Music Production - How To Get A Great Snare Sound on Your Recordings 

I really enjoy how you focused on the mechanics side of the recording and the drums rather than the mixing side. It shows that it has more to do with the instrument than the way it's mixed. Something I'm trying to convey to my band mates. In music, you can't polish a turd.

You can also modulate the pitch of a rimshot depending on where you hit (and how thick that portion of the stick is)...doesn’t always have to be dead center. One of my prouder moments in my old band was I switched from a lower (center) rimshot to a higher one for different sections of the song based on the harmony of different sections. I don’t know if anyone ever noticed but it sounded a lot better to me.

LOL! Rigby Otto is the closed caption translation of your name. Gold.

"It's got a lot of Bonham end" 11:11

So I dig out my Shinedown CD, look at the back, " *produced by Rick Beato", cool! Thanks for the great vids!!

Great Vid...Sir you seem to be one of the only Pro's on RU-vid , who are actually teaching us relevant information on production techniques in an organized and concise manner, without any name dropping or BS. Thank you for sharing...

Hitting consistent rim shots is all in the positioning of the snare. The snare should be set so that a well-practiced stroke (like a full Moeller Stroke) always lands as a rim shot. This takes the guess work out of the rim shot allowing the drummer to effortlessly play rim shots (I've been drumming for 18 years). Unfortunately, it's too late to develop this once the drummer is in the studio, but it might be something worth mentioning if the drummer is hitting inconsistent rim shots and doesn't have a fragile ego (yeah, right).

Great content on this channel! Drummers with limited budgets: placing a full sheet of regular printer paper on your snare head will also work if you literally have nothing to dampen your snare. Just lay it right in the middle. Add another sheet or 2 if you want more dampening. Again, this is the cheapest, last resort method, but it works.

Oh man, you produced Needtobreathe's The Reckoning. I Love this record. Amazing Job, Congrats!

I wish this was out many moons ago. Over 30 years to figure out a lot of this. But not some of the finer details. Great knowledge and communication.

The Beatle’s “HELP!” seems to be the most obvious example of a Beatle’s Snare tuned to the tonic “A”. Very cool.

Lars Ulrich has left the chat.

First step to get a good sound for recording 1. Step: buy a Ludwig Supraphonic. You're done.

I really like your videos, your personnality and authenticity. You will help a lot of musicians in the process. Thank you!

Thanks, great info, especially tuning the snare wire to the tempo of the song.

Very helpful thank you! I'm a songwriter adding snare hits into my acoustic songs and I had a friend (drummer) come tune my snare for me, but I wasn't sure if the higher frequency "ring" on my snare that I can now hear meant i had stray frequencies, but now i realize that ring is supposed to be there. Some dampening should do the trick for me.

That was probably the most comprehensive snare overview! Learned a lot, thx!

Bill Bruford was the king of the rimshot. This was very informative, thanks!

Great video, as a retired live engineer I appreciate your insight. I learned stuff and felt vindicated at the same time.

You can go to a dollar store and but holiday window stickies. You can cut the 4 leaf clover, hearts, or whatevs, into rectangle, if ya want. Works just like a Moon gel, for a fraction of the cost. A pack costs a buck, obviously!

I knew all of this with the exception of tightening and loosening the snares for different tempos. I always tighten them up and add reverb for slow songs instead. I’m going to have to try that. This is why I watch these things. You can always learn more.

you can think of rimshotting as a way of EQing from the throne. Pick what you need based on what the snare mix needs, rimshot is much louder than center hit btw. shell punch: 250hz - rim + center top head tang: 500-700hz- rim +center rim crack: 1-2khz- rimshot only snare wires: 5-10k - rim + center

Thanks for turning me on to Crowfield. I like his voice. It reminds me of Burton Cummings and he is my favorite vocalist.

I would add two things to this great lesson: 99.8% of the time, you want to flip polarity on the bottom snare mic. Also, the SDC mic should be cardioid and have a -10 pad. You don't want to use omni SDC's for snare.

7:10 very nice. My preferred sound. I'm a rimshotter

I know it’s thee years old, but it’s still very relevant and useful. Thanks Rick.

