Annoying buzz in snare drum

GuJo

Junior Member
Hi, I'm new to the forum, and I have a problem with my snare drum that I have been trying everything I can think of to get rid of.

I have a 6.5x14 Gretsch Hammered Steel snare, and I can tune it satisfactory when it comes to pitches (fundamental and lug pitches etc.)
What I can't do is make the sound of the snares themselves sound good. I have been looking for tips all over off and on for a couple of years.

No matter how carefully I attach the snare wires, or what tension I have them at, I get this really annoying buzzing sound. It's not just snare buzz as in sympathetic snare buzz, I know how to set the length of that.

It's kind of hard to hear in the audio file so after the first two hits I tried to clip gain the buzzing sound. So, two normal hits and then the same hits with clip gained tail.

When recorded it's not as much of a problem, but it really bugs me when playing.

Thanks in advance for any help I can get!

/Gujo


Edit: Oh, I'm not talking about the fundamental tone ringing either, but under it there's that buzzing.
 

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Is it possible you have either a small crack in the shell somewhere, or a chip of metal, maybe even a washer--hiding?? Have you completely disassembled it and taken a close look?

I'm just spit-ballin'. Good Luck
 
Is it possible you have either a small crack in the shell somewhere, or a chip of metal, maybe even a washer--hiding?? Have you completely disassembled it and taken a close look?

I'm just spit-ballin'. Good Luck


Hi and thanks for your reply!

I went over the whole thing and checked all the screws etc. Also, when I disengage the wires there's no problem.

In the audio example the batter head is pretty low, but I've tried all kinds of combos with the tuning. Right now the reso head is as tight as I dare going :D
 
The nut that holds the tuning key holder was loose on mine... sounds like you've ruled that out. What snare is on the drum? The stock Gretsch snares aren't very good.
 
The nut that holds the tuning key holder was loose on mine... sounds like you've ruled that out. What snare is on the drum? The stock Gretsch snares aren't very good.

Yes I’ve ruled that out. The snares are pearl 20 snares, but I have tried another 20 and evena 12 snares one.

Thanks for helping!
 
Boy, I hate it when I have to deal with that kind of buzz. Anybody who's been drumming for any amount of time has had to tackle it, too. The snare wires are rarely the problem - when turned on, the snares simply make that resonance audible. The resonance is there whether the snares are on or off, but the wires themselves are simply doing what they are designed to do - speak out when they are vibrated. That's why you can't hear the drone when the snares are turned off.

Unfortunately, this too often happens at exactly the tuning we are looking for. And the cure for it, as always, is experimentation. The easiest way to find out if the reso head is the culprit is to insert a few cotton balls into the vent hole so that they can damp the reso head. Start with just one cotton ball, and add more if needed. If that works, and you happen to like the resulting sound, you're done.

I'm not an advocate of the super-tight reso head. My belief is that the reso should be tightened medium tight above wrinkle, with all tone responsibilities relegated to the batter head. In your case, I'd start with a new reso. Sounds like your batter has not been tuned very high, so if it's fairly new it should be fine. If it's older and stretched out, replace it, too.

In my experience: bring the reso up to medium tight. Be sure that your snares are in perfect alignment. Then, start tensioning the batter head and listening for the annoying resonance. Keep bringing up the tension on the batter until you hear the resonance tuning out. It may take a higher tension than you are seeking, but in my experience this will typically do the trick.

Of course, there are lots of other experimentations that you can do, such as changing the batter composition - dots, two-plies, control rings, etc. Changes to the batter head are going to change the resonance frequency, and may actually get it high enough that you can use the lower tuning you are using now.

It seems to me that the lower the tuning the more likely we are to encounter these aggravating resonances.

These are just my thoughts. Others will be along with more ideas for you.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Check your lug screws to the body. Had this once & drove me mad for ages.
 
Boy, I hate it when I have to deal with that kind of buzz. Anybody who's been drumming for any amount of time has had to tackle it, too. The snare wires are rarely the problem - when turned on, the snares simply make that resonance audible. The resonance is there whether the snares are on or off, but the wires themselves are simply doing what they are designed to do - speak out when they are vibrated. That's why you can't hear the drone when the snares are turned off.

Unfortunately, this too often happens at exactly the tuning we are looking for. And the cure for it, as always, is experimentation. The easiest way to find out if the reso head is the culprit is to insert a few cotton balls into the vent hole so that they can damp the reso head. Start with just one cotton ball, and add more if needed. If that works, and you happen to like the resulting sound, you're done.

