snare rattles on tom hits

[rats]

Hey before you skin whackers start coming down on me, let me first clear it out, I'M NO DRUMMER! This would seem like a simple task to your basic drummer I'd think. Anyway, I'm trying to record a drummer and the snare rattles on the snare drum when the high and medium toms get a good whack, which comes across load and clear on the recording. Actually the kick drum makes it rattle a bit too. How can this be overcome?

 

[Wireneck]

Maybe try gating the snare if your close micing. Sounds like the drummer might have his snares really loose if its rattling that much. Maybe try tightening the snares up a little bit. Im sure someone else will have some better ideas

 

[Tim Brown]

You'll have to mess with it.

Here's what I do, and a lot of people have a fit about it, but it gets exactly the sound that I want.

I tune the snare-side head about twice as tight as the batter head.

I turn the snares "off" (drop the strainer) then I tighten the snares against the snare head. It gives me the snap of the snares, but they aren't sitting tight/close enough to the snare side head to buzz.
This allows me to tune every drum exactly like I want, and not worry about snare rattle.

I use a pearl snare, and it has a snare adjustment on both sides of the snares...so this may not work for you.

You may simply have to retune the toms a little, or tune the snare so that it's a bit out of the toms range.

You could also try loosening the snares quite a bit...I know I've seen numerous drummers rerally crank their snares down against the head, but in a mic'ed situation, I've never found that necessary, and it usually causes all sorts of excess buzzing..


Tim

 

[rats]

someone mentioned something about taping the snare down, anybody ever hear of that?

 

[tmix]

Devils Advocate?

I know many people have spent a great deal of energy trying to stop sympathetic snare rattles and tom sounds, and perhaps in your situation it is unworkable, but after 8 years of recording drums (I am a drummer myself) I have stopped worrying about it.
It did not make any difference in the sound of the overall mix.
It end up sounding exactly like my kit does live (which is good).
Don't get me wrong, if it was a hardware rattle or pedal squeak or any other nonmusical sound, I would be tenacious to track it down, but you may be spending a lot of effort for nothing.

Just my opinion of course.

Tom

 

[theletterq]

Couple of options:

1. Re-tune the toms.
2. Loosen the two lugs on either side of the snares (both sides) to just before wrinkling, then up a bit, and then tighten the other lugs up to compensate.
3. Try and get some sort of baffle hung between the bottom of the snare and the offending drums.
4. A LITTLE bit of tape may work...experiment.
5. Some rattle is to be expected and is part of the drumset-as-a-whole "sound".

Good luck.