Snare close mic has no body

topsoul182

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Dec 18, 2009
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I was tracking drums for a band the other day and the drummer actually had a snare that sounded pretty decent (some type of pork pie.) So when I'm setting up my shure 57, no matter where I place it I'm getting all attack with zero body. I thought I had the channels for the triggers mismatched when I was testing it, but I didnt even plug in the trigger yet.

The part that throws me off the most was that it had more body in the overhead mics than the close mic. I tried moving the mic around but every spot was crappy. The mic was right at the rim pointed at the center of the snare.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1950013/badsnare.mp3

The 1st four hits are the close mic, 2nd four hits are the overheads only, and 3rd four are close mic and overheads.

Any suggestions why it doesnt sound that great?
 
Yeah I used to have this problem. Overheads frequently had more snare low-end than my direct mics.

The reason is that you're probably skimming the mic on too much of an angle. If you want more body from the snare mic, you need to aim it downward more. The closer to the edge you aim it down, the more body and less attack you'll get.

Also, phase is CRUCIAL. I cannot understate this enough. Make sure that the snare mic is in phase with the overheads, otherwise that will eat up all the bottom end.

And yes, that snare is tuned too high.
 
Yeah I used to have this problem. Overheads frequently had more snare low-end than my direct mics.

The reason is that you're probably skimming the mic on too much of an angle. If you want more body from the snare mic, you need to aim it downward more. The closer to the edge you aim it down, the more body and less attack you'll get.

It's most likely that. It was barely at an angle (compared to the head) aiming towards the center of the drum, but next project ill make sure to aim it closer to the edge.

I don't think it was a phase issue because it sounded bad soloed.

Thanks for all the help guys