's no microphone on it. Also, the only thing in the tracking room that's metal besides the drum kit (which I've tested every piece of metal on there to make sure there's no weird ring) is the door handle, and I've even put something soft over that! I'm totally baffled! I've tried EQing it out, re-tracking, re-tuning, and yet it's ONLY this ONE snare that does it to me, and ONLY when it's recorded. I've even opened up the microphone itself and done little tests to see if there's anything weird vibrating that isn't supposed to be, but then I realized that it's only this snare that does it. Now, to be honest, my friend gave me this snare for free a while ago, and I honestly don't know the brand name. It looks like a VERY generic silver metal snare (and yes, my normal snare is metal, so it's not just that that's doing it).

I couldn't be more confused if my life depended on it. Anyone have ANY ideas, or has anyone experienced ANYTHING like this?

Anyone?
-A

OH! The reason I even bring this up is because it gets the PERFECT tone I'm looking for in the song I'm working on, except for that damned ring!
Click to expand...

If it was a free, generic metal snare that you know nothing about, why bother? You're out nothing if you don't use it. Use a snare that you know will work.
 
In response to the last post, read the very last line of my original post :-P

But in general, I'll play around with it a little bit and see if I can't figure it out. As far as mic placement, of course I've tried tons and tons of different configurations, angles, proximity, etc.

Thanks again!
 
Supercreep said:
You don't hear the ring when you're playing it because you're listening to the whole drum and the room. The mic is listening only where you point it.
Click to expand...

the mic is also only listening to whatever frequencies it's designed to listen to, along its specific curve, a far cry from what your ears are picking up. it could be that the particular drum is emphasizing overtones that the mic is also boosting.

i have a maple piccolo snare that sounds great in the room but absolute crap on tape, and i experimented for 2 years trying to make it sound good. swapping out the snare drum was the only solution i've found.
 
Good ideas and suggestions!

Have you done the "tap test" with a stick, close to each lug? This test can help.

Strike the drum, in a circular pattern, about an inch from the hoop. If, near a particular lug, the sound is flat, dead, or too "ringy," or if the feel of the stick rebound doesn't feel quite right, check the tension at that lug. If the head is not tuned evenly, you will hear differences in the ring and tone, and possibly feel the differences in rebound as you strike it there.

You may be pointing your mic at one of these improperly tensioned areas.
 
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