Snare Problems

[death by analog]

Hi guys,

This is a recurring issue for me. I often come to a point where I'm happy with my mix for everything except the snare. I always find that it sounds like sh*t in my mix.

Either it sounds like a piece of paper or otherwise is way too loud and over powers everything.

Anyone experiencing the same issue? Any suggestions?

 

[jonny deep]

May I suggest you post a clip? Do you record drums or use a VSTi?

 

[RAMI]

Hi guys,

This is a recurring issue for me. I often come to a point where I'm happy with my mix for everything except the snare. I always find that it sounds like sh*t in my mix.

Either it sounds like a piece of paper or otherwise is way too loud and over powers everything.

Anyone experiencing the same issue? Any suggestions?

Pretty hard to help you with the little bit of information you provided.

What kind of snare mic? What kind of overheads? How are you micing the kit? How are you placing the snare mic? Have you tried inverting the polarity on the snare mic?

Help us to help you.

 

[death by analog]

Pretty hard to help you with the little bit of information you provided.

What kind of snare mic? What kind of overheads? How are you micing the kit? How are you placing the snare mic? Have you tried inverting the polarity on the snare mic?

Help us to help you.

Superior Drummer or Native's Studio Drummer.

The polarity trick does seem to help make the snare come out more but it still sounds like a sheet of paper.

 

[murphyd311]

I personally use2 SM57's; one on the top pointed center, and one directly underneath. Blend the two to taste.

If all else fails I just use a trigger , but I find I don't really have to anymore. (The kick is a whole nother issue though )

 

[WeissSound]

Inverting polarity will only help if the snare was out of phase to begin with. More commonly, check the bottom snare signal polarity against the top snare. But if you are using programmed drums, that probably won't be an issue.

Sounds more like you're neglecting the lower mids, overcompressing the snare, and not using a snare reverb. Those all contribute to "papery" sound.

Programmed drums usually come in "eq'd". Over extending the upper mids might sound good - but really it might just sound better to turn the snare up. Similarly, don't neglect that the 200-400hz area of a snare is the beef and depth of it. There's often times some tones around 500hz that I don't like in an acoustic snare, and sometimes another tone around 800hz that kind of sounds like a "pong" noise. But below that and above that there tends to be a lot of good stuff. This is all generality mind you.

Snare compression is a little tricky. I tend to do it it two stages. The first is some kind of dynamic processing to enhance the attack if I'm not already getting a good punch. You can use a compressor like an 1176 with a slow attack, or a gate, to bring out the attack signal. The second step for me is hard compression or limiting. So after I exaggerate the attack, I then give it a little squish. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it's a good technique for getting a very defined and thick attack sound. But often you don't really need all that. Don't underestimate the power of simply setting level.

An alternative to compression techniques is using mild distortion. This has a similar way of thickening the attack. You can do this using a tape machine, tape emulator, digidesign lo-fi, decapitator, hitting the board channels hot... there's a million ways. You get a slight bit of break up on the peak of the snare signal which excites it and makes the attack a bit more potent.

Lastly, acoustic snares and reverbs have been dating a long time. They're sort of meant to be. A short plate or spring reverb, mono, tucked under the snare gives it lift and dimension. You don't really need to hear it much - just feel it as "part of the snare." I like to set the reverb so the low end doesn't damp out too fast. This helps give the snare weight. Unless it's already a weighty snare.

 

[Farview]

If the program gives you both a top and bottom Mic, turn down, or off, the bottom Mic. that's where the papery sound tends to come from. other than that, pick a different snare sound or add some 200Hz before the compression.

 

[jonny deep]

If the program gives you both a top and bottom Mic, turn down kr off the bottom Mic. that's where the papery sound tends to come from. other than that, pick a different snare sound or add some 200Hz before the compression.

Kr? What's that?

 

[Farview]

Sorry, I was replying on my phone. (which doesn't always display what I mean to type)

It's supposed to read "turn down, or off, the bottom mic"

I'll fix the post

 

[Mo Facta]

It's a common problem with sampled drums. They are often "pre-cooked" when you get them to the point that any further processing will flatten them.

Ease off on the processing if you're applying any.

Cheers

 

[Elton123]

Look to the overheads for your snare sound. If using a program. Treat it like u were mixing a kit. Start by dialing in your overheads. Most programs have ways of messing with eq, comp ect with the overheads

 

[chuckduffy]

Look to the overheads for your snare sound. If using a program. Treat it like u were mixing a kit. Start by dialing in your overheads. Most programs have ways of messing with eq, comp ect with the overheads

Hows it goin elton! Agree. Most of the libraries I have follow the same pattern - too little overhead - too much room.... I leave 90% of the snare and hat to the overheads. If I want a huge tom sound I compress the overheads.

 

[Pahtcub]

I find superior drummers out of the box mixes to be pretty decent, maybe a bit too much high hat. Are you making virtual tracks for all your mic positions or mixing inside the box that's inside the other box?

 

[Doctor Varney]

I'd personally try adding a bit of reverb to the snare in question. Or pick another sample. From another kit, if necessary. Mixing and matching can be fun.

 

[Mo Facta]

Look to the overheads for your snare sound. If using a program. Treat it like u were mixing a kit. Start by dialing in your overheads. Most programs have ways of messing with eq, comp ect with the overheads

Yes. In the real world a snare drum needs about two meters for its sound to be perceived in its entirety. Although, what I would say is that a good snare drum is a result of the sum of all the mikes - the top and bottom snare mikes, the room mikes, and the overheads. Peripheral bleed from the toms can also contribute.

Cheers

 

[death by analog]

I find superior drummers out of the box mixes to be pretty decent, maybe a bit too much high hat. Are you making virtual tracks for all your mic positions or mixing inside the box that's inside the other box?

I'm using multiple outputs so I can mix my drums as if I was recording a live kit.

Thanks a lot for the all the help guys. I think one thing that really helped was to apply less processing to my drums. I believe I was compressing my snare way to much and taking away too much 200-400hz.

 

[jonny deep]

I'm using multiple outputs so I can mix my drums as if I was recording a live kit.

Thanks a lot for the all the help guys. I think one thing that really helped was to apply less processing to my drums. I believe I was compressing my snare way to much and taking away too much 200-400hz.

I use Addictive Drums - in that you can switch off all the processing so it's just pure samples through the direct outs so you can do all processing yourself. Is it the same in Superior?