Basic Drum Miking: The Snare Drum

www.audio-techn...
We offer some advice for which pro mics to use and where to place them for the best snare sound in your mix. Watch the rest of the videos in this how-to series here: • Drum Mic Basics from A-T

[@JM-co6rf]

I LOVE this guy. You know he parties.

[@MiserablePyre]

That head turn at 3:15 was almost Tim & Eric esque

[@1959buddyh]

What about the head turn at 0:27? Lmao

[@Junga.Jonathan]

amazing

[@untro7287]

ON THE STAGE OR IN THE STUDIO love this guy

[@letemsinkgames6475]

This dude is %100 responsible for my studio drum knowledge

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Dude this guy just took everything I ever thought I knew about snare recording, refined it into concrete knowledge while teaching me a ton I didn't know before, AND made me laugh a couple times- in the span of three and a half minutes. Not a second wasted. This dude is the best.

[@gonzomuse]

These are excellent videos! Straight talking by someone who knows what they are talking about. I so often see people micing snares ridiculously close thinking that they will get a punchier sound.

[@skyhr]

When he turned to his left at 0:26, I felt that...

[@unityofnoise]

literally the best snare mic'ing tutorial online. simple, effective, good examples, well explained and the BEST part... SHORT. Cheers.

[@dw5000jf]

This guy is intense AF.

[@LuminorBeats]

more like intense AT hehe

[@Pplouch]

1:09 Alt 1:27 cerca 1:39 empinado 1:49 convervadora 2:00 ring

[@Boebaboeba_Productions]

Great video, thanks. Gonna place the mic outside of the rim

[@mghtdelete]

this fuckin guy has me cracking up

[@madcona]

I love this guy

[@tyranena_corazon]

Thank you guys I just watched this and am micing my snare right now

[@audiomediaproductionservic1051]

it really needs to be noted the difference between phase and polarity. These are great videos definitely on miking techniques but he like lots of engineers and even manufactures get the label and the term "phase: wrong. Phase is a time alignment issue like when a source of sound reaches two mics at a different time. Polarity is the reversal on the waveform. So on mixing consoles you would be actually reversing the polarity on the bottom snare mic and not the phase. You would fix phasing with delay. Great Videos! Keep them Coming!

[@Frostliche]

Polarity equals a phase shift of 180 degrees. Phase difference between mics picking up the same sound is the same.

[@bavarianmonkey8326]

He said "the bottom mike needs to be flipped out of phase" which means "reverse phase by 180 degrees" and is a standard term in electrical engineering. So the explanation given in this video is perfectly fine. You mention time alignment. Time alignment is not phase alignment because time alignment can only compensate for time - or more exactly group delay issues (meaning the derivative of the phase over frequency) - related issues. Using time alignment you can only phase align one frequency plus certain harmonics, not the whole signal. There are three terms: Phase, time, polarity. "Phase flip" or "out of phase" in means "invert signal" or "shift phase by 180° for all frequencies" "Time aligned" means "the signal travels the same time from the source to the point where the individual signals are summed together/compared" "Polarity" means "the direction the signal goes (positive/negative derivative of pressure, voltage, whatever) is the same with all sources you are looking at". Inverting polarity is exactly the same thing as flipping the phase by 180°.

[@taylorjsirrah2094]

I think what's really missing here is an explanation on how to achieve this adjustment. How is this done?

[@kevins2025]

Yes true, a polarity flip means a phase shift of 180 degrees. Just semantics

[@mikegonsolin1]

I remember this guy used to be the studio drummer at MI when I went there!

[@ken952gtr]

1:27 is the tone. Very informative video.

[@acrock21]

for some strange reason; something about the way he talks reminds me of the guy from americas most wanted

[@SoundGuyDavo]

Mark Walsh?

[@acrock21]

yes

[@GoldAge24]

Lololol wow he does

[@davidpardy]

Thanks for the advice! I've never been happy with the sound I get from mic'ing my snare. I think I know what I'm doing wrong now (apart from virtually no room treatment)

[@DannySullivanMusic]

Best tutorial on the subject. Yet another reason why Audio-Technica rules.

