I tune them by ear. Making sure there are no weird overtones and that the batter and reso are nicely balanced. Usually I notice a clear base frequency of 200-215 HZ when I open up an EQ plugin. I recorded this song (and album) on a Mapex 'The Blade' snare which is a 14x5.5 steel snare. Pretty punchy and fat sound right? open.spotify.com/track/0ZpacAQtUfr3mjJtMmDi2u?si=oaH4NCvqRHOmW4idK0MSNg
As a drummer of just over 40 years(shit im old) and a recording engineer of 30+ years I have learned a few things about drums and recording them. The first thing I learned is if it sounds good then it is good, regardless of the technical aspects of things, some drums just sound awful no matter what you do with them(and price) and some sound amazing. All things aside if you want bottom end from a drum at source the depth of the drum is the least important part. Depth is usually about speed, Its kind of like the release on a compressor. Taking a 14 inch snare, an eight inch depth wont be lower in pitch than a 5 inch depth simply because eight inch is more than five, it will usually be a combination of factors. Pitch of a drum is depicted by its diameter, how thick the shell is and its tuning. A 14 inch snare will be lower in pitch than a 13 because of the larger diameter. Thicker shells resonate at a higher pitch and are louder. Thin shells are lower pitched but not as loud. A kick drum is loud because of the overall diameter, usually 20 to 24 inch and is usually made really thin for the low end. So the recipe for a fat snare(in my experience) 14 inch snare(depth doesnt really matter) Stay away from super thick shells. I like metal snares like steel/brass but thinner shelled wood snares can sound huge. tuning Think of snare tuning like this. The batter head sets the pitch and the reso head sets the sustain. Tune the ring/sustain in/out with the reso head but keep it relatively tight and the snare wire response will be faster, the tighter it goes though the less it will ring. The batter head sets the pitch, if its a touch too ringy detune the bottom two lugs to control ring, drummers have their own methods and they are all a little weird and wonderful. I tend to like my drums a little live sounding and dont use moon gel/damping etc. The last thing I would say to drummers is to remember your drums sound totally different sitting behind them to what someone standing in front of them or a mic hears and tune your drums to the guitars not for yourself. Love your channel, thank you for a great video
Great! I run a little studio in Stockholm and been struggling with what I thought would be a safe buy, Supraphonic 6.5” I start to come to the same conclusion as you..and my buy was not the key to best snaresound in the world... So...you started out as an engineer when you were 10 years old? 😄
@@southsidesoderlund A Supraphonic 6.5 is a great snare and will do pretty much anything you need. I started as a tape op for the BBC at 21, I'm in my 50's.
My first instrument is admittedly guitar and that along with producing records is how I've made my living for the last 20 years, but I've also played drums for almost 30 years now and recording different drum kits as an engineer/producer as well as session drummer for 20 years and everything you just said is completely on the money. I take samples of most the kits I record for use in "editing" wink wink and I have a sample of a craviotta 14"x4" piccolo snare that sounds lower and fatter than my Black Beauty 14" x 6.5". The depth really determines how long the drum resonates or sustains for, The batter head and thinner shells definitely are what make a snare fatter or lower in pitch. rest head definitely always higher than the batter head. You may THINK you can tune your snare by ear, but I promise you that you can't. Get a tune bot 100%. There are too many overtones and sympathetic tones to really know what you're listening for and guitarists who play a pitched instrument use tuners to get their guitar in tune, drummer's I hate to say, don't stand a chance of getting all your tension roods anywhere within more than maybe 7 or 8 cents from each other in pitch. Get a Tune Bot. The one other factor I would say can make a snare sound huge is room mics.
This is the first time ever I see a video on drums tuning in terms of frequency rather than "tension" and using drumdial and stuff. Great content as usual and please, PLEASE: send stuff! :D
At last someone with taste. I am sick and tired of everyone telling me that the pif pif sound of their snare is good. Nice video man keep it up. Always quality content only
The 235 / 325 Hz sounds to me very much like my absolutely preferred Metal Drummer, Cozy Powell! HE was the guy with the most beef and power in his drums. His snare hits were bigger than life! Good video tut here, Kohle! DANKESCHÖN aus Österreich!
So you're basically tuning the resonant head around a perfect fifth higher than the batter head. It makes a lot of sense to explain the thickness in the sound from a musical theory perspective.
Not really! First of all, it's not a perfect 5th if I'm not mistaken. I spent years at university studying musical theory, but I never understood why this should be applied to drums in a rock / metal context. But I'm open for a discussion!
You're right, for 235 Hz the perfect fifth would be at 352.10 Hz. 325 Hz would be 139 cents short. In this case, you're closer to a diminished fifth (devilish metal!), which should theoretically be at 332.34 Hz. You're 39 cents short. On guitars, perfect fourths and fifths sound good and still fat to our ears even when slightly out of tune. It's the first thing I thought when I saw the frequencies you used. Many years ago I read in some magazine an interview with Terry Bozzio where he mentioned he tuned all his drums to actual notes in relation to the band's tuning, so he could sort of play scales and chords, that triggered this thought on my mind.
