Snare vs. Room

NerfLad

NerfLad

Silver Member
Good Morning Drummerworld.

Of course this is all a bit frivolous with close mic'ing but I think it is still important, and of course I'd love to get your opinions. So... if you're so fortunate as to have a choice, which snare drums do choose for which rooms?

I like metal shells in muddy rooms and for covering long distances (no matter the room), and wood shells for pretty much everything else. I know there's a lot more to it than just "metal" or "wood", and we can get into that, but that's kind of my oversimplified rule of thumb.

Eric
 
Last edited:
I use the same snare no matter the room. How I hit it depends on the room surfaces and the amount of people in the room.
 
Haha, last night I ran into this very problem. I had a jazz gig on my college campus and played in on of the campus apartments. Normally, I use an old Sonor D-444 as my main snare. It works great at all my other performances where the room is bigger. However, for this gig they stuck me in a corner where two big panes of glass came together. It was just way too much for the size of the room. I quickly switched it out for a Tama Silverstar snare with an Evans Genera Dry. Worked like a charm.
 
keep it simple said:
I acoustically remodel every room I play in to offer optimal snare sound. So much more satisfying that simply changing tuning ;)
Click to expand...

Do you mean to imply you think I don't try different snare drum tunings? Considering you manufacture drums for a living, you were one of the people I was hoping for some quality discussion from, honestly.
 
I play in two kinds of places. There are no microphones for the drums in either place.

One place is in bars and small night clubs. I use my 1926 Ludwig COB Super. It has plenty of crack and cuts though the loud guitar and amps just fine.

The other venue is outdoors. Here I use my Ludwig Supraphonic 5 x 14. I don't think this snare works well outdoors. It is louder than my Ludwig Super but I have to hit it very hard to compete with the loud guitar and keyboard amps. I know the band plays a little too loud, but that is not going to change. When I play outdoors there is usually a brass section, keyboard, two guitars, bass, harp player and lead singer.

I would like to find a good snare for un-miced outdoor use.
I don't own a wood snare.

.
 
Hollywood Jim said:
\

I would like to find a good snare for un-miced outdoor use.
I don't own a wood snare.

.
Click to expand...

If you don't want to invest too much I'd suggest a steel snare for this purpose, an older Pearl or Tama offering. The Pearl Chad Smith snare is also a nice rather inexpensive snare with cut. Steel is harsher than Alu or brass but does the job with loud guitar amplification.
 
opentune said:
If you don't want to invest too much I'd suggest a steel snare for this purpose, an older Pearl or Tama offering. The Pearl Chad Smith snare is also a nice rather inexpensive snare with cut. Steel is harsher than Alu or brass but does the job with loud guitar amplification.
Click to expand...

Be careful with those steel snares. You might end up never using your Ludwigs again :)

Case in point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9SMpQ-HTQE
 
Unless I'm playing a huge venue or outdoor concert, I never mic my drums... it might depend on the style of music, I play mostly jazz, which allows me to work a lot with dynamics. If sticks are too loud in a room, I'll switch over to brushes, or just play quieter...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top