Snare wires

azilyx

Junior Member
So i have a Mapex Meridian Maple snare (14x5) that i got with my kit but i can't seem to make it sound right. There is excessive buzzing, and when i say excessive i do not mean that when i play the other toms or guitar and bass the buzzing from the snare bothers me.

The buzzing occurs when i hit the snare. When it came assembled from my kit, it had this problem. The snare makes the drum sounds loud and obnoxious and rattles longer than i feel it should.

I have a 65 supra and it sounds amazing, and though i know the mapex is made from different material and quality, i feel like it should sound a lot better than what it does now.

I have a hazy300 snare side, and genera hd dry on it currently.

Maybe i inserted the snare wire wrong or i should tune it more up?
im thinking about buying new snare wires, but i would think it should sound at least some what good with the stock.

Thanks -jiny
 
turn the snare over and disengage the strainer (so the wires are just resting on the head and not being stretched. are they all perfectly straight? Sometimes you see just one wire is slightly curved (ie stretched more than the rest) and this can cause odd buzzing. If not then just try removing the wires and reinstalling them, making sure they are lined up evenly. Does the snare have a strainer on both sides (like Saturns and Black Panthers) or just one?
 
My Ludwig Black Magic came with string on the wires and it caused the wires to not touch on the ends and buzz, after I put the mylar strap on they set flat and no more buzz.

I'm wondering if this was a simple case of being installed incorrectly?

I have 7 snare drums mate and all my snares are attached by string. No problems with any of them.
 
Thanks for the interest, they were installed correctly, it is a 8 x 14 and it seems deeper snares are more susceptible to buzz, others with the same snare have complained about the same thing. They didn't buzz to bad till I put the snare with the set and then buzzed like crazy. I used the same string on a PDP 5.5" and no buzzing. Check it out even Bob makes a reference to it in that video I posted a link to, fast forward to 2.50.
 
Make sure to get the tightening right. Too tight can choke the drum and too loose can cause excessive buzzing. If if you're sure it's right it might be time for new wires. If you don't want something with as much buzz get wires with less strands. I cut a 16 strand equalizer down to an 8 strand (they dont make 8 strand), and it sounds great on my Musashi! You may not want to go this extreme, but maybe try some 16 strand wires.
 
i like cutting some of the wires off..i tried another set of wires with 16 and it sounded a lot better, with more crackle and pop and less thundering buzz.
 
i like cutting some of the wires off..i tried another set of wires with 16 and it sounded a lot better, with more crackle and pop and less thundering buzz.

What size is you drum? Be careful about cutting wires, especially if you have a 14" snare. Mine is a 12", so it suits the drum better. On a 14", if you cut wires, you may end up with a tinny sound, where the snares aren't very audible. 16 strands should be fine though.
 
Look for the videos on Youtube featuring Bob Gatzen. He's a drummer/designer who is very knowledgeable about snare drum design. In fact he's help design snare wires for Puresound.
Here's an example...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Mf16E48KU
 
Have you tried tightening your reso head? Crank that baby up. IMO snare drums sound best with a very tight reso, plus it shouldn't vibrate as rudely.

I tap my reso head with my stick tip and I can tell by the note if it's too low or in the ballpark. The note I listen for is up there.
 
after i finger tighten the reso i tune it up another 2 full turns about. Ill try tightening it more though.
 
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