I absolutely love my tune bot. Tuning by ear is possible if you're good, but getting perfectly tuned intervals among your toms, plus nailing a consistent snare is impossible without it. Every guitarist uses a tuner, drums are no different. Love that you rock the pearl floating 14x6.5, I've got the Maple and it sounds great. I'm a drummer though and fell into the "tuned too high" camp. Oops. Thanks for the tips as always!!
That’s one of my biggest issues with drummers that don’t take tuning their drums seriously especially the snare drum !! Thank You for the tips on low tuning the snare !!
As a drummer by trade, I think its safe to say this: When the resonant head is too low compared to the batter head...ready for it?... they are out of phase....ha ha! I hope I made you laugh. You are correct and your tones prove it! Great video as always!
I found the video interesting. It was interesting how the ring changed with the adjustment of the resonance head. I would love to see the proposed video on snare drum processing.
I liked the 275Hz / 300Hz combo the best, personally. I think the other side of drum tuning that would be cool to explore in another video is the interaction between the drums and the bass and guitar. For example the higher tuned snare might work better with some guitar or bass sounds than others.
Tuning low is very much in vogue for heavy styles right now, but Tim Redmond of Snapcase still takes the prize for coolest snare sound ever, on "Progression Through Unlearning".
The most important item here is "how does the snare sound itself" and "how does the snare sound in the whole band mix" thing. At least I know, that is certainly where I am struggling with... doing everything individually, and then in the end nothing fits together... Thanks for giving input in a direction I had not considered currently...
Another excellent video with great information presented in an easily digestible and light hearted way. Thank you Kristian. Keep up your great work. Cheers and beers
My band's drummer, and studio session drummer for other projects, got a Ludwig Black Beauty snare for his kit last year. It's the best snare I've ever heard and had the pleasure to record. He uses the Drum Dial to tune his kits.
Great video Kristian. I used to make the mistake of letting drummers tune their drums too many times. It took a while until I realized that they mostly don't know what they are doing.
I would love this same video but with kick drums! The kick of the drummers i have recorded always sound weird and weak, not metal at all. I always learn a lot with your videos thank you a lot!
Aquarian super kick 2 heads, one piece of 24 audio foam trimmed to your drums depth, plastic or rubber beater, and plastic beater pad. I don't care I'd all you have is a 57 to Mic with it will be metal as fuck and you can't screw up the formula above. You'll be wishing you could just adequately capture how amazingly prefect it is right there in the room....which is kinda the point he made, that good sounds start at the source
I use a digital drum dial. I love my Pearl aluminum snare. Even after trying other high end (brass and wood) snares I still go back to my aluminum snare.
Great video! I’m a huge advocate for tuning lower for bigger sounding results. I also use the tune-bot and my favourite batter head tones are around the same mark as yours. I have found that those numbers can change with thicker heads that have a lower timbre though. I’m intrigued by the 300~325 range for the reso. I’ve always loved 400hz for a snare reso as I find it really opens up like a presence knob on an amp around this frequency. But I’ll do some A/B’s under the mics and see what sounds better!
Super interesting video. I'm a drummer loves a high tuned ringy snare. I don't make metal, more heavy melodic proggy stuff, but I think I'll try the low tuning for the heavier stuff. Great information.
There are a few ways to keep the snare drum tune high but sound low. You can also get a big fat snare drum or use a cutout drumhead and place it on top of your snare drum. If you do that it will still have the sustained but it will lower the fundamental pitch. Another option is to detune the two or three lugs closest to you if you are sitting at the drum. It will lower the pitch if you do that but if you needed to be a higher in Pitch again add tension to the lugs across from those. There is another drum tuning tool bald drumdial. It measures the tympanic pressure of each lug. I as a drummer have developed the year that I have for tuning over 10 years. But I still have trouble sometimes it can be helpful I'm sure to use a tune bot the place you are in maybe very loud and it can become a crutch.
I tune my snare in different ways, a lot of it based around the sound of the band itself and what will fit in to help complete it. After that part is figured out, I decide on the shell type, depth, and the heads. It's sometimes possible to make cheap drums sound good with the right head combinations, but not always. For heads, I usually use the coated ambassador for most applications. The coating adds a nice little bit of muffling without removing the ring/resonance of the head and has enough warmth and attack. If you need to cut off some ring, moon gels are the ticket away from muffling rings. The 275/300 tuning works well on a maple or mahogany shell for jazz if that's your thing, but can work for some rock when tuned a little lower, like 250/300. I like maple/mahogany for wood, brass for metal. A Tama Bell Brass snare from the 90s is my Holy Grail of metal snare drums. 6.5x14 or 7x14 has always been my preferred depth because you can tune them super high like a marching snare if needed but also can tune them low and fat for metal and funk. Now, I don't have a tunebot, just ears. I'll use a tension meter and tune by ear to tension. This won't give as much accuracy but if your ears are good, the drum is good, the heads are good, and the room sounds good, the rest is easy to dial in. Taking a little extra time in the setup saves time in the post processing.
