Ear-piercing snare!

[legobeast]

Ear-piercing snare!

Hi guys,
I've been learning the drums for a couple of years now, using a Traps E450 electronic kit. That's great fun, but no surprise, the urge to get a 'real' drum or drum set has been growing. A few weeks ago I bought a Tama Metalworks 14 x 5.5 steel snare. Of course, it's great to play - only one problem. Even pretty light strokes on the centre of the batter head produce an ear-piercing crack! Now, I know that the small room environment in which I practise will exaggerate this effect, and I probably need to develop more finesse, after getting used to bouncy mesh heads of the E-kit. However, I am wondering if a different batter head might help to reduce the volume a bit.

The drum comes with an Evans Powercenter Reverse Dot head.

So, my question is, are there alternative batter heads that would help to reduce the volume, or are there other techniques that could do the same thing?

Appreciate any advice a lot. Thanks

[Muse FTW]

Try sticking a Moongel on it...if there's ringing / buzzing it will stop.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

If you want to reduce the volume try hitting not as hard. Seriously, it's called dynamics. The drum will only be as loud as you hit it. To me it is that simple.

[legobeast]

Thanks for the hints,

The snare has a damping ring which pretty much takes care of the ring - the issue is just the basic volume.

I need to get used to the transition between the mesh heads of the E-kit (which are pretty unresponsive to dynamics) and the real snare.

That said, it would still be good to hear something about heads, if anyone out there has some knowledge. My impression was that some heads promote volume, others less so. Is this not true?

Cheers guys

[Kothlow]

Earmuffs :D No offence haha, had to.

[theuntitleddrummer]

I have the exact same snare and it sounds so good for its price. I agree is loud if you give it a whack but again its technique. I believe there are some jazz drummers who play with metal snares. Its the way to hit not material.

[tomtom]

Try a Remo Emperor X. It should warm it up and reduce the "bullet through your brain" effect. Seriously.

[jjmason777]

Well first, it IS a steel drum. It's going to have a lot of bite to it. You are also not used to it because you are used to hearing your e-kit snare. As far as head choice, here's one more to try: Aquarian Hi Energy Snare head. That should tame it some.

[larryace]

Control it with your touch, it's better...and cheaper that way too, Drums are like women, (or men if you're female) you have to know how to touch them to get them to do what you want. You're experiencing culture shock from moving from an mesh head kit to a sensitive acoustic drum, you have to rethink the whole touch thing. A little difference in pressure makes a lot of difference sonically with a drum more so than a mesh head

[Niles]

Practice your double stroke roll. If you can take it from a whisper to a rim shot you have concored the acustic snare drum. Niles

[Monica McCoy]

Drums are loud. The snare drum is the loudest drum in your kit so it is no surprise you are experiencing this. Play with ear protection.

[legobeast]

Thanks for lots of great advice! Ear muffs! Yep, that's my fave!

Actually, I did just get some Elacin ER20-S ear plugs. Not exactly what I would call perfect comfort, but they did the trick really well.

Culture shock. Spot on. That's exactly it. There really is much more of a contrast with the e-snare than I had expected, and I probably exaggerated things by choosing a pretty potent steel snare. Still, I can already begin to appreciate the beauty of a real instrument, so am not at all put off.

Great to have the two suggestions on heads. I will definitely do some experimentation there, but working all the while to improve on the dynamics.

"Bullet through your brain effect!" Nice one! Yeh, it's pretty much like that in my little room at the moment. Ear plugs are great for that, but I think I need to buy some for the rest of the family now!

[Bonzo_CR]

Congratulations. You have discovered the nature of acoustic drums. They're loud!
That's why I only have an electronic kit at home for practice - my real kit is in an underground rehearsal room. And I wear earplugs every time I play the acoustic kit.

I had a teacher who put a towel across his snare to keep the volume down for the neighbours, but for me it affected the feel of the drum too much.

To keep the volume down, you you should lay off the rim-shots, and you can can hit 'em more gently, but there are limits to this. I like Niles' idea - practicing double-stroke rolls is a good way to play a little quieter and develop your technique.

[stickers]

If hes in a small room with lots of reflective surfaces, the drum can pretty harsh sounding.

The a thin tea napkin may help but it will effect the rebound/feel.

Id probably just wear ear plugs.