Does this snare have too much ring??

Stroman

Stroman

Diamond Member
OK, I'm just stirring the pot here a little, but after the previous thread about snare ring I thought I'd see what people thought of this. This kit was recorded completely unmuffled except for felt strips in the bass drum. Remo coated Ambassador X on the snare, coated Emperors everywhere else.

I'd like to hear if you think this is too much ring.
 

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That snare didn't ring, It Popped.
It sounded perfect on that recording.
Ring is usually only heard by the drummer when he is sitting over the snare.
 
A coated Ambassador X is 20% thicker than a standard Ambassador and I think that takes out a good part of the ring as heard in the backbeat. I caught a glimpse of the ring at around 3:08...it was not excessive by any means, I like more even, but I thought your snare sound was very good for this.
 
Yeah, it as alot of "pop". Sounds somewhat dry, and with some "airy" overtones (you might call that ring). But I wouldn't muffle it (personally) because it isn't too "saturated" or "wet" and you would just end up killing the sound (most likely). But I think it sounds really good.


Let me guess, do you crank the bottom (Resonant head) really tight?

Let me also guess, does it have a Die Cast hoop (at least on the batter)?

I have a snare that sounds pretty much identical to yours. It has an ambassador coated batter, and Ambo Reso snare side...nothing special, but it works!

Also, I don't know who, what, when or how you recorded this, but Pure MAGIC can happen if you know how to use a good compressor on your snare drum.

Btw, don't take offence, but as a guitar player I feel qualified to comment on the song. Your guitarist needs to get a fatter sound, and it sounds way too flat, and almost like he is playing through a harsh-sounding solid state amp.

I think since the guitar sounds a little "wimpy" in the mix, and bass sounds a little muddy in the mix, naturally listeners ears are going to focus in on the next loudest thing...the snare. In other words, your snare is going to "appear" to be louder. Thus this "Ring" will be more easily heard in a recording. Just my theory. Good playing though. And really nice Drum tones I'm hearing.

P.S. sorry for the Honesty.
 
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larryace said:
A coated Ambassador X is 20% thicker than a standard Ambassador and I think that takes out a good part of the ring as heard in the backbeat. I caught a glimpse of the ring at around 3:08...it was not excessive by any means, I like more even, but I thought your snare sound was very good for this.
Click to expand...

I rather agree Larry. I went to the X strictly for durability, and it sounds OK, but it's definitely drier than a regular Ambassador. I actually named this thread with tongue in cheek, because the snare is tuned as "ringy" as I can get it within the frequency range that I want, and I'd still like more!
 
cobamnator said:
Yeah, it as alot of "pop". Sounds somewhat dry, and with some "airy" overtones (you might call that ring). But I wouldn't muffle it (personally) because it isn't too "saturated" or "wet". And I think it sounds good.


Let me guess, do you crank the bottom (Resonant head) really tight?

Let me also guess, does it have a Die Cast hoop (at least on the batter)?

I have a snare that sounds pretty much identical to yours. It has an ambassador coated batter, and Ambo Reso snare side...nothing special, but it works!
Click to expand...

I doubt the reso is as tight as you think! I tend to tune by pitch rather than "tightness." I believe in this recording, the reso was a minor third higher than the batter, but can't remember for sure. That's about as high as I go, and this sounds like that tuning. I used several different tunings when we recorded the demo.

Oh, and the snare is a stock Pork Pie Big Black with triple flanged hoops. In general it is much drier sounding than I expected from a brass snare.
 
IDDrummer said:
I doubt the reso is as tight as you think! I tend to tune by pitch rather than "tightness." I believe in this recording, the reso was a minor third higher than the batter, but can't remember for sure. That's about as high as I go, and this sounds like that tuning. I used several different tunings when we recorded the demo.

Oh, and the snare is a stock Pork Pie Big Black with triple flanged hoops. In general it is much drier sounding than I expected from a brass snare.
Click to expand...

Wow, it actually sounds drier than I would of though with these specs.

You said, "minor third higher than the batter, but can't remember for sure." But how high is the batter?
 
cobamnator said:
Wow, it actually sounds drier than I would of though with these specs.

You said, "minor third higher than the batter, but can't remember for sure." But how high is the batter?
Click to expand...

Again, don't remember for sure, but my usual "low" tuning is B flat, midrange is C and my "high" tuning is C sharp. I *think* this is C sharp. Kinda dumb, but I'm used to hearing the drum from sitting over it, so I really can't tell from the recording!

Edit - just for clarification, I don't tune to a certain note because I want THAT note. I tune to a sound I like and then fine tune to a note so I can repeat various tunings. For everyday gigging with this band, I usually stuck to "C" with reso at D sharp as a good compromise for all the styles we played. But once in a while, I'd get a wild hair...
 
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cobamnator said:
Yeah, it as alot of "pop". Sounds somewhat dry, and with some "airy" overtones (you might call that ring). But I wouldn't muffle it (personally) because it isn't too "saturated" or "wet" and you would just end up killing the sound (most likely). But I think it sounds really good.


Let me guess, do you crank the bottom (Resonant head) really tight?

Let me also guess, does it have a Die Cast hoop (at least on the batter)?

I have a snare that sounds pretty much identical to yours. It has an ambassador coated batter, and Ambo Reso snare side...nothing special, but it works!

Also, I don't know who, what, when or how you recorded this, but Pure MAGIC can happen if you know how to use a good compressor on your snare drum.

Btw, don't take offence, but as a guitar player I feel qualified to comment on the song. Your guitarist needs to get a fatter sound, and it sounds way too flat, and almost like he is playing through a harsh-sounding solid state amp.

I think since the guitar sounds a little "wimpy" in the mix, and bass sounds a little muddy in the mix, naturally listeners ears are going to focus in on the next loudest thing...the snare. In other words, your snare is going to "appear" to be louder. Thus this "Ring" will be more easily heard in a recording. Just my theory. Good playing though. And really nice Drum tones I'm hearing.

P.S. sorry for the Honesty.
Click to expand...

Haha, no offense taken! I appreciate your honesty and critique. This was an absolutely low tech quick recording because one of the promoters we work with needed something for a demo. It was recorded in the living room, and NONE of us are engineers, just old musicians. :) In fact, I think a little bit of the airy quality you hear in the snare is actually just a recording artifact of some kind, maybe a bit of phase issue with the overheads? Anyway, the recording served it's purpose.

In fact, my whole purpose in posting this was to illustrate that a snare that rings quite a bit when you are playing it just doesn't usually sound that way live or in a song. That's all I wanted to get across.
 
Overall the drums/cymbals sounded great.I love drums with just a little muffling on the bass and thats it.I would even go with a regular Ambassador,because I like a little ring in my snare.Nice job,and also one of my favorite Dixie Chicks tunes.

Steve B
 
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