SNARE TUNING

RichieQ,

Glad you were able to dial in your drums.
Sounds like you've got a nice little kit now.
BTW, in case you were wondering, the reason I asked which Imperialstar you have is because the new ones are a completely different drum than the old ones.
Enjoy!



Elvis
 
Thanks....and Yes....I really love this set....they look and sound great. What were the old Imperialstars like? This is the first time I owned Tama drums.

Richie Q
 
Does anybody else around here find themselves tuning their snares to eliminate sympathetic Tom buzz? Right now, my snare is tuned tighter than Buddy Rich's probably ever was, because my 10" Tom was starting to sound like a snare drum itself with lower tunings on my snare.
 
RichieQ said:
Thanks....and Yes....I really love this set....they look and sound great. What were the old Imperialstars like? This is the first time I owned Tama drums.

Richie Q
Click to expand...
Fat and kinda warm, but with presence and a bright quality.
The old Imperialstars were a Birch/Mahogany composite (IIRC) and the top Tama drum until the debut of the Artstar series, about 6 or 7 years later.
Considering that new Imperialstars are a beginner / student line kit, I suspect they're made from whatever it is that Tama can get for the cheapest price...and that most likely changes by the batch.


Elvis
 
today i purchased powerstroke 3 head for my snare and was trying to tune it in but didnt come close to tuning.. now i've been wondering for a while about my snare.

I can tune my toms in fine but since i got my saturn kit the saturn snare never really tuned.

Also i noticed when un-tightening my bolts one lug doesnt loosen directly up it goes into the rim same as re-tightening it.. could this stop the snare from being tuned? if so does anyone know how to fix it? do i need a new hoop?
 
Sounds like a bad one got through the line at the Mapex factory.
If the kit's new, take the snare drum back and exchange it for something else (don't forget to take the receit with you, too).
If the nazi behind the counter refuses to work with you, ask to speak to a manager.
If the nazi behind the counter refuses to grant your meeting with the manager (will probably use the old "I-am-the-manager" con), go home, get on your computer, find the website for the store you bought that POS snare drum from and e-mail your complaint to the manager, and name the nazi you dealt with.
You should receive a prompt reply from the manager and if you don't (be fair - give 'em a week to respond), then write to Mapex and explain your problem and mention how poorly you treated by that fascist regime of a store and the nazi's who work there.
If a company receives enough complaints about one of its dealers, they WILL pull the dealership.

Alternate scenario:
If the manager doesn't respond to your e-mail, and the fascist regime of a store is actually part of a chain of Nationalist Socialist Republictarians, then write the Furher of that company and tell them about that Fascist Regime of a store.
...and if you don't hear back from them, THEN write to Mapex.


...but start by taking the snare drum back to the store, first.

Just be a "human being" and explain to the guy what's going on.
There is such a thing as a "return" at a music store, too, ya know.



Elvis
 
Help!
Im having problems with my snare. It sounds great and all, but everytime i hit my 12" or 13" toms, they get that nasty rattling sound from the damn thing. how do i get rid of this? I have a pear forum kit, it is about a year old. everything is in tune but the snare is pissing me off. i use dampner rings to eliminate most of this but its still there. I use evans g2 heads with the tiny holes around the oustide (if that matters). Its tuned pretty high, but if i tune it lower, it makes it worse and it wont go any higher, and i dont want it to.
any suggestions?
 
Your problem is that the 12, the 13 and the snare are all tuned to complimentary notes, so when one is struck, it makes the others "sing", because they're all harmonizing.
You can do one of three things...

1) Retune at least one of those drums so that the phenomena stops.
An old roadie's trick is to slightly loosen the 4 tension rods on the bottom of the snare drum, that are immediately next to each end of the wires.

...or...

2) Change the tension of the snare wires. This might stop the problem, but its easy to over-do and you can easily end up with a boxy and unsensitive snare drum.
What I suggest doing is hitting whichever tom seems to cause the problem more, repeatedly (just hard enough to get the problem to happen), while slowly tightening on the snare wires.
If you run out of adjustment on the strainer, then retune the snare drum and readjust the snare wire tension.


...or...

3) Don't worry about it. Drums vibrate. It happens and you're probably the only one or two people who even notice it.

When you're playing in a band, it all blends together and the audience won't even pick up on the snare buzz.
If you're in a recording situation and need a temporary fix, on the spot, you can tape the snares to the head while the snares are turned on (that is, if you don't have to turn the snares off during the song). Run a couple of strips of electrical tape across the snares about half way between the edge and the center of the head.
After the session's over, or if there's enough time between takes, pull the tape and work on retuning the heads.

DON'T CHEAT AND JUST TAPE THE WIRES. DO IT RIGHT AND WORK ON RETUNING AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE DRUMS.
One of these days you'll thank me, and yourself, for figuring out how to do it right.




Elvis
 
I tried re-tuning my snare and now it gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg rattles whenever i hit any of my toms as well as my kick. Now im just pissed off, because i put it back to how it was and the whole thing has gone to shit. I cant seem to figure out any way to make it stop buzzing. ive been trying to fix this for two days. Ive tried all kinds of tunings on the batter top and the bottom skin and nothing. it has nothing to do with the tension of the snare wires either. i cant get a good sound out of it all of the sudden. i tried the rodie trick, the tape.. nothing. ohh yeah, im also broke so spending money is a no.

has this happened to anyone else? if so id like to hear from them.
but thank you anyways Elvis for your advice

EDIT: okay i got it in tune and everything, BUT the damn thing buzzes still, and it didnt two days ago. wtf? I am using a 13" Tom and a 16" floor tom and a 22' kick. They ALL make the snare buzz now and it is very stressfull. It needs to be fixed by this weekend for sure, but the sooner the better, because id like to use this week for practice and warm up. I am clueless.......... :(
 
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Neverender,

Forgive me, for I just realized I may have overlooked something when I read about your dilemma.

