Tuning the snare

Herzeleid

Member
Hello, I was wondering what how I should tune my snare exactly, so that my snare doesn't have as much ring and over tones. I'd like my snare to have a small amount of ring but not a lot. I know I can just dampen the snare, but now that I have started playing without it damped I really like the open sound it sticks out, like it can just "breath".

I currently have a Controlled Sound on the batter side and the stock heads that came with my Yamaha Brass (Absolute).

I want Ambassador White Suedes for batter and Diplomat for snare-side in future.
 
A brass shell makes for a ringy drum. From what you said you wanted tone-wise, I'd change the snare reso to 3 mil, and put an Evans Genera Dry on top to siphon off some excess ring. Tighten the crap out of the reso and tune the batter to your happy spot. See how you like it there.
 
A brass shell makes for a ringy drum. From what you said you wanted tone-wise, I'd change the snare reso to 3 mil, and put an Evans Genera Dry on top to siphon off some excess ring. Tighten the crap out of the reso and tune the batter to your happy spot. See how you like it there.

Thanks for your recommendation but I really prefer to stay with Remo because of the sound but thanks!

I'm specically looking for something more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2dpRXXFfDc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYK7rrny7Ec

The snare he's using is just about the same despite the diecast hoops on mine and the depth. I'm pretty sure he's using an Ambassador on the batter side the snare.
 
I'm pretty certain Peewee is using die-cast hoops on that snare. Definitely sounds like a well-used coated Ambassador over a hazy Ambassador.

Tuning up your reso could help with the ring and get more snare response. You could use less muffling, maybe cut a gel in half if you're using them. Otherwise there's the Ambassador which is a Controlled Sound without the dot (pretty standard head), Powerstroke 3 which is single ply with a muffling ring built in, or the Emperor which is two ply (gives you a fatter sound with less noticeable pitch).

Controlled Sounds tend to accentuate the gross higher frequencies to my ear because the center is more dead but the outer half is just as ringy as with an Ambassador. I would suggest just a regular ol' Coated Ambassador to start with.

Also, gotta say that Hazy Ambassadors (3-mil) are industry standard for a reason. It might help to start with that and go to a Diplomat if you don't like it.
 
Yeah I meant to say the other way around "despite the diecast hoops he is using"

My controlled sound center still has a lot of ring but less ring then the sides of course.

Isn't the Ambassador White Suedes, just a dab warmer than the coated? I'm looking for something like the snare Pewie is using, nice crisp attack and snap, with a minor amount of ring, but for me just a little bit warmer with a slight more body. And my guess is the Suedes are a mix between warm and bright since the Coated Ambassadors are known to be bright?

I have my Resonant head medium tight. I use to have it pretty tight, and to be honest I'm pretty sure the ring was still massive but I don't remember, I should try it again.
Isn't the thinner (Diplomat) your snare-side head, the less ring, more response, and less sustain?
 
Ah! Die-cast hoops help a lot with that sound. They tend to make a drum more "focused" and less open-sounding.

I haven't compared the White Suede directly to the Coated so I couldn't tell you. Die-cast hoops also reduce the body and openness of the drum IMO – if you're using triple flanged hoops currently, you could try a hoop between die-cast and 2.3mm triple flanged like the S-Hoop, the Pearl Fat Tone hoops, or a 3.0mm triple flanged on the batter side to move more towards the video's sound without sacrificing a lot of body.

Stock heads are pretty much awful across the board so I wouldn't read too much into how your current one is performing. I haven't tried a Diplomat snare side, though I have tried a Renaissance one... and I went back to the usual 3mm immediately.

One more tidbit is that, since the video is mic'ed further away than the drummer's seat, you're not hearing some of the details of the sound that you would sitting right on top of the snare like drummers do. Ergo, there might be a little ring in that snare that we're not hearing.
 
Ah! Die-cast hoops help a lot with that sound. They tend to make a drum more "focused" and less open-sounding.

I haven't compared the White Suede directly to the Coated so I couldn't tell you. Die-cast hoops also reduce the body and openness of the drum IMO – if you're using triple flanged hoops currently, you could try a hoop between die-cast and 2.3mm triple flanged like the S-Hoop, the Pearl Fat Tone hoops, or a 3.0mm triple flanged on the batter side to move more towards the video's sound without sacrificing a lot of body.

Stock heads are pretty much awful across the board so I wouldn't read too much into how your current one is performing. I haven't tried a Diplomat snare side, though I have tried a Renaissance one... and I went back to the usual 3mm immediately.

One more tidbit is that, since the video is mic'ed further away than the drummer's seat, you're not hearing some of the details of the sound that you would sitting right on top of the snare like drummers do. Ergo, there might be a little ring in that snare that we're not hearing.

Really? The Yamaha Stock heads IMO are actually decent sounding through my experience. When I first got my 14x7 Brass snare It of course came with stock heads made from Yamaha. So I used that head for probably about a week and after I switched to the Controlled Sound by Remo, and I didn't notice much of a difference. Do you know if those Yamaha Stock heads are Remo Ambassadors but just a "crappy" version of it? Maybe they are were okay perhaps because I have an Absolute Nouveau product so its high-end which = better heads?

Well thats okay, But In your experience how does the Ambassador Suedes sound like without comparing it to coated? What snare did you use it on?

You have a point there, the ring isn't heard as much from far distance (recorded myself in many different area's of a room and heard someone playing drums from a different room which echoed into a large hallway)
 
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