Drummers: How do hit snare drum in studio?

[xmidihcx]

that definately answers my question keessi, thanks! how long have u been playing? those were some very nice fills, good speed and very powerful! i am going to start messing around with 2b's soon, i love the depth that they add especially on the blastbeats which is a big concern for me to make sure that snare is still in yo face.

 

[Erkan]

True that... 2Bs do give a lot more power.

Wonder if my wrists can handle 'em though

 

[Gomez]

rimshots don't translate well when closed miced I find...

 

[Metaltastic]

I guess I'm confused on this, but isn't a rimshot that thing where you lie the stick on the drum surface and tap the metal rim of the drum, like in Bossa music and stuff?

 

[beyond dead]

i used to be all about the ring shots when i played pr0no grind back in the day.now i mainly hit dead center. my skins usually are worn dead center about the size of a toonie (canadian funny money). I cant afford to replace sticks that much but really though, I got over the whole "rim shot sounds better" thing. seems more like a guitarists opinion lol. like piccolo snares. guitarists think they sound uber sweet for death metal. seriously, if you want more ping, tune higher!
rimshots can be cool to throw in for more ambient stuff like katatonia.

 

[beyond dead]

I guess I'm confused on this, but isn't a rimshot that thing where you lie the stick on the drum surface and tap the metal rim of the drum, like in Bossa music and stuff?

technically yes. but they are talking about hitting the drum off center to get more ping out of it.

 

[Metaltastic]

Ok, then I definitely think calling them "rimshots" is a bit of a misnomer, cuz I was getting seriously bewildered there

 

[Damian B]

Lol we're all pussies compared to Alex from Despised Icon. That motherfucker and marching sticks turned backwards.....

 

[Erkan]

No, by rimshot I mean when the lower part of the stick (just above where you hold the stick with your hand) hits the rim of the drum at the same time as the tip of the stick hits the center of the drum, so you're actually hitting 2 things at the same time; the rim, and the head.

Sounds a lot louder and a lot sharper than a normal hit without hitting the rim at the same time, but generally loses some lows.

Now, as for the other thing you described Marcus, I don't know what it's called... maybe THAT is rimshot but what is the technique I've been describing then? I know exactly what you mean though, so we're on the same page.

 

[Erkan]

Hey, would you look at that, I was right and they are called "rimshot"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimshot

 

[Erkan]

And to answer my own question a couple posts ago regarding the technique Marcus described:

"The rimshot should not be confused with the cross stick technique, in which the tip of a drumstick is placed on the head near one of the bearing edges and the shaft of the stick is struck against the rim opposite the tip, creating a dry, high pitched "click" similar to a set of claves:[1] this is a rim knock."

cross stick huh... well, we all learned something today.

 

[Metaltastic]

Indeed, I stand corrected! And yeah, hitting the rim and the head at the same time does indeed seem like a recipe for close-mic'ing HELL....

 

[axeman720]

never had a problem with rimshots translating at all... if the drummer knows exactly how to hit a drum (you'd be surprised how many cant, its like good vibrato on a guitar) they sound fantastic to me. A good rimshot should be open and cracky, not choked and thin like some of you are describing.

Also, usually if the drummer is good enough to have consistent rimshots, hes probably good enough to know exactly where to place them. Otherwise i just tell them where i do and dont want them.

If you cant make them work, you either micd it wrong, the snare is tuned bad and/or the drummer is not hitting it correctly. Any combination of the 3.

Makes sense right?

 

[Erkan]

I usually mic my snare from 1 meter away and I do rimshots with broken sticks and half of the time I miss the drum. Think I'm doing something wrong?

No but on a more serious note, of course it depends a lot on the drummer as well as on the snare itself. Can't expect a nice fat snare from some Chris Adler type of shit snare that is high tuned right? *puts on a protective suit to gain protection against those OMG-Chris-Adler-snare-is-god-like guys*

 

[Kevin Kitchel]

don't most of the engineers here just replace all the drums anyway? Drummer could use pencils.

 

[Metaltastic]

don't most of the engineers here just replace all the drums anyway? Drummer could use pencils.

Nah man, the kick is the only thing I always replace without exception, replacing any of the others is a last resort AFAIC! (though augmentation is another story)

 

[scorpio01169]

I usually mix rimshots with a bottom mic track with the mic pointed at the snares.

 

[John_C]

am i right in saying that an english rimshot is an american sidestick (or cross stick)?