RezN8
Blick-um, blick-um...
During a break from some session work last week we got into a long discussion about recording snare drums. It was a group engineers and drummers. I figured I’d pass along some of the things we talked about:
Tuning- we all had different ideas about tuning – some like a tight bottom head and loose top head. Others crank the top head almost to the point of choking. We all agreed it depends on the music that is being recorded. If the music needed a strong back beat on the 2 and 4, most prefer a very loose top head. For fast ghost noted and rolls, tighter heads were preferred.
We all seemed to prefer single ply coated heads on snares for MOST situations.
A big tip for all of us drummers- inspect your snare wires!!! Are they in good shape? Bent? Evenly spaced on the drum?
The engineers generally preferred to tune the bottom head to a pitch that complimented the song. I mentioned tuning my bottom snare to a “G” after seeing a video about Bohnam’s kit. We all agreed just that tuning alone created an “excited” tone against basic rock tunes in the key of A and E. (“Rock n Roll” and “When the Levee Breaks” as examples).
Dampening- dampening would be used ONLY on rare occasions when the slightest ring from the snare would “get in the way” of the tune. For instance if the ring would detract the listener from the vocals, etc. Proper tuning techniques were critical.
Microphones – One of the engineers used Real Estate as an analogy. “location, location, location!” Where in the room the kit was placed seemed to be a big concern. How far from the walls, how far from the corners, how tall are the ceilings, etc. I asked about different rooms and the oldest engineer said he could really make any space work by moving the kit around to find the best spot in the room first. Then use moving blankets to tame nasty reflections. Then TUNE the kit to the room. I thought that was very enlightening.
Then came mic placement. The smallest movement of the snare mic made a huge difference. Nobody agreed on the “best” place to put the snare mic. All agreed it really came down to who the drummer was. Then it was what type of snare.Then it was how that mic related to the overheads. Most preferred: Sennheiser MD 441, SM 57, Audix i5.
Most also preferred the mics to be NO CLOSER THAN two inches from the snare. Three-finger rule was a good starting point. Opinions on angles varied from vertical to horizontal and everything in between. All agreed you must move the mics around to find the best spot.
We all agreed the size of the kit played a big part in how the snare would sound. Just think about it for a minute, or better yet, do some experimenting of your own! A snare surrounded by toms will sound much different than just a snare hi-hat and kick.
We also discussed some interesting details:
Which sticks you use changes the sound A LOT as well. An acorn shaped nylon tip vs. a ball shaped wooden tip. Are you whacking the snare with all your might or tapping it lightly.
The STAND makes a difference! Many drummers tighten the snare basket so tight that it actually chokes the sound of the snare and keeps it from resonating. It’s best to just lay the snare on the rubber parts of the basket without tightening it at all. Just keep it loose but without letting it move around on you. Also, on some of the real cheap snare stands, the metal piping will ring and mess up your sound. Same thing with the microphone stands. None of the engineers liked to use the old clamps on the rim either (only for live use they said). They did mention the new tiny gooseneck mics were cool though, but a little pricey.
Also be careful to place the snare on the stand so the snare wires are not sitting on the rubber part of the basket.
We also talked about body styles and how that can affect the sound of the snare. Think about it: The snare sits between your legs. Is it whole drum above, below or even with your legs? A person with fat legs around a piccolo snare will record differently from a person with boney legs around a deep snare.
We talked about the height of the snare- the distance from the floor seemed to play a part in the overall sound of the snare – as well as how close we sit to the drum. Our whole bodies also act as sound absorbers.
Air movement seemed to be a big topic. Recording is all about capturing the movement of air. So if the air is thick and humid in a room with parkay floors and cedar walls, a wood snare will sound much different from a cold, dank cement basement trying to record a metal snare.
That’s about all I can remember now. Some of it is common knowledge but other tips were very interesting. Hope this info is useful. Cheers, Rez
Tuning- we all had different ideas about tuning – some like a tight bottom head and loose top head. Others crank the top head almost to the point of choking. We all agreed it depends on the music that is being recorded. If the music needed a strong back beat on the 2 and 4, most prefer a very loose top head. For fast ghost noted and rolls, tighter heads were preferred.
We all seemed to prefer single ply coated heads on snares for MOST situations.
A big tip for all of us drummers- inspect your snare wires!!! Are they in good shape? Bent? Evenly spaced on the drum?
The engineers generally preferred to tune the bottom head to a pitch that complimented the song. I mentioned tuning my bottom snare to a “G” after seeing a video about Bohnam’s kit. We all agreed just that tuning alone created an “excited” tone against basic rock tunes in the key of A and E. (“Rock n Roll” and “When the Levee Breaks” as examples).
Dampening- dampening would be used ONLY on rare occasions when the slightest ring from the snare would “get in the way” of the tune. For instance if the ring would detract the listener from the vocals, etc. Proper tuning techniques were critical.
Microphones – One of the engineers used Real Estate as an analogy. “location, location, location!” Where in the room the kit was placed seemed to be a big concern. How far from the walls, how far from the corners, how tall are the ceilings, etc. I asked about different rooms and the oldest engineer said he could really make any space work by moving the kit around to find the best spot in the room first. Then use moving blankets to tame nasty reflections. Then TUNE the kit to the room. I thought that was very enlightening.
Then came mic placement. The smallest movement of the snare mic made a huge difference. Nobody agreed on the “best” place to put the snare mic. All agreed it really came down to who the drummer was. Then it was what type of snare.Then it was how that mic related to the overheads. Most preferred: Sennheiser MD 441, SM 57, Audix i5.
Most also preferred the mics to be NO CLOSER THAN two inches from the snare. Three-finger rule was a good starting point. Opinions on angles varied from vertical to horizontal and everything in between. All agreed you must move the mics around to find the best spot.
We all agreed the size of the kit played a big part in how the snare would sound. Just think about it for a minute, or better yet, do some experimenting of your own! A snare surrounded by toms will sound much different than just a snare hi-hat and kick.
We also discussed some interesting details:
Which sticks you use changes the sound A LOT as well. An acorn shaped nylon tip vs. a ball shaped wooden tip. Are you whacking the snare with all your might or tapping it lightly.
The STAND makes a difference! Many drummers tighten the snare basket so tight that it actually chokes the sound of the snare and keeps it from resonating. It’s best to just lay the snare on the rubber parts of the basket without tightening it at all. Just keep it loose but without letting it move around on you. Also, on some of the real cheap snare stands, the metal piping will ring and mess up your sound. Same thing with the microphone stands. None of the engineers liked to use the old clamps on the rim either (only for live use they said). They did mention the new tiny gooseneck mics were cool though, but a little pricey.
Also be careful to place the snare on the stand so the snare wires are not sitting on the rubber part of the basket.
We also talked about body styles and how that can affect the sound of the snare. Think about it: The snare sits between your legs. Is it whole drum above, below or even with your legs? A person with fat legs around a piccolo snare will record differently from a person with boney legs around a deep snare.
We talked about the height of the snare- the distance from the floor seemed to play a part in the overall sound of the snare – as well as how close we sit to the drum. Our whole bodies also act as sound absorbers.
Air movement seemed to be a big topic. Recording is all about capturing the movement of air. So if the air is thick and humid in a room with parkay floors and cedar walls, a wood snare will sound much different from a cold, dank cement basement trying to record a metal snare.
That’s about all I can remember now. Some of it is common knowledge but other tips were very interesting. Hope this info is useful. Cheers, Rez
