SNARE BUZZ!?!?!

[doclegion]

What are some ways in reducing snare buzz in the toms when recording? I can get a good tom sound but i can just hear the snare buzz over it and it really makes them sound kinda crappy. Now, I know how to tune all my drums thats nothing new but i just cant figure out how to get rid of it. I know things to help but i want to get rid of it altogether to make clearer recordings. And what are some ways to really get my snare to really stand out in a mix? Is drum sampling something i should really get in to for this like drumagog? Thanks for help I use SX3 if that helps!! :zombie:

 

[Jackal_Strain]

What mics are you using on the toms? Experimenting with mic positioning could do some good.
I usually cut out everything fromt he the tom tracks except the actual hits after tracking. This helps cleaning up the mix alot.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Gate the tom mics. My 2 cents.

Or even better erase the parts where the toms aren't being played.

 

[doclegion]

I have been using cheap cad mics cause the board i have been using dont have phantom power. DONT ASK? But anyway i have beta 98's. I have put a noise gate on them in the program it just sounds worse cause to me. You know if the gate aint right it picts up snare and crashes so i eithier cut the other shit or just lower it in volume. Im real big on getting things to sound good before i record them its hard to make shit sound like gold sometimes. I have an outboard gate tho. I should try that uh? I gate the snare in the program but i still hear cymbal work in it so when i turn up the snare to much you hear the cymbal with the gated snare. Make sense?

 

[Jackal_Strain]

I usually hate gates on drums. I only use them if I absolutely have to. And I havent had to in years

 

[JeffTD]

do you mean the snare rattles between tom fills, or that it rattles during? If it's between, just cut out the silence and fade the fills in/out. It's simple and what most people do, anyways. That, or proper gate settings, triggered by..dun dun dun... a trigger.

 

[slinky_]

I have been using cheap cad mics cause the board i have been using dont have phantom power. DONT ASK? But anyway i have beta 98's. I have put a noise gate on them in the program it just sounds worse cause to me. You know if the gate aint right it picts up snare and crashes so i eithier cut the other shit or just lower it in volume. Im real big on getting things to sound good before i record them its hard to make shit sound like gold sometimes. I have an outboard gate tho. I should try that uh? I gate the snare in the program but i still hear cymbal work in it so when i turn up the snare to much you hear the cymbal with the gated snare. Make sense?

You could try side-chain gating. duplicate the snare/tom track, trig it and then use the trigger track as the gate opener. Goldengate is the tool for sidechain gating SinusWeb - High Quality Audio Plugins

Much easier to set up than a typical gate, and it´s much more accurate.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Yeah sorry that I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I really don't I just started recording drums.

The gate thing works for me though. I do it in post not during the recording.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Is drum sampling something i should really get in to for this like drumagog?

Yes! I'm slowly getting famous out here because of Andy's samples. Shhh!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Tune your drums better.

If you're getting excessive snare chatter on a tom fill, chances are it's because the snare is tuned sympathetically with one particluar tom. Find out which one it is, then adjust tuning accordingly.

-0z-

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

i think the snare rattle will be the loudest in the snare bottom mic, not on the tom mics, so my 2 cents: start off gating the snare bottom mic (that is ofcourse if tuning doesn't do the job)

 

[~BURNY~]

I already mentionned this in another thread. I know it sounds silly and it's hard to convince the drummer to crap his snare but It works great. First make sure the are not too loose then apply some sunflower oil on them with a brush.
Not too much, just a bit or it will kill the snare sound.

 

[brandy]

What Oz said.

You can even tune the snare-bed (the area around the strings) slightly different to the rest of the resonance head.

If it is a mix situation you might have to check where the majority of the "buzz" is coming from. I guess NOT from the tom-mics directly (gate will not work cause the buzz is there when the tom is playing and the gates are open)

Most times it is the snare bottom mic itself - now just reduce it in the mix and/or gut a decent gate on it, maybe with a tweakable noisefloor - so you don't have to kill it completly between the hits, just reducing by 6db or so.

brandy

 

[Glenn Fricker]

You can also do automated mutes on the snare mics during tom fills.

 

[Gnash]

Yeah it's real annoying. Don't cringe, but I've been putting masking tape on the snares. Just put enough tape on there to kill the vibration, during tom hits, but not too much. It's gonna fuck up the snare sound, but if you can find that magic placement, you'll knock out the rattle, and get a bitchin' a snare. I use the fuck out of moon gel too. That's all I got. I've tried the bottom snare mic, and every time I say fuck the track. I've never gotten a bottom snare track to work for me.

 

[MX582]

make sure its not in the overheads too..a project i did a while back had a ton of snare rattle in the overheads during tom fills...freakin annoying..it was my fault though for not tuning the drums and setting up the mics right.

 

[everybody's x]

I already mentionned this in another thread. I know it sounds silly and it's hard to convince the drummer to crap his snare but It works great. First make sure the are not too loose then apply some sunflower oil on them with a brush.
Not too much, just a bit or it will kill the snare sound.

burny can you explain this further? I'm not getting it but it sounds interesting

 

[~BURNY~]

burny can you explain this further? I'm not getting it but it sounds interesting

Well... Just soak a small painting brush into frying oil and coat the springs (snare wires, whatever you call it) with it. As simple as that. No tuning compromise, no hassle.

 

[everybody's x]

cool I'll try that next time I need to.

 

[Gnash]

So dip the snares in Wesson, or Crisco? Does it make it dull the rattle...I don't know, sounds too weird and messy to me. I'll try it on the antique Slingerland.