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For the first time in 10 years I bought a new kit and have been watching literally 10+ hrs of your videos. My kit sounds AMAZING except the snare was ringing a bit too much with the snares a bit washy. I will do the ruler thing and 6 lugs and see what happens. This channel has completely changed how I approach drums. Thank you

So many drummers neglect the fine-tuning of the bottom head to get what they want out of a snare, and either detune next to the wires or crank the whole thing. You guys are really providing a valuable service here, showing the "arcane" tricks that make the best tone possible. Cheers.

Best drum channel ever. Period.

Always a great video from you blokes - always watch them several times. Learn so much from them.

Great job explaining and demonstrating the effects of a very difficult and esoteric subject!

So thankful for this channel, and this video especially. My drums are sounding better than ever, and this vid saved my snare drums after reheading everything. Took me forever to get the sounds I wanted, some snare drums really like extremes!

Another amazing video, thanks so much. Really refreshing to see you incorporate things that I and others have requested in the past so major props to you for demonstrating the pitch of each head.

Outstanding explanations, on all the details that make-up how tunings work together, to create a final sound.

Just discovered this episode. Really helped a lot. I appreciate you didn’t rush through the process. Many thanks!

Really love this channel, but my snare still sounds terrible. I fiddle with it at least three times a week for a couple hours. I feel like I've tried all the suggestions in this video, the snare side tuning video, the first video. leveled the heads, bought three different kinds of heads from multiple brands, bought new snare wire of various counts, tuned it low, tuned it high, tuned it medium. rattles like crazy around the edges or chokes out or sounds super pingy/overtones. The channel is still one of my faves as I just discovered it early this year. Thanks!

Very interesting stuff. I’m kind of amazed at the amount of time you guys are able to devote to different approaches to tuning, versus the numerous other guys out there who basically say “This is how to tune a drum, PERIOD.” Keep up the good work! 👍

Love it man. I didn’t do exactly this, but when just sitting and messing with my snare for what felt like ever, eventually I figured out that my snare doesn’t sound great when the batter is tuned way up high, so I’m able to get a good funk type of sound without completely cranking the snare side head and without too much buzz and I’m able to have the batter at a medium/medium-low tuning rather than close to being high and so basically depending on where I choke off the snare wires at I’m able to have a pretty good medium-high sounding funky jazz kinda sound and then I can loosen them off/let em breath a bit more and I have a more deep, fatter sound that can go with funk or blues or rock or even pop somewhere in between. I’ll sometimes throw a dampener on the snare side as well depending on what I’m hearing a certain day and the sound I’m going for because they usually cut down how sensitive that side gets. I use a remo emperor hazy btw. I take it like about 1/2-3/4 turns away from tabletop tight and have 8 lugs so tune slightly different, I’ll usually do all of them like normal to a point and then just the four where the shares lie and then the four that are on the front and back so to say, the tuning ends up similar to how you explained what you did, I’ll normally do about 1/4 turn for snare lugs and 1/2 turn for others but it could change depending on the head itself at the time and that’s once I get it to this predetermined spot on all 8 first and then I always end up doing some fine tuning after all this usually just to try and get out those final little tones I don’t like. I’m now starting to mess around with how different types of snare wires interact with the whole drum, not just snare side, be it due to wire count to what they’re made out of. It’s interesting to see how many sounds you can get out of a pretty inexpensive snare drum that I really like sometimes and other times gets on my nerves.

This is a game changer! I was able to get the amount of snare wire sound that I wanted on stick contact without excess buzz after the stick hit. I reduced the tension by half a turn on the 4 lugs around the snare wires. Prior to that I was getting a little nutty and putting tape on my snare wires and cutting them etc. I also found that I didn't need to add any dampening to my snare anymore which led to a bigger, fatter sound. Thanks for the tip!

Great video man! Very nice attention to detail, everything really does matter and make a difference with getting a desired sound for a specific application. :) All the best and happy drumming!

Another awesome instruction. You guys are the best!

It shows drummers never stop learning. Great videos.

Thank you for the videos. I learn something new I can use in the studio every time!

Very interesting! First time I've seen this technique for adjusting the reso snare head. Thank you!