Try placing your hand, flat, against the bottom head of the snare drum so that you're holding the wires, too.
Now try hitting the other drums and tell me if you still hear the buzzing noise.


Elvis
 
Yeah, kinda figured.
It could be loose hardware, too.
Way back when, the springs inside the lugs used to rattle and buzz sometimes.
Drove some drummers nuts trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.
The old solution is to take cotton balls and stuff them inside the lugs.
Check to see if all the scews are tight first.
Sometimes its washers rattling against loose screw heads.

...or are you absolutely sure the buzz is coming from the snare wires.
If so, retune your 13. Seems to be the biggest offender.



Elvis
 
Hi! i have a mapex q series drumset (its cheap, but i really like the sound) which came with a 14'' wood snare. the thing is, i want it to sound really tight, but at the same time being able to make multibounce strokes without them sounding too detailed. what i mean by this is, if i don't tighten my snare drum and tighten the "snare hairs" (i dont know the english word for that part of the snare) i get this buzzy sound which i don't like after every stroke i make, but at the same time when i do a multibounce roll or a doble stroke before a single stroke fill, the multibouncxe roll sound too tight and, ironically as this might sound, i like the buzzy sound created by a multibounce roll or a doble strokes before a single stroke fill (instead of L-R-L-R, i make a double stroke before the fill so i goes rr-L-R-L-R)

Hope someone understood me...

Thx!
 
hey guys,

I am fairly new at this so pls take it easy on me. I own a yamaha stage custom all-birch kit and i really love it. However, for the snare, I've been trying to get this sound like tony royster, carter beauford or buddy rich's snare. I went to a music store and the guy said was the closest i can get to it is to buy evans drumhead genera dry and puresound equalizer snare wires.... which i did, but still no luck for me, i always get that vibrating/buzzing sound. Any suggestions? Or is it just my tuning?
 
ak0uz said:
Hi! i have a mapex q series drumset (its cheap, but i really like the sound) which came with a 14'' wood snare. the thing is, i want it to sound really tight, but at the same time being able to make multibounce strokes without them sounding too detailed. what i mean by this is, if i don't tighten my snare drum and tighten the "snare hairs" (i dont know the english word for that part of the snare) i get this buzzy sound which i don't like after every stroke i make, but at the same time when i do a multibounce roll or a doble stroke before a single stroke fill, the multibouncxe roll sound too tight and, ironically as this might sound, i like the buzzy sound created by a multibounce roll or a doble strokes before a single stroke fill (instead of L-R-L-R, i make a double stroke before the fill so i goes rr-L-R-L-R)

Hope someone understood me...

Thx!
Click to expand...
The figure you're talking about is (was?) called "lesson 25". Its a rudiment. Its the figure used in the song "The Little Drummer Boy".
Its basically a ruff followed by a single stroke roll.
As for your snare drum, check the placement of the snare wires.
Flip the drum over and loosen the "clamps" which hold the straps to the drum.
Allow the snare (what you call "snare hairs") to lay flat against the head, and make sure its situated in the middle of the head and also that it runs straight across the middle of the head.
Make sure the strainer is turned "off" and re-attach the straps to the "clamps" on the drum.
Then, flip it over and see how it plays.
If there's still too much sustain, you might need to muffle the batter head a little. Try placing a piece of duct tape across it, at the half way point between the middle and the edge of the head.
...you could also lay your wallet on it, biased to one side so its out of the way).
That should give you the sound you're looking for.
If the snare won't lay flat on the head, then it may be bent (or "warped") and you'd probably do best to get a new one (they're cheap. Just get a "snappy" snare. Its basically the same thing you have on there now).

Hope that helped.



Elvis
 
jomster said:
hey guys,

I am fairly new at this so pls take it easy on me. I own a yamaha stage custom all-birch kit and i really love it. However, for the snare, I've been trying to get this sound like tony royster, carter beauford or buddy rich's snare. I went to a music store and the guy said was the closest i can get to it is to buy evans drumhead genera dry and puresound equalizer snare wires.... which i did, but still no luck for me, i always get that vibrating/buzzing sound. Any suggestions? Or is it just my tuning?
Click to expand...
WHY YOU LITTLE!....(just kidding).
It is important to remember that what you hear on a lot of recordings is not the "natural" sound of the drums, as they were being recorded.
Chances are very good that the drums being recorded probably sounded more like the boxes they came in, as opposed to the sound you heard on the finished product.
It sounds to me like you're looking for a very crisp and dry sound out of your snare drum.
To that end, make sure your snare is laying flat against the head and is centered, as I told "ak0uz", and try placing something on the batter head.
Then hit the center of the batter head with the stick. Use light-moderate force and pull the stick off the head as soon as you hit it.
Don't "pound" the snare drum.
That sound can be as much about technique as it is about setting the up the drum.
BTW, you can augment laying something on the batter head, by utilizing a pre-muffled batter head, such as an Aquarian Studio-X or a Remo PS3.
If the tone of the drum still doesn't agree with you, chances are pretty good then, that part of the sound you're looking for is inherit in the drum itself.
This means you may have to get another snare drum, or at least, change out the shell.
I'm fairly certain all 3 people you mentioned tend to prefer a certain type of metal shelled snare drum.
Hope that helps.


Elvis
 
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