Question about snare drum sound/snare tuning

flom

New member
hey new to soft here, and i would like to ask you experts out there haha. i currently own a tama stagestar, and the snare sounds quite "marching band" like, which i dont really like. i would like a more "poppy" sound instead. is the sound inherent in the snare drum itself, or would some tuning make it able to produce the sound im looking for? thanks!
 
FPaulLes...

to pull the handle at the side of the snare drum is tp have the snare off...
meaning not the normal snare but more of tom sound...

wat he wants is not the tightness of marching band snare sound but the normal pop players have
there's a difference
 
my advice would be too read up and ask as many people as u can, then its allup to experiment ard. best way to learn is todo it and keep doing it. ask if u dun know
 
Snare

well you could just place a cloth over it and tap it to the snare...its not too good for the skin and might not look too nice or professional but at least u will get a softer more "poppish" sound?...try it...i'm a snare drummer so i love the marching band sound...=D...
 
I like the marching snare sound too! Oh god I seems to like everything. :lol:
Anyway, if you can, do try to join us at the next meet-up. Some of us(not me though) helped another softie to tune her stagestar snare one meet-up ago.
 
it was a swingstar, cjl. anyway, last meetup, another softie had his yamaha (i believe) snare tuned by the master himself, drum_hobbyist, so yes, either way, there will definitely be someone there to help :)
 
hey new to soft here, and i would like to ask you experts out there haha. i currently own a tama stagestar, and the snare sounds quite "marching band" like, which i dont really like. i would like a more "poppy" sound instead. is the sound inherent in the snare drum itself, or would some tuning make it able to produce the sound im looking for? thanks!

hi bro.. first of all must take note that the stagestar snare is a steel 13" snare, which gives it more crack, and the stagesnare stock snare isn't very high end, so don't expect too much from the snare.

you can try to tune the resonant head tighter than the batter head for a poppy sound... then bearing that in mind, just play with the different tunings until you get the sound you want. might take a while tho.
 
oh alright thanks for the help. but just wanna add on... when you say its a steel snare, does that mean its like more sensitive? cause it seems impossible to me to play softly at fast speeds unless you have amazing wrist control. dont know if you guys know what i mean, but if you do, i would really appreciate more info!
 
FPaulLes...

to pull the handle at the side of the snare drum is tp have the snare off...
meaning not the normal snare but more of tom sound...

wat he wants is not the tightness of marching band snare sound but the normal pop players have
there's a difference

I hope I am not hijacking that thread...

DT, you mentioned the handle at the side of the snare, yes? What is the use of that screw mechnaism that is attached to the handle? I cant figure that out (maybe my hearing aint sensitive enough).
 
oh alright thanks for the help. but just wanna add on... when you say its a steel snare, does that mean its like more sensitive? cause it seems impossible to me to play softly at fast speeds unless you have amazing wrist control. dont know if you guys know what i mean, but if you do, i would really appreciate more info!

ah don't quote me on this, but if im not mistaken, the material doesn't affect the sensitivity... its the amount of snare wires + tension + material of the snare wires that affect. can someone confirm this?

if im not mistaken, metal snares definitely project more.

oh for snare wires, if its too tight you'll choke the snare and there won't be any sensitivity. gotta get the right tension when u adjust the throwoff to get the sensitivity and 'crack' sound :)
 
anyone has any good rock/funk snare to suggest? what would be a good snare to get (and one i can probably find in singapore.. eg i couldn't find the chad smith signature snare..) if i play stuff like rock or improvised rock funk. stuff from rhcp, muse, guns n roses, and now trying to be a little more technical (bonham triplets, paradiddle grooves, etc). i'm really lost when it comes to drum hardware atm, so appreciate if someone got a good snare to suggest :D

(btw, i think i can probably splurge maybe around 500dollars max for a new snare, but can save up la if its really an excellent snare )

p.s. sorry for hijacking this thread for a while :)
 
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hmmm i would go with a good steel snare or similar, maybe 14x5.5

you might want to check out tama stewart copeland snare, if i rem correctly its 1.5mm brass shell, die cast hoops.

i tried it few months ago and was really swayed by it. it can sound loose, but when tuned up and played loud its shotgun baby. my take is that its like a EQ-ed chad smith with more highs, obvious trade off is can sound a little too piercing. nothing that some experimenting on tuning, changing of snare head that cannot fix. you must try it out though.

i think its 800 list. u'd be able to get it 600+ after discount i believe, very good deal. made in japan, if that means anything good to u.

cheers
 
steeel snare for sure. or a steel with wood hoops to dry it out abit.

check out the david garibaldi snare and the steve jordan one
 
Im gonna bring my tama stagestar steel snare too (If i can attend the meetup that is.)
Get the pros to tune it for me heheh :lol:
 
the pro dude at tunning wld be nigel at drum resources. i reckon tht the snare down to nigel say u have a problem with it. he's a nice ass dude, i'm sure he'll help u out brother
 
Good tuning and good sticking/stroke techniques are equally important to get a good tone out of your drums. Don't worry much, cos it'll take time and practice, trial and error to achieve the best tone out of your drums. My pointers:

1) snare drums: tune the resonant/snare side tight. The batter head, tune it up fairly tight but not as tight as the reso side, and do not overtighten it cos u'll get that choke tone. If u wanna get tighter/popper/more high crank tone out of your snare, then get a piccolo snare like a 10" or 12" snare drums. Do not force and tune your regular 14" snare to get that tone. For soft hitter, u might wanna tightened the snare wire to get good responsive snare sound, while for hard-hitter, loosen it a tad bit.

2)toms and bass drums: tune your reso and batter side at the same tension. Loosen your lugs/screw 1st. Then finger tightened the lugs/screw til u can't tightened it any more. Then use your key to tune it up at half-turn. Do it abt 3-4 times(some drums, u might need to turn more) then check the tone. The heads should be 'seated' well now and u could get a decent tone. Never ever tightened or loosen your toms to get a lower/higher pitch eg: if your tom is 12", do not tightened too much to get a 10" tom's tone or if you have 14" tom, do not loosen it to get a 16" lower/deeper tone. If you wanna get higher or lower pitch tone drums, go buy the additional tom. Bass drums tuning is the same as toms.
And never ever try to tune your drums to a specific key! U must tune the drums to get the best tone out of it. When drumming, let the drums work for you, not you work for the drums. Cos if u tune it wrongly, you'll be uneasy and u can't drum well cos of the 'weird' tone you get out of the drums..
 
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