Fantastic video! I have a very similar approach, and even go a bit lower on all of the Horrendous records. This should be required viewing for all drummers!
Looks like my comment was nixed...use a frequency chart to find the key of the songs corresponding frequency. For example..if the key of the song is B..247 or 248 would be your target top head tuning frequency. Hope this adds value to what your doing here...great video as always! Prost!
If you want to be able to tune higher without losing the punch, try and get a bell bronze snare (also known as bell brass, e.g. Tama Bell Brass). They have much more low frequencies than snares of other materials. I own one and recording has gotten so much more joyful now :)
Very cool stuff 🤘🔥 could you maybe also include the fundamental note you see on the tune-bot in addition to the lug pitch? That would make a great video even greater.....
Great video! Drummers should know more about how to work in the studio. I've recorded many drummers who use small drums, and play softly, but still expect heavy and fat results. Also many drummers put cymbals very low next to toms, because it's easier to play, but it also causes horrible cymbal bleed to tom mics. Same with the snare tuning, it's easier to play when it's tuned high, but you can't get a fat tone out of it that way. I personally really like CLEAR Emperor or Controlled Sound heads for the batter head. Clear head has ever so slightly more upper punch, and Emperor or CS is not as ringy as Ambassador, and lasts longer.
Cool. The hoops make a difference too. The more deeper\fat of that aluminium is because of the power hoops instead of die cast on brass. I like S-Hoop on top with Power Hoop on bottom. Good work!! Rock on!!
I played as drummer father`s 14x8 and it sounded very fat. Old Tama Superstar set from 80s, with concert toms. Very massive tone, but needed bright skins, and higher pitch.
I agree, it's better a deeper snare. With 5.5" snares if you want a fat sound you usually tune them lower but they sound flabby. I could never get my 5.5" snares sound great as I want when they're tuned low. At least with 6.5" you can tune a bit higher, as you say Kristian, but still retain the deepness needed
It will be a part of my academy, the Kohle Audio Kult. The beginner course is the first one and there will be more and more small videos / courses added.
After hearing the snare sound of Clive Burr on Killers, Igor Cavalera on Beneath the remains and Mick Harris on Harmony Corruption... I wouldn't call that a fat snare at all man...
I think "Beneath the Remains" has a pretty similar tuning. Just more muffled (can easily be done later) and without any roomsound (mixing decision). This is one of the records I grew up with and know really well.
@@KohleAudioKult yes, the room makes a big difference too and I prefer when it's pretty dry... I hate roomy drums like John Bonham... I like just a bit of Lexicon reverb on snare.
@@KohleAudioKult Beneath the Remains, Eaten Back to Life, Harmony Corruption :) Scott Burns signature sound in 1989-1990 :) if the Martians come on earth, the first thing they will need to get is the album Eaten Back to Life, as one of the best things on earth at all.
When will you make the video on snare slams and how to mix them properly? great video anyway, you have great sounds and you did a great job with all your productions!
Schön, das mal aus einer Nicht-Drummer-Sichtweise zu sehen. Ich nutze den TuneBot auch. Außerdem verfechte ich seit Jahren tiefgestimmte Snares ohne Dämpfung. Nur meine einlagigen Felle brauchen einen Dot in der Mitte, sonst sind die nach zwei Songs durch.
I’ve been guilty of tuning my snare too high. The reason it was done is for something you mentioned early in the video: the guitars eat up the sustain. In a live setting, you’re then left with just the attack, which is what needs to cut through. How do I get my blast beats to cut through? Tuning my snare really high. Yes, it sucks for recording, but how often is a gigging drummer in a studio vs playing live? And that is why our snares sound like crap in a studio.
@@KohleAudioKult First: Thank you for this video. I wish I had someone tell me this BEFORE I went to a studio to record. It’s this very reason I now have separate live and studio snares. Having to compromise on your sound sucks. I hope you have more videos like this in the future.
Nice video, great info. Don´t forget to add the snares tension factor to the academy, I have found that when you have the tension too high the snare shoke and sound really crapy. But I don´t know when is tight enough for fast metal.
I love to jam with it. Expand eack piece of the kit out to its own midi track. Once you hava a part, render the midi track to audio. Close the EZ app. Now mix the individual parts like a real drum recording...thats one way.
It's 2021, why are people still using ezdrummer? We have things like GGD and RS Drums. Hell, even SSD sounds better than it used to. I get it if you are just demoing ideas with ezdrummer, but at that point, you shouldn't care how it sounds if it gets the ideas across, it shouldn't end up on a record because that's just cheap.
the right sample, too. If the mix calls for it. speaking of snare ring, treat it with expander plugin, and maybe a midrange cut & frequency notch, but don't go overboard.
