Snare sound...what's going on?

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ishou

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I am trying to get a sort of snare sound...hell, I don't know how to explain it. It sounds like this:
(beginning of a Get Up Kids song)
I notice this sort of "fat" (is that a good word?) sound on a lot of pop-punk recordings (Lit's My Own Worst Enemy), and I really like it. I've tried different things, like adding an old R**** S**** mic on the bottom of the snare, but all can seem to get is this light snare sound, almost like a jazz sound, which is nice, but what's being done here? Is it compression, reverb, EQ, or just a nice sounding snare? if it's the snare, what kind and stuff? (I'm not a durmemer at all) Right now I'm using an SM57, point 45 degrees 1 1/2" away (just like it says on the specification sheet i got with it!) on the snare, and it's too weak of a sound for me. Thanks,
ishou
 
yeah, it is a beefy sound for sure.

At least part of the sound has to do with what he is playing, a quick flam on the snare - this can add quite a bit to the sound. Something is ringing in resonance with the snare, probably the high tom, could be the floor or both.

Even without all those factors, it is a happening snare. Very real, live room sounding.

Now I want to hear the rest of the song....
 
Yeah man, the Get Up Kids rule! just look up Get Up Kids on napster...i mean go buy their CD out if you've got a store that sells non-major artists. living in the middle of nowhere, i don't...
Yeah i think it is the high tom, btw...
See, we're recording in this small room that we made, like 8'8'8 (not those dimensions, around therE) and we've put up some sound-deadening stuff up on some of the walls, and that's where we have the drums. I don't seem to have any sort of depth to the snare...could it be the room? Could adding some "room" style reverb artificially put that sound in there? I don't have any preamp on my mic that I'm using...will that help?
 
IMO,

Deep Wood Snare with slightly looser top head...

Flams...

1/2 Sec Reverb with Some Pre-delay...

-kp-
 
some kind of room sound on it in stereo with snare panned center- not sure if its flams or delay - probably delay
 
the snare drum,tuning and snare tension make up most of the fat deep sound on that clip.i would suggest that when you are working on the sound,don't forget that the snare is going to be on your overhead tracks too.a lot of times it isn't just one mic on a recording that makes the sound,but a combination of mics.try boosting around 100 hz on the overheads and see what happens in conjunction with the sm 57 on the snare.you may want to add a touch of soft compression to the overheads to get it under control,but be careful not to squash your cymbals........good luck....peace
 
hey strmker you ain't a newbie - I've got a mate here in the land of OZ who fixes old valve car radios??

cheers
 
i guess it just says i'm a newbie because of my number of posts.i signed up quite a while back,then i had to go back out on the road for awhile so i could pay off some nagging debts and wasn't able to keep up with the board.now i am back home working in my studio and doing local gigs so i am able to get active at this again.i may even find time to restore the 1965 chevy pickup in my yard if i can stay home.this one isn't quite old enough for a valve radio,but i have had a couple that were............peace
 
well...

thats not only snare you hearing there..sounds like he's hitting it in unison with a rack tom. and you need a fat snare sound to begin with. experiment with different mic positions and head tuning.
 
snare sound

i don't know what heads or kind of snare you're using but i find i get the best sound from a snare doing the following: remo ebony pinstripe on top remo ambassador snare side head on bottom. extra wide snares attached with mylar strip at butt end, snare cord at strainer end (to give it some play) make sure you over tighten top head and back it off to seat it properly on the bearing edge. on the bottom lugs tighten the ones closest to the snare tight and the ones farthest from the snare looser. if you look sideways down the snares the rim of the drum will be in a v shape. this set up will give you plenty of punch, good white noise from the snares and keep the overtones down to a minimum while still retaining a good bit of bottom end.
 
Everybody has some good suggestions here... I agree with what others have said that it sounds like the snare is a very deep one. Also don't listen to just your snare mic - make sure you have a mic or two picking up the sound of the room and listen to the combination of the two signals.

I agree also that it sounds like there's a short reverb with lots of predelay on that snare, which can sound like a flam if he's not actually doing flams.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned which is a good trick if you have pitch control on your recorder: if you're recording on tape, record the drums with the machine vari-speeded up just a couple of cents. You will have to play at a slightly faster tempo (might want to record a click track at normal speed onto a spare track, then speed up the tape and play to the click). Then when you slow the tape back to normal speed, the drums get fatter and deeper. This can be helpful if your drums aren't that deep or your heads sound flabby when they're tuned low.

Of course if you're recording to hard disk you can pitch shift the drums without having to record them at a faster tempo. Either way, it sounds awesome!

--Lee
 
Hmmmm...

Personally, I think the snare sounds phoney, and like poo poo. Sorry, just what I think. I am sure though that the producer and the artist liked the sound.

I agree that is sound like a pitch shifter and a dab of delay. Possibly, it could be the drummer hitting the floor tom and the snare at the same time, and a short delay is applied to the snare mic. Without hearing the rest of the tune, none of us could be sure.

You know, a doppler reverb effect could possibly give that effect too....:)

Ed
 
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