″Though it′s hard to admit it′s true
I′ve come to depend on you.
You, and your angelic shout,
Loud enough for two.″
— ″THAT IS WHY,″ BELLYBUTTON, JELLYFISH (CHARISMA RECORDS, 1990)
The role of the snare drum in popular recorded music cannot be overstated. It′s backbeat drives the vast majority of all pop and rock tunes in western music. That energetic pulse on beats two and four is essential.
There is no such thing as a correct snare sound. The broad range of tone elements within this instrument offer the engineer great freedom in tailoring the sound. Evaluating a snare sound is not unlike criticizing modern, abstract art. Individual viewers have an instinctive, internal reaction to the art. Two people looking at the same abstract piece may have very different feelings about the work. The sound of the snare drum, abstract in its own right, often leads to similar differences of opinions. Heated debate may follow.
With this instrument, pretty much anything goes. Criticizing the snare sound in someone′s mix is a lot like grading a class of kindergartners during Play Dough(r) hour. Anyone may believe some sculptures are better than others, but such preferences are personal and unique to their own experience of the piece of art. It is highly subjective, and each kid′s parents can always comfort themselves with the certain knowledge that their child′s Play Dough blob is best.
With Play Dough, there are just a couple rules: Keep it out of Andrew′s hair, and do not eat it. Similarly, the snare drum follows just a few rules, which this chapter seeks to define. The book you are reading studies sound effects, but these effects are not limited to the mixdown session, when most effects are applied. The recording and overdub sessions present an opportunity to use signal processors too. Moreover, the kind of logic and creative thinking that informs an engineer′s use of effects can be applied to microphone technique as well. The entire production life of the snare is therefore considered here.
To begin to make sense of the snare drum, it is useful to think of the snare drum as a burst of noise. The length of the burst ranges from a tiny impulse (cross stick) to a powerful wash of energy lasting more than a half note in duration.
That the snare can be classified as noise should not be a surprise. With the exception of that distinct, exaggerated ring used only for special effect, the snare is generally without pitch. It′s a percussion instrument after all. In addition, unlike the rest of the drum kit, the snare drum has those wires (or gut) stretched across the bottom head — cleverly called ″the snares″ — to make sure that each hit of the snare is a buzzy, rattling mess of noise.
Like any good noise source, the snare can have acoustic energy throughout the audible range — lows, highs, and everything in between. Typical instruments used in pop, rock, and jazz have a diameter of 14 inches, however, 13-inch models occasionally make an appearance. Depths range from the 4-inch piccolo to more standard 5- to 61/2-inch snare depths, but may be as deep as 8 inches. Common materials for the instrument are wood (birch and maple are most common) and metal (frequently brass, bronze, steel, or aluminum). Factor in playing styles, stick selection, head selection, the specific location where the stick meets the drum, the tuning of the two heads, and a great variety of sounds becomes possible. The recording engineer is encouraged to work with drummers who understand the implications of all of these decisions, as it takes a musician′s passion for his or her instrument to master these details and create a great sound.
For any given snare hit, the distribution of sound energy is rarely focused on a narrow range of frequencies or harmonic series. The overall sound is dissonant and noisy, spreading out spectrally during the decay. The result is a percussive thwack with a big spectral footprint. Few other instruments in the pop/rock genre offer such open-ended, noiselike possibilities. It is well known that the consonants of human vocals live around 2–5 kHz. The fundamental pitch of the piano′s lowest note is around 30 Hz, and its highest note is around 4 kHz.
But the comfort of such standards does not exist with the snare drum. This is part of why it is so popular in pop/rock music. Spectrally, the snare is all over the map. Such a range makes it an ally in the anything-goes, rebel-for-the-sake-of-rebelling mission to be heard.
The strategy for obtaining an effective snare sound begins with creative music and production decisions and is followed later by the more technical evaluation of engineering issues.
First the engineer, working with the drummer, must choose a certain shape, color, feeling, or sound that they personally wish to achieve. That target then influences the drummer′s instrument selection, tuning, and playing. In parallel, the engineer makes recording decisions that further support that goal.
With snare, more than any other instrument in rock, there is opportunity for self-doubt. The risk is that someone might walk into the room and announce, ″Dude. What are you thinking? I hate that snare sound. What is this, some sorta death-metal-polka album?″
Engineers must be prepared to ignore this. It is rarely important if this particular person does not like your idea of a snare sound. Find a snare sound that is acceptable to one person, and it will be pretty easy to find 10 listeners who vote against it. Odds are these snare critics are the ruffians who put the Play Dough in Andrew′s hair back in kindergarten anyway. That said, there are a few people whose warnings should be heeded.