Interesting to see how many people are digging lower snares now. I still prefer the sound of a screaming higher pitched snare á la Tool/Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave but i guess i'm oldfashioned. I like the fact that you emphasize the importance of the source though
Have to try those setting on Tunebot, I usually tune my bottom head around F#4, G4-G#4, 392 to 400-410....And the top around C#4-D4 or E4, 277 to 329....lol...the Bohnam style....Don't try the new Tune Bot buy more beer instead I throw it out of the window and didn't drink anything....I still use the old one.
I am with you when it comes to a lower tuning sounding fuller and more powerful. My explanation for the high tuning is that, most of the time, you are sitting in a room without accoustic treatment and overbearing guitar and bass blasting at you, because guitar players love to occupy the low mids and bass frequencies. The 200W tube amp only sounds good at a setting around 9 out of 10 😉 And frankly, in this setting you cannot hear a low tuned snaredrum very well, it is like playing a paper box. What sounds good in a studio is totally different from what works at a small concert or rehearsal room. This is no excuse to use a shitty snaresound in a studiosetting, just a possible explanation why some drummers like their snare sounding like a tiny metal pot with only short attack and no resonance 😅 But videos like yours really help to explain, that you have to choose your tuning also according to your setting.
Once again great content man!!! Now I just need to convince my drummer to tune it lower haha.. His is so freaking high-pitched and thin... Good job, this is way!!!
@@KohleAudioKult Oh god...it's a pain! He such a great drummer, but stubborn AF. In the room indeed it's not bad but when mixing it sounds so... compromised already... Anyway, I would too start probably sell one of my kidneys to have access to your drum recording room, I really like the setup you have there, with the stereo mic at the top and everything. I will probably get your drum recording course when it's out for sure. Cheers dude
just another great, informative, insightful video. please, please keep them coming. just one question though...what beer are you drinking during the filming???
How do you guys tune your snares?
I have a very good way ! I just replace everything with drumshotz!👌👌👌
On rehearsals, high. Live performance, a little low. I will try your approach with a 4.5" snare. I’m curious to hear how low and cool can go.
I have to say that i am used to tune my snares higher because it always was pain in the *** to tune it low. :)
I tune them by ear. Making sure there are no weird overtones and that the batter and reso are nicely balanced. Usually I notice a clear base frequency of 200-215 HZ when I open up an EQ plugin. I recorded this song (and album) on a Mapex 'The Blade' snare which is a 14x5.5 steel snare. Pretty punchy and fat sound right?
open.spotify.com/track/0ZpacAQtUfr3mjJtMmDi2u?si=oaH4NCvqRHOmW4idK0MSNg
@@sebastiencamhi High is easy, but not cool for most rock and metal styles!
As a drummer of just over 40 years(shit im old) and a recording engineer of 30+ years I have learned a few things about drums and recording them. The first thing I learned is if it sounds good then it is good, regardless of the technical aspects of things, some drums just sound awful no matter what you do with them(and price) and some sound amazing. All things aside if you want bottom end from a drum at source the depth of the drum is the least important part. Depth is usually about speed, Its kind of like the release on a compressor. Taking a 14 inch snare, an eight inch depth wont be lower in pitch than a 5 inch depth simply because eight inch is more than five, it will usually be a combination of factors.
Pitch of a drum is depicted by its diameter, how thick the shell is and its tuning. A 14 inch snare will be lower in pitch than a 13 because of the larger diameter. Thicker shells resonate at a higher pitch and are louder. Thin shells are lower pitched but not as loud. A kick drum is loud because of the overall diameter, usually 20 to 24 inch and is usually made really thin for the low end.
So the recipe for a fat snare(in my experience)
14 inch snare(depth doesnt really matter)
Stay away from super thick shells. I like metal snares like steel/brass but thinner shelled wood snares can sound huge.
tuning
Think of snare tuning like this.
The batter head sets the pitch and the reso head sets the sustain.
Tune the ring/sustain in/out with the reso head but keep it relatively tight and the snare wire response will be faster, the tighter it goes though the less it will ring.
The batter head sets the pitch, if its a touch too ringy detune the bottom two lugs to control ring, drummers have their own methods and they are all a little weird and wonderful. I tend to like my drums a little live sounding and dont use moon gel/damping etc.
The last thing I would say to drummers is to remember your drums sound totally different sitting behind them to what someone standing in front of them or a mic hears and tune your drums to the guitars not for yourself.
Love your channel, thank you for a great video
Great! I run a little studio in Stockholm and been struggling with what I thought would be a safe buy, Supraphonic 6.5” I start to come to the same conclusion as you..and my buy was not the key to best snaresound in the world... So...you started out as an engineer when you were 10 years old? 😄
@@southsidesoderlund A Supraphonic 6.5 is a great snare and will do pretty much anything you need. I started as a tape op for the BBC at 21, I'm in my 50's.
