Why Your Snare Sound Sucks | Season Three, Episode 46

[@instdjp]

I just came across this episode and, as like all the others, it was outstanding. Funny that I never considered many of the points you discussed yet they all seem so obvious to me now that I’ve watched your video. One thing you mentioned that I discovered a while ago is how valuable recording oneself can be. It has completely altered my perception of how well I thought I played and promptly caused me to make major alterations to my approach to playing drums and my tuning choices There’s no doubt that I’m a better musician for it now. Please keep up the good work. I’m trying to get caught up on previous episodes and look forward to each new one. Thank you.

[@SaltySicilian]

You absolutely speak the truth. I feel like we have experienced similar things at similar times. I would bang my head against a wall back in my early twenties trying to match the drum sound in Grizzly Bear’s - Veckatimist. What a waste of time. When I stopped trying to chase something non existent, I enjoyed playing ten fold

[@drummercarson896]

Happy 150th episode.

[@soundguy-1975]

I'm an audio engineer. The truths about "produced" drums are absolutely spot on!! Thank you for this!!!!

[@DrumGalaxy]

Door number 2! Actual vs. Recorded and processed drums. It all begins with a well tuned drum but if you're looking to emulate a recorded and processed (eq, compression, saturation, etc.) sound from a commercial release of some kind from your drums "as is" in your basement or whatever it's not going to happen. Excellent channel with real info!

[@lancelefevre351]

Not only does his playing sound awesome, but wow the sound and recording of the drums always sound so good. Great mixing and production. This show feels like the public broadcasting of drumming. It feel/looks/sounds so polished and professional. You guys do an awesome job.

[@srm0074]

Matt Cameron's entire kit on "Down On The Upside" sounds so natural and open. And that Keplinger snare on "Applebite" is IT for me.

[@gregoryragonese9904]

Dude you forgot Matt's sound on Drown Me and My Wave both KILLER SOUNDS

[@srm0074]

@@gregoryragonese9904 and on "Kristi"...

[@drumjedi5301]

Very interesting and applicable video. I actually think about this subject often, and have begun to train my ear to hear the differences between heavily processed drums and more natural sounding drums. As someone else commented here, I wish I could tune the drums from across the room, because there really is a difference! One of the major lessons I've learned is to allow the drums to "sing" a little more than what I feel like is good while sitting at the drum set. Distance from the kit, room acoustics, other instruments, people in the room, mics/EQ/compression all affect the sound, and a lot of the nuance and sustain gets lost "in the mix." As such, I tune the drums to sound a little "dirty" to my ear at the kit, and have discovered that this really translates well to the ear of the listener, even when mic'd.

[@drumjedi5301]

@@BeesWaxMinder Good point!

[@ZeBubba]

Deftones - Digital Bath has awesome drum tones. Abe's playing surely doesn't hurt the experience. Good stuff again, folks!

[@drumjedi5301]

One of the best drum recordings ever, from drum sound to playing.

[@nadar34]

From Pantera to Deftones to Soundgarden-(other than fantastic drum tones) the common denominator? Terry Date.

[@JCYoo]

I love the drum sounds of Jimmy Chamberlin in Siamese Dream record. The ring on the snare, and how the toms come together to sing with Billy's guitar is a master piece. Geek USA, Cherub Rock, Silverfuck, you name it.

[@thetruthexperiment]

You’d have a tough time finding someone who disagrees. I heard one guy say he didn’t crash ride enough or at all and it frustrated him. I guess he goes to a light ride during choruses instead riding a crash. But whatever.

[@alexmcb0311]

I just want to try and figure out how to emulate Jimmy’s snare.

[@trock355]

This was absolutely fantastic guys. I really enjoyed the section at the end about organic drum sounds in context. It’s funny, what I always find works best for my sound is a combination of what I like (a cross between 90s high pitched and 60s/70s funk dry crack but with a touch more body) and whatever the track calls for/live setting is. Even if I need to modify my snare tone to go with the overall feel of a song or gig, you can always really tell where the genesis of what I am going for comes from, which in turn I feel helps get what I am trying to say on the drums across to the listener. Great stuff keep it coming!!!