The drummer. Yes, this is one of those times when one should actually listen to the drummer. Drummers often have a very good idea of the sound they are going for and have a terrific amount of experience listening to this instrument. The snare drum is right up their alley. Remember, snare drums are round, just like pizzas, so the drummer is a real expert here.
The producer. Because the snare has such a strong influence on the overall sound of the tune, the producer often has strong snare-related desires.
The songwriter/composer. Many writers have specific sounds and feelings in mind when they build an arrangement. This is especially true for film scores. The engineer must not violate the songwriter′s creative vision.
Ideally a recording project is a collaboration among all these and other talented musicians. Consider their input as a chance to hone in on the goal, narrowing the world of possibilities to a refined, much more specific goal. Consulting examples of released recordings or drum samples with the sonic character desired by all involved is a good way to manage this discussion, and this does not have to happen while the studio clock is running. This is a good rehearsal and preproduction activity.
Once a fairly specific goal is set, start making the decisions around which snare drum to use, how to tune it, which microphones to try, and so on. The tasty snare sound of the Wallflowers′ ″One Headlight,″ for example, could not be gotten from a 14-inch diameter, 8-inch deep snare tuned low for maximum punchiness. If the project consensus is ″tight, with an edgy ring,″ then select and tune the drum accordingly. Clearly it is a mistake to wait until the mixdown session to target this sound.
The typical approach to tracking the snare drum dedicates several microphones to the task. In the end, the snare sound that reaches the home listener comes from two or three close microphones, a pair of overhead microphones, any number of more distant room microphones, plus supportive sounds generated through signal processing, most notably reverberation.
It is not uncommon to put two or more microphones close to the snare drum. Most likely, a moving coil dynamic and a small diaphragm condenser will be tried, tucked out of the drummer′s way, between the hi-hat and the first rack tom. The drummer must be able to comfortably whip the sticks between and among the drums and cymbals. It is unacceptable for the awkward presence of microphones to change the drummer′s stick technique. It can be tricky indeed, but the engineer must find a close-microphone placement that does not interfere with the drummer′s carefree, physical performance.
Moving Coil Dynamic
It is difficult to record a snare drum today without using the workhorse Shure SM57 or a similar moving coil dynamic cardioid microphone. Placed an inch or two above the top head of the drum, this track is likely to be a major part of the overall snare drum sound.
Of course the SM57 and its ilk are not the most accurate microphones in the studio. They are based on a moving coil design, after all. Cardioid moving coil microphones often have a strong lift in frequency response in the upper middle frequencies (around 3 or 4 kHz), but roll off toward higher frequencies, possessing a less than agile transient response. This is not as bad as one might think.
The apparent transient response weakness associated with all moving coil microphone designs is in fact a very helpful engineering asset. The relative laziness of the moving coil can be thought of as something of an acoustic compressor (see Chapter 6). By reacting slowly to a sudden increase in amplitude, the moving coil assembly acts mechanically as a compressor might act electrically. It reduces the amplitude of the peaks of a transient sound.
This is helpful for two major reasons. First, this reduction of peaks can help prevent the sort of distortion that comes from overloading the electronics that follow. The true spike of amplitude that leaps off a snare drum might easily distort the microphone preamplifier or overload the tape or converters in the multitrack recorder. The use of a moving coil dynamic microphone can be the perfect way to capture the sonic character of the instrument, blurring the details that might have caused problems.
The second advantage of the moving coil design is the signal-processing effect it creates. Moving coil dynamic microphones, with their natural lethargy, are often used for many of the creative reasons that make an engineer reach for a compressor. The sound of a clave, snare, kick, dumbek, and many other instruments is often much more compelling after the subtle reshaping of the transient that a moving coil microphone introduces.
Small Diaphragm Condenser
Just as the snare drum inspires many targets, sonically, the engineer must be prepared to chase many targets, technically. The percussive complexity of a snare drum is a perfect match for the transient detail of a small diaphragm condenser microphone. Place one coincident with the dynamic microphone, close to the snare drum, but out of the drummer′s way.
