favorite snare mic

[paladin shredder]

ok, i've been trying to record to get the best possible snare sound just from micing the snare and making sure it's tuned well and sounds good. i'm good on that, but no matter what i'm never really happy with my snare sound without eqing the crap out of it. it always seems like it's got too much bass and not enough high end in the snare mic.

i've been using oz's guide for acoustic drums and position an sm57 just like the photo, follow all the steps and i'm just not happy with the result. i'd prefer not to have to do sample replacement, but i think i'm just going to have to with this last project i did.

i'm pretty sure it has to do with the mic or micing technique. i used shure pg56's on the toms with the tom clips and they turned out amazing! every hit was clear and defined, unlike the wimpy thud sounding snare. i'm thinking i should just start micing closer over the rim and angled down more, even though that's not how oz or andy mic the snare. they have it slightly angled and just peeking over the rim, but they both use triggers anyways.

well enough of me ranting. you guys got any tips that work for you? different mics, positioning, whatever.

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

depends on what snare, and the sound we are trying to achieve.These are the ones i regularly use on snare

sm57
sm7b
audix I5
beta 57
akg c414
neumann km184
senn 441
equation audio 101 or 102 very good for the price shocked the shit out of me when i heard them very comparable to sm57 and beta 57

 

[alexrookie]

keep in mind that your direct snare mic will and should sound a bit dull and without too many highs.
combining this dull mic and the rest of the kit ( overheads, room mics) will produce the snare's sound.

a sm57 is fine for snare - who am i to tell anyone, that this mic is shit, when so many really good sounding kits were recorded with one for the snare.

and don't go crazy with the eq - fuck the highs on the top snare mic, all you get is hihat and cymbals.try to get your snare round and thick with the direct mic(s) and get the highs out of the overheads, room and bottom snare mics.


my actual setup for snare is:

audix d1 and oktava mk012 on top and an oktava mk012 on bottom.

a sm57 on top is fine ,as well - but i got bored after 10 years of doing it this way.

hope that helps

 

[Daunt]

If you want that modern metal sound, you are not going to get it without extreme processing. My snare processing includes expander, saturation, EQ, compression and parallel compression. Sometimes I use a transient designer type of plugin also. One thing that really brings "smack" to the sound is a regural DDrum trigger. I mean just the trigger signal's "click" sound. I also try to push the mic preamp in the recording stage to get some saturation. It will not work with modern cheap preamps.

But it's not just the snare mics. Everything else needs to be top-notch aswell.

Check out my guide if you haven't already:

http://faderwear.com/guides/aggressivedrums/

 

[Trevoire520]

Are you using a bottom snare mic aswell? I find i cant get a good sound with the top mic alone for the life of me.

I also find that pulling the snare mic further away from the drum can make it sound much less dead, but because of the added high hat spill its better to use a supercardiod mic if you wanna try this. You can also mic the side of the snare

AKG C451B is a good mic for getting a really snappy snare sound, make sure to use the pad though!
Another really surprisingly good snare mic is a Audix D6! it really brings out the snap of the snare.

 

[AKoppenheffer]

You can have the best, most expensive, vintage, desireable mics on the planet miking your snare, but if the mic is not in phase with your overheads, it's gonna sound thin and not so great. A lot of times I put my '57 or Audix i5 on the snare, record, then after the fact, I phase align all of the tracks to the snare drum. My thin, weak snare just became a full thick punch you in the face snare. (Of course you need to start with a great sounding snare for optimum results.... And a player that can hit hard and consistent.) Try it out.

 

[colonel kurtz]

my fav. snare mic'ing combo is an i5 on top, AT 4033 on bottom - the i5 goes up close, with the 4033 12-18" from the bottom of the snare

also, when it comes to the OH phasing affecting the snare, i find it better to measure the distance of the OH's from the snare and get them equidistant rather than try to align tracks later on...but that's just me

 

[AudioPhile777]

You can have the best, most expensive, vintage, desireable mics on the planet miking your snare, but if the mic is not in phase with your overheads, it's gonna sound thin and not so great. A lot of times I put my '57 or Audix i5 on the snare, record, then after the fact, I phase align all of the tracks to the snare drum. My thin, weak snare just became a full thick punch you in the face snare. (Of course you need to start with a great sounding snare for optimum results.... And a player that can hit hard and consistent.) Try it out.

Now, by "phase aligning" the track, do you mean sliding them to match all the snare hits on all the remaining tracks?

This whole phase alignment thing has never been an issue for me, at least i've never had typical phase issues... but i guess that not necessarily a problem, eh?

 

[AKoppenheffer]

Now, by "phase aligning" the track, do you mean sliding them to match all the snare hits on all the remaining tracks?

This whole phase alignment thing has never been an issue for me, at least i've never had typical phase issues... but i guess that not necessarily a problem, eh?

Yes, zooming in and moving the files/tracks just a few samples. It's just a nudge, but it makes such a huge difference.

 

[LSD-Studio]

2 sm57 into an API preamp (driven quite hard...like +10 dB or so)

 

[Wave_D]

Really can't go wrong with the suggestions mentioned above..but I'd recommend experimenting with the mic placement and using a bottom snare mic to get the high end snap. With the top mic sometimes if you have it too far in you get alot of the thump from the stick hitting the snare, which gives alot more bass response, which in a sense makes the mic seem less bright. I like that sound sometimes, but if you want a more "open" which can sound brighter snare sound..try pulling back the mic so it's more by the edge of the snare, still pointing towards the center..seems to work for me. best of luck

 

[AKoppenheffer]

Really can't go wrong with the suggestions mentioned above..but I'd recommend experimenting with the mic placement and using a bottom snare mic to get the high end snap. With the top mic sometimes if you have it too far in you get alot of the thump from the stick hitting the snare, which gives alot more bass response, which in a sense makes the mic seem less bright. I like that sound sometimes, but if you want a more "open" which can sound brighter snare sound..try pulling back the mic so it's more by the edge of the snare, still pointing towards the center..seems to work for me. best of luck

Agreed. Bottom mics help a ton. But remember to invert the polarity of the bottom mic! Sorry, I'm a phase nut.

 

[everybody's x]

we're all assuming you're micing a great sounding, well tuned, snare drum with new heads right?

 

[mrfunk]

i am not being a troll here and all of the above is good advice but lets all be honest............any mix with "that snare sound" uses a sample. Makes me laugh when engineers try to play down how much of a role the sample played............."oh yeah i just blended it in there".............i automatically assume they mean over 50% when they say that now

 

[AudioGeekZine]

akg D5

 

[paladin shredder]

well, the last project i recorded, i pretty much had to totally replace the snare track completely, using three different snare samples blended together. the snare was a pork pie and sounded good in the room, the head was relatively new and kind of ringy so i muffled it a bit.

i think it was mostly a combination of the player just not hitting the snare that hard and probably mic placement. i think i'll try the two 57's top and bottom technique next project. thanks for all the suggestions!

AudioPhile777: as far as phase aligning, do you do most of that during the mixing process or during tracking?