Enjoy seeing you guys do these vids. Didn't realise there was so many different ways to play around with the tuning. Definitely going to try this on my all my snare drums. Look forward to seeing the next lesson. 👍

Another killer video gents!! I really love seeing all of the detail that you guys get into with specific tunings and techniques that most people gloss over. I know I already mentioned it on one of your first videos, but I'm too big of a fan not to toss the idea your way again! Since you guys devote so much time to talking about adjusting snares to the average snare bed, I think it would be an interesting take discussing the Rogers Dynasonic snare. Both the chrome over brass and wood Dynas have virtually no snare bed (they're like .004" deep) with the independent snare bridge system, designed to get that edge-to-edge snare sensitivity and articulation you talk about in this video. Just an idea! Love the videos, keep 'em coming :)

This is information I always wanted to see. Very detailed informative!

The relationship between the snare tension and the tension of the bottom hoop was news to me....very informative and useful.... thanks.

I'm really loving these tuning videos! Tuning is something I have struggled with my entire life! I started using a drum dial a couple of years back, and whilst I appreciate a lot of people will say they are a gimmick, and you should be able to tune by ear, when you have to wear two hearing aids just to understand conversation, then that option is kinda out the question! One thing that I have noticed is, forgetting my own ears, my band mates have commented that my kit has never sounded so awesome, so it is certainly helping get things in the right ball park. One thing I am really struggling with though, and something that the dial isn't helping with in any shape or form, is when I am trying to tune a Natal acrylic 14 x 5.5 snare drum! Articulation is completely lost, and I just get this horrendous whahh whahh sound coming from playing anywhere near the edge of the drum! I'm gonna play with some of these ideas, but a video on tuning an acrylic snare would be super interesting and helpful! All the best to you, Walts.

Great work as usual!!! I started recording at my place not long ago and it has opened up my ear to all the nuances that you describe in this series!! Thanks a lot for taking the time to conceive, produce and release such greatly helpful videos!!! BTW, your shirt should say "More Snare-wire" LOL!!!!

Phew.. This really helps with some issues I've always struggled with in regards to getting the sounds I'm looling for. Have I mentioned that I love you guys?

Hello, thanks for the video. Always great and thorough. I sometimes have a Coated Empereor as my snare side head under silentstrokes or even under a Vintage Coated Emperor for an extra thick, extra aggressive, nonspicy bite on my maple snare. It works if you tighten the near- bed lugs more since a two-ply head is harder to bend.

most of my life I've just evenly cranked it, top & bottom. I knew there was a trick to a great signature snare tone. (how the fk do they do it) maybe twice I accidentally pitched it right. it always sounded good to me, but not even close. I was wrong, dead wrong until I found these Videos! my recordings are 100% better. live the snare tone has got me complements from FOH and friends. the LM400 like the LM402, is the perfect weapon. something about its natural "noise" and precise tuning make it supernatural. the 3 outside lugs were the key* it cleans up all the shit you try to muffle, evens the playing area and fattens the drum up, to a new level. Alex & Bonham knew this drum very well. I think my snare (LM402B) tone is somewhere authentically in-between the two. Thank you! great tip and professionally explained.

Awesome. Love your videos. I also find that the weight of the snare side head makes a big difference.

Amazing stuff I was always curious about this subject. I tried it some times but it just didn't work. Gonna give it another try now, see what I end up with. Anyway very cool lesson, very interesting and informative as always. Keep the good work, cheers!

I'm saving this to watch again later. I just got a Yamaha Custom Birch set w/ decent cymbals and all the hardware. Tuning the Tom's has been easy enough for me, but I cant get the sound out of the snare that I want. Looking forward to playing around w/ the tuning some more, now that I know a few more tricks

GREAT VIDEO !!!! Greetings from Brazil! =D

Been trying to figure out dialing in articulation to the edge of the drum for so long.... thank you.

You should do a video on the way different hoop styles affect the sound of a drum.

Some of the tuning aspects this vid also apply to Classical hardware. I've modded my TAMA®/Hoshino® IMS145 (14" x 5", poplar shell, 8 lugs) for six turns of monofilament nylon across the resonant for the dark "guts" sound on a budget; cable and synthetic gut snare units reduce sympathetic resonance with other drums in the kit quite dramatically.

