This is a great series because it's not all about buying the 'top of line' kit from whatever manufacturer you favor. Let's be honest all the major manufactures make excellent sounding drums as do most of the boutique builders. This is about how to make whatever drums you have sound as good as they can. Well done Nick and Sweetwater.
Nick, you’re an amazing player and excellent presenter. I watch every single one of your Sweetwater videos because they’ve all taught me something worthwhile. I’d like to add something relevant to snare drum tuning: When I studied with Joe Morello I once asked him how to tune my snare and his response has carried me through many years and many snare drums. He said to tune the bottom head quite tight, as you did here, then to tune the top head about a perfect 4th lower (he said “think of the tune Here Comes the Bride”). Well darn if that hasn’t made every single one of the snares I’ve owned sound spectacular.
What a Master of explaining the basics in a fun way, this dude! I wish I had content of this type available to me when I first started playing! Thanks for these videos.
What’s in your dream drum kit? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to head over to Sweetwater for all things drums, percussion, and more! 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/Drums-Percussion
THANKS TO YOU!! Love all that you do and how musical you play and how you present music and gear and how you share your joy with it since my first Spock's Beard concert in 1999 in the Hafenbahn, Offenbach am Main, Germany! 💜🙏🤘 ...that was a pretty long sentence but it's also nearly 25 years :D
Man out of all the tips ive seen over 40 years of drumming this is without a doubt the best simplest and most effective way of getting the pitch you're looking for without having to go thru 8 dw's
He has a new way of explaining the snare,helpful even if today went to a jam my snare was not sounding the best,so will take some tips away. Thanks after I realise I have been playing for over 40yrs.
Nick, love your videos. The only problem I have when I am trying to get the sounds that many reviewers on the Interweb produce is that all the Drums are Micced. I would love to hear the drums Unmicced!. i stumbled upon a weird "Hack. I placed my DW Nickel over Brass 14 X 6.5 on top of my 16 X 14 Floor Tom (PDP Maple). I was so frustrated not being able to get the soound I wanted, I put the snare on the Tom to get it out of the way. When I hit the snare in a fill for the Helluva it, Bingo That was The Sound!! Ludwig Supraphonic , Bonham like sound. I use a HD Dry batter head and the stock Reso head. Same thing with the PFP maple 14 X 5.5 Snare! Take the drums off the Tom - it's not the same. The added benefit was that this "method" eliminated all Snare Buzz from the close by Toms. It's akin to Sound Engineering!. To qualify, I am a 71 yo, retired guy who resurrected playing after 50 Years [1969]. I play at home as a hobby /pleasure in retirement. I have learned so much form your videos of drums, drum heads, tuning, etc. I knew nothing of this way back when.
What I took away from this is, I can tune two lugs and drop my snare tuning…. I’ve always adjusted all the lugs, i didn’t know I could just adjust the two closest to my legs.
Hey, Robbo. It depends on the sound you’re looking to achieve. I personally don’t go too tight. If it’s too tight, all of the sensitivity will go away. You will want to find a balance. I hope this helps. Jason Thiele, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1391, jason_thiele@sweetwater.com
interesting. the tightness of the bottom/reso/snare-side head is always a matter of debate. You have it tabletop tight and when you made adjustments behind the kit you tuned it even tighter right? some say you take the life out of the drum when its too tight (choke). True? or not that much of an issue. would you generally recommend to have the bottom head tighter than the batter/top head?
Hey, Tending Tropic. It definitely is a debate. I personally like the bottom head to be on the tighter side. You get a bit more dynamics from the snare that way. It also will project better. I hope this helps. Jason Thiele, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1391, jason_thiele@sweetwater.com
How do you deal with buzzing snare wires. By buzzing, I mean they continue to rattle after the initial sound of the drum is gone. I don't want to get into having to use gels all the time. The snare is a Ludwig Universal Black Brass with die-cast rims, and an Evans G1 with an Evans snare side 300. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hey, Mark. Thanks for your interest. Ah yes, sympathetic snare buzz. You can’t really get rid of it completely but you can minimize it. It usually happens when the snare is tensioned too close in pitch to one of the toms, hence the word sympathetic. Deeper snare drums are also more prone to this happening. You will want to make sure the snare is not tuned too close in pitch to the toms. Don’t drive yourself too crazy. You don’t want to make the snare too dead. I hope this helps. Jason Thiele, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1391, jason_thiele@sweetwater.com
