How To EQ A Snare Drum To Perfection!

EQ'ing a snare doesn't have to be difficult, in fact, it's actually pretty easy once you know where to boost and cut!
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Watch as I show four simple EQ moves which work 90% of the time to get you a great snare tone!
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[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks for watching everyone - If you want to support his channel check out my Sample Packs & Mixing Courses: spinlightstudio.com/shop

[@StratsRUs]

Thank you.This really helped me blending a live snare with Addictive Trigger.

[@spinlightstudios]

Glad it was helpful!

[@drummer_alex_martin]

Awesome! But I have to say that your initial snare sounds perfect! Keep going, mate!

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks Alex! Yeah it’s definitely not a bad snare sound to start with, but I do like how it sounds more open and hifi after the EQ moves too! Just shows how subjective mixing is too :)

[@FieroGTXX]

Facts, I would be happy to end up where you started. When I get there, ill come back to these videos. Cuz this aint for me. (notyet )

[@Abner74]

The original sound of that snare was well recorded, and the minor filters were the icing on the cake

[@kingsotall7128]

Great job,make video on how you mix those guitars,they sounds great

[@Mastermnd1]

PSA: I was watching this on youtube's 720p setting and I couldn't hear a difference when listening to the full mix. I thought I was deaf. Then switched to 1080p and now I can hear it. Increase the video's quality to make sure you get the best audio.

[@rome8180]

These frequencies really do work 90% of the time. Especially 8k. That's just a magical frequency in general. It's almost amazing on vocals.

[@spinlightstudios]

Everyone loves a bit of 8k haha 12k on a pultec is the magic for me with vocals ;)

[@ediththeband]

Sounds amazing! Great job as usual!

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks Mate!

[@KS-ld7zs]

Night and Day, really! Of course, the snare sounded amazing to begin with, but the moves you made really made it very clean.

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks mate!

[@madmuso5]

Nice work. Other goodies from Andrew Scheps are 7.2k bell for crack, and 12k shelf for openess/air.

[@spinlightstudios]

Sounds tasty! Never one size fits all, gotta do what works and compliments the track!

[@Dudderlyful]

Firstly, take your perfectly recorded snare sound.

[@spinlightstudios]

It helps to have a good recording! Which is not impossible 😂 good drum, good tuning, good drummer makes all the difference!

[@GreenbriarStudio]

Excellent video! Thank you for communicating the fact that these target frequencies do change a bit based on the drum and the recording. Instead of just telling people, a magic frequency that will work all the time. 🤓

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks Jay! :)

[@Stevo7388]

I like 240 on the snare fattens it nicely.

[@spinlightstudios]

For me, the tuning of the snare determines where that low end boost really shines!

[@Stevo7388]

Yea, you're right.

[@FistOfRuin]

My starting point is awfull, i cant get a good tone from snare. I used Invasion and addictive vst pluging and a i cant get a good tone

[@vaughnturner4851]

Your mix is beautiful. Not enough people use the Waves e-channel!

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks so much Vaughn, I’ve recently started dabbling with the waves ssl channel after using the Brainworx one for ages. The waves is still pretty good!

[@vaughnturner4851]

​@@spinlightstudios The bx one is pretty good too, but what I notice with the Waves one is that it somehow captures the hart/intention of the sound/part/full song better than nearly any plugin out there. It could just be me, but it somehow seems to emotionally engage the listener in a way other emulations cannot. Regardless of what plugin you use though, your ears rock and roll and you know what you are doing. :)

[@adee2569]

I'd like to see some mix tutorials without the added samples.

[@spinlightstudios]

For sure man, have a look back through my videos, got a couple of Drum mixing vids, some with samples and some without :) some productions need them, especially modern sounding stuff.

[@Cowri]

So, the EQing of the top and bottom heads is the same, in a single sub?

[@spinlightstudios]

Yep, for this method!

[@vanillamuffinssugaroipunkc2456]

hi spinlight i have 11 nice songs where all the snare crushed away.you offer also remaster work?

[@spinlightstudios]

Sure thing, just shoot me an email - you’ll find contact details on my website in the description above. Let’s discuss

[@terrypotter9957]

You’re doing the EQ in a group are you applying any EQ to the individual channels for the top and bottom mikes?

[@spinlightstudios]

Yes. Summing the snare top, bottom and a snare sample to a bus and eq’ing them as one sound! The snare top has an expander on it, I don’t think there was any eq applied before the bus!

[@ryancrarymusic]

Yo this is great! Also where can I get a desk like that one?!!!!!

[@spinlightstudios]

Thanks! This was a custom build I made with my father 🤩

[@luckymmanuel]

@spinlightstudio need your help on how to mix a snare that captures your high-hat . How do you mix that with the hihat

[@spinlightstudios]

You mean mixing a snare with cymbal bleed from hihats?

[@thomaswhudson]

Hey I see you using the SSL eq a bit, why are you using that over Pro q 3?

[@spinlightstudios]

it limits how silly you can get with an EQ Having limited bands, you make more musical decisions rather than having endless option to create EQ bands and notch things etc. I like how it sounds too. Pro Q3 is great too though. Neither is a right or wrong Choice!

[@ninop.r489]

Does this apply to hip hop snares?

[@spinlightstudios]

Hmm probably not quite the same! This is more your standard snare drum kinda sound.

[@TonyAuditore06]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@spinlightstudios]

No problem!

[@luisloyo_bass]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@j.charleshiggins5503]

I wish you video would highlight the actual snare sound, I feel the sample is making up so much here. I can t get a snare sound that isolated and clean without some gating or side chain processing to remove a blasted pair of open hats or a ride cymbal being beat like it’s on its last dying days. After that there is no more beautiful snare tail decay and openness. So I don’t think this presents a true rock band source material. Or at least not the type that come thru my doors every weak. Just saying this sounds to prettied up already

[@spinlightstudios]

Any modern production is going to have a sampled blended with the drums. This is 50/50 snare mic and sample blend. They are a team to create the sound here. I can see on my snare mic channel I have ssl channel and ProMB, the ssl channel would have an expander on it, gating the snare and then fabfilter ProMB would be dealing with any cymbal bleed! ProMB or silencer by black salt audio and your best bets for killing bleed and maintaining some sustain.