Help Needed for Mixing Snares

[prabblerabble]

Hey guys,

I'm currently working on an instrumental track for a project and I'm having some trouble mixing my snares how I want them. I'm using Superior Drummer (Avatar kit) and FL Studio, and I did most of the drum mixing within Superior's mixer. I'm happy with how everything sounds but I want my snares to have a more full sound and cut through the mix a little better. I have the three snare mics sent to a bus that has EQ,compression and a transient.

I've been kind of mixing as I go along, which is probably not a good method, but I'd appreciate any feedback I could get on my current mix and how I can mix the snare better!

https://app.box.com/s/rene0on4cxgngdkiqzir (it should stream)

Thanks!
Prabhu

 

[paledecay]

I found these a while ago and use them to help me get the tone I'm looking for. They are good starting points if you're pretty new to mixing (like me) and can set you on the right path to getting the tone you're looking for.
I don't remember if I found these on this forum or somewhere else, but they aren't my "recipes". Just passing along some information I have found.

Snare drum eq recipes

Start here for subtle snare drum shaping with mild cut through
Band 1: 150Hz high pass
Band 2: +3dB at 200Hz
Band 3: +4dB at 4.0kHz
Band 4: +4dB at 7.0kHz

Start here for a solid, traditional snare drum sound
Band 1: +5dB at 250Hz
Band 2: +6dB at 2.0kHz
Band 3: +4dB at 5.0kHz
Band 4: +8dB at 10kHz

Start here for a snare drum sound with a thick body and smooth top
Band 1: +6dB at 180Hz
Band 2: +4dB at 250Hz
Band 3: -4dB at 800Hz (adds clarity)
Band 4: +6 at 3.0kHz
Band 5: +8 at 7.0kHz

Start here for a deep and punchy snare drum sound
Band 1: 80Hz high pass
Band 2: +9dB at 200Hz
Band 3: +3dB at 2.5kHz
Band 4: +1dB at 3.5kHz
Band 5: +8dB at 8.0kHz

 

[prabblerabble]

Very helpful, thanks a lot! Right now I have a more raw sound, but I guess I'm going for that more punchy snare sound. Do you have any thoughts on the current mix that I posted?

 

[paledecay]

I use superior drummer too and I play around with the actual snare sample until I find the one I like also (depends on my mood and what I'm writing). You may find the snare and the tone you are after simply by just clicking the little arrow on the snare and changing the snare drum. Superior Drummer also gives you a pretty nice selection of what mics you are using on the snare. I think the Avatar kit gives you three. A Top, A bottom and a dynamic. Try blending them, or getting rid of one or two you don't like. You can also set the "bleed" of drums into the overheads and ambients on superior drummer which gives you even more stuff to think about lol.