My first instrument is admittedly guitar and that along with producing records is how I've made my living for the last 20 years, but I've also played drums for almost 30 years now and recording different drum kits as an engineer/producer as well as session drummer for 20 years and everything you just said is completely on the money. I take samples of most the kits I record for use in "editing" wink wink and I have a sample of a craviotta 14"x4" piccolo snare that sounds lower and fatter than my Black Beauty 14" x 6.5". The depth really determines how long the drum resonates or sustains for, The batter head and thinner shells definitely are what make a snare fatter or lower in pitch. rest head definitely always higher than the batter head. You may THINK you can tune your snare by ear, but I promise you that you can't. Get a tune bot 100%. There are too many overtones and sympathetic tones to really know what you're listening for and guitarists who play a pitched instrument use tuners to get their guitar in tune, drummer's I hate to say, don't stand a chance of getting all your tension roods anywhere within more than maybe 7 or 8 cents from each other in pitch. Get a Tune Bot. The one other factor I would say can make a snare sound huge is room mics.
Great video! Kristian makes your snare PHAT! Machen Sie Ihre Snare übergewichtig!! Feed it beer (German Beer!) and strudel!
Uber phat!
@@harmonystudios1182 Ja! Haha
Machen sie ihre Snare übergewichtig! (Translated to english: Make your snare obese!)😄😄
Gonna say that to my drummer…
Great video and wise words! Jens Bogren taught me the same when I was at his studio.
You have to go Looooow!
The eternal struggle between metal producers and extreme metal drummers, haha!
Schönen Gruß! 🍺❤️
@@KohleAudioKult genau so ist es! 😁🤌🏼
O hai its KRIIIIMMMMMMHHHHHH
This is the first time ever I see a video on drums tuning in terms of frequency rather than "tension" and using drumdial and stuff. Great content as usual and please, PLEASE: send stuff! :D
At last someone with taste. I am sick and tired of everyone telling me that the pif pif sound of their snare is good. Nice video man keep it up. Always quality content only
🍺❤️
My brother is a drummer...we always fight for the tuning. I need to show him this video!
detune his snare while he's passed out and see if he notices
The 235 / 325 Hz sounds to me very much like my absolutely preferred Metal Drummer, Cozy Powell! HE was the guy with the most beef and power in his drums. His snare hits were bigger than life! Good video tut here, Kohle! DANKESCHÖN aus Österreich!
Very helpful Kohle, thanks! It would be great to see videos like this also for toms!
I would be super interested in a tom tuning video, especially in connection with the Tune Bot!
a snare drum from the 90s is vintage now? man, that makes me feel so old :P
You’re not old. You’re vintage too! 😜🍺❤️
Man, those Pearl brass free floating snares were / are rad (and loud as hell). Really enjoyed this and thanks for sharing.
Awesome! I’ll trust your tuning and selections, dude!
That kick though!
So you're basically tuning the resonant head around a perfect fifth higher than the batter head. It makes a lot of sense to explain the thickness in the sound from a musical theory perspective.
Not really! First of all, it's not a perfect 5th if I'm not mistaken.
I spent years at university studying musical theory, but I never understood why this should be applied to drums in a rock / metal context.
But I'm open for a discussion!
You're right, for 235 Hz the perfect fifth would be at 352.10 Hz. 325 Hz would be 139 cents short.
In this case, you're closer to a diminished fifth (devilish metal!), which should theoretically be at 332.34 Hz. You're 39 cents short.
On guitars, perfect fourths and fifths sound good and still fat to our ears even when slightly out of tune. It's the first thing I thought when I saw the frequencies you used. Many years ago I read in some magazine an interview with Terry Bozzio where he mentioned he tuned all his drums to actual notes in relation to the band's tuning, so he could sort of play scales and chords, that triggered this thought on my mind.
Nice lesson. Put more drums on your videos. Thanks
I absolutely love my tune bot. Tuning by ear is possible if you're good, but getting perfectly tuned intervals among your toms, plus nailing a consistent snare is impossible without it. Every guitarist uses a tuner, drums are no different.
Love that you rock the pearl floating 14x6.5, I've got the Maple and it sounds great. I'm a drummer though and fell into the "tuned too high" camp. Oops. Thanks for the tips as always!!
This could be the greatest video about snare recording. Amazing
My favourite part was there you glued three tunings to hear em one after another. The only thing that changed was snare!😁 Really cool!
That final sound of the snare sounds Gorgeous Kohle... can't wait for a video of explaining that post-processing (as you stated in 17:27) :-)
OMG, that's an awesome sound! Tha's what i was looking for in the snare sound
That’s one of my biggest issues with drummers that don’t take tuning their drums seriously especially the snare drum !!
Thank You for the tips on low tuning the snare !!
As a drummer by trade, I think its safe to say this: When the resonant head is too low compared to the batter head...ready for it?... they are out of phase....ha ha! I hope I made you laugh. You are correct and your tones prove it! Great video as always!
I found the video interesting. It was interesting how the ring changed with the adjustment of the resonance head. I would love to see the proposed video on snare drum processing.