[@FredMinville]

this channel is part of my drum bible , thanks for everything you do

[@geoffcowan2384]

Thanks Cody. More great info as always. I have put coated Ambassadors on all my snares for years and tuned them high to very high, but partially due to your channel and my changing tastes I have been experimenting with thicker/different heads and looser tunings. I don't always like the sound/feel behind the kit, but the recordings and out front sound are really nice. I appreciate what you all do to get this content to us.

[@bswanmusic]

Your drumming is getting better and better, dude. Some of these grooves and fills are hot

[@thomasmonson633]

This is exactly the video I've been waiting for you guys to make

[@rimshot223]

Killer video guys. As an audio engineer I struggle with this. I tune my drums and get frustrated that I can get the sound in my head to happen. Then I record it and it sound amazing when I mix it. I need to retrain my thinking when I'm tuning for practice and fun vs. recording and producing.

[@a.j.wilkes6352]

I chuckled at the "clickbaity" headline. "Drum techs HATE him! 6 Snare Tuning Tricks"

[@Glock_Nico]

" ... YOU WON'T BELIEVE # 4!"

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We had fun with that though it's one of the most common phrases we see in the form of a questions in comments and DMs, even after all of our videos on snare tuning. We also have to get people to watch the video in order to learn from the video so we'll absolutely play with this from time to time. Just wait until you see our series of drum covers... 😉

[@marcin7154]

@@SoundsLikeADrum I 'm lookin' forward to😉

[@kodykindhart5644]

Thanks y’all really appreciate the content as always

[@andwhatshouldbe]

The idea of matching my snare sound to a recording was a big one for me. I learned that the best I can do is make sure all the overtones are as in tune as possible to start (I like an open, live drum), and trust that quick middle-of-the-set tuning corrections will be good enough.

[@markielinhart]

Cody, just like to say that the intellect you bring to all the drum topics you post is so uplifting… 👏🇦🇺🌹✌️

[@mathieutremblay745]

Great video! Loved it, one of the snare sound I love the most is Tre cool snare sound in the era he was playing his n&c's. I think I can definitely distinct the n&c vibe, but maybe I just love it too much!

[@ChristopherRoss.]

To answer your last question there, the legendary drum sound on "White Pony" by Deftones. _Digital Bath_ in particular is the standard I measure myself to every time I record, and fall miserably short of.

[@ZeBubba]

Damn, I just posted the same tune without seeing your post, so yeah :)

[@glaubergarcez5182]

This video explain the reason why this channel is soo good, keep up the amazing work!

[@johnreardon4944]

Thanks to your many previous videos, I got my brass Pearl Sensitone Classic II to sound killer! It's a 14.5x5 with die cast hoops. I play in an SRV tribute band. And even though I thought a drier snare, like a Supraphonic, would work better, Ive managed to get my snare to be crisp, articulate, and punchy at any volume. The wires are still articulate near the edge even with light strokes. I think it was the reso head video that really helped the most. My Canopus Vintage wires are really able to come alive! I use a coated CS dot head with half a Moongel. Notewise, my snare is just under a G# on purpose. The toms and bass are tuned in an E flat major scale. So the sympathetic buzz is very reduced. 24 Bass drum G 13 B flat 16 E flat 18 B flat All coated heads. Emp/Ambs. Reso a perfect 4th higher. These are luan wood 1978 Pearl drums too!

[@johnreardon4944]

I mean, I've really maximized the sound of my good condition, but cheap, drum kit thanks to your videos. Experimentation and an open mind got me here. Best KZbin channel ever!

[@TXMusicDrummer]

I always liked the snare sound of Bill Bruford with Yes, King Crimson, UK and Earthworks. Very distinct, precise and consistent. As for a bad drum sounds, for me, I've never liked the recorded drum sounds from Billy Squire's early-80's output, especially on songs like "Everybody Wants You". The drumming from the late-Bobby Chouinard is excellent, but the sound has a mushy harshness to it.

