Snare wires help.

R

racingsnake

Member
Hey guys, hope all is well.
I've got a problem i cant seem to pinpoint.
So ive got a snare drum (a very good one) all tuned and stuff. Snare wires im using are the puresound twisted. So what happens is that after every 2-3 tracks i hear my snare loosing sensitivity. If i tap by the edge close to the bearing edge i dont get much response. If i then disengage and engage the snare wires again without adjusting them everything goes back to normal and then same haopens after a few more songs. What gives? Could be due to rimshots and bottom head going out of tune? Ive head a few times tension rods backing out even in the bottom head but as of now i cant seem to get where there culprit lies. Hope you could help.
Thanks.
 
Weird.. but are the heads detuned? They don't seem to cause the problem if you can fix it by re-engaging the strainer. Maybe the wires get stuck at a funny angle or something like that. Do you have another set of wires to check if the problem remains with those as well? Some people reported that changing nylon straps to ribbon strings improved snare response. Those would be cheap fixes that I would try first. Bit of a wild guess.. :)
 
Swissward Flamtacles said:
Weird.. but are the heads detuned? They don't seem to cause the problem if you can fix it by re-engaging the strainer. Maybe the wires get stuck at a funny angle or something like that. Do you have another set of wires to check if the problem remains with those as well? Some people reported that changing nylon straps to ribbon strings improved snare response. Those would be cheap fixes that I would try first. Bit of a wild guess.. :)
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Thing is i am using ribbon string and it started happening on my 2 snares. Maybe that is the problem actually. But still i cant seem to understand why its going back to normal after reengaging the wires. Is hould check different wires too. I do have some spares
 
I'm not a huge fan of PureSound snare wires. Wish I was because I've got an almost-new set in my basement that don't sound good on any snare I own.
 
Maybe something internal in the throwoff is slowly failing. Like a rubber gasket slowly deforming under compression, only to retake its shape when the throwoff is disengaged.

My wires do something similar, but it's the tension knob slowly rotating as I play. Every few songs I check and readjust as necessary.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
Maybe something internal in the throwoff is slowly failing. Like a rubber gasket slowly deforming under compression, only to retake its shape when the throwoff is disengaged.

My wires do something similar, but it's the tension knob slowly rotating as I play. Every few songs I check and readjust as necessary.
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There has to be a way to stop all of these common but stupid little 'failings' in drums. How the hell can we send people into space, 3D print a functioning 3D printer, and instantly share a high quality video with anyone in the world yet you could spend $600 on a pro level snare drum and constantly have to retune it and readjust the wires...
 
roncadillac said:
There has to be a way to stop all of these common but stupid little 'failings' in drums. How the hell can we send people into space, 3D print a functioning 3D printer, and instantly share a high quality video with anyone in the world yet you could spend $600 on a pro level snare drum and constantly have to retune it and readjust the wires...
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This reminds me of something Chris Rock said. It was something like "How come we can put a man on the moon, but Cadillac cant build a car where the rear bumper doesnt fall off" or something to that effect.

I dont get it either. A throwoff is pretty simple. Perhaps the industry should start hiring mechanical engineers to design the moving parts stuff.
 
MrInsanePolack said:
This reminds me of something Chris Rock said. It was something like "How come we can put a man on the moon, but Cadillac cant build a car where the rear bumper doesnt fall off" or something to that effect.

I dont get it either. A throwoff is pretty simple. Perhaps the industry should start hiring mechanical engineers to design the moving parts stuff.
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Yeah, nah. I don't need DW/Ludwig/etc deciding that now their snares are +$200 across the range because it was "designed by an engineer" because you all know that's what would happen.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Dont think its wire specific as it happens on 2 snare drums with 2 types of wires. I do think it is due to the ribbon im using. I have ordered some puresound tape and would try that and see if that helps. The knobs arent the culprit as one of them has even got a clicking mechanism to prevent it from rotating. So it stays in place for sure.
 
I just installed new PureSounds on one of my snares with their cloth strips and I did something wrong: the little cotter pin clip you slip through the cloth to hold the snares on I pushed in too far, so one side where the cotter pin wasn’t holding the snares went loose. When I disengaged, the cotter pin wants to go back, but can’t. I solved this by making sure I didn’t stick the cotter pin in too far. All is well now.
 
Does the strainer move from side to side a little when engaged?
Certain strainers have some "play". Play your snare with the snare on and see if the response changes by moving the strainer.
Also, straight mounting of wires is important. You don't want one side of the wires looser or tighter than the opposite side.
 
Here's a vote for trying a non twisted snare wire.

Perhaps the bottom head is too loose as well

Any time a snare doesn't sound right to me...assuming the batter is cleared....I tighten the reso and yup there it is

When I get the reso where I like it, I disengage the snares and tap the reso head with my fingy...to listen to, and memorize the note I like it at
 
larryace said:
Here's a vote for trying a non twisted snare wire.

Perhaps the bottom head is too loose as well

Any time a snare doesn't sound right to me...assuming the batter is cleared....I tighten the reso and yup there it is

When I get the reso where I like it, I disengage the snares and tap the reso head with my fingy...to listen to, and memorize the note I like it at
Click to expand...
Only one snare drum has them on. The other one doesnt. So its not wire specific. Everything is straight and aligned. I will try tensioning up the 4 screws adjusent to the wires. I usually keep my bottom heads at +- 380 hz by tunebot
 
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