snare drum tuning

[npg]

does anyone know the best way to tune a snare drum? i want to get a nice tight hip-hopy kind of sound, with a nice ring to it.

is there a way i can stop my snare drum rattling when i'm not playing it, but other band members are?(especialy the bass).

could the quality of snare drum effect the above? if so how much should i spend on a good one?
i'm new to being a drummer. i'm usualy a guitarist, so its all new to me.

[cooldrums]

To tune a snare drum:
First off make sure you have new heads on it. If they haven't been changed in 2 years it's time to change them. I usually start with the bottom head. Place the drum on the floor with a rug or something under it to silence the top head. Now take a drum stick and press the tip at an angle in the center of the bottom drum head and hold it. Don't press it straight up and down or too hard, you don't want to leave a dent. This will put even tension on all the lugs. Now take another stick and lightly tap around the inside edge of each lug about 1/2" to an inch in from the edge. You will hear a different pitch most likely at each lug. Pick a pitch to tune the rest of the lugs to. Now tune each lug that is opposite to each other to that same pitch as the first lug you picked, or as close as you can get it. Do the same to the top head. Normally you will tune the bottom head a bit higher than the top head. If you tune them roughly the same pitch you will have all the sustain and ring you want, or don't want. If you want the high pitched "pop" snare sound of today, you need a shallow snare to do it,OR you'll be winding the head up so tight on the traditional 14"X 6.5" snare all day long. Something like a maple 13"X 3" should do it. New should be around $150-$175 depending on name brand and quality. If your tuning with new heads, tune to a slightly higher pitch the first time than you would use normally, and check the tuning often the first few days of playing it. The new head will stretch and drop in pitch over a day or 2 of playing it. Hope this helps!

[juppu]

We had a thread about this on the Production tips&Techniques forum not that long ago. I think it was under 'tuning sample drums'.

[npg]

cheers - that info's great.
any idea on how to stop the rattle when other instruments are playing? At the moment it sounds like theres a constant drum roll going on under everything - very irritating.
cheers again
n

[bobmc]

You might try gating the snare so that the signal only comes through when the snare is hit. Just make sure you set the threshold low enough to allow all the desired snare sounds to come through, but shut off when it's just "rattling". This is a pretty common thing to do - it can even help the snare to "pop out" a little more in the mix.

Good luck.

[cooldrums]

You can A: Tighten the strainer,
Or B: Try a little tape to silence it

If you do either option the sustained vibration of the snare will be muted.

[npg]

cheers again. i want the rattle to stop live - not just recording, so gating isn't really an option. i'll try sticking a bit of tape on there to see what happens.
ta
n

[zidjan]

try...using thinner snare head and very tight( not to choke) tension for both heads...make sure they are even...i use this on a premier signia 6x14 it works great....

[DaXDRoNe]

hey!

You porbably already got your snare nice and good, but ill tell you what i do any ways. This maybe a little stone age, but its the only way i like it. I take four pieces of duct tape. I stretch out the springs and hold it with the first two pieces of duct tape. then i find the best place for the second pieces and place them there. Now this is where you find out what u like diferrent spaces= differrent sound. Its all about what u like.

give it a try.

[imitation-music]

there might be a lot of information you could use on this website.

http://www.drumweb.com/profsound.shtml