5 Great Ways to Mic a Snare Drum

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Join Sweetwater‘s Nick D‘Virgilio for a look at the most reliable snare mic techniques in the biz! Great mic‘d snare tone is essential for any recording artist; the snare’s core tone and the way you mic it plays a huge role in the final sound of your recorded tracks. Dynamic mics are the most common tool every drummer and sound engineer should be familiar with. Dynamic mics can often be acquired on a budget, such as the Shure SM57, a timeless pick that’s evergreen. Advanced techniques usually call for a condenser mic in addition to a dynamic. Tune in for more!
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#Sweetwater #Shure #SM57

[@sweetwater]

Sweetwater’s Nick D’Virgilio demonstrates five of his favorite methods for miking a snare drum. What are yours? Let us know in the comments, and watch more drum content from Sweetwater here 👉 kzbin.info/aero/PLlczpwSXEOyZLMBXX_jIqb6b_gFaxlJMn

[@bukkaratsuppa6414]

This Sweetwater salesman has quite a charisma. He could make a terrific singer, maybe also play drums in a band.

[@gatherstudio5219]

😂

[@bryanstarkweather]

Maybe he could even take over for Phil Collins in Genesis for a while? 🤔

[@elwoodroadsmusic9639]

Came for the mics, stayed for the chops. Nice playing!

[@mrkite89]

What this video shows me is that first you need a good room and a great drummer to achieve the best drum sounds. Well done, the sound in this video is excellent!

[@mogwix]

Whenever I'm doing sessions I always track a snare side mic, but I almost never use it during mixdown. I find I get enough buzz in the overheads. Also, if you back the snare top mic up from the rim of the drum and angle it down towards the shell, you can get a bit more body out of the drum shell and also a bit more of the snare side with one mic. Definitely my favorite way to mic a snare.

[@ZOB4]

The set up with the SM57 underneath and the SM7B pointed out the side sounded the most like how I hear a snare drum in person, I think even more so than using the overheads.

[@Fiascopia]

Yeah, I was shocked how good that was, I really wanna try that set up now.

[@lunarfifthstudios]

I was just brainstorming about micing my snare from the side, this video has me so pumped to try this now! 👍

[@MrMurUK]

If I lived in USA, I'd buy from Sweetwater just because of Nick.

[@source1zero]

Being able to get tips from someone like Nick is just insane.. The guy is an absolute monster!! Thanks!!!

[@LoweCommotionStudio]

One view never seen in mic placement videos is from above. It may not sound like much but a quick shot from above in different setups gives a clearer visual example of placement.

[@3L3V3NDRUMS]

Cool overview video! Keep up making videos like this!

[@behsatboran]

amazing drummer Nick 😍

[@flyingjewelstudios]

Great video Nick, very helpful.

[@WalterBlomquist]

Love Nick! Always having a good time. His enthusiasm in this one….IDK..kinda sounds like Casey Kasem. 🤔

[@kennytrezza9930]

Great content Nick 👌

[@shebysobreruedas]

What mic do you use to record your voice? It sounds absolutely great, Nick. Thanks for the great quality content.

[@Soundtrackloops]

Nice funky kit

[@mikepazin457]

Thanks Nick, really helpful. I'd love to hear the side mic alone and the underneath mic alone. The side/underneath combo is great, as is the over/under combo, while the over alone is really good. Wondering about the best single mic location for live sound.

[@kodykindhart5644]

Over head or front of kit Stereo or blumlein Single mic room or over heads plus close kick/snare for a 3 or 4 mic setup is such a great mix for certain somgs

[@kodykindhart5644]

Oh you meant single mic placement for snare only? All depends no perfect

[@isaacgober1128]

For live sound, I would think whatever gets the best isolation, i.e. the snare is more prominently picked up than all other sources (toms, cymbals, etc.). Just think about what picks up the snare alone loudest. So, probably the standard top mic configuration, and as close to the head as you can get without touching. The under may be good to, but know that you'll probably get less stick attack, and you'll need to EQ some highs out and boost some low-mids to mids to get a more even sound. This would probably get better isolation from the cymbals. The only way to really find out is to do it!