The goal is to place the condenser microphone capsule in the exact same physical location as the dynamic microphone. In this way, the two signals can be mixed together freely without fear of comb filtering. Recall, that if the capsules are not the exact same distance from the snare drum, there will be a slight time of arrival difference between the two microphones. Mixing these two signals together will lead to coloration — possibly severe coloration — due to the frequency-dependent constructive and destructive interference that results (see ″Comb Filter″ in Chapter 9). Of course, it is impossible for two different microphones to occupy the same, single location. Place them as close together as possible, with their capsules the same distance from the top head of the snare drum.
It is not unusual to tape the small diaphragm condenser to the moving coil dynamic so that their capsules line up as closely as possible, and place them on a single stand. In this way the engineer can move the two microphones together as session experimentation dictates, in pursuit of the target snare sound.
With the moving coil and condenser microphones in a nearly identical, close placement on the snare drum, the engineer can listen critically to the different quality of each microphone individually. Most apparent will be the frequency response differences, with the condenser likely sounding a little brighter at the high end while the moving coil offers perhaps a presence peak in the upper mid-range. As important as it is, the engineer must listen beyond the spectral differences, to the character of the attack of the snare sound. It is generally the case that the moving coil dynamic microphone squashes the transient, possibly into a more exciting, more intense, easier to hear sound. With the two distinctly different sounds captured up close, the engineer can better achieve the snare goals previously planned. Either microphone individually, or perhaps some combination of the two, will give the engineer a good starting point for the snare sound.
The close-microphone snare sound is augmented by overhead microphones, room microphones, and signal processing.
For the patient engineer, the search for the perfect approach to drum overhead microphone techniques is neverending: coincident (XY) cardioids, a Blumlein pair, spaced omnis, and MS (mid-side) approaches are worth considering. When it comes to overhead drum microphones, engineers are tempted to pull out all the stops on their stereo microphone techniques. It can help, in the heat of many a busy session, to simplify: abandon accuracy and pursue art.
Despite all of the many valid arguments for the overhead microphone approaches mentioned above, many engineers rely instead on a simple pair of spaced cardioids. This approach is more straightforward, well suited to the near panic of the basics session. There is no need for MS decoding. Avoid the gymnastics of setting up the Decca tree. Keep it simple by placing a pair of spaced cardioids up over the drum kit. This approach pays dividends in the forms of timbre, image, and control.
Timbral Benefits of Cardioids
For overhead microphone selection, think in terms of vocal microphones and focus on the snare. Large diaphragm cardioid condensers, with their mid-frequency presence peak, are perfectly suited to the snare drum challenge. These microphones are effective at grabbing hold of a detailed, buzzy, rattling snare sound. The sound of the snare a few feet away from the instrument almost always sounds better than the sound of the snare as viewed by the close microphone. Moreover, the final mix has the luxury of combining overheads and close microphones (and more) to fabricate the ultimate snare sound. In this context, engineers appreciate the contribution of cardioid overheads.
With the mid-frequency emphasis of a vocal microphone, the sound from the overhead microphones will be easy to use. The snare will rise up out of the mix.
Of course, overhead microphones capture the whole kit, not just the snare drum. In fact, it might be tempting for the less-experienced recordist to equate overhead microphones with cymbal microphones. It is customary to place several microphones close to the snare, kick, toms, etc. Logic might suggest the cymbals also deserve close microphones, placed above the kit. Should the overheads then be called the cymbal microphones?
This simply is not the case. It is true, the overheads are needed to capture the sound of the cymbals. Obvious to everyone who plays in a band, cymbals are loud and rich in high-frequency sound energy. Sonically, cymbals are hard to miss. It is not generally necessary to dedicate microphones just to cymbals or to seek out especially bright microphones to capture the cymbals.
Hang large diaphragm cardioid condensers over the kit, with snare drum as the first priority, and more than enough sound energy from the cymbals will also be recorded.
With cardioid overheads, an engineer′s creativity and experience are rewarded. Just as producers and engineers audition different microphones for different singers, it also makes sense to search for the ″right″ cardioid for the overheads. Focusing on the sound of the snare within the overhead sound, swap microphones for the most flattering mid-frequency lift. When the production goals call for it, one can reach for the 1-kHz edge of a Neumann U47. Other sessions might be better served by the 6- to 8-kHz forwardness of those Neumann U87s. Song by song, match the microphone with the snare drum in a way that best suits the music and the overhead microphone selection process becomes an easier, intuitive process.