Man, I love those snare drum sounds. Your right about the Ludwig BB snare, been around since the seventies.

Man, I love Shinedown. It's great to hear you produced them. Love from Poland!

Black Beauty's are brass. I like the 6 1/2" Superphonic Chrome Steel snare sound

Im a self taught drummer and only just learned what a rimshot actually is. I didn't know people hit the rim and the center at the same time. I'm watching dave grohl play drums now and it's quite noticeable now. I always thought a rimshot was hitting outside of the center near the edge of the rim

Love it :) - Really amazing how the emphasis is on the drum tuning, sound of the drum and then mic placement rather than what microphone to use, compared to 95% percent of what is found on the net!!

All I ever play and have ever played is rim shots! I don't miss! Been playing for 50 years! 👍 Great video!!

Hi Rick, we're in my place now! Drums and snare work; I tune the bottoms up (tight) and the tops lower. I trained myself to do both and you are so right, rim shots are a task to hit. A good drummer should be able to do both, i don't class myself that high but i can do both and stick control is so important. So to learn I took the classical/jazz route as it was more than demanding to my ears than most rock stuff and pop i thought had now just become the realm of machines and samples. Hal Blaine explained that the snare use should be crisp and definable from anything else and give your own sound individuality. I use Ambassador X and Remo coated. I took the original snare off of a 14" X 6 1/2 " snare (brass) and put on a 40 strand snare and had it looser than before. (this is to emulate Bonzo's 402 Super Ludvig ). Does that make sense to you? But I love it!

There’s two kind of drummers, those who hit the drums and those who play the drums. ;)

For Mia is one of my favorite tracks that you did. It has an amazing harmony before the chorus. I would like to see you dissect this song! Thanks for everything, Rick!

I have the exact same kit in that finish and the exact same snare. Love the combination

Rick, again it amazes me your willingness to share real-world knowledge of the record production process. In the recording realm, drums have been a fascination for me since . . . well, a very long time. I know some drummers to actually lay a bead of calk or silicone on the drum head, just off the rim - to varying lengths, as required. I once, for the lack of any gate, and to achieve an effect, used canvass tympani covers on rack toms. It's one of those "don't look at the drums!" situations. Thank you for making these tutorials. I know if I ever allow myself to become unteachable - that I already know enough, I will quickly be of no value to anything or anyone whose life depends on making music.

That fundamental is around Ab, the prominent overtone is Eb

felt furniture feet can achieve the same effect as Moon Gel and costs pennies comparatively. Great video!

ah hah! bottom miking too. I had tried both separately but not together. Thank you!

When Rick Beato just casually mentions all the artists he recorded 5:59, and every drum kit sounds absolutely amazing for the song, you realize just how much of a genius he is!

Thanks for sharing so much wisdom, Rick. I especially liked how you went through the tracks and commented on each snare sound. Interesting point about snare length and song tempo.

If your Lars a large pasta pot is ideal. Ps im not a drummer but I could amuse myself for hours with just that snare sounds so good.

Love the snare on Shinedown track. Also I saw Junp little Children here in charlotte in 97. They were very popular here,. SLAM..great dums! wow.

Amazing Mr. B. You are a great teacher. ✌️

Your channel is incredible. Thanks for all the wisdom and knowledge you share.

Lots of great bands in the examples that never released the albums. So sad!! Same thing happened to my band in 2017. Thanks for the great content Rick!

Informative vid. Another advantage to recording rim shots is the pre amp gain doesn't have to be very high ( relatively speaking) as rimshots are louder than center snare hits. By having the gain lower the hi hat bleed into the snare mic is reduced... always a bonus. Cheers.

"We're in this Together Now" by Nine Inch Nails is a great example of how tuning the snare to a pitch can be a focal point of the song.

Thank you! Great video....really helping with my schooling at Berklee.

Saw Bad Company years ago. The drummer, Simon Kirke was playing one of these. That sound rang out and cut through the rest of the band unlike anything I've ever heard.

