Snare Ring

MntnMan62

MntnMan62

Silver Member
I recently purchased a Pearl Masters 6.5” maple snare. I have a coated ambassador as the batter head. I love it. Easily the best snare I own. One issue I seem to have is with a bit of ring. It’s not a lot and I can’t hear it while playing with my band but I definitely hear it by itself. Interestingly there is no ring when hitting in the center of the drum. But when hitting off center there is a bit of ring. I could probably just live with it but was thinking what could I use to eliminate that ring. I’ve seen all the gel type products. I thought I saw another type of “muffler” but don’t recall the make or brand. I don’t like the rings that sit on the entire outside of the head next to the rim. I often see them on rehearsal studio kits and feel they muffle too much. I’m not trying to muffle the sound as I like the crack I get from an unmuffled snare. I just want to see if I can lessen the amount of ring. If the gels are the way to go, that’s what I’ll try but I thought I’d ask this esteemed group of musicians what they use, if anything, to lessen snare ring. Thanks in advance.
 
short of an internal muffler- which we don't always have,
slap on a coated emperor head

cured a wood shell snare I have still has a ring but forgot about it
I got the Emperor off of another drum.
 
My apologies. The head on there is a Remo UT, not ambassador. I just looked them up and they appear to be pretty thin. I’m going to try an ambassador first as I have them on my other snares with no noticeable ring. If that doesn’t work I may try an emporer.
 
MntnMan62 said:
It’s not a lot and I can’t hear it while playing with my band but I definitely hear it by itself.
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This is true about all snare drums. That little bit of ring is what makes a drum sound lively and full out front.

If it really bothers you I'd start with adding a tiny bit of Moongel. I have a few I cut in quarters so I can go with the least amount of muffling needed.
 
I use a piece of t-shirt material and paper clamp. You can adjust the muffling slightly by putting the chrome handle down which applies a little pressure against the material or leaving the handle up is less muffling. Also the size and thickness of material effects it. I usually the size pictured and it's folded in half.
 

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Update. I picked up a coated Ambassador head and the ring is the same. I will just play it like it is. But I will pick up some gels and experiment a little with them. If it works, great. If not, I’ll just use it as is. I do love this snare.
 
MrPockets said:
No one can hear the ring further than 5 feet aware that sound doesnt travel far and gets drowned by everything else.
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Yes. I realize. And added to that, we play the blues and blues rock so there isn’t much in the way of quiet playing going on. But I like experimenting with and tweaking the sound of my drums from time to time. So I’ll order some moon gels and see how I like the sound. If I don’t like them, I won’t use them and will consider the ring “part of my sound.”
 
It's hard to let go of the ring in the snare drum sound because so many studio recordings are SO clean but I'm sure 99% of the time it IS there, just buried in the overall sound. I also know that 99% of the time I go to a live show the drummer's kit sounds flat and lifeless and I'm sure it's due to trying to muffle out all the ringing in the snare and tuning all of the toms too low.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
It's hard to let go of the ring in the snare drum sound because so many studio recordings are SO clean but I'm sure 99% of the time it IS there, just buried in the overall sound. I also know that 99% of the time I go to a live show the drummer's kit sounds flat and lifeless and I'm sure it's due to trying to muffle out all the ringing in the snare and tuning all of the toms too low.
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I agree.
 
There are heads that help minimize ring without resorting to muffling like Moongel. Aquarian makes several coated heads with thin plastic rings under the head. Remo PS3 heads have same thing. It's like a $15 solution for these heads. They work great for me. No muffling they just control excessive ring or unwanted overtones. They work well.
 
If you are well miked.....you could muffle all you want....perhaps the cut-out ring of an old head, Emporer, t-shirt, tea-towel? But if you are not close miked...you need that ring...like the dudes said...5 feet away and it's gone and it just sounds like a good snare sound out front. Take out too much ring....and it can get boxy. good luck sir.
 
I have tried many damping products over the years and so far the best one is the Snareweight M1b. The damping is adjustable and the product feels like it will last forever. Much better than gels that stain heads after a while, or tape that peels off drum head coating.

As others have mentioned, some ring is very desirable. Along with the wire effect, it's what gives a snare its unique sound.
 
Thanks to everyone who commented. I think I’m just going to play my snares without any muffling at all. Most of the snares I have played in rehearsal studios typically have those plastic rings on them and I hate how they sound. I always take them off all the drums if they are there. To be clear though, I am not doing any recording. If I ever do record music, I’ll assess the drum sounds then. Until then, I think I’ll save my money by not buying gels or dots or what have you and not waste my time crafting a diy method. My drums will ring free!
 
The snare ring is normal. Enjoy it. Why muffle the ring if the snare sounds great? It's supposed to ring!
 
MntnMan62 said:
Thanks to everyone who commented. I think I’m just going to play my snares without any muffling at all. Most of the snares I have played in rehearsal studios typically have those plastic rings on them and I hate how they sound. I always take them off all the drums if they are there. To be clear though, I am not doing any recording. If I ever do record music, I’ll assess the drum sounds then. Until then, I think I’ll save my money by not buying gels or dots or what have you and not waste my time crafting a diy method. My drums will ring free!
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Finding muffled snare drums in rehearsal studios is very common, and it's usually the misguided handiwork of the studio owners, most of whom are not drummers and frankly clueless. I never use snares in rehearsal studios. I bring my own. There's a common misconception among non-drummers that a snare should be taped up, choked and muffled until they sound like cardboard boxes. Or, drummers do it because they see other drummers taping up drumheads. It's all BS. The drums are made to resonate freely. They're supposed to resonate!

I do understand however, that if a drum has unpleasant "wolf tones," that is, bad overtones, then you might want a bit of damping, and likewise, on a big 16" or 18" tom to give it a little more focus.

Bass drums are a whole other story. There are so many pre-muffled heads available these days, there's no reason to stuff your bass drum full of foam, sheets, pillows, shirts, hoodies, towels, blankets, or any other "laundry." Something like an Evans EMAD and a felt strip on the reso head will give you a great sound with just a bit of full resonance, an actual musical note. I've discovered that this method works for me, makes the bandleader happy, and prevents the drum from sounding totally dead. My bass drums mic up nicely and everybody is happy.

I no longer have the guitar player saying, "That bass drum sounds like a tympani!"

I like Rob Brown and his videos, but he has one that recommends drummers take a towel, roll it up, tape it up, and put that into their bass drums. I have to disagree with that. Sorry, Rob.

I can't tell you how many times I have gone to someone's house to look at a drumset, only to find he has stuffed the bass drum so full of crap that it sounds lousy. Sometimes, I think a vast majority of drummers simply don't know how to get a good sound out of their drums.
 
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