Overhead Image
Spaced cardioids might trouble the realist. Is there a less accurate, more problematic approach to stereo microphone placement than spaced cardioids? Probably not. Spaced omnis offer higher timbral accuracy and enhanced envelopment. Coincident microphone approaches, such as XY and MS, offer solid mono compatibility. Spaced cardioids seem to fail on both fronts. A pair of cardioids two to three feet apart over a drum kit are the basis for a larger-than-large, better-than-the-real-thing drum sound.
Again, even as the overhead microphones pick up the entire drum kit, the snare is the focus. With a pair of spaced cardioids, the audio engineer has the chance to augment the signal from the close microphone on the snare with the uncorrelated, mono-incompatible sound of the overheads. The close microphone offers punch and power and a center-localized snare sound. The overheads add to it a wide burst of energy that expands outward from the snare drum to the left and right speakers on each and every snare hit. This is a major part of what makes pop music fun. The exaggerated, unrealistic stereo image of the snare sound that lives within the spaced cardioid overheads combines with the timbral detail and well-centered stability of the close microphone to create the sort of snare sound that does not exist in real life. It is a studio-only creation.
Placing unidirectional microphones over the kit rewards the engineer for microphone placement tweaks. To change the sound — the timbre, the ambience, the balance among various drums and cymbals — one simply moves or rotates the cardioid microphones. The sonically narrow point of view of a cardioid enables the recordist to focus on and even exaggerate specific elements of the kit. The rejection capabilities of the cardioid enable the deemphasizing of the unappealing parts of the drums and any unwelcome aspects of the room. The off-axis coloration of any given cardioid makes it an equalizer whose settings shift as the microphone is rotated into a new orientation.
Abandoning realism and reaching for cardioid overheads makes the recording engineer more productive during the tracking session. One can modify the drum sounds in no time through even small movements of the overheads.
With the exception of the drummer, most people listen to snare drum from a distance. The sound farther away from the drum can sound more natural and more exciting as it is a blend of the direct sound from the drum with all of the reflected energy from the room. While the snare starts to sound better farther away from the kit, it is frequently the case that the kick drum sounds weak when recorded by room microphones. One approach is to build a tunnel out of gobos and blankets around the microphones in front of the kick drum. This makes for interesting sounds at the close microphones and it attenuates the amount of kick drum in the room sound. The room tracks become easier to tuck into the mix. Room tracks are also fodder for a range of signal-processing approaches discussed next.
With a goal agreed to by all relevant parties, and the most appropriate sound achieved by the drummer out in the live room, and a combination of close and distant microphones recorded onto the multitrack, the engineer can at last consider what many others mistakenly believe to be the starting point when recording the snare drum: equalization (EQ) (see Chapter 5).
Less-experienced engineers relying too much on EQ may mangle a snare sound with radical equalization curves, trying to make a chocolate mousse out of a crème brûlée. More mature engineers form a plan ahead of time — choosing the mousse, not the brûlée — and start achieving that sound at the drum, with the drummer, using microphone strategies that support the goal. This enables the engineer to calmly fine-tune the exact flavor of the snare with additional processing. The engineer applies EQ with elegant finesse, not brute force.
It is common, with EQ on a snare drum, to emphasize some region of high frequencies (around 10 kHz). This is logical as few productions benefit from a dull snare. If this was already addressed through the selection and tuning of the drum, and selection and placement of the microphones, any further brightening needed will be less severe. Perhaps EQ is unnecessary.
Alternatively, consider the less obvious equalization move: subtractive EQ. Notching out a narrowband around 1 kHz (± an octave or so) can open up the sound of the snare and give it a more distinct sound.
Subtractive EQ has the welcome additional benefit of making room spectrally for things like vocals and guitar. It is difficult to overstate the importance of vocals and guitars in the history of pop music. Minimize the masking (see Chapter 3) of these important instruments caused by the snare, and the production is likely to be more successful. Cutting rather than boosting is an excellent way to shape the character of the snare sound while improving other elements of the overall mix.
Meantime, watch out for the low end. Too much energy in the bottom octaves (below 300 Hz) in search of ″punch″ is an all too common error in snare drum recording. Remember that through close-microphone recording using directional microphones, a fair amount of proximity effect is likely.