[@ryanscott68]

Came here to learn why my snare sound sucks, spent the next 20 minutes decoding morse code!

[@larrbrown7277]

Did you figure it out,let us know.

[@johnbmailer]

@@larrbrown7277 What's Within Matters

[@julioortiz7227]

One of the best KZbin Videos ever! Cody you make so much sense, You inspired to just experiment/tinker with tunings to find those that resonate with me. The playlist is awesome, thank you so much!

[@aristin62]

Dig the vid. It certainly is something else to have the drums in the room with you. Y'know, I love tool also, I'm actually looking at 10,000 Days and Lateralus on CD here, hadn't really occurred to me that those were there, but they're near the CD tray for this laptop in case I need to listen to something off of the actual disc, which happens, so they're both still there. Just figured I'd share that, looked over and there they were. Anyway, if there's a type of sound or an approach to tuning and playing as a coupled concept that hooked me it is that wide open sound Danny Carey talked about. This is now an active journey for me, though one that doesn't at all mean I'm trying to achieve his sound, or really any sound in particular other than the ones the drums make. Plus you already said tool, so if there's a drum sound I obsessed over in the past couple years it's gotta be what I now call the french electronic music snare drum. You hear it in, like, Kavinsky and Perturbator and Carpenter Brut, but it probably goes back to Daft Punk and others, the connections in that community are not super familiar to me. I read once that they take a couple snare sounds and layer them, then EQ the hell out of that. Makes for a boss sounding backbeat, but you don't have to try to simulate that sound to go for that kind of drive, and it's pretty fun to play along if you want a really solid boom crack priority, maybe a couple pieces of paper on the head to get the sound out of the way a little more quickly and work with all that. For me, though, I pretty much just try to stick with wide open and y'all can make peace with the ring. Okay now I pretty much have to listen to Roller Mobster AND Lateralus. P.S. I can't fault the monologue, obviously I still don't understand how youtube comments work.

[@ffrjegs08]

some of my favorite drum sounds ever are on records produced by Eric Valentine. 3rd eye blind's self title, death from above, taking back sunday, smash mouth, etc

[@markciocco2509]

All true. Good idea to talk about these things. I’m not an audio engineer, but I’ve done a bit of multitrack recording as a drummer and know first hand how many things can color the final drum sound. Nearly endless!

[@FredMinville]

expectation will ruin your life! you guys keep it real

[@wilkinsnl]

I wish I could easily tune the snare/drums from the audience perspective. It’s amazing how they can sound terrible while you’re sitting behind the kit but if you walk 10 feet out in front they sound amazing. I’ve had this experience before several times. The other thing, having spent my formative years in the 90’s so I like my snare to be like a piccolo, high short POP!!!. The problem is, it doesn’t record well. It always sounds thin. It sounds great to me but FOH or to a recording mic it sucks. So I detune it and I hate the sound but the mics and FOH engineer loves it.

[@farshimelt]

Tune the drum, walk out front, ask someone in the band to play single strokes on it.

[@Aleph_Null_Audio]

I've taken to tuning with earplugs in (musician's earplugs). They attenuate the overtones just enough to give me a sense of what a drum will sound like ten feet away or in a mix. You need overtones to make a drum sound full, but they can be overwhelming when you're right next to the drum.

[@rolandoshootsfilms]

Thanks for these videos. After struggling for a long time, I've began to trust my ears and have a basic understanding of drum tuning. Thank you!

[@brent3760]

The Mr Rogers of youtube drums is spot on again! Cody you rule! I'd love to be your friend!!! 😁😁😁 Voice of reason and rationality in drumming in this crazy world!! Thank you guys for doing what you do!!!!

[@G60syncro]

That's the thing with drums in general... it's probably the only instrument that you sit inside of while playing it... I'm sure if you were sitting inside a fine Martin guitar while strumming it, it would sound horrible!! I have good friends in other bands we play with and I never have an issue with loaning my kit when we play gigs together. It's really cool to gain some outside perspective as to how the drum sounds from 20ft away in the context of a band!

[@ruukasu71]

love how you guys break your videos into sections. well done!

