I put some single ply heads on my kit, and the snare rings terribly. I know there is no way to complete get rid of snare ring, but it rings when i hit all the toms. Also has some left over buzz after i hit the snare. I have searched online for some different tuning methods, and nothing seems to cure this over tone issue.
Snare ringing
- Thread starter gbftats
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Funky Crêpe
Silver Member
it could just be the drums, thats my problem!
brady
Platinum Member
Snares always seem to ring badly, especially when you're right on top of it. Have a friend play your kit while you listen from across the room, or record yourself playing. Your snare may not be ringing as much as you think.
You do want some ring though; that's what allows your snare to be heard over the other instruments.
nathaniel_h
Junior Member
I just bought and replaced my reso head on my snare... and I have the same problem. What's even more annoying, is I can't get rid of the ringing even with moongel or remo rings (which I don't like as much as moongel anymore, they cause buzz!). I guess you just have to experiment... spend a lot of time trying to get that reso head at the right tuning.
I have found that letting a drum be completely open (when appropriate) will always blend better with the mix. If there is some ring/sustain that is a good thing. What you do not want is a grating overtone. If it is not hard on the ears then it should be fine. As others have said, let some one else hit the drums while you stand away from them; the difference is drastic. Besides, putting single ply heads on any drum will increase sustain/ring. If you don't want any sustain use some Evans Hydraulics or something.
drumtechdad
Gold Member
If you play out unmiked, let it ring. And take the advice offered above and have someone play the drum in a venue-sized room while you listen from 30' away. You'll be amazed at how much of that ring is gone. Now muffle it to sound the way you want from the driver's seat and repeat the experiment. You'll find that the drum sounds soft and lifeless.
If you play out miked, there are a variety of heads that can tame an excessive ring. Some have perimeter rings, some have center dots, each helps with different kinds of ring.
If it's just for your practice space, throw a studio ring on it.
If snare buzz is your issue, see here and here.
If you play out miked, there are a variety of heads that can tame an excessive ring. Some have perimeter rings, some have center dots, each helps with different kinds of ring.
If it's just for your practice space, throw a studio ring on it.
If snare buzz is your issue, see here and here.
I was using Studio X heads, on my kit because i normall host practice in a small bedroom. The drums just felt to life less so i put some more opened up heads on it. The toms sound great but every time i hit them it triggers the rattle on the snare. The snare its self sounds good, good sustain with a little snare buzz at the end, but like mentioned above i dont think its enough to notice from anyone listening. The Main concern is snare rattle everytime i move around the kit. Its just so noise. Ill try some of these things mentioned above, thanks.
Travis22
Senior Member
I'm not an expert, but do you think maybe it's because you have a single ply head on your snare? I had the same issue a couple of weeks ago when I put all new heads on my kit. What I did to elminate the unwanted ringing was tune the top head where I wanted it and then tune the bottom head slightly higher in pitch. I do use an Evans Genera Dry Coated batter head, so like I said, not sure if that makes a difference in the results since you are using a single ply head. But it's probably worth a shot if you aren't getting the results you are wanting.
Coldhardsteel
Gold Member
This can't be cured, but it can be treated by...
You guessed it...
Retuning!
It may not float your boat, but tuning the head as high as you can go without actually breaking it is probably your best bet for eliminating as much ring as possible.
the problem seemed to be the heads. I went down and picked up a coated ambassador for the top and a clear for the bottom. Man this thing sings now. completly brought my snare back to life. Now i have to buy some new heads for the toms because it makes them sound like cheap warn out plastic.. damnit...
C
Crazy8s
Guest
Before you go out and buy all new heads, try taking your toms one by one off your set up and practice tuning them different ways with the heads they already have. Look inside the drums and see if there is dust and whatnot hiding in between the head collars and shell. If so, take off the heads and clean them real good.
Getting good at tuning drums takes real practice, so the more you do it the better you will get at it. You will also learn more about how your drums work while doing so. Being a great drummer is being the whole package where you are practiced at all the things that make a drummer sound great!
