Snare Tuning Help

I was in the market for a new snare, took the advice of several people here, and bought a Ludwig Supraphonic 6.5X14 Snare off Ebay.

It's a beautiful drum and I think I'm gonna love it, but I'm having a little trouble tuning it to get the right sound. I have the top head (Evans coated g2) tuned to about 93 on the drum dial, and the snares fairly tight. It gets decent sound, but its a little ringy. I'm looking for a little more of a tight 'pop' sound, with a little less ring. Any suggestions?

Thanks.
Bob
 
I might be stating the obvious but, have you tried dampening? I like the good old fashioned kitchen roll and gaffa/duct tape. That should sort the ringing out.
Another trick I was taught by a recording engineer was to have a loose bottom and a tight top which often gets a nice sound. Try it!
 
Thanks. I think I may have some of those gummy gel things in my drum tool box.

I have a mental block with using tape and other muffler things; I feel like I should be able to tune the drum properly without resorting to those tricks (which is probably kinda silly on my part)
 
Since you have a drum dial, what's the setting on the snare side head? Ten points lower is a good place to start if you like a fat wet sound. Increase the tension to dry it out a bit.
 
First thing to do, read the sticky!!!

Forum home> drum gear> drums> sticky! snare tuning / the good snare thread
 
I think the tension of the snares is sometimes unterrated...Once your drum is tuned well, so that, with the snares off, both heads sound kinda in harmony, you kan kill the sound if your snares are too tight. Then your drum will ring. If they are too lose, the just rattle. If they are perfect, they will dampen the reso head, and you might not need gaffer tape.
Here is my little trick for a good snare tension that always works for me:
I turn off the snares, loosen them all the way. Then while still off, I gradually tension them to the point where they slightly start to respond when I strike the snare. Then I loosen them again just a little bit, just so that they do not respond any more. Then I turn the snares on. This trick gives me the sweetpoint where the snares are tight and not overstreched, and also the option of playing the drum with snares off.
 
A drum dial can not tune a drum, the lug tension may be the same but the drum is still out of tune. You shouldn't have to throw tape, moongels etc. on a drum like that, c'mon. Get an ambassador for it and learn how to tune it properly.

A tight pop sound if I'm understanding correctly is achieved by tuning the resonant higher than the batter.
 
A drum dial can not tune a drum, the lug tension may be the same but the drum is still out of tune. You shouldn't have to throw tape, moongels etc. on a drum like that, c'mon. Get an ambassador for it and learn how to tune it properly.

Agreed...lose the 2 ply head on that drum. Let it sing man!
 
A drum dial can not tune a drum, the lug tension may be the same but the drum is still out of tune.

A drum dial doesn't measure lug tension, it measures head tension. If your drum is in round, and your head isn't messed up, they're pretty accurate. They also provide a useful, objective measure of tightness. A 14" snare tuned to 93 on a drum dial has a specific and repeatable definition, as opposed to "medium tight," which means nothing.
 
Ok, thanks for the advice. The top head is tuned to about 93. The reso head is about 83. So I guess that means I need to tune the reso head to about 95 to get the nice "pop"?
 
It depends on the drum, because I tune my reso lower than they batter and it gets a nice "crack" as opposed to a "pop".
 
Ok, thanks for the advice. The top head is tuned to about 93. The reso head is about 83. So I guess that means I need to tune the reso head to about 95 to get the nice "pop"?

[Rant] How 'bout get rid of the damn drum dial and tune the freakin' drum! [/Rant]
 
Thanks for everyone's advice. After some experimenting, I got the right balance...the res at about 92, the batter at 88, and the snares on fairly high tension. A little blob of moongel on the batter. My Supra is popping nice, loud & clear now :)

You guys are right, there's no short cuts to drum tuning...just gotta fiddle.
 
Thanks for everyone's advice. After some experimenting, I got the right balance...the res at about 92, the batter at 88, and the snares on fairly high tension. A little blob of moongel on the batter. My Supra is popping nice, loud & clear now :)

You guys are right, there's no short cuts to drum tuning...just gotta fiddle.

I could be wrong, but if you used the moon gel isn't that a short cut to tuning? Glad you got the sound you were looking for...hmmm
 
[Rant] How 'bout get rid of the damn drum dial and tune the freakin' drum! [/Rant]

I don't think there's anything wrong with the drumdial.
I use mine to make sure all the lugs are tensioned evenly, then I tune it up by ear to the way I like it.
Once you get them all in tune at a low tension, it makes it easier to tune it up if you use the same turn on each lug with the drum key afterwards.
It's a useful tool; stops you from having to tap around and twist lugs little by little to get them to the same pitch.
 
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