[@therealspooks]

Good point on the online posting, I was a studio drummer in the late 80's, things are WAY different now!!

[@footnotedrummer]

Great tips and tricks. My personal feeling after almost 40 years of drumming... find sounds that are pleasing to your ear (while sitting at the drums), regardless of the fact that they don't sound like the snare on that one tune you love so much. To Cody's point... you can make anything sound like anything in a studio these days. Yes... different type of snares are going to give a certain end result, but with sampling anymore... a lot of drums (snares especially) are altered via a blended sample of some other form of snare. Meaning... you may really want the tonality of a metal snare and use one to record. However... the engineer may think that it's frequency isn't sitting well in the mix, and blend a wood snare tone with it. That snare that you love may be an unobtainable sound at the end of the day. One of my pet peeves is people buying cymbals and snares based on the KZbin video of the demo, instead of trying them out in person. There's a high probability that you'll never find the sound that made you fall in love with that $500, $600 or $1000 snare that you heard on KZbin. You may buy it and hate the sound that it provides.

[@demiangreen1831]

Very good video, now i know that sometimes the sound of the snare is out of control because the compreson or production. I love the Benny Greb snare sound is just so awesome! Awesome video as always guy's!!!

[@AndyBlackoutDrums]

Something I've always been confused about is that my drums sound awful to my ears if I'm not wearing any earplugs or headphones, but as soon as I get those headphones on my drums sound exactly how I'd want them to sound. Am I doing something wrong?

[@vedantturbhekar3198]

it happens to me as well, I don't know what it is 😂

[@ronmyers2317]

When I was in drum School I was taught during the tuning class that the only bad drum sound is one that you don't like. So that's says it is a matter of preference. However what Kodi is saying about going from a naked drum sound to the finish project after factoring in Mike's and sound board and everything else oh, it comes out the other end completely different. I had that experience in the last band I was in. The sound I heard in front of me between my legs was like day and night to the finished recording. The recorded sound a better but I was amazed at the difference.

[@Gandalf_The_Grey-l7v]

The Tune Bot by Overtone Labs changed my life with drum tuning. Just picture a guitar tuner but for drums.

[@thirdlineage]

I love how my 5.5x14 birdseye maple sounds after almost 20 years of playing. Today I use an Aquarian black coated Jack DeJohnette with pure sound 16s that's especially great for pit orchestras/musicals that require responsiveness and flexibility to many genres. If I had to pick a great sound, it's probably Dave Weckl who just so happens to be his own sound tech. Go figure!

[@michaelverhey2781]

Fantastic video as always guys!

[@ZacharyWThomas]

It’s almost become a meme at this point, but Lonerism by Tame Impala is my ideal drum sound, or at least the album that immediately comes to mind any time I think about what I want my drums to sound like in my head. I think the general consensus is that Kevin Parker used a ton of muffling on his drums til they sound dead in the room, then compressed the hell out of them. Gives you that huge, floppy vintage sort of sound.

[@Lelama32]

I’ve been struggling and trying different combinaison on my snare drums to reach the sound I was looking for. That video helped me deal with compulsive/obsessive issues hahahah thanks for your videos!

[@fishinwithphil802]

This channel is invaluable. Fr

[@lagoteraproducciones3211]

Awesome episode! I feel I need to chip in with a favorite snare sound of mine: It's All Understood by Jack Johnson. Thanks for the excelente content. Cheers from Nicaragua!

[@addisoncarpenter5675]

I really needed this video, been trying to figure out how snare tuning works and this answered all my questions! Great lesson Cody.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Glad to hear it! We put all of the production details (including instruments used) in the video description. We did a Snare Spotlight a while back on the wood snare: sladl.ink/SnareSpot3rd4thZebra

[@lancelefevre351]