Hi Rick, I'm really glad I've found your channel. Ive tried many methods for drum tuning and have never really found a great method.......until now!!! I had a horrible gig last week all because I couldn't find a good sound for my pearl Joey Jordison signature snare. I've watched your video, tuned it up and it sounds better than it ever has. I have a gig tonight and can't wait. You've also solved the mystery of why my bottom lug always comes undone! (I'm a rim shotter and I'm not afraid to admit it) keep up the good work!

Thanks for all of these helpful tutorials, Rick. They are so helpful.

Jump, Little Children... Man, you just went up even further past the 100% esteem I already had for ya.

your musical depth and breath continues to impress! was enough just playing the larry carlton solo off the steely dan video, but you are all over the map kinda good!

Major label records are rarely removed from YT nowadays (at least the number of them I dealt with). They just get monetized by the rights' owners and you can further have'em in your videos. So give it a try, it would be very interesting to hear you big works!

Had a drummer in our band for almost 17 years. At the end of the night, it looked like a family of beavers lived behind his set!

One thing that wasn’t discussed that I have seen done before four extreme metal records is having super loose snare wires which gives the snare sound a shorter more drum heavy sound. I suppose it has to do with the mic placement not picking up the wires when they are so loose. Take for example cattle decapitation. You barely even hear the snare wires in some of their songs

I dig all your videos, but the one’s you’ve done on drums (how to get a phat bass sound, this one) have been really interesting as a drummer. Love you work!

Bro this is actually really helpful and informative thanks man

You named off a small handful of my friends down here in Charleston that’s really cool man I didn’t know that you were involved with their projects! Thank you for everything you do Mr. Rick!

This channel is one of a few music class I take. Thank you for making so much good content

The snare on “lover you shoulda come over” Buckley is superb. The snare on roundabout Yes has way too much ring

I thought the supraphonic was the most recorded... and I swear I heard that from you on another video Rick. But maybe I’m crazy

Keep going, Rick! All of your videos are so dope.

No one has ever given me the time to correctly find tone on the drums. If I were to experiment with all of these snare factors I would go on for @ 3 days. I will by choice and consideration of the time, choose a mike and placement for the sound that I wish to hear!

You mention Josh Freese. I recorded at a studio where he had also recorded. A few of his used sticks were left behind. They were clean at the grip and tip but totally chewed up in the middle where, the producer told me, Freese smacked a consistent rimshot on each hit.

How did he get the Eb pitch? I honestly don't hear the Eb. I hear dominating frequenices such as F, D and a little bit of C at the tail of the sound. Is it just me? I'm not questioning ears at all but I just don't hear an Eb.

Man, you did an awesome job matching the snare sound to the song on most of those tracks. Great video.

John Bonham was not a rimshot drummer but he was one of the best deceiving & playing behind the pocket' drummers out there. Again, Ludwig 402 Supraphonic in my opinion is the best bang for your buck when it comes to overall sounding quality snare drums!

I like how your channel went from music production to more of a, shall I say, music connoisseur channel. That being said, I have purchased your Beato Book, and have learned a lot from your channel, in regards to both aspects. I remember when you reached your first 1M subs, and I look forward to seeing you reach 4M. Cheers!

great technical tips and nice to hear from your ( recording ) perspective. thx

Great Video Rick. I love that you covered a lot about the snare drum itself and the value of rim shots vs center hits. That is solid gold advice. I've found the height and angle of the snare to the drummer makes rimshots arrive much more naturally. I've been experimenting with a Yamaha 13x4 maple snare with a frosted pinstripe head. I like the rim shot sound it makes.

Wow your live room sounds amazing!!!! Great video, love that there is no bullshit filler.

Dude. I had a critical comment..but held back cause i luv ur channel. Radio ready is never good. Seriously. Luv the channel.

Why didn’t the Airspace album not come out? Those guys sounded awesome.

Oh yeah mic - I mic top and bottom, and sometimes a 57 to the rim, another to the centre base and to the edge in line with the rim.

Thanks for the share, I will try the two microphones on my snare.

Thank you mr Rick . a technicien of Sound from Morocco

3:27 "Anybody that grew up listening to Led Zeppelin is a rimshotter" Called me out 👀

For home studio work it can be more efficient as far as quality/expense ratio to work with just three mics. It’s great to have the option of using ten mics on a kit but with a bit of experimentation you can get very usable recordings with two overheads and one kick mic facing the reso bass head. A condenser along with the kick mic in front as well can really ad more detail if you can manage a fourth mic. Great channel tho! Just found it.

finally. somebody who gets indie rock! thanks Rick.

