Does anyone NOT like snare ring?

bullfrogger

Junior Member
It seems a lot of peeps on this forum (and just generally) quite like the ring produced on a completely open snare, e.g. no dampening. I'm guessing because it allows the complete character of the drum through?

I'm learning to like it purely because I haven't found a happy medium when dampening - it's either too dry/thin or still allows ringing. I find I quite like it live to a degree but if there's a prominent ring on a recording I just find it horrible as the overtone itself isn't in tune with the music - really distracting!

I suppose it's all very personal - just wondered if anyone here uses dampening or a pre-dampened head to control it. I might play around with an evans dry or remo powerstroke at some point. I saw Gadd uses the remo quite a lot but his sound seems quite dry on most recordings I've heard.
 
I personally haven't come around to the ring.. I have one snare the has an internal muffler, and one that doesn't. I really like internal mufflers.. idk, its just me. My supra is not muffled, and I try to get around it with damped heads, namely a PS3. It does an ok job, but frankly, I think the ring makes this supra sound like crap. I'm going to try coated ambassador with moongel, and then E-rings to see if those do any justice. Otherwise I may sell it or install an internal muffler myself....
 
i hate snare ring, it actually really annoys me when i cant get rid of it so i end up plowing on the moon gel haha, your prob hate me for that i just really like that boxy crack with a nice thick tone but not 80's haha check out most brady snares and thats what i like
 
I love ring! Can't get enough.

(Insert disclaimer - if the music calls for something else, I would dampen, but I tend to play music where that dry sound is not dictated.)
 
It seems a lot of peeps on this forum (and just generally) quite like the ring produced on a completely open snare, e.g. no dampening. I'm guessing because it allows the complete character of the drum through?

I'm learning to like it purely because I haven't found a happy medium when dampening - it's either too dry/thin or still allows ringing. I find I quite like it live to a degree but if there's a prominent ring on a recording I just find it horrible as the overtone itself isn't in tune with the music - really distracting!

I suppose it's all very personal - just wondered if anyone here uses dampening or a pre-dampened head to control it. I might play around with an evans dry or remo powerstroke at some point. I saw Gadd uses the remo quite a lot but his sound seems quite dry on most recordings I've heard.

I see where you're coming from. Although I'm not a fan of ringing (that is to say, I don't tune my snare to be as ring-y as possible lol) a little is ok. That little overtone won't carry very far, so what seems like too much ring from the drummers perspective won't be so bad out in the house.

You can also tune the overtone to the same key as the song, which is pretty cool!! The drum will sit better in the mix this way.

Most of the snare drums you hear in popular music didn't sound all powerful and precise when they were recorded. They sounded open and ring-y. Producers then used tools like gates and equalization to get rid of the ring and get "that" sound.

I think that an Evans ST Dry would be the perfect head for you. It's precise and it's got a lot of pop without too much ring.

Hope this has helped

-Kyle
 
I'm afraid that I am now in the 'like' snare ring camp. But during the 1980's I was with you. Gadd then (pre PS3), and so the rest of us, used to cut up an old snare head to form a ring that just sat around the edge of the snare drum (bit like e-rings but much, much lighter). It will sit there on its own but you can fix it with a couple of very small pieces of gaffa tape. If you watch the 'Up-Close' video and others from around that time you'll see the arrangement. If you've got an old head lying around try it - cheaper than buying a PS3 and more flexible (you can vary the width of the strip to suit you).

TMS
 
The only snare I've owned is steel, and it inherently rings. If I hit it dead center, its mostly snare sound with hardly any ring. The ring increases as I move outward, but the snare sound decreases. A senior in my college marching band showed me that when you roll on the outer edge, the ring makes up for the loss of snare sound.

I've never used muffling on my steel snare because I want an instrument that is dynamic, with lots of available timbres, rather than an instrument that has just one sound.
 
Indeed, if the ring on the snare is a production motif then it can sound great, too. Vinnie Colaiuta just makes everything sound cool!

In my current band the winning sound seems to be very dry with a warm crack. I don't mind that at all, but I may get one of the guys to hit the snare while I stand out front next time just to see what effect the dampening has on the sound.

I was listening to some Queens of the Stone age the other day - the snare on any of those albums is dry as a bone! I quite like it though!
 
As a product of the 1970's, I don't like a lot of ring in any of my drums. I don't use dampers, but I do use the Remo drum ring toners.
 
I mainly like shell ring. The kind you get (on purpose) from good rimshots. If I don't play rimshots, then the ring is not as present.

It's depended on the music, or band for me.

Some music sounds "right" with a dry sound, and some sounds right with a lot of dirt and thonk in the snare.

Thanks for the link Polly!
 
Depends on the context. I still haven`t done too many gigs as a drummer, but I definetly like both a wide open snare and use different dampeners. If I use anything I just use a bit of moongel. Have other stuff too, like rings and the Remo "Weckl" muffler, but haven`t really used them in a playing situation with other musicians. Most of the time I let the drum sing.

If it doesn`t work, I really find it easier to just change the snare instead of trying to make one something it isn`t.
 
Same here. This video completely turned my head around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVySx-yzrB4

A nicely ringing snare really adds character, flavour and excitement.

yuck. that ring drives me crazy.

i like a lot of the gated snares on drum machines and software programs that i hear - except - that they sound artificial. some more than others. sometimes i have to listen for quite a while (over a period of time) before it dawns on me that it's software. then i feel duped.

but the kids don't recognise that or even know what they are missing. they are raised on tinny, digital, reverb laden high pitched snares (and mixes in general) and to them, that's the way it's supposed to sound.

and i'm an old guy.

many of the posters here laugh uproariously at the snares they see with tape, muffling rings, and padding (sometimes all of the above on the same drum), but it should be readily apparent that they are doing it for a reason.

17 snare shootout on YT. i'll take the DW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiRUCgILQ_k

edited to say: sorry, i meant #12 the DW.
 
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I'm an omnivore when it comes to snare sounds!

The ring produced by a snare with die-cast hoops is particularly harsh, so I usually dampen, but it doesn't take more than one piece of gaffe tape with a small fold in it. Moongels are too severe, and get dirty and nasty. With wood hoops, however, the ring is mellower, and somehow balances with the rest of the snare tone. With triple-flanged, the ring is all over the place, which can be nice for an effect.

Pol, that snare in the video you posted -- the drum's ring has been enhanced with compression, and possible even a distortion stomp box or other processor. Similar thing going on with the snare sound here.

There's probably a considerable amount of tape on the snare in this track.
 
I'm an omnivore when it comes to snare sounds!

The ring produced by a snare with die-cast hoops is particularly harsh, so I usually dampen, but it doesn't take more than one piece of gaffe tape with a small fold in it. Moongels are too severe, and get dirty and nasty. With wood hoops, however, the ring is mellower, and somehow balances with the rest of the snare tone. With triple-flanged, the ring is all over the place, which can be nice for an effect.

Pol, that snare in the video you posted -- the drum's ring has been enhanced with compression, and possible even a distortion stomp box or other processor. Similar thing going on with the snare sound here.

There's probably a considerable amount of tape on the snare in this track.
That first video just sounds like the snares are off and it's a shallow drum tuned pretty high at least on the bottom.
 
If you don't like your ring, I'll take it. I don't believe in censorship.
Whatever trips your trap.
 
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