If I may give some advice, and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't want to steer people wrong. Before you go and spend 400 dollars on a new snare, but some inexpensive recording equipment and mic the snare you have. Just a cheap mic and a decent snare sounds so much better through a headset while you're playing. If you're looking for your favorite bands snare sound, just record the one you have and change the tuning around, move the mic around, etc. I bet you'll find that sound 10x faster that way. It's crazy how moving the mic 1 inch below the rim of your drum or one inch closer or pointed at it vs points up etc can make a huge difference. Way more than just what a new drum can do. Adjust the eq ECT. It's super fun

[@paulboutin7191]

Good vid! Never thought about the added compression and mastering through internet sites etc… very interesting

[@matthewzagorski9161]

My favorite drum sound is mid-90s ska like on Reel Big Fish's "Turn The Radio Off" and Goldfinger's "Hang-Ups." Coincidentally, Jay Rifkin produced both, but the same sound is on other records like "It Means Everything" by Save Ferris. It's high pitched snare drums that still have a decent amount of low end, toms and kicks that have a nice balance of thump and attack, and absolutely crystal clear cymbals, but everything is present and nothing is over powering. There's no doubt (unintentional ska pun) in my mind that it's processed beyond all belief, but that's the sound I've always loved.

[@harrysmart6236]

Hal Blaine's snare on Be My Baby by the Ronettes. It's the Holy Grail. Tell me it's out there somewhere.

[@meekoloco]

Most likely a 1960’s Ludwig Supraphonic chrome over brass 14x5

[@DrumSmithRich]

Will you please make an episode on how the material composition of the snare hoop affects the sound of the snare if at all? For example if someone wanted to change out their stock steel snare hoops for brass on a cheapish snare would it make a difference or be worth it? Thank you!

[@dannyboi9552]

i think the upgraded hoops are more about tuning stability rather than sound, but ive also heard of lighter hoops having more sustain, or the other way around

[@davidbaines7330]

Great info as always. Btw, that kick an floor tom sound beautiful.

[@danebono7667]

I see a lot of comments on forums from people who don't really understand Door #2. Gates/compressors/limiters/EQ/vintage boards/tube preamps, etc- a drum in a rehearsal room is never going to sound like a finished, processed drum. I first came to that realization in the early 90's. The number of people who spent good money on carbon fiber snares, or Orange County drums with 20-30 shell vents, brought them home, and couldn't understand why they couldn't get their drum to sound like Carter Beauford or Chad Sexton.....

[@evanpragliola4947]

What I have notice in my own search for my sound is that now that I know how I want to sound I need to trust it. Especially with my snare. I use a wallet or tape sometimes to cut out those high overtones. I’ve noticed that on videos or even professional recordings of me in a band setting , that those overtones are basically only audible to me. It’s so weird. Anyway, trust yourself.

[@danielstark4656]

I struggle with the snare sound unmiced at church. The leader wants the wet fat sound, but when I here another drummer play while I am in the audience it sounds like he is hitting a trash can lid. A splat type sound. The snare is miced but just for monitors and Facebook live. I think it would be awesome for Sounds Like A Drum to do a video on how to get good drums sounds when you are the drummer but you are not in the audience.

[@jonashellborg8320]

Lol - that talk about online contents on say youtube versus the sound in the room of the video creator, and the amount of processing that happens wether you wanted it or not. Awesome! And that’s why you can’t buy gear based on videos, you need to try the gear in person. In fact, even “in person”: standing 1m or 15 meters away from the sound source, like a drum, or guitar amp, changes the sound! Good luck everyone!

[@moosemanis23]

Love the rDavidr custom vent heads! Makes that floor tom sound so cool

[@KaiOwensDrums]

Yeah, I have seen this play out as well. People end up putting so much dampening on their snare that it loses all of its crack and body, I think people are used to hearing the dry mixed snare sound, but most of the time those drums probably had a good bit of ring to start off with if I am correct

[@laRoz67]

Good points, well made! I remember being devastated when I got my first kit at 15 and it sounded nothing like Neil Peart's!

[@curtispettygrove9357]

God both snares in this video just sound amazing

[@warrenk9587]

I was just thinking about this the other day. You guys get down to the gnats ass on your videos and I like it. Great job!

[@aaronswearingen3708]

Fantastic video as always! Great information! Thank you!

