futurehistorian
Member
First-time poster, so thanks in advance for reading or contributing, and apologies if I'm posting incorrectly.
I'm an amateur and just came into possession of a used Gretsch Catalina Maple kit. The guy I got it from played jazz (classic/bebop style) on it, but I'm playing garage-rock or garage-punk type of stuff. I'm generally satisfied with the kit, but I'm still working on the snare sound and I'm reaching the limit of my knowledge on snares.
First, the snare specs: it's 6"x14" with an Evans Genera Dry 360 head.
My issue is that the snare has a real 'rat-tat-tat' marching-band type sound, but that's not the way I want it to sound. I don't know the right terminology for what I want. I want more of a crack or pop? As a 90s comparison, I want it to sound less like Jimmy Chamberlain and more like John Stanier (ok, maybe not as tight and high-pitched as him, but more in that direction).
I've tried various tunings - cranking the beater and resonant heads up and down - but that doesn't exactly seem to get me where I want, but maybe I'm not doing it right/doing it enough.
My questions:
I'm an amateur and just came into possession of a used Gretsch Catalina Maple kit. The guy I got it from played jazz (classic/bebop style) on it, but I'm playing garage-rock or garage-punk type of stuff. I'm generally satisfied with the kit, but I'm still working on the snare sound and I'm reaching the limit of my knowledge on snares.
First, the snare specs: it's 6"x14" with an Evans Genera Dry 360 head.
My issue is that the snare has a real 'rat-tat-tat' marching-band type sound, but that's not the way I want it to sound. I don't know the right terminology for what I want. I want more of a crack or pop? As a 90s comparison, I want it to sound less like Jimmy Chamberlain and more like John Stanier (ok, maybe not as tight and high-pitched as him, but more in that direction).
I've tried various tunings - cranking the beater and resonant heads up and down - but that doesn't exactly seem to get me where I want, but maybe I'm not doing it right/doing it enough.
My questions:
- What words would you use to describe the sound I'm getting and the sound that I actually want?
- Can I get this snare to sound the way I want? If so, how? Tuning? New/different head(s)?
- If I can't, what should I look for in a new snare?