Love your videos man! Seriously think you make some of the most helpful drum-related videos on KZfaq. Personally I think the room you’re sitting in is a little dark. I think a bit more lighting would make your videos 10 percent better. But it’s just a tip. Keep up the good work :)

Great video, thank you guys. So tightening the outer lugs is a bit like making the head flatter for the wires to lay on ?

Hi Cody. thanks for the super helpful video. Is there any types of situations or types of drums/beds where you would typically tighten the lugs next to the beds higher ? thanks .

Love T shirt!

Yet again, another amazing video! Quick question: how often would you recommend changing your snare wires? With heads it’s quite obvious, but are there any tell tale signs I need to look for with the ware on my wires? - cheers!

Miking the drum, the different miking situations and special things as DIY - Subkick and so on - would be interesting too!

I guess my next thing as far as snares go, is the different types of wires (material, amount, spacing, etc), and their characteristics. For example, I have a split wire (I think it’s called the blaster? From puresound) on my 13x7 pork pie squealer, and it definitely seems dryer than a standard 16-20 strand, and generally it does quite well with backbeats, while still sounding full with the wires. I’m also considering putting a 30 or 42-strand on my 14x8 snare to give it that epic, lush snare sound.

Awesome🥁🥁🇨🇦🇨🇦

always appreciate your videos! curious to hear how die cast hoops would affect all you've shown us here

What alterations would you make to this method and tuning in general if using an 8 lug snare? been struggling to achieve articulation near the edge on my 80’s Tama swingstar seamless snare.

Nice video, this make think about hoops, in particular wood hoops, what do you think Guys? A new video of this subject.

I have a 6.5 x 14 NATAL snare drum , and i found that a lower tune of the reso head is better , maybe because the kind of edge it has. But a still can't get away of sypathetic buzz yet if i turn the wires loose the way it feels good and natural . Any help? I just trying not sacrifice the snare sound i want...

I like to sacrifice a small to medium sized rodent to the music gods before I apply my snare wires... Seems to help me get a better snap out of the drum.

I’ve got a Pearl Aluminium 14x8 free floater with 42 strand wires and I have trouble getting them where I’d like them sometimes they buzz when I’m hitting the toms so I crank up the wires but it’s hard for me to get them to a good point without choking them any help would be appreciated thanks.

Could you guys maybe explain the science behind these concepts? The effects of lowering the lugs adjacent to the wires make sense, but I don't get why the drum responds the way it does when you tighten up those outside lugs...

Great video, as always. Learning a lot from you guys. Thanks for all your hard work. Question: Is there any risk of putting your snare side hoop out of round with this technique?

Hi, interesting video, I have a new Reissue Ludwig Jazz fest snare with vintage type narrow beds, how would you approach tuning the reso on this drum ? similar to the video ? many thanks.

Did I catch this correctly for the sound at the end? 1)leveled out the hoop, so each lug is same distance from the head, 2)tightened the non-adjacent lugs [1/2 turn], 3)loosened every lug by same amount [1/2 turn here] 4)loosened snare tension to not choke out drum. And I get that the turns will be different for everyone.

I’ve been recently experimenting with slightly heavier batter heads on my snare. I personally find it difficult to find a pleasant snare tension with these heads. I wonder if the reso head should be slightly thicker too? Any insight to what is happening would be greatly appreciated!

Wondering if you guys know about ride cymbal rivets, in particular, different placement of the rivets and how that makes different effects. I see groups of 3 close together or spread around the circumference. Love your channel !! Thx!!

How about covering detuning lugs on toms/snares?

Really great video on touches on some really great stuff! One this I have a question about is when you have different tension on different lugs of the batter or snare side. Does that not put stain on the lugs that are not level with the rest? Could that cause damage to them? Would love to get your thoughts on this? Appreciate all you guys do 👌🤗

Curious if you know of anyway to tame a Rogers Dynasonic snare rattle? My drum doesn't have the original snare system, and I have tried pretty much everything, including the Active Snare System from Rhythm Tech. I Like the drum, but can't get around the issue of it rattling on. I am not sure if it has a snare bed on it, and it is the chrome over brass model from the 70's I believe. Cheers

That metallic zing is something I’ve been getting a lot. Hate it- any information or videos to point to would be lovely

How is tuning up the 6 non-snare bed lugs different than tuning down the 4 snare side lugs? Besides the whole pitch of the bottom head going up or down, the ratios would essentially be the same, no?