Mooooom!! Kohle's made another great video for us, and now I really need a tune-bot! Thanks master Kohle 🤘🏻🤘🏻🍻
Believe me. You really want one!
I’m not sponsored or anything, it’s just so helpful.
17:45 when the drums only start, its such a great sound, wow :)
Sounds great to me!
I'd definitely be interested in the post-processing you do on snares. Great video!
I liked the 275Hz / 300Hz combo the best, personally. I think the other side of drum tuning that would be cool to explore in another video is the interaction between the drums and the bass and guitar. For example the higher tuned snare might work better with some guitar or bass sounds than others.
Cool Kohle - Would love to see how you tune (and mic) toms.
Noted!
+1
Ever since I bought a big, fat brass snare I haven't looked back. It is 95% perfect for me. Now i just need to try your tuning recommendations.
You explain things so well. This is gold
Tuning low is very much in vogue for heavy styles right now, but Tim Redmond of Snapcase still takes the prize for coolest snare sound ever, on "Progression Through Unlearning".
Yeah, that Snapcase snare is ridiculously tight & "snappy".
Cool video!! I will put this to the test! Thanks
The most important item here is "how does the snare sound itself" and "how does the snare sound in the whole band mix" thing. At least I know, that is certainly where I am struggling with... doing everything individually, and then in the end nothing fits together... Thanks for giving input in a direction I had not considered currently...
Another excellent video with great information presented in an easily digestible and light hearted way.
Thank you Kristian.
Keep up your great work.
Cheers and beers
My band's drummer, and studio session drummer for other projects, got a Ludwig Black Beauty snare for his kit last year. It's the best snare I've ever heard and had the pleasure to record. He uses the Drum Dial to tune his kits.
Great video Kristian. I used to make the mistake of letting drummers tune their drums too many times. It took a while until I realized that they mostly don't know what they are doing.
Ich dated studio time! I’ve been there. But 95% of them are happy if you tune for them.
Listen to this man, he knows his shit!
Super gutes, hilfreiches Video!!! ❤️
Great video and a great channel. It would be interesting to see some post-processing.
I'm feeling that I've learned a lot just watching this video! Thanks man!
I would love this same video but with kick drums! The kick of the drummers i have recorded always sound weird and weak, not metal at all. I always learn a lot with your videos thank you a lot!
Aquarian super kick 2 heads, one piece of 24 audio foam trimmed to your drums depth, plastic or rubber beater, and plastic beater pad. I don't care I'd all you have is a 57 to Mic with it will be metal as fuck and you can't screw up the formula above. You'll be wishing you could just adequately capture how amazingly prefect it is right there in the room....which is kinda the point he made, that good sounds start at the source
I use a digital drum dial. I love my Pearl aluminum snare. Even after trying other high end (brass and wood) snares I still go back to my aluminum snare.
Great video! I’m a huge advocate for tuning lower for bigger sounding results. I also use the tune-bot and my favourite batter head tones are around the same mark as yours. I have found that those numbers can change with thicker heads that have a lower timbre though.
I’m intrigued by the 300~325 range for the reso. I’ve always loved 400hz for a snare reso as I find it really opens up like a presence knob on an amp around this frequency. But I’ll do some A/B’s under the mics and see what sounds better!
how did it go?
Super interesting video. I'm a drummer loves a high tuned ringy snare. I don't make metal, more heavy melodic proggy stuff, but I think I'll try the low tuning for the heavier stuff. Great information.
There are a few ways to keep the snare drum tune high but sound low. You can also get a big fat snare drum or use a cutout drumhead and place it on top of your snare drum. If you do that it will still have the sustained but it will lower the fundamental pitch. Another option is to detune the two or three lugs closest to you if you are sitting at the drum. It will lower the pitch if you do that but if you needed to be a higher in Pitch again add tension to the lugs across from those. There is another drum tuning tool bald drumdial. It measures the tympanic pressure of each lug. I as a drummer have developed the year that I have for tuning over 10 years. But I still have trouble sometimes it can be helpful I'm sure to use a tune bot the place you are in maybe very loud and it can become a crutch.
Sehr geil genau das Video das ich gerade gebraucht habe XD ... Bitte Bitte genau so ein Video noch ein mal für die Toms :-P !!!
You have to make a video of how to tune a snare drum! Congratulations Khole.
Kristian Kohle Muchas Gracias !!
I tune my snare in different ways, a lot of it based around the sound of the band itself and what will fit in to help complete it. After that part is figured out, I decide on the shell type, depth, and the heads. It's sometimes possible to make cheap drums sound good with the right head combinations, but not always.
For heads, I usually use the coated ambassador for most applications. The coating adds a nice little bit of muffling without removing the ring/resonance of the head and has enough warmth and attack. If you need to cut off some ring, moon gels are the ticket away from muffling rings. The 275/300 tuning works well on a maple or mahogany shell for jazz if that's your thing, but can work for some rock when tuned a little lower, like 250/300. I like maple/mahogany for wood, brass for metal. A Tama Bell Brass snare from the 90s is my Holy Grail of metal snare drums. 6.5x14 or 7x14 has always been my preferred depth because you can tune them super high like a marching snare if needed but also can tune them low and fat for metal and funk.
