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I'm going mad (Guitarist is 'hearing' something)

#42
"Dummers can't mute their snare wires short of reaching underneath the snare and grabbing em. The reason why you can hear them, specifically, is that the bass seems to react with the snares more. If you play the note that his snare is tune to, his snares will rattle; absolutely nothing you can do about that. Just ignore it... you're the only one who can hear it (if you had earplugs, you wouldn't be able to period)."

If I find another drummer that understands tuning of a snare drum I'm gonna duct tape him to my bass amp and keep him forever....... I do always hear the snares, simply because I am also a drummer... I play in orchestras and you are *fully* expected to reach under and mute the snare or turn it off when it buzzes, so I'm sensitive to it. Yep, bass resonates a snare more partly because we physically move more air :). But I have had people say I was fret buzzing and it was the snare drum :scowl:
 
#43
Better grab your duct tape, then. I understand tuning, thank ye very much.

:p

Seriously, though, the buzzing's that bad? Huh... seems like his wires are doing something funny, tbh... maybe too loose? I dunno. I've never been able to hear my snares rattling in my band, or, really, any drummer's snares ever buzzing live. That orchestra thing kinda makes sense, I suppose... eh... still kinda weird for me, but hey.

There are a couple of tricks you can try, however:

1) Detune the lugs around the snare wires - you'll end up detuning two lugs on each side, bring the others up to compensate... don't need to do this tons; actual drum tone doesn't necessarily change tons and it does get rid of the buzz, but for tone freaks... umm... it is a little weird

2) Stick something between the wires and the head - anything from a piece of tissue to a business card, may or may not help
 
#44
crazyguy832 said:
Better grab your duct tape, then. I understand tuning, thank ye very much.

:p

Seriously, though, the buzzing's that bad? Huh... seems like his wires are doing something funny, tbh... maybe too loose? I dunno. I've never been able to hear my snares rattling in my band, or, really, any drummer's snares ever buzzing live. That orchestra thing kinda makes sense, I suppose... eh... still kinda weird for me, but hey.

There are a couple of tricks you can try, however:

1) Detune the lugs around the snare wires - you'll end up detuning two lugs on each side, bring the others up to compensate... don't need to do this tons; actual drum tone doesn't necessarily change tons and it does get rid of the buzz, but for tone freaks... umm... it is a little weird

2) Stick something between the wires and the head - anything from a piece of tissue to a business card, may or may not help
Click to expand...


You realize that all modern snare drums have a lever that flips over to lift the strainer off of the bottom head, right? There are times when the drummer is going to have to stop picking his nose with his stick and turn his snares off. While the band is playing though, his snares will vibrate and it's just going to be part of the sound. Trying to tune the drum to not react to the bass is just going to ruin the drummers snare drum sound. He deserves to have good tone too.
 
#45
Yes, I do. In case it wasn't absolutely clear, I also play drums myself. Have for several years and currently play for a small town band. I haven't needed to do that myself as my snare's don't rattle loud enough to be heard over the music. Whether it's death metal or even acoustic gigs, my snare is just fine. There is a problem with his snare if it's loud enough for the audience to hear and I was offering a couple tips I have picked up over the years as far as dealing with extraneous snare buzz goes. I say again: I haven't needed to do this and fully understand how finicky tunings are.

A drummer shouldn't need to turn his/her snares off during a gig unless there is some really long bass solo or something. Even the crappiest snares I have had the (mis)pleasure of using haven't been so bad as to be heard by anyone besides the bassist.

I also take offence to your second statement, by the way. Just cause someone's a drummer doesn't make them any less of a musician. In fact, most drummers I know know more about music than most guitarists and even (ZOMG) most bassists. Is this an exception that proves the rule? Perhaps, but still...
 
#46
GEEZ!! Now some of you guys are attacking drummers too??? Man, at first it was funny hearing the attack on guitarists. Now, it's becoming absurd. I'm glad to have guitarists to play with, and especially glad to have drummers!!! My job (for the most part-strong emphasis here) as a bassist is to bridge what the guitarist is doing with what the drummer is doing. Thank God for the NON-bass players!!!
 
#47
When I'm drumming, the snare buzz drives me crazy between songs or when I'm not playing. However, I tuned my snares to try to reduce it. It won't be gone, but you can change the resonant pitch of the drum so it doesn't react as strongly with the bass or electric guitar. I think that's what a previous poster was talking about. And for those that say they don't hear their snares buzz, you must not be paying any attention. Even the other drums in the kit vibrate the snares. When I'm near the end of tuning up a bass drum, I have to put a snare next to it with the snares turned on or it doesn't sound like a typical bass drum sound.

I actually got fed up with turning my snares on and off in rehearsals with this band I'm in (indy-rock kinda band just for fun). I replaced the snares on the kit at the guitarist's house with cable snares which sound more orchestral but buzz WAY less.

Snares buzz. It happens. But if the drummer cares, he or she should try to do something about if it's a problem.
 
#48
For the record, yes, I can hear my snare buzz all the time if I'm practicing on my own. I tune all my drums very similar tonally (tune to the drum's natural tone whenever possible) and, even though they're different notes, the similar tuning actually causes my snares to buzz constantly. As soon as a guitar is thrown into the mix, however, the buzz dissapears. It's inaudible on any recording (bad as they have been) that I've done as well. That's what I was talking about.
 
#52
You obviously need to insert a "quietenator" in your signal chain. Many companies make one. I'm sure Behringer has copied it.

The quietenator will take the inherent silence existing in your bass sound and enhance it through proprietary circuitry to make it "really quiet" Let the guitar player decide how much to mix in ;)

JKT
 

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