[@allancueto22]

If we're talking about snare sounds i like the two solo videos of Mario Duplanter where you worked with him...also i LOVE not just the snare but the full drum set on "the faceless" album from Godsmack

[@benshone7703]

Have you guy considered doing a snare spotlight or video about free floating drums (like sleishman for example?) I feel like these drums are not often discussed and it would be great to do a deep dive into their tuning properties and the effects of what a free floating system does vs traditionally drilling lugs into drums. I’m a huge fan of the channel by the way, absolutely killer content thats helped me a great deal!

[@farshimelt]

There's a video about the making of Sleishman drums. I found it by googling Australian drum makers.

[@thibodaux3424]

I really appreciate the fact that you don't process any of the drum sounds... that's the attraction. I think some people don't know what real drums sound like. I grew up playing 80's music and never could get my drums to sound like anything on the radio. Hearing Led Zeppelin was the first time I heard what real acoustic drums sounded like and I was blown away by how raw and powerful drums could be. For me personally the more real drums sound the better. There nothing better than ringing drums and snare buzz all collectively creating a great sound.

[@keithmacmillan9871]

Great episode, so important this message.

[@lukefreeman970]

Okay but how can I get that St. Anger sound??🔥🔥🥵🥁😈

[@SGresponse]

.... This was released a day before Todd In The Shadows dissected Metallica's "St. Anger" in his "Trainwreckords" series. Very apt of those two videos to come into my sub-box so close to each other... You *know* what I mean.

[@zacdrake]

It's about time someone told folks that their drums are not going to sound like the ones on the record! I've heard so many people whine on Drumeo about how their $7000 DW kit doesn't sound like Neil Peart's (or anybody else's)recorded drums. I've seen $200 drum kits properly mic'd and processed that sounded phenomenal FOH, but sounded like cardboard boxes sitting on the throne. A guy was complaining about his brand new Tama Walnut/birch kit that came with G2 clear stock heads didn't sound like Jared's A&F kit outfitted with G2 coated. I told him to go ahead and buy the coated heads, still wasn't going to sound the same : )There's a lot other world of high end gear(and experienced engineers) between the drums and what you hear. The first time I was really wowed by recorded drum sounds was probably Led Zepplin II.

[@jamesgugle7789]

The issue with my snare drum is that if I strike the outer third of the head, it sounds great: full, resonant, has enough "ring" (I like a tighter single ply head, no muffling). But if I strike the center of the head, it's tight and choked. I don't remember any other snare I've used doing this. I've tried adjusting the tensions on the top head, bottom head, and snare wires, to no avail. What am I doing wrong?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

It could be a variety of factors, if it’s something specific to that drum that you’ve been able to avoid with others in your collection I’d probably check the wires first. Remove and check If they’re bent or twisted at all they may need replacing. I’ve had this issue and gone crazy trying to tune it out only to have it be the wires. -Cody

[@jdion79]

haha! i love that you had to explain to the new people why the sound is the way it is!

[@farshimelt]

No one is born knowing that.

[@cantthinkanameup]

Perhaps make a video with a comparison of a mixed/processed drum sound vs the raw sound before it was processed? Nothing crazy but maybe like “heres a pretty typical rock drum mix (without going absolutely crazy, maybe eq compression and reverb)”. And then “heres what it sounded like with no effects”. Also, with a lot of us using very similar drums (supras, acrolites, or just a decent maple snare) you could show the relation of the batter head tuning and the snare side tuning at certain ranges? I know youve done videos in the past of issues like the snare side head being too loose or tight. How about a video of proper tension relations on a snare for the fundamental note and sound the drummer may be trying to achieve? Long story short, mute the batter head, tap the snare side head so we can hear the pitch, and then mute the snare side head and tap the batter so we can hear the pitch lol. Hope this makes sense. Love the videos guys. I have learned a ton and am loving each of my snares more and more.

[@MrAngryTwinkie]

Fantastic episode!

[@MikeMancebo]

3:38 Spicy Cody plays a spicy groove.

