SNARE TUNING

Hey, i am looking for the sound that questlove has on his snare, i have a 7x14 yamaha brass with a ambassador on the top and diplomat on the bottom. thanks for any help.
 
zeppelin92,

Well, for starters, you could replace the Diplomat on the bottom of your snare drum, with an actual snare side head.
Otherwise, seems to me ?uestlove would be all about samples and electronics.
He's probably got a website. Have you tried writing him and asking?


Elvis
 
hey
i have an emperor x snare head on a metal snare (14inches by 6inches)
with the stock reso head
im looking for a nice pop sound.....like a tight snare sound

i think i might be using the wrong heads
but if i am some tuning advice would be great

as an alternative though i might go and get a cs snare head.......but wat wuld be a good reso for the head remember im after a pop sound

thanks guys much apprecited////......
 
^ as far as snare-side heads go, I swear by the Remo Hazy Ambassador. It's perfect. Pop, crack, pitch, and sustain all come from the batter head and the drum itself, not so much the bottom head. It's there to rustle the snares.

I tune my snares about medium-high these days, I guess... I have a Pearl Dennis Chambers that's definitely medium-high and it sounds fantastic with the coated Ambassador batter. Otherwise, if anyone cares, check my youtube - www.youtube.com/dwsabianguy
 
^ tighten the snare strands

So I have this problem that i posted in another thread, but i figured the topic belongs here.
I have a brass snare that im trying to tune low using a drum dial but there is this one lug that will not reach the low tension as the other 9 lugs without having to fully detach it from the hoops. For example, i'm trying to tune my snare batter to 85, but one lug will be at 87 (87 when its finger tight, barley on). In order for that lug to get down to 85, i would have to fully take it off. Does anyone know how to resolve this issue? Sorry if its confusing..

Thanks for any advice/info!
 
Hey guys! :)

Can anyone explain to me what would a pop, or crack sound on a snare would actually sound like? I'm very bad at this sound characteristics thing. Like fat or thin, and such.

I would want a snare sound like Fede Rabaquino's snare. Absolutely amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys_vS5sOUfo

How do i get my snare to sound like that? It sounds tight, yet it doesnt sound snappy. I absolutely dislike snappy snares. Most snares sound like that when tuned tight, idk why. It sounds like a really thin sound, very snappy and high pitched.
 
14x5.5 Yamaha copper Nouveau. Recently I've gravitated towards a different sound out of my kit and nowhere have I struggled more than with this single drum. It has a great hip-hopish high tuning sound, but I'm struggling to get a lower fat sound out of it. I've tried numerous different tunings. Batter low, reso lower, batter low, reso higher, batter medium, reso medium...if I tune up too much I'm right back into that high crack sound I want to avoid.

Would thicker heads help? I'm afraid you're going to tell me to go back to the drawing board with tuning so if you do; please give some specific advice.

I also tossed some puresound 20 strands on and I'm anything but sold. They rattle a ton when they're off and I play with my hands (sometimes playing with sticks too). This must have something to do with the wires connecting them to the throw-off, but I can't think of a solution. I also think they give an undesirably tinny/brassy sound to the snare. Anyone agree?

Thanks...funkytomtom
 
I have always struggled trying to get a low fat sound out of a brass shell, to me and I could be all wrong here but brass is great for a higher tuned crack sound. I think the sound Fusion is looking for is a more focused sound that wood will give you preferably single ply or stave will give. It can also be achieved with some compression through micing. I mention this alot but I use a walnut stave shell in a free floater and I get a very focused low sound even with medium high tuning. It took alot of experimenting to get a sound I like but if you tune the reso head just above wrinkle and batter medium low you'll get the lowest possible sound with those heads will give, however watch that your snares aren't too tight or you'll blow the bottom head out.
 