Peace,
Crazy 8s
Getting good at tuning drums takes real practice, so the more you do it the better you will get at it. You will also learn more about how your drums work while doing so. Being a great drummer is being the whole package where you are practiced at all the things that make a drummer sound great!
Peace,
Crazy 8s
Larry
"Uncle Larry"
Good advice here on solving your "problem". I would like to put forth the notion that perhaps you should embrace the ring. Unmiced, ring is what makes the drum sound full of life and allows it to speak in it's own unique way. Limiting the ring, limits the drum, killing the ring kills the drum. That's a fact. That ring is your best friend. Unmuffled well tuned ringing drums sound beautiful.
Muffling drums is selfish. You're depriving the audience of the very best frequencies that your drums are capable of, and hamstringing your own sound on purpose.
I suggest making a recording of your drums, in a band setting, unmuffled and muffled. Make sure the mic is where the audience would be and listen for yourself. If you still prefer the unmuffled sound then I will concede.
I apologize if my attitude is harsh. I just detest seeing guys desecrate beautiful drum sounds on purpose.
I am referring to unmiced situations only.
Miced situations....I still prefer open drums whenever possible, but there are other factors to consider. Unmiced always sounds better unmuffled in the audience.
Muffling drums is selfish. You're depriving the audience of the very best frequencies that your drums are capable of, and hamstringing your own sound on purpose.
I suggest making a recording of your drums, in a band setting, unmuffled and muffled. Make sure the mic is where the audience would be and listen for yourself. If you still prefer the unmuffled sound then I will concede.
I apologize if my attitude is harsh. I just detest seeing guys desecrate beautiful drum sounds on purpose.
I am referring to unmiced situations only.
Miced situations....I still prefer open drums whenever possible, but there are other factors to consider. Unmiced always sounds better unmuffled in the audience.
Andy
Honorary Member
If you really must remove the ring on your snare, assuming you really have properly explored all tuning options, then an Evans Genera HD Dry batter head will do the job for you whilst still keeping a light & sensitive feel to the drum. I hate that jelly crap, & all other dampening stuff with passion. I use an HD Dry on my 13" studio snare, but it's too dry for most applications.
dairyairman
Platinum Member
that's some mighty good advice right there.
i've been using a moongel on my snare lately, but i think i'm going to take it off for the next show. i've been recording our shows with my trusty zoom recorder and i'm gradually coming to the conclusion that any muffling is bad in an unmiced situation. i had already replaced all the pinstripe heads that came with my kit with evans g2 heads to give the toms more ring. that helped. but my snare still sounds choked in the last recording i made. i think it'd sound better if it had no muffling at all, so i'm gonna try that.
alparrott
Diamond Member
+1 to this. True story. I bought my church a floor model PDP drumset to upgrade from the Pearl Forum they had been using. The snare came with an Emperor X head (coated Emp with a subsurface Black Dot) which muffled and removed all the ring from the drum. Behind the kit, it sounded wonderful - the processed studio sound you hear in your head. However, that muffled, non-ringing snare could not project. Without those crucial high-frequency tones, the snare was doomed to occupy the middle of the mix where the other instruments on stage could and did overpower it. And this snare was miked.
When I got funds to rehead the drum, I threw on an Ambassador and tuned it tight. I got it as well-tuned as the naked ear can, then tweaked it to remove some, but not all, of the shell ring. I left it completely unmuffled and put the microphone back on it. Playing it, one can detect the ring. Miked, the drum simply destroys now. It cuts through the mix and precisely lays that backbeat in, so even the most rhythmically challenged parishioner can clap along now. And from the house, guess what one hears? That studio sound.
Embrace the ring! Unless you spend hours tuning and tuning, you'll probably never defeat the ring, especially on a less expensive metal shelled snare. But it helps the drum project. I say, make it part of your sound, because it helps that drum get through the mix and get to the audience.