Place any directional microphone in the near field of an instrument, and the frequency content of the signal will lift up at the low-frequency end of the spectrum. This is an effect loved by radio disc jockeys and jazz crooners. Their voices sound fuller and larger than life. But proximity effect is not just for vocals.
In fact, because of proximity effect, one should beware of deep snare drums and give serious consideration to piccolo and other shallow drums. Many rock drummers play big, deep snare drums for maximum low-frequency umph. Combined with too much proximity effect, the result can be a snare sound with too much low end. Spectrally, the sound may not be balanced, lacking the upper mid rattle and high-frequency sizzle that are often a part of the snare sound. What works in live venues does not always work in the studio.
A small drum with proximity effect can be a fun combination of high-frequency crack with low-frequency punch and power. This means that the snare sound, realized through studio recording and loudspeaker playback, can be a sound that does not really exist when we listen in a room to an actual drum kit. Low-frequency boosts must be made with care, with a keen awareness of proximity effect at the close microphones.
Of course subtractive EQ and low-frequency avoidance is not as much fun as equalizing in an ear-grabbing boost. Try going for some upper middle frequency ″crack″ (3–7 kHz) instead of low end ″punch.″
Meanwhile, the snare can have plenty of punch without boosting. Consider again some subtractive EQ, this time around 400 Hz, but pay attention to the low end of the snare sound below 400 Hz. Removing a narrow notch of lower middle frequencies usually reveals plenty of clear, tight low end in the frequencies just below. Engineers sometimes challenge themselves to find a controlled amount of low-frequency power without boosting.
To help make the point, consider that a typical three-verse song might have more than 130 snare hits in the backbeat, plus any number of snare hits in the fills and rolls. If each hit of the snare overpowers everything in sight, even just for that instant, the vocals and guitars and everything else will become musically weak; the energy of the tune may dissipate.
Said another way, too strong a snare weakens the entire mix. A spectrally well-placed snare, on the other hand, which is appropriate to the feeling of the tune, remaining balanced and controlled, can fit in well with other elements of a complicated multitrack arrangement.
More useful than EQ at helping the snare cut through a stereo pop mix is compression (see Chapter 6). With percussion it is common to think of compression as a tool for smoothing out the overall dynamics of a performance for a more consistent performance in the mix. This type of compression effect seeks to turn down the loud notes and turn up the quiet notes.
As the chapter dedicated to the topic makes clear, there is so much more to compression and limiting than this. Compression can be used to change the amplitude envelope of the waveform. The envelope describes the ″shape″ of the sound, how gradually or abruptly the sound begins and ends, and what happens in between.
Drums might generally be expected to have a sharp attack and immediate decay. That is, the envelope resembles a spike or impulse.
Envelope: Attack
Low-threshold, medium-attack, high-ratio compression can alter the shape of the beginning of the sound, further enhancing it′s natural attack. It may take a little practice, so explore this effect on a calm project, perhaps working off the clock when the client is not in attendance. Be sure the compressor′s attack time setting is not too fast, set the ratio at 4 : 1, prefer-ably higher, and gradually pull the threshold down. This type of compression gives the snare a snappier attack. The result is a snare better equipped to poke out of a crowded mix and be noticed.
In the same vein, microphone selection can take care of the front end of the snare envelope instead of, or in addition to, compression. Condenser microphones are generally physically better equipped than most dynamic microphones to follow sharp, quick transients. Use a combination of dynamic and condenser microphones with this in mind, mixing in a little condenser for attack and a little dynamic for color.
Envelope: Length
Besides the attack, another variable to massage when recording and mixing the snare drum is at the other end of the envelope: the decay.
If this burst of noise can be persuaded to last a little longer by lengthening its decay time, it will achieve more prevalence in the mix. Recall that sounds shorter than about 200 ms are more difficult to hear than the same signal at the same level lasting longer than 200 ms (see Chapter 3). Compression to the rescue again, but this time it is through the knob labeled ″release.″ A fast release pulls up the amplitude of the snare sound even as it decays. Dial in a fast enough release time, and the compressor can raise the volume of the snare almost as quickly as it decays. The result is sustain instead of decay. Stretched longer, perhaps longer than 200 ms with the help of a little reverb, this lengthened snare sound can be placed in the mix at a lower fader setting and still be audible. It is long enough to get noticed, so it does not have to be turned up as loud. Filling in the mix with other tracks is easier when the snare performs its musical role without excessive level.
