single-ply
Senior Member
Yes, another thread on this. Sorry! I know there is a lot of discussion here and elsewhere on the correct tension for a snare side head. Here is what I've noticed and are simply my observations.
First of all, let me say that I approach the snare side like the batter side. I like the head to have the same pitch at each tension rod. I find this makes getting a consistent pitch on the batter side much easier, especially important for orchestral snares, where evenness of pitch between L & R sticks is very important.
There's a lot of valid opinions out there. Some say the reso side should be a 4th or 5th higher than the batter, others say it should be lower.
What I have found is that some of my drums sound great with a cranked reso and others sound better with a lower pitch. Why the inconsistency? I think it has to do with the depth of the snare beds.
My drums with the deepest beds are my Pearl Philharmonics. They sound muddy and unfocused unless the reso is at least a 5th higher than the batter.
On the other hand, my Ludwig shells and my Craviotto snare all have shallow beds. All of these drums sound their best with the reso head about a third lower than the batter.
I'm not here to proclaim anyone is doing it wrong. Go with what you like, but I just wanted to point out the observations I've noticed on my snares. It's a correlation I've never really thought about until recently.
First of all, let me say that I approach the snare side like the batter side. I like the head to have the same pitch at each tension rod. I find this makes getting a consistent pitch on the batter side much easier, especially important for orchestral snares, where evenness of pitch between L & R sticks is very important.
There's a lot of valid opinions out there. Some say the reso side should be a 4th or 5th higher than the batter, others say it should be lower.
What I have found is that some of my drums sound great with a cranked reso and others sound better with a lower pitch. Why the inconsistency? I think it has to do with the depth of the snare beds.
My drums with the deepest beds are my Pearl Philharmonics. They sound muddy and unfocused unless the reso is at least a 5th higher than the batter.
On the other hand, my Ludwig shells and my Craviotto snare all have shallow beds. All of these drums sound their best with the reso head about a third lower than the batter.
I'm not here to proclaim anyone is doing it wrong. Go with what you like, but I just wanted to point out the observations I've noticed on my snares. It's a correlation I've never really thought about until recently.