Very-very nice material, just would like to listen to the examples in full quality (stereo studio recording, not roomy cam mic sound from monitors). I understand it's time-consuming (I do it myself), but it would be so much better! Looking forward to new series!

Don't want to use masking tape either. It will rattle when the drummer hits the snare. Took us awhile to find what was making the rattle first time we used it. Moon gel is awesome.

Certain things I never knew existed as facts! Thanks for the great educational video!

Watching for he second time Rick great sounds! A lot of tips you give that I already do myself in my studio, the Wow effect on guitars, the attention to detail regarding snare de tuning and tuning it to the song etc nice to know I'm doing some things right! The track by Essex has a little bit of Kings X ''Fool You'' vibe to it.

Could you make a clip of how they get that snare sound on a song by Amy Winehouse called "Moody's mood for love", it has like a ska or dub sound which is so distinctive and reminiscent of that genre.

Thank you for making videos... Your channel is one of my favorites right now! By the way, waiting for the day you will make a CLA Drums Mixing Technique!

This is wildly helpful man, thank you for putting this together!

Man, I love your content. Great work. Very informative. Thank you!

I put a die cast hoop on mine, love it

A rimshot is a stick technique used to produce an accent. It is not a style of drumming. Ringo Starr used more rimshots than John Bonham. Dave Grohl used a lot of flams, but never rimshots. They are more popular in funk and r&b nowadays, but can be heard pretty extensively in classic 60's pop and surf rock.

I had no idea anthony bourdain played drums

There's a guy on Reverb that 3D prints the 57/SDC pair clips and sells them for like $12 as I recall? It's nice and firm, but has just enough give, to fit several different SDC's I have that are different diameters. It fits my 451's, my Slate ML-2, my Lewitt LTC-140 Air's which are thicker and my Blue Hummingbirds which are a little thicker even still. He also happened to live about 4 miles from me (I live in L.A. So it's not a shocker), but I had him print me some SM57 90 degree angle converters. I think I paid $15 for each of them. I have Audix D2's, D4's and D6's that I really like on toms as well as some other of the usual suspects and cool choices, but when I really want to get some extra transient out of the toms, for instance if I'm recording something that will be heavy on the room mics and we're using coated tom heads, 57's are an often overlooked, but excellent choice for toms. The only downfall being their size (though they're still smaller than 421's and in my humble opinion I think they sound better on toms. The 90 degree angle converters make them easier to place on virtually anything. Both are a good investment. He makes a clip for XY miking of overheads with SDC's as well as a clip for the angle used in the ORTF technique which I can't say I've ever bothered trying. XY with SDC's and a wide spread pair of LDC's get's me plenty of stereo spread, He also makes better clips for 421's. Because the stock 421 clips are kinda the worst. He makes a few others for various miking techniques, but the 57/sdc clip and the 57 90 degree converters have come to be indispensable for me. His Reverb store is called "Soundcast Studios".

I don't necessarily believe one would need a specific kind of snare drum or need to hit rimshots to sound more like a rock band. Rick Beato ! You have seriously got me thinking about this, I'm recording a rock album and my band and I certainly don't intend on sounding like an indie band... in fact the thought kind of grosses me out! We use lots of distortion, guitar solos, heavy vocals, and lots of differentiated drumming.. and when I asked the drummer about rimshots, this was the first he had ever heard of non-rimshots to sound 'indie'. Is it seriously necessary? I don't want to sound like an indie band, we want to make quality produced rock music. I'm just so confused by this rim-shot thing :(

Thanks Rick love these informational videos keep them coming

Wow so much and great information. Thank you so much señor Rick!!

Great work...I am amazed of the productions and the music that you produced...wow, very impressive, massive, open sound...that is something that I would love to achieve someday...Regards!

why the album of aerospace does never came out; That was very good track. Is something that i can do to listen or buy the whole song that you played as an example;

love it or hate it but the snare sound in black album sounds massive