An important variable beyond spectrum and envelope is the stereo or surround image of the snare sound. Engineers are encouraged to master the power of simple stereo approaches to the snare drum pretty quickly, because it gets complicated fast in a world of multichannel, surround-sound audio.
The snare′s image is really created by the pair of overhead microphones placed on the drum kit. Compared to close-microphone techniques, there are a couple of advantages to capturing the sound of the snare through overhead microphones.
First, they capture the snare from a more rational distance. When fans hear music live, they do not usually have their ears just a couple inches away from the snare drum. There is no real-life reference for the sound of the drum at the close microphone; it is just not natural. In addition, as discussed above, the close-microphone sound will include possibly detrimental proximity effect.
The close microphone presents an incomplete or skewed picture of the snare: too focused on the sound of the top head, without an appropriate amount of the sound components that radiate from the bottom head and drum shell. The snare drum is a complicated, omnidirectional sound source. While the drummer strikes the top head, sound radiates up, down, and outward in all directions from the entire drum. The sound at the overhead microphones is more consistent with a typical listening distance, integrating elements of the snare sound from all directions as the room reflects sound from the floor, ceiling, and walls into the overhead microphones.
Beyond the advantages of using more distant microphones to capture a more complete timbre of the drum and its room reflections, a pair of overhead microphones gives the snare its stereophonic image. Placing a single microphone up close to the snare will create only a narrow, small, monophonic snare sound. Such a tiny image will have a difficult time keeping up with a wall of electric guitars and rich layers of sweet vocals.
The solution is to make the snare image a little (or a lot!) bigger. A stereo pair of microphones above the drum kit can be all it takes to make the snare more substantial and exciting again.
Proper placement of the microphones and careful treatment of the signals is required to keep the snare sound balanced relative to the other elements of the drum kit with a stereophonic image that is centered in between the loudspeakers for maximum rock-and-roll effect.
Listen carefully for amplitude consistency when tracking the overheads, as a snare that pulls to one side usually goes from ″cool″ to ″annoying″ pretty quickly. Also maintain phase consistency between the two overhead mikes. ″Phasey″ overheads lead to snare hits that seem to drift behind the listening position. The snare needs to help hold the band together and drive the music forward. It must be fully front and center to do this effectively.
In addition, any such phase differences suggest you will have some serious mono-compatibility problems. Identify this problem by listening to the pair of overhead signals, level matched, in mono. Slight phase differences will cause the snare to change tone, lose power, and drop in loudness. For large phase differences, these changes can be substantial. The goal is to have the snare sound reach each overhead microphone at the same instant. Time-of-arrival differences lead to comb filtering (see Chapter 9). Once matched, the overhead microphones present a strong, stable, convincing image of the snare drum.
This stereo overhead microphone technique is taken an important step further through the use of ambient/room microphones. These more distant pairs of microphones can further exaggerate the stereo width of the snare sound, but they are tricky to use.
As microphones are placed further from the drum set, they pick up relatively more room sound and less direct, or close, drum sound. As these ambient microphone pairs are moved still further away from the kit, the drum tracks quickly become a messy wash of cymbals ringing and a room rumbling. The musical role of the drums — keeping time and enhancing the tune′s rhythmic feel — is diminished, as the actual drum hits become difficult to distinguish, lost in a roar of drum-induced noise.
This problem is alleviated through the use of noise gates (see Chapter 7). Two noise gates can be patched across the room tracks to gate out the problematic wash of noise that fills the room between snare hits. The trick is getting the gates to open the ambient tracks musically at each snare hit. The gates need key inputs to accomplish this; stereo linking capability is extremely helpful. Patch the close-microphone snare track into the key input of the gates. A little tweaking of the gates′ threshold, attack, hold, and release settings enables the engineer to synthesize a ″gated room″ sound. Every snare hit is more powerful than can be captured with close and overhead microphones alone. The snare becomes a wide explosion of adrenaline-inducing noise, a phenomenon known to please music fans.
Gated rooms (and gated reverb, for that matter) need not conjure up the possibly bad memories of the hyped, synth-pop 1980′s music. Gated sounds were ″discovered″ and made popular in this distinct decade of music. Like the fashion and hairstyles of the time, the effect seems inappropriate today. It is important to note that the close-microphone track can be strengthened substantially by even a small amount of gated room sound, tucked almost subliminally into the mix. Used in this way, gated ambience still has relevance in the production contemporary music styles.