[@KMHrock89]

Put this video in grayscale and add the old TV noise to it. That might be a little more appropriate for this video.

[@artysanmobile]

If the drummer can play with appropriate care for the mic, avoid a both snare mics entirely and get the best sound you’ve ever heard fro the snare by using a low overhead. This is usually a studio-only method and doesn’t work for every style. But a high quality condenser very close to the drummers face gets a gorgeous sound from the snare. Just ask any drummer. That’s where they hear it from. Side benefit is that it gets a pretty great mix of the rest of the kit. With the right compressors and mic choice, some of my favorite drum recordings ever are from just two mics; bass drum and close overhead.

[@MortonLuvz2drum]

I agree with a lot of what you said. I'm always a bit leery about what the sound guy says. Of course he's going to tell you it sounds good. I use a bit of both, but definitely an overhead because I really want that snappy clarity when I need it. Some techs still don't get it.

[@nickcollins9893]

ATM650 seems like a nice competitor to SM57 on snare drum! Will it work as a tom mic as well?

[@MrAdrianloera]

Omg that ending 🤣

[@papakilatube]

so shiny

[@tomcat2285.]

queue corney news camera transitions

[@TheGuy-h6c]

Please!) Make such videos for orchestra recording!

[@BuzzJones]

Awesome thanks, I wonder if have a sure 57 on top and bottom would work

[@rodjames9314]

I LOVE THAT GUY!!!!!!

[@hubbadubchub]

Love his hair!

[@SticksNkicks]

Good video!

[@korneeldevos7790]

POLARITY!!!!

[@robsco1249]

Could I use only a condenser mic to record a snare just like at 3:00 but playing It with traditional sticks?

[@AudioTechnicaUSA]

Hi there! Please contact our Audio Solutions Team for help. You can reach them at [e-mail]. Thanks! - A-T USA

[@machtin2222]

damn these videos are so useful (no sarcasm)

[@leonardk.8034]

snare

[@whenmountainsmove]

I have to ask. Are you also using overheads that are not shown in the video?

[@AudioTechnicaUSA]

Hi there! No overheads were used in this video, thanks! - A-T USA

[@benjamincarney9875]

:28....hey

Do I have to use condenser mic for bottom? Or a dynamic will do the job?

[@AudioTechnicaUSA]

Hi Andres! You can use a dynamic microphone for the bottom of the snare. Since the microphone positioned at the bottom of the snare is responsible for capturing the “snap” of the drum, many prefer a condenser as it tends to pick up the higher frequencies a bit more. However, at the end of the day, it really comes down to preference. Thanks! - A-T USA

[@Vojtakrasa]

ON THE STAGE oor IIIIN THE STUUDIO

[@ILoveElectroAndHouse]

he kinda looks like david blaine

[@jackpaice]

what a dorky dude :D

[@lucasl4644]

mike the snare

[@MtnXfreeride]

my sh!77ty $300 laptop speakers can't tell the difference... gonna have to try again with some headphones later!

[@fromtheworldbelow9240]

Good video... bit awkward to watch though ;)

[@MixMastaCopyCat]

jesus christ his face and his voice

[@christianhackl474]

MixMastaCopyCat whats up with that?

[@ikigai47]

Damn that voice/hair piece/face/robotic demeanor is so distracting.

[@SoundGuyDavo]

Surely Audio-Technica has their own embroidered collared shirts? nah

[@MeTuLHeD]

Charlie doesn't use a hair piece dude. That's the real deal. He used to have a HUGE mohawk back when he did FullOnDrums. Now he has it cut really close. Great guy. His UltimateStudios channel on here is very informative.

[@jayarpecho5941]

Chaplin Gean

[@luisaucedo]

Miking? Brah

[@budrobrother]

Sounds so good I could puke...

[@saftovooey4569]

conDINser

[@ryevick]

This weekend is going to be all about getting good microphone placements for my drums. Thanks for the info!