[@CommanderNewton]

Great video! I always go after a sound I like over a sound I want and it usually works out. If you spend your entire drumming career wanting the "Copeland" sound or the "Grohl" sound then your gonna have a miserable career

[@benshaw8620]

keep these awesome videos coming!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We'd love to! Have you thought about joining our Patreon to help make that possible? sladl.ink/Patreon

[@trollakhinmemeborn3278]

What a timing, I was watching Stephen Clark's video about snare ring the other day, and spent the day completely re-tuning my snare just today. (Which is super ringy, but I love that ring, and I can always muffle it if needed anyway). I'm gonna take this snare-talk opportunity to ask about something that's been bugging me for a while now. While tuning I came across something I don't hear mentioned/explained in the snare tuning vids I've seen (or maybe I missed it) But I noticed that often times, as I'm trying to match the lugs to one another, I very often, if not always, end up with a lug being, pretty high pitched, and the lug next to it being even higher And I try to lower the pitch of that second one, but no matter what I do, it remains higher pitched, to the point where I can have it fully unscrewed, and yet it still sounds higher pitched! And I noticed it's often because the lug on the opposite side, was the one that was cranked too high (or the lugs nearby). It makes sense, lugs aren't independent, and the head is a single object so the tension is distributed everywhere. (This is with a fresh new head) Did you run into this situation before? Is it my snare that's perhaps a bit weird, the hoops that are warped? Or if it's normal, what to listen for then to notice this issue quicker? It is pretty frustrating to be tuning both up and down for a while until you realize it's because it's that one other lug that was causing issues. I noticed there's a lot of tones coming from the head when I hit it, I hear a hum, I hear a ring, and I hear also a thud, all have their own pitches, when people talk about matching pitches, which one of these is the one that requires matching? I did manage to tune my snare, it just took a really long time, and I feel like I'm missing something, or doing something not as good as I could be doing it. Thank you for all your great content and videos though! I've been tuning in to every video for a while now and it's really all great content!

[@KaiOwensDrums]

Hi, I have experienced this as well. I have found that if one lug seems to be acting different or at a different tension to immediately check the other side and try to get both of them relatively even tension and the correct pitch. I also would say for tuning, most people do not use the pure fundamental note which is actually quite low on the drum, it seems that most people use one of the lower overtones. Pretty much any pitch is fine to use from what I have seen, but using the lowest fundamental note will probably be most helpful if you can hear it, but often times using one of the overtones works great too. Also, experiment with muting the head by putting some thing on the center like a wallet, this will cut out a lot of the ring and let you hear only one or two notes at a time

[@trollakhinmemeborn3278]

@@KaiOwensDrums Thanks! I'll try n listen for it, and I use my tiny 6"' practice pad to muffle my head when tuning, I feel like it being round tensions it evenly all around

[@KaiOwensDrums]

@@trollakhinmemeborn3278 yeah going it a try, I usually just is part of my hand whenever I need to check it

[@famitory]

i wish that Qsound heads were cheaper, i'd love to be able to perfectly capture the sound of how the kit sounds from my perspective. probably not as a single-mic mix but definitely as a major mix element.

[@famitory]

also i think "some snares prefer strings and some prefer tapes" is probably the best obscure advice i've heard on this channel for making cheap snares sound better. there's pretty much no situation where people want the sound of self-choked wires against a mid or low tension reso head

[@44amanaplanacanalpanama44]

What I run into more than drummers who don't understand the difference between live drum sounds and processed drum sounds is other musicians, worship leaders, audience, etc. It always amazes me that people play in a large undamped room and expect the perfect drum mix without mics. For example, the church that meets in a school gym. Do we really need to put the drummer in a plexi cage and mic everything, just to get that perfect processed sound? I find it sad how artificial music has become. The real issue has been the loudness wars in pop music in conjunction with the rise of portable devices for listening to compressed downloads. MP3 is a crap format. Music that is pushed into a 3db window just tires the mind and fatigues the ears. Never mind the lack of artistic talent and integrity as music has had to compete with shorter and shorter attention spans and marketing departments set on making money at any cost. Our society is sick and sad. I listen to mostly older music that still breathes, through a good system, using the best uncompressed format that I can find (Vinyl, SACD, or CD), whenever possible. Whenever I have an opportunity to present something better, people are often amazed at what they are missing; particularly the youth.