Naturally, the snare responds well to creative combinations and variations of any and all of the approaches discussed above.
Compressing the drum tracks for enhanced attack and stretched duration is not limited to the close snare track. This effect can be applied to room tracks, gated room tracks, and overhead tracks. Effects from subtle to aggressive are welcome.
A valuable alternative to natural room tracks is synthesized ambience — reverb (see Chapter 11). A short reverb, with a reverb time less than a second, adds duration to each snare sound, making it easier to hear. The spectral content of the reverb, from the metallic presence of a plate to the warm richness of a digital room emulation, alters the perceived spectral content of the snare sound accordingly. Reverb presents a good alternative to EQ for adjusting the spectral color of the snare sound. Compress and gate stereo and surround reverb returns (plate reverb is a common choice, but anything goes) to add width, distance, envelopment, duration, and caffeine to the snare.
Engineers should not be afraid to use studio devices that may not have been intended for drums. For example, it is not unusual at mixdown to send some of the snare track through a guitar amp. Be careful to adjust for impedance and keep careful control over levels. Use a reamping device or a passive direct injection (DI) box ″backwards,″ sending a very low-amplitude, low-impedance signal from the console through the DI and into the guitar amplifier. The passive DI will happily boost the amplitude and impedance of the signal into the sort of electrical signal that the guitar amp expects to see coming from a guitar.
At the amp, use radical EQ, distortion, spring reverb (generally only available in guitar amps), wah-wah pedals, and stereo ambient microphone techniques on the guitar amp to capture a wholly new snare sound. Make this the snare sound that pushes the mix along, or layer it in more subtly with the less-processed snare tracks.
Similarly, guitar amp simulators can create stereo, distorted noises from a snare track with a lot less headache. Think of these effects as hybrid distortion/compressor/equalizer combinations that welcome creative snare alterations.
A snare sound in its raw form — a burst of noise — represents the jumping off point for almost any kind of sound. The brief, broadband noise of the snare drum is a piece of granite awaiting the engineer′s chisel to be shaped. Target a specific musical goal for the snare sound, shape it along the dimensions of spectrum, envelope and image, and the vague opportunity of the snare drum becomes a refined source of production success.
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: ″D′yer Mak′er″
Album: Houses of the Holy
Label: Atlantic Records
Year: 1973
Notes: A touchstone for many engineers and drummers. Recipe: well-tuned drums, hit harder than most humans dare. Examples from this drummer abound, but this track is a favorite with exciting ambience through distant microphone placement.
Song: ″Closer″
Album: The Downward Spiral
Label: Nothing/Interscope
Year: 1994
Notes: Through gating and/or sampling, this snare is literally a burst of noise.
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Song: ″The Power of Equality″
Album: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Label: Warner Brothers Records
Year: 1991
Notes: Snare pulls right, with close microphone/ambient microphone differences left versus right.
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Song: ″Born in the USA″
Album: Born in the USA
Label: Columbia Records
Year: 1984
Notes: One of the first larger-than-life snare sounds in pop music. This is a studio-only creation, not available in the real world.
Artist: Tears for Fears
Song: ″Woman in Chains″
Album: The Seeds of Love
Label: Polygram Records, Inc.
Year: 1989
Notes: Snare plus reverb for very long duration in the intro.
Artist: U2
Song: ″Daddy′s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car″
Album: Zooropa
Label: Island Records
Year: 1993
Notes: Proof that there are no rules. This sounds like a gated guitar opening on each snare hit.
Artist: Spin Doctors
Song: ″Two Princes″
Album: Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Label: Epic Records
Year: 1991
Notes: Glorious room sound, gated. This sound is available only at Avatar Recording Studios in New York, NY.
Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble
Song: ″The Sky Is Crying″
Album: The Sky Is Crying
Year: 1991
Notes: Classic blues, with that lazy snare falling a hair late on the backbeat. Textbook application of plate reverb.
Artist: The Wallflowers
Song: ″One Headlight″
Album: Bringing Down the Horse
Label: Interscope
Year: 1996
Notes: Tight, great ring, seriously compressed. No cymbals but hi-hat for the entire tune, yet there is no lack of energy from the drums in any chorus.
Artist: XTC
Song: ″Here Comes President Kill Again″
Album: Oranges and Lemons
Label: Geffen
Year: 1989
Notes: Three different snare sounds by the first chorus.