Best Sounding Snare Sound EVER

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GooberNumber9
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Post by GooberNumber9 » Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:03 pm

That gives me the idea of suggesting my band call our next album "A Legitimate, Bar-Coded Release".

Sounds kinda dirty when you say it like that.

rickshawrecords
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Post by rickshawrecords » Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:27 am

I've found that when recording live bands, I can simply Photoshop the recorded waveforms to get the exact sound the client is looking for. I don't bother with sand, or anything like that.

I've also purchased 124 "pre-delay" effects and chained them together. This way, before the singer even gets to the session, his vocal tracks are already in the can, eliminating the need for time-consuming punch-ins while the rest of the band sits and waits.

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:02 pm

Just don't invite Lars over and you should be ok.

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Post by grockvt » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:13 pm

I suppose you are gating the room mics off the bottom snare mics? You might want to try gating the room mics off the triggered sounds through a sansamp...the harmonics will defiinitely give you a more 'analog" attack. The Phat 1130 is a pretty good opamp - heavy on the mids and really perfect for snare when pushed hard. I use a yellow-tiger modded unit into an ADA64000 (also yellow-tiger modded with the stonehenge clock). Have you tried running the tape at 0.5 speed and / or backwards? That can add a lot to a snare. Also, is the drummer using brushes for this ballad? Try several kinds of paint brushes from the home depot - I shit you not, you can get an awesome jazz sound that way.
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the finger genius
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Post by the finger genius » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:21 pm

A gunshot can be used to add some oomph to your snare.

Just make sure to then reamp that to trigger another gunshot.
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nopenopenope
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Post by nopenopenope » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:47 pm

ditch sand entirely and use hydrophobic sand. then, submerge the snare in water. everyone knows that since sound is a mechanical wave, it responds differently in water - lots of a natural high end roll off - makes a great warm sound. don't deal with that consumer level stuff like Squand - and even Magic Sand is just pro-sumer. You need the new GML A.H.S.R.S. (Anti-Hydro Sand Reaction System). It may look and feel a lot like lower grade hydrophobic sands, but it costs a lot more.

dsw
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Post by dsw » Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:01 am

Cryogenic Frozen Sand (at least minus 175) is the only way to align the molecules and thus realize the true benefit of the sand (structured bass, well defined sound stage, silky highs, and colorless mids).

You won't hear it at first. You have to allow for "burn in time."
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Post by Rabbit » Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:06 pm

JoshSites wrote:ditch sand entirely and use hydrophobic sand. then, submerge the snare in water. everyone knows that since sound is a mechanical wave, it responds differently in water - lots of a natural high end roll off - makes a great warm sound. don't deal with that consumer level stuff like Squand - and even Magic Sand is just pro-sumer. You need the new GML A.H.S.R.S. (Anti-Hydro Sand Reaction System). It may look and feel a lot like lower grade hydrophobic sands, but it costs a lot more.
Would the water need to be warmed then? I can't wait to try this but I'd like some input on water temperature.... I'd hate to waste water... and sand. :roll:

How about submerging the drummer? Has anyone tried this?

GooberNumber9
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Post by GooberNumber9 » Tue Dec 23, 2008 9:24 pm

Rabbit wrote:How about submerging the drummer? Has anyone tried this?
I'm pretty sure Dethklok did this during a recording session, but they deleted the session file after recording so we'll never know how it sounded. Apparently it wasn't "deep" enough.

dave watkins
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Post by dave watkins » Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:09 pm

if you want a really insane huge meaty snare sound you really need to ditch sand altogether as some have suggested. instead, take off the batter head fill the whole thing up with raw meat (yes you heard that right, it's the secret of the pros i tells you! they don't teach that shit at fullsail or whatever) put the head back on, make sure you tighten the lugs up unevenly (this is underlined to stress it's importance) so you get the most monstrous overtones ever. as and added bonus, at the end of a day long session, if the drummer is really good, the friction generated on the surface of the snare will slow cook the meat to a glorious perfection. sit back and listen to you amazing tracking session, take a big bite of your tender meat, and truly take a moment to appreciate your skills.

oh and i almost forgot, if you are a truly crafty engineer you can charge the band extra for catering costs, i do this for all of my high profile clients, it goes over really well.
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blackdiscoball
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Post by blackdiscoball » Wed Dec 24, 2008 8:37 am

Now someone on here before suggested using a fan to blow the air back on a guitarist while he did a sweet solo, so it could really fly in the wind and all. Would this do anything for a drummer?
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit » Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:11 pm

blackdiscoball wrote:Now someone on here before suggested using a fan to blow the air back on a guitarist while he did a sweet solo, so it could really fly in the wind and all. Would this do anything for a drummer?
With the water, sand and cooking meat blowing around I'm not sure the affect would be the same. Of course you could encourage the drummer to do his best imitation of a posing guitar player so that might help a bit.

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Post by Jess P » Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:21 pm

the finger genius wrote:A gunshot can be used to add some oomph to your snare.

Just make sure to then reamp that to trigger another gunshot.
+1 :D

MoreSpaceEcho
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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:04 pm

reamped triggered gunshots are soooo 80s.

just point a gun at the drummer.

dave watkins
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Post by dave watkins » Wed Dec 24, 2008 4:02 pm

and if you stick a contact mic on the chest of the drummer before you shoot him, you can get a really sick bass drum sound too. i shit you not.
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