[@FanaticDrummer]

Top mic always it thats all you have. I do both top and bottom but I have my bottom angled towards the center the same angle as the top so theres never been phase issues because they’re basically angled like a X & Y. Bottom mics alone sound a little fat and the snares are SUPER pronounced. I keep my snares loose with high tuning so you get nice attack and fullness, and even then I dont like the snare side alone. It definitely needs to be mixed together top and bottom or just top. It can be gated but not always needed.

[@SamuelGarcia-jt4rg]

The first mic 🎤 set up 🥇

[@bukkaratsuppa6414]

16 k views in three weeks? For such a masterpiece of an educational video? Now that's a shame really.

[@g_and_kikos_homestudio]

Nick you sound a lil like Casey Kacem through that lav mic. Just saying. And always looking for drum and guitar mic'ing tips....💯

[@DrumTipTuesday]

"HEAR the full picture" vs. "HERE the full picture" I think I got that lol

[@matthewphillips5950]

Jon Lovitz got the funk

[@davidgooley1544]

Can you do a good test with the blue encore 100i mics??? Maybe a shootout vs sm57???

[@Athrix]

3:53 every stroke of this what?!?

[@icaroioi]

Every stroke of the stick

[@m0j0b0ne]

A couple of notes: the SM7B has the same capsule/diaphragm as the SM57, the biggest difference is the windscreen. Also, those are not "Moon Gels", they're Trutone dampers which are superior, IMO; much tougher, and they don't break down into a gelatinous mess. Cheers for an otherwise very clear presentation!

[@DrMarv]

From the Shure website: The SM7, the SM57, and the SM58 are all based on the Unidyne III capsule design. The SM7 capsule is not identical to the SM57 or SM58, but it is similar. The SM7 also has a larger acoustical chamber behind the mic element, and this extends the low frequency response.

[@mogwix]

As @DrMarv said, the capsule is very similar but not exactly the same. The SM7B has a bass resonance chamber behind the capsule and it does not have an output transformer. The SM57 has an output transformer which gives it the characteristic bass rolloff below 100Hz and presence peak(s) in the upper midrange. If you remove the output transformer from an SM57 it does sound quite a lot like an SM7B!

[@doknox]

I have a total of ten mics on my kit, started with 5. You need a snare side mic and overhead condensers to get quality recordings for literally any genre of music. At least one kick mic. I use a sub kick mic also and one for each tom. In between doesn't work as you have to turn the mic up to compensate in turn picking up unwanted bleed. Also dont need a huge interface. Takes a lot of trial and error to get it right but I run everything through a mixer into an interface and it sounds phenomenal! If I screw a part up I can cut it out and just punch in that part. Never fails!

[@christopantz]

“you need a snare side mic and overhead condensers to get quality recordings for literally any genre of music” that is one of the most naïve things I’ve heard in a while and I could give you so many examples of amazing drum sounds that were not recorded this way (and that were recorded with very minimal setups)

[@doknox]

@@christopantz ok. Obviously you CAN do it with one mic or three or whatever depending on what you're trying to do but if you want full clarity and versatility for whatever music you may have to accommodate, get some mics! It's not the 70s anymore.

[@christopantz]

@@doknox you’re still wrong

[@doknox]

@@christopantz cool

[@AllenPendleton]

Just stick a 57 on the top and be done with it.

[@pour-g8677]

The thing thats gives you a real good snare sound is through overheads.. top mic is just to beef it up.. youre correct no matter where you put the mic as long as you tune the snare right and good overheads youre good

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

why on earth nobody's using anymore that fat 80's snare sound? everyone's using the same boring ambassador coated with high tuning. I don't see anyone using a thick head like a clear pinstripe on snare like they used to in the old days...seems like a sacrilege now.