Now, I don't have a tunebot, just ears. I'll use a tension meter and tune by ear to tension. This won't give as much accuracy but if your ears are good, the drum is good, the heads are good, and the room sounds good, the rest is easy to dial in. Taking a little extra time in the setup saves time in the post processing.
It's very educational. I would like to see the tuning and recording kik and toms:) Thank you!
Out of topic, tom tom sound pretty good too. Haha! Thank you for the tuner information.
Great video once again!
Please do a more detailed video about the processing that you put on that snare. It sounds awesome.
Great vid, really interesting tips!
Fantastic video! I have a very similar approach, and even go a bit lower on all of the Horrendous records. This should be required viewing for all drummers!
Snare is a king
Saving this video, so usefull!! thank you Kristian!
Looks like my comment was nixed...use a frequency chart to find the key of the songs corresponding frequency. For example..if the key of the song is B..247 or 248 would be your target top head tuning frequency. Hope this adds value to what your doing here...great video as always! Prost!
No hate! That sounds really nice and I seem to like the wires sounds in there too. I need to work on this. 😊
If you want to be able to tune higher without losing the punch, try and get a bell bronze snare (also known as bell brass, e.g. Tama Bell Brass). They have much more low frequencies than snares of other materials. I own one and recording has gotten so much more joyful now :)
Very cool stuff 🤘🔥
could you maybe also include the fundamental note you see on the tune-bot in addition to the lug pitch? That would make a great video even greater.....
Exactly!!!
Great video! Drummers should know more about how to work in the studio. I've recorded many drummers who use small drums, and play softly, but still expect heavy and fat results. Also many drummers put cymbals very low next to toms, because it's easier to play, but it also causes horrible cymbal bleed to tom mics. Same with the snare tuning, it's easier to play when it's tuned high, but you can't get a fat tone out of it that way. I personally really like CLEAR Emperor or Controlled Sound heads for the batter head. Clear head has ever so slightly more upper punch, and Emperor or CS is not as ringy as Ambassador, and lasts longer.
Great, thanks!
You cant go wrong with a 14x6.5 brass snare, they just sound great.
Cool. The hoops make a difference too. The more deeper\fat of that aluminium is because of the power hoops instead of die cast on brass. I like S-Hoop on top with Power Hoop on bottom. Good work!! Rock on!!
Thanks man!
In the audio files it was a Die Cast hoop both times!
At least on the batter side.
I'm excited! I must try this trick ;)
Exceptional Video, Thank You!
I swear on Satans name that been all week listening to Metallica Admiring his snare tone, and today you up load this
St. anger? Super rad
I played as drummer father`s 14x8 and it sounded very fat. Old Tama Superstar set from 80s, with concert toms. Very massive tone, but needed bright skins, and higher pitch.
I agree, it's better a deeper snare.
With 5.5" snares if you want a fat sound you usually tune them lower but they sound flabby. I could never get my 5.5" snares sound great as I want when they're tuned low.
At least with 6.5" you can tune a bit higher, as you say Kristian, but still retain the deepness needed
Thoughts on regular use of rimshots - good, bad, context dependent, add them later??
Fantastic video, I love the fat snare 🥁 ! 🇺🇸
Lovin the snare drum philosophy... Track it beefier. Gonna put that into play this week on a session...
Track with beef, cut the fat and add the spice later.
Dude that video is gold
I will totaly buy that course, even if I think that I'm not a beginner anymore. But there is always new stuff to learn, isn't it?
It will be a part of my academy, the Kohle Audio Kult.
The beginner course is the first one and there will be more and more small videos / courses added.
Great lesson with the humour too🤣
After hearing the snare sound of Clive Burr on Killers, Igor Cavalera on Beneath the remains and Mick Harris on Harmony Corruption... I wouldn't call that a fat snare at all man...
All of them used Pinstripe heads
@@attilaaekerfeldt9524 exactly!
I think "Beneath the Remains" has a pretty similar tuning.
Just more muffled (can easily be done later) and without any roomsound (mixing decision).
This is one of the records I grew up with and know really well.
@@KohleAudioKult yes, the room makes a big difference too and I prefer when it's pretty dry... I hate roomy drums like John Bonham... I like just a bit of Lexicon reverb on snare.
@@KohleAudioKult Beneath the Remains, Eaten Back to Life, Harmony Corruption :) Scott Burns signature sound in 1989-1990 :)
if the Martians come on earth, the first thing they will need to get is the album Eaten Back to Life, as one of the best things on earth at all.
4:57 that moment of realization. Made me laugh out loud haha.
Haha! I didn't remember this one!
When will you make the video on snare slams and how to mix them properly? great video anyway, you have great sounds and you did a great job with all your productions!