What exactly made that zingy noise?

Apart from getting snare wires with less wires, what should I do to reduce the buzz and make it more "staccato"?

Lowered the head is tighter?

When you spoke of fresh and worn heads I began to think... some people say it's required to prepare drumheads before putting them on an instrument such as streching. Is this actually a thing? Have you perhaps adressed it in a video and I've missed it? If not and there's more to it, I'd love to see a video on it. This video was really helpful, gonna try messing around with my snare drum soon!

What about changing the tension on the wire , in stead of changing the tune on the bottom head , set the bottom wear you like it . Tighter snares ,Moore articulation looser snares more bottom end .

Guys can anyone give me some advice on the Canopus snare wires, what type of sound do they have, are they dark or bright sounding?

Great video. Is an uneven tuning on the snare side going to shorten the life of the head?

What about the tension of the wires instead off messing with head

I WANT THE SHIRT

14:59 "... You can a lot of sounds. MANY of which will be TERRIBLE. And some of them will be awesome" Gosh, I can so feel it! Been playing around with the tunings and watching your videos again and again! And I've learnt lots of stuff along the way of meddling with the tunings. It's amazing how just the snare side alone is interacting with the batter to create a totally different sound profile. And how terrible many of the sounds are! Love your videos as always, no matter how many times I've watched it, haha! ❤💛💚💙💜

I have to thank you guys, was playing last night at a concert and got compliments from everyone on the sound of my drumming 90% of it was just by applying your techniques and ideas. Great videos!!! Quick question: Is there a way to get humidity off a drum?

By the way, after tuning up those 6 lugs, do you need to match the batter side ones?

So tuning hacks means no Snare bed necessary or Snare bed and still tuning hacks necessary?

Drum tuning is like Alchemy....especially the snare. Not sure what I'm doing....and when I try to know...it kind of drives me insane. So I just do my thing until I get lucky basically.....and am usually pretty happy. Tricky part is getting the snare not to buzz too much when next to the guitar amp!

Do Die Cast rims offer a challenge since they do not give nearly as much ?

I have started playing with a brass band ( British traditional) and need versatile heads that will be ok for rock, classical,show songs,and a various range of music styles.. there are no KZfaq guides to brass band kit drumming part from the brash American marching bands !

How would i get a high pitch snare with a lot of crack?

What about unwanted snare buzz while playing in a kit?

This is a great video. I just got a new kit recently and I went from Mapel to Birch and the tone is much different and I have been struggling to find a nice medium with the drum to what I liked in the other snare. And I really didnt know how to go about it other than crank the tension or mess with the bottom to top head ratios between eachother. One question I have, what height would you recommend to start your lugs off at with the ruler and where is your beginning and end to how you're measuring your height. And also would that be different for different depth snare drums? Just want a general idea on where to start from someone who's experimented a lot, which I have not. Thank you for your hard work in curating these videos and inspiring all of us to push the envelope!

You are the wise sage you find after trudging to the top of the sonic mountain. However, I now have NO TIME for the rest of my hobbies....

That's a Supraphonic. It has "acousti-perfect" snare beds. It's not like a typical snare that has a noticeable snare bed. Supraphonic snares are great. The wires don't really make any farty sounds once you have them set up well.

I just crank em’ ALMOST tight! Works on most drums... Sometimes I’ll tune the bottom lower, if I want more of a vintage sound!🙂

Hello. I like your videos but one thing I don't like is when you're hitting drum, in mix it's volume is same as you voice. I'd like to suggest to set drum volume little louder so it will help us to hear more detailed sound. Especially when your're talking about topic like snare buzz. No need for real dynamic but just little louder.

All good stuff but, drummers have to be prepared for the great new snare sound to just not work with the kit. I like that you often reiterate that there's no single perfect method.

with all of the pros and videos out there showing how to tune, NONE of them have ever explained how to get rid of that horrible, 1mm off center gives a horrible sound effect. I have been stressing over this for the passed 3 months. I am going to have to go mess around

man ,,, doesnt metter if you movin 4 wire screws UP, or 6 middle screws DOWN .. its happened same contrast