[@Theodorelarue]

Thank you! Could you recommend a good book from drum tuning by any chance?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

If only such a thing existed! That’s one of the primary reasons why we launched this series- to provide a resource for everyone to work with.

[@Theodorelarue]

@@SoundsLikeADrum haha thanks! Hey maybe someone should write one (hint hint)

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

Notice that you're using a small condenser for the snare mic. Do you prefer a condenser over a dynamic for recording?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We recently switched over to these C518M from the SM57 and LOVE the sensitivity. It captured the subtly and nuance that we want to ensure is present in our videos, particularly since we aren’t using any EQ or compression. As for preferences in general, it’s just like preferred tunings- this depends entirely on the context. -Ben

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks for the reply. They look like slick mics, I may try a condenser for my next recording.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

@@SoundsLikeADrum Thanks for the reply. Think I'm going to give a condenser a shot next time I record, and thanks for the great content.

[@michaelmoore9726]

Danny Carey, Mario from Gojira, Dale from Melvins, Nick Menza, Lombardo, Igor Cavalera, Tim from Primus, obviously Bonahm...all totally killer drum sounds, iconic, you can hear 3 seconds and know exactly who it is

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Agreed! Also sounds that generally rely on quite a bit of production beyond the acoustic sound.

[@michaelmoore9726]

@@SoundsLikeADrum I love drum sound that have been produced quite a bit that still sound like real drums. Mario's sound is unbelievable, especially live and live recordings

[@The_Other_Ghost]

This all makes sense now with why Cody loves the Roto Tom.

[@tituus96]

I think good heads and good tuning always will do the trick

[@farshimelt]

Good playing helps too.

[@johanneswiberg5029]

Could you maybe do a review of the ludwig supralite? It seems like a nice drum, and it's cheap. I thought it could maybe be a good snare for the snare spotlight

[@giuseppecasa3574]

can I ask you what kind of drums do you use for your videos?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We include these details in the episode description.

[@kjeason6508]

I love that dry dead vulfpeck/Cory wong sound. But I never have a reason to use that sound at my gigs lol

[@marcpatzelt2430]

What is that new Evens logo? It looks really cool

[@johncole4882]

That's on their calfskin head or something like that.

[@matthewcox9636]

Trans Am’s I Want It All. I know he used roto toms, and the sound doesn’t fit me, but I love that drum sound

[@marcpatzelt2430]

I watch every single one of your videos even though I have an electronic kit (because of neighbors).

[@leoparcoeur]

By trying too hard to imitate, we sometimes miss the essential. I sometimes think of a maxim by Victor Hugo : "A lion that imitates a lion is a monkey." Being creative with what we have instead of yearning about what we think we need. As I'm not living in a studio recording that's what I tend to think to get out of a consumer perspective. But, sometimes we think we need a new skin and that's really what we need. Oh well, for sure, it takes a lot of work and experiments. And time is short.

[@jmb-bj9gs]

The snare sound I like is the Ludwig that your playing on here . It's funny I could've closed my eyes and would've guessed that that's a Ludwig you were playing

[@jar3817]

The tape residue on those beautiful hats gives me anxiety...what savage used tape on them?!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Ha! That’s actually residue from the original Zildjian paper sticker from the 40’s. There was a bit left when Cody got the cymbal but it was coming apart.

[@maukow1]

"Fade" by Karnivool...i love the "raw" snare.. 🔥💯

[@doknox]

What's messing with my snare sound??? Me unfortunately lol! Sounds good but not what I'm looking for exactly. I'll just keep trying til I get it.

[@cookiebutter44]

Chad Sexton of 311 has a KILLER snare tone imo

[@ayuu.]

"There's no wrong or bad drum sounds, only sounds in wrong context"

[@michaelkirchhofer3266]

dig the vented head on the floor tom