I'm not an advocate of the super-tight reso head. My belief is that the reso should be tightened medium tight above wrinkle, with all tone responsibilities relegated to the batter head. In your case, I'd start with a new reso. Sounds like your batter has not been tuned very high, so if it's fairly new it should be fine. If it's older and stretched out, replace it, too.

In my experience: bring the reso up to medium tight. Be sure that your snares are in perfect alignment. Then, start tensioning the batter head and listening for the annoying resonance. Keep bringing up the tension on the batter until you hear the resonance tuning out. It may take a higher tension than you are seeking, but in my experience this will typically do the trick.

Of course, there are lots of other experimentations that you can do, such as changing the batter composition - dots, two-plies, control rings, etc. Changes to the batter head are going to change the resonance frequency, and may actually get it high enough that you can use the lower tuning you are using now.

It seems to me that the lower the tuning the more likely we are to encounter these aggravating resonances.

These are just my thoughts. Others will be along with more ideas for you.

GeeDeeEmm


Perfect! I will try all of this tomorrow. I’ve never been so frustrates with an instrument before. I want to focus on tuning and recording, without the sound of a tiny, snoring alien in there ?

Thanks for the help, what a place!
 
Yep sympathetic buzz is a problem I was having and finally got rid of it-then recording I noted a buzz in my snare when I hit it. A note then a resonance buzz for a millisecond. You can detune lugs near wires, adjust wire tension listening to buzz which loosening to barely touch worked great for sympathetic buzz but I had to tighten mine so it didn't choke and didn't just buzz after a stroke. Now this is a cheaper snares I have the issue too so the snare build may have something to do with it. I didn't even notice it till I recorded the snare. It could be crappy wires and need new ones?
 
""Quote...Also, when I disengage the wires there's no problem. ""



But when the snares are disengaged the noise is gone. Are all of the snares parallel when engaged. One side no tighter than the other leaving loose, askew snare wires. Turn the drum upside down with the snares engaged and look for snare wires that are looser than others. Re-tighten or re-align the strings or strap. Also check the snare throw off for loose screws.
 
But when the snares are disengaged the noise is gone. Are all of the snares parallel when engaged. One side no tighter than the other leaving loose, askew snare wires. Turn the drum upside down with the snares engaged and look for snre wires that are looser than others. Re-tighten the strings or strap.

Good call-should have been first thing to do-it may need centering or some snare or some faulty wires. Some wires seem to work better with string and other work better with plastic on my snares-I don't know why.
 
I agree with get Agrippa ,,about detuning the 4 lugs near the snare wires,,,also check your snare wire ends are straight,,just like u would check your hoops
 
What reso head is on it? I was having an issue where the sound of the snare was making the toms ring, which in turn was making the snares buzz (sympathetic buzz?). Switched to an Evans Glass 500 reso from the super thin Remo Clear Ambassador (just because it hadn't been changed in about 10 years!) and the problem went away.
 
I bet you dollars to donuts that it's being caused by your toms. Playing the snare drum causes the other drum heads to get activated and they, in turn, ring and cause the snare wires to "buzz". Take the snare drum away from the set and then see if it still happens.
 
I bet you dollars to donuts that it's being caused by your toms. Playing the snare drum causes the other drum heads to get activated and they, in turn, ring and cause the snare wires to "buzz". Take the snare drum away from the set and then see if it still happens.

The "sympathetic tonal buzz", thing? lol. Hate that stuff

We had a kit in school I think?. . .back in the 80s, maybe Jr. High--had bad sympathetic buzz and vibrations going on. Pretty sure that led to a newer Yammie.
 
One way to lessen the buzz, is to loosen the snare wire tension. Sounds counter-intuitive but that's what happens to me.

I tried so much to eliminate it, blankets between my 10" tom (the offender) and the snare, foam stips under the snare wires...Nothing worked. Only my high tom sets them off to an irritating degree. I sort of gave up trying to eliminate it for a while. Next I'll try a 12 and 13 up top, tuned about the same as my 10 and 12, to see if there's any differences.

Your snare in the recording isn't buzzing excessively IMO. That sounds very normal. It's the first tom that really set mine off.
 
Well he's been gone for three weeks, so maybe he took up the violin.
 
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