Snare question

[stonewall]

I do sound in a Classic Rock band i play in.I keep having people ask me why is the snare so loud.I dont ever mic his snare indoors or out .This is really pissing me off there is nothing i can do to solve the problem.i switched him to a 57 it seemed to help a bit.But he insists on using his Big azz chrome $300 mic.He sings so his vocal mic is picking up the horrible brightness of his snare what can i do ?Any suggestions?

 

[MrDOS]

Its a common problem, especially in certain rooms. I almost never mic the snare at bar gigs, and I use a mic with a switch on it for the drummer.

 

[RDUB]

I'm assuming that you leave his vocal mic on at all times. Short of gating his vocal mic for the level of his snare, you'd have to get him to work on his snare's tone. Take some of the ring and snap out of it.

 

[mactac]

Put some gaffer tape or moongels on the snare. It'll reduce the ring/decay which should reduce it's impact quite a bit I do this for recordings, and it works wonders.

 

[stonewall]

Our previous drummers snare was so sweet and woody sounding. The guy we have now has a horrible bright snappy very tinny sound yeeuckkkk.When i politely mention he reply,s i paid fawking $300 dollars for this snare get used to it...I remember his old snare sounded just as bad.He would be gone if he didnt ad so much vocals dammm.....He wears ear monitors so he doesnt hear the brightness we hear...No more mister nice guy for me.Im going to for now on mic his snare it will not be through the mains.im gonna crank it in his ear monitors wich i have full control of.Now we are on an even playing field.What do you think im gonna say when he asks me to turn it down....

 

[Nev375]

Generally speaking, the larger diameter head equates to louder sound and the internal volume of the drum itself equates to a deeper voicing. So, if you could just get him to switch to a deeper snare, preferably a wooden one you might roll off some of that annoying sharpness.

Because all musicians love suggestions on what gear they should be playing to sound better...

Good luck with that.

 

[BassGuyFL]

Ugh nothing worse than a ear-splitting "doink" sound instead of a nice "crack" on the snare. My old drummer did this insisted on tuning it up super cranked and played all rimshots. It was the most horrific thing I ever heard and he thought it was the best sound in history. I got pretty much the same response from him "hey man effff you this is my style."

 

[Nev375]

Big difference between a nicely well defined crack and a sharp tinny "kchriiinkt". But I agree, no one wants a "doink" either.

 

[stonewall]

Lol....im just venting above sorry.

 

[RoadRanger]

Yah, a switch on the mike (if you think the drummer can handle it ) or something like an Audix OM7 .

 

[seamonkey]

Vocal mic position can matter.
cardioid mics work by rejecting sound from behind them mostly.
Point the back of the mic towards what you don't want to pick up. For a singing drummer mic should face up from the snare to their mouth.

 

[RDUB]

Yep. Should have mentioned that off the get go. Cardioid or supercardioid, with the base of the mic pointing as much toward the snare as possible.

 

[RoadRanger]

No, super and hyper cardioids have their maximum rejection at 45 degrees, not straight off the back like a cardioid.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Tomato, potato. I think OP should get the story straight. Is it a vocal mic bleed or a snare mic sound problem?

 

[ddnidd1]

No, super and hyper cardioids have their maximum rejection at 45 degrees, not straight off the back like a cardioid.

+1

Tomato, potato. I think OP should get the story straight. Is it a vocal mic bleed or a snare mic sound problem?

The OP indicates its the vocal mic.

 

[Ender_rpm]

When i politely mention he reply,s i paid fawking $300 dollars for this snare get used to it...

Tell him he wasted his money and come back when he has an instrument that fits the sound of the group. Same as if a guy insisted on using a pointy shredder guitar and a maxed out Marshall tone for jazz gigs. Gig> Group> gear.