I'm working on a nice slam video
@@KohleAudioKult I think I fell in love with you!
I’ll trust your tuning and selections, KOHLE! Maybe i should get these Pearl Brass Snare for my Metal Stuff, it sounds great :-D.
No longer will my snare sound like a horse taking a shit onto a wet newspaper. Thank you!
🤣❤️🍺
god i fuckin love brass snares
A Drum tuning Video would be great ?
Schön, das mal aus einer Nicht-Drummer-Sichtweise zu sehen. Ich nutze den TuneBot auch. Außerdem verfechte ich seit Jahren tiefgestimmte Snares ohne Dämpfung. Nur meine einlagigen Felle brauchen einen Dot in der Mitte, sonst sind die nach zwei Songs durch.
I’ve been guilty of tuning my snare too high. The reason it was done is for something you mentioned early in the video: the guitars eat up the sustain. In a live setting, you’re then left with just the attack, which is what needs to cut through. How do I get my blast beats to cut through? Tuning my snare really high. Yes, it sucks for recording, but how often is a gigging drummer in a studio vs playing live? And that is why our snares sound like crap in a studio.
Live you can tune it higher. The overall loudness compensates the lack of body.
@@KohleAudioKult First: Thank you for this video. I wish I had someone tell me this BEFORE I went to a studio to record. It’s this very reason I now have separate live and studio snares. Having to compromise on your sound sucks.
I hope you have more videos like this in the future.
Nice video, great info. Don´t forget to add the snares tension factor to the academy, I have found that when you have the tension too high the snare shoke and sound really crapy. But I don´t know when is tight enough for fast metal.
Good idea! Noted
Still waiting for "how to make ezdrummer less boring"
Switch to Superior Drumner, problem solved! It's better by a mile!
I love to jam with it. Expand eack piece of the kit out to its own midi track. Once you hava a part, render the midi track to audio. Close the EZ app. Now mix the individual parts like a real drum recording...thats one way.
It's 2021, why are people still using ezdrummer? We have things like GGD and RS Drums. Hell, even SSD sounds better than it used to. I get it if you are just demoing ideas with ezdrummer, but at that point, you shouldn't care how it sounds if it gets the ideas across, it shouldn't end up on a record because that's just cheap.
@@kernelxsanders that's all some people have /shrug
@@AndreiGrozea so they should get something else...
shell, head & snare choice
tuning & snare tightness
the right mics
cohesion between close and room mics
and of course, the drummer themself
the right sample, too. If the mix calls for it.
speaking of snare ring, treat it with expander plugin, and maybe a midrange cut & frequency notch, but don't go overboard.
Interesting to see how many people are digging lower snares now. I still prefer the sound of a screaming higher pitched snare á la Tool/Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave but i guess i'm oldfashioned. I like the fact that you emphasize the importance of the source though
No hate here, that was very helpful, thanks.
Have to try those setting on Tunebot, I usually tune my bottom head around F#4, G4-G#4, 392 to 400-410....And the top around C#4-D4 or E4, 277 to 329....lol...the Bohnam style....Don't try the new Tune Bot buy more beer instead I throw it out of the window and didn't drink anything....I still use the old one.
Is the new one really worse? Let me know!
I am with you when it comes to a lower tuning sounding fuller and more powerful. My explanation for the high tuning is that, most of the time, you are sitting in a room without accoustic treatment and overbearing guitar and bass blasting at you, because guitar players love to occupy the low mids and bass frequencies. The 200W tube amp only sounds good at a setting around 9 out of 10 😉
And frankly, in this setting you cannot hear a low tuned snaredrum very well, it is like playing a paper box.
What sounds good in a studio is totally different from what works at a small concert or rehearsal room.
This is no excuse to use a shitty snaresound in a studiosetting, just a possible explanation why some drummers like their snare sounding like a tiny metal pot with only short attack and no resonance 😅 But videos like yours really help to explain, that you have to choose your tuning also according to your setting.
Very true!
Nice Vid, Bro! Thx.
Once again great content man!!! Now I just need to convince my drummer to tune it lower haha.. His is so freaking high-pitched and thin... Good job, this is way!!!
That’s how they all tune, haha!
It’s comfortable for them and sounds good where they sit because the snare is so loud.
@@KohleAudioKult Oh god...it's a pain! He such a great drummer, but stubborn AF. In the room indeed it's not bad but when mixing it sounds so... compromised already... Anyway, I would too start probably sell one of my kidneys to have access to your drum recording room, I really like the setup you have there, with the stereo mic at the top and everything. I will probably get your drum recording course when it's out for sure. Cheers dude
hi, great video! is suitable for big fat snare bronze? it seems better to me than brass, but I have no experience .. thanks for the feedback
I think I am about to sample that snare :)
just another great, informative, insightful video. please, please keep them coming. just one question though...what beer are you drinking during the filming???
Thanks! In which video?
@@KohleAudioKult this one.
hello, please make a video of how you use tunebot :) a lot of people would appreciate it