snare ...1 or 2 mics?

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y2jerik0

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ive been using an sm57 on my snare, tried top, bottom., changing the tunings, different compression settings...still not standing out in the mix......

am i better off using an additional mic on the snare in addition to the sm57....?
 
try the 57 on top and a SDC on the bottom pointed directly at the snares.
 
I'm not saying you shouldn't try 2 mics, but there's no reason one mic shouldn't bring it out. So I'm not sure if another mic is the answer.
 
Well I learned only using one mic for the snare, so I just figured out early how to make it work. I just recently started playing around with a bottom mic, and frankly, I haven't seen much advantage. - I'll restate that... I haven't see the advantage in taking up another track, and another input in my Layla, when I could be using that input for another room mic, or another tom. It's all about balancing how many inputs and tracks you've got available.
 
y2jerik0 said:
ive been using an sm57 on my snare, tried top, bottom...?
Click to expand...
What's missing? (in the tone) Surely you've tried more than those two spots :D ..but just in case, sorely missing from that short list is the whole range of side, top rim/side, an area that can cover top and bottom.-not to mention distance.
Wayne
 
if the snare sounds good, it'll sound good with a 57 on it (genrally)

this may help
hi pass at like 150-200 (sometimes even higher)
bump somewhare between 2-6K as needed (this may play hell with hi hat bleed)
compress the piss out of it (may also play hell with hi hat bleed)
the hard hi passing lets you turn it up more cause it's not eating all you're head room.

but i'tll never sound great with a ton of tricks if it doesn't at least sound good without them.

sometimes i let the mic head rest on the snare head (a little) and sometimes, it sounds awsome.
p.s. it your drummer sucks, you're boned, no matter what you do.
 
giraffe said:
sometimes i let the mic head rest on the snare head (a little) and sometimes, it sounds awsome.
Click to expand...

The only time my mic ends up resting on the head is if I hit it, which creates a really loud clipped "POP" in the recording, then the rest of my snare hits sound different. Next take I bring the mic back up off the head and start over. :D I never thought that actually resting it on the head would sound... good? hmm...
 
i was tracking a band a couple months ago, and i had the mic (in this case an nt3) like 3/4" off the head, close. sounded good.
did some other stuff, by the time we got around to tracking the first song the mic had fallen (ever so slowly, and without me noticing) and rested on the head.
played back the track... i don't remember the snare sounding that good?
go look, the mic head is touching the drum.
sounded good, so there it stayed.
 
I like the mic (sm57) with the vents over the edge of the rim and I will usually boost the eq a few dB somewhere 'tween 4.5 and 5K
 
one 57 on the top of the snare should be fine for most situations, but a great deal of your snare sounds should be coming from your overheads.
 
I also like a 57 on the snare on top. If the snare itself isn't wide open I think it should be. Let it ring.
 
ok

i dont know bout u but my freind and i use to mics one on the top and bottom, i dont know but we find it way more effective and better sounding
 
In general it depends on what you are going for:

A vintage "60's/70's" sound: don't mic the snare, get it from the overheads.

A late "70's" sound: mic the top of the snare, but get most of it from the overheads.

An "early 80's" sound: mic the top and bottom of the snare.

A fatter "late 80's" sound: under and over mic the snare, add a sample as a "trigger" at your option.

An early "90's" sound: over mic, add a sample.

A thinner "modern" sound: over mic and add a sample. Compress the overheads to death.
 
Do you have a noise gate with an external key input?

If so, you can run a mic though the gate - get it up above the kit on a boom (we always used a shotgun mic above the snare) and aim it straight down on the snare.

And put a trigger on the snare, and run the trigger into the Gate's Key input.

What this does, is allow the trigger to control the gate's key input - so this mic only opens up with the snare is struck.
Then adjust the gate so that it shuts down a little after the snare strike opens the gate - making sure to capture ALL of the snares sound.

Once you have this on tape (on a separate track) you may need to gate it again afterward, but you can add this in to your regular snare track to add some "oomph" to the snare.



Tim
 
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