I just have a Mapex VXB snare drum and I just can't ever seem to get the sound i want from it. I tried tuning endlessly to get that POP sound I'm looking for but it always ends up sounding just either too fat or too ringy if tuned up high. Anyone got any ideas/solutions? Thank You.
 
14x5.5 Yamaha copper Nouveau. Recently I've gravitated towards a different sound out of my kit and nowhere have I struggled more than with this single drum. It has a great hip-hopish high tuning sound, but I'm struggling to get a lower fat sound out of it. I've tried numerous different tunings. Batter low, reso lower, batter low, reso higher, batter medium, reso medium...if I tune up too much I'm right back into that high crack sound I want to avoid.

Would thicker heads help? I'm afraid you're going to tell me to go back to the drawing board with tuning so if you do; please give some specific advice.

I also tossed some Puresound 20 strands on and I'm anything but sold. They rattle a ton when they're off and I play with my hands (sometimes playing with sticks too). This must have something to do with the wires connecting them to the throw-off, but I can't think of a solution. I also think they give an undesirably tinny/brassy sound to the snare. Anyone agree?

Thanks...funkytomtom

A few suggestions.

I'm assuming you are trying to hear the sound you want behind your kit and not by listening in front while someone else plays. That's OK but just be aware you hear more high end, snare buzz, and just a plain different sound behind the kit instead in front of it.

Also, I have to assume you are speaking about live playing and not recording. Recording uses all kinds of acoustic and electronic tricks to get that 'fat and low' sound. I've even gotten a (relatively) fat sound out of my 5x13 maple Pork Pie snare when recording

That Yamaha is a really nice drum but usually not chosen for a fat low end. Having said that, players have gotten sounds out of Black Beauty snares where they had to at least account for some of the attributes you are challenged with.

As far as the head is concerned, if you are looking to hear more low end and go for fat, get a good 2 ply coated head and match it with a new snare side head. You haven't mentioned what heads you were using and what condition they were in. That can make a real difference. If what you want to hear is a fat sound to your ears while playing in the practice room, get a really thick head like a Remo Emperor X, Aquarian Focus-X or Evans Hydraulic. That will get much closer to the sound you are looking for. However - once you do that - that's the sound you'll have. Easier to dampen and tune down a head with higher frequencies than to brighten or liven up a head which was made to eliminate high frequencies and ring.

You mention snare rattling while playing with hands and snares off. To me that sounds like the snare wires may be too tight so that they are very close to the bottom head even when turned off. . The fat sound usually includes relatively loose snare wires. Think about it this way: If you tune a snare side head loosely and have really tight snares, the snare wires will bring back some of the tension you try to lose.
Also, a low tuned drum has a more pronounced, low note fundamental (think tom sound as opposed to timbale). When you have looser snares, you let that note 'sing' more. less snare wires would also help. For instance, I have 12 strand Puresounds on my 6 x 14 Pork Pie ash snare. Great sound for organic, big back beats - but not for higher pitched David Garibaldi type snare sensitivity. A trade off but a good one as long as use the right approach. If I put 42 strand snare wires on it and tuned that snare up, I could get closer to DG and a tighter, funk sound. If the brass sound from the Puresound isn't working, try another manufacturer. My Mapex Phosphor Bronze snare didn't like Puresound 16 strand Customs although all my other wood and metal snares did. I put the stock Mapex snare wires back on and it sounded better. FWIW: the black Mapex snare wires look closer to an old, discontinued Puresound lower snare wires line. You could try either their Concert series or get some more standard Gibraltar snare wires and see if they work. If you have an old set of snare wires, try cutting off some of the wires to experiment with less strands. make sure you bend the clipped ends away from the snare head. I try to replace the plastic strands that come with Puresounds with some kind of fabric ribbon (Grosgrain is available at fabric stores). The only drum that still has the strands is my Acro. That's just because the old Luddie strainer only takes strands. That might be a reason to swap it out in the future.

Then finally, after tuning the drum so that it resonates purely at a lower tom tom like pitch, I'd start experimenting with dampening. bits of Moon Gel or gaffer tape - but not so much you lose that tone. Try different areas on the head with different sizes of dampening material.

All that being said, the drum does matter. If you get a walnut 8 x 14 snare (or something like that) you'll have an easier time with low end. I've gotten wonderful fatness out of my Ludwig Acro with a Remo Underside CS Dot head tuned down with 16 strand Puresounds on it. The Acro cost me less than $100 and Acros are all over eBay.


Good luck and HTH

Jim
 
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How do i get a nice cracking sound?

i find if you tighten the top head as tight as possible until when you push on it it barely dints, you will get a sharp sound, then you have to adjust the snare strands tightly and tighten the bottom skin too, then adjust the screw on the snare lever to the sound you want, thats how ive always done it :)
 
Hi everybody,

I am not clear about tuning the resonant snare head. Some people here have suggested that it is better to leave the 4 lugs next to the snare bed looser than the rest of lugs.

How loose?

If you don't tighten those 4 lugs beyond finger tight wouldn't it create wrinkles on the head or make it hard to get an even tone from the reso?
 
Ulubatli,

The detuning of the 4 lugs nearest the snare is an old trick that is accredited to the drum roadie for The Doobie Brothers rock band.
The idea was that by detuning those 4 lugs the snare buzz was kept to a minimum.
That's all it does. Control snare buzz.
For the most part, snare buzz is no big deal. As drummers, we're closest to the snare drum, so we pick up that buzz much more easily than anyone else in the band does (if they even notice in the first place), and certainly most of the auditence have never heard it.
However, when there's a lot of money on the line and you've got your equipment miked up and amplified by thousands of watts and speaker/horn systems that rival office buildings for acreage, then this trick is handy, as some of the buzz may be picked by the mikes.
These days, a lot engineers are fans of uni-directional mikes and not placing a second one under the snare drum.
For the most part, all heads are tuned in the same fashion. This includes the snare side head - you place the new head on the shell, set the ring on the head, install the tuning rods and start twistin'.
The only difference with a snare side head is you don't need to break one in. They're so thin they'll form to the edge when only a modicum of tension is applied.



Elvis
 
Modicum - great word! I'll defiantly use that this week.
For the reso side, if you are going to loosen them, I wouldn't go down so far as to have wrinkles appear. That's going to just take a lot of experimentation to get right. I wouldn't worry so much about snare buzz. Try tuning your whole snare higher or lower to get it out of the range of the toms. Also consider something like Puresound's Equalizer series of snare wires. Good luck.
 
Hey guys, I'm new to Drummerworld, so go easy on me ;)

Just bought batter snare head and reso earlier today and have fitted them. The thing is that I cannot seem to get the crack of the snare without moongel. The sound of the drum: - or what i have tuned it to - seems to be more audible than the crack of the drum. I have tried to tune the reso lower than the batter and vice versa, although I am not too good at tuning either.

Any advice you could give would be brilliant!

Alex
 
although I am not too good at tuning either.

Here lies your problem mate. Tuning is an art form and it ain't easy initially. Like every other aspect of your drumming it needs practice and repetition to develop an ear for it. Keep playing around with it....experiment with different head tensions (both batter and reso) and aim to develop a feel for it. It does take a while to become profficient with it, so don't be put off if you struggle to find that magical sound first time round........persistance and experience will pay off.

Have you checked these out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga8Q12mKYxI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ9Unab1OzU

It's a tried and tested method employed by thousands of guys the world over. It's excellent for seeing the process first hand. The rest comes down to practice and feel.

Keep at it.
 
This happened to me a couple of times, but one thing that always fixed it was tightening the snare wires as much as possible.

Its sympathetic snare buzz. You can't really get rid of it. Tightening up the snares as tight as you can? I would disagree strongly. Unless of course you like a choked sound, some people do...
 
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