Great vid and great timing. I am working on my 9 snare drums. New heads, take apart and polish, general overhaul. This is a great foundation for me for which to start. Thank you so much for posting.
The entire time I was watching your first video on this method and now this video, I was thinking that it was the silliest and most unnecessary thing I have ever heard of. Then I tried it. All I can say is thank you! It absolutely works and it’s a game changer for finicky snares that require more “perfect” snare bottom head treatments. Well done guys.
Heading to my drum dungeon,this technique I have to try,I've have always tensioned by ear and feel,this way is totallydifferent.thank you for your information
Great video! I really appreciate how you defined all your terms at the beginning. It really made everything easy to understand. I’ve been using the ruler method since you guys first showed it, and it’s been working very well for me. Thanks for all the great info!
Interesting man, Tomorrow I'll try the ruler method for the snare Reso. I normally tune in general with a Drum Dial, ear and finger pressure on each lug to fine tune on the way up.
So I had some time to use the measure technique on my Supraphonic while doing some recording yesterday. The change in how that drum recorded before and after was really extraordinary. I’ll preface what I found by first saying that while I’ve spent a fair amount of time playing in the studio, I’m a total newbie to the engineering/tech side of it and there’s more I don’t know vs what I do. Before even recording it, the most obvious change to my ear was the increased amount of sensitivity and resonance the drum had. Under the mics, that was ever more noticeable. But the biggest surprise was with how that little change totally cleaned up the picture. When isolating the top and bottom snare mics, the drum sounded open, resonant, and “clear”. The crazier thing was that it was equally noticeable with all the mics on. Best I can discern is that the wonky overtones you’d normally get from uneven wire tension across the head creates a lot more “noise” in the raw recording. So while there’s still the typical snare wire buzz that happens as you play other drums, it’s clean and open. All the weirdness of ambient overtones bleeding into other mics and interacting with other drums was eliminated. Again, as a complete newbie to the engineering side of things, there’s now so much less to have to sort out when approaching the actual mix. It makes it much less overwhelming and intimidating, and that’s a big deal!!
So I have some questions for this video. Do you measure the height of the snare head in between the tension rods in between the snare bed only? Also, when he first started he said he needed to measure the tension rods adjacent to the snare wires, does that change based on how wide the snare bed is?
This is full of lots of great information. I would love to have more video of the ruler in the correct location on the snare side head with voiceover. I'm still confused about what the ruler actually touches, the head or the bearing edge?
The ruler should be sitting atop the head at the bearing edge. You're looking for consistency in the height of the counter hoop above the bearing edge. This is shown several times throughout this episode.
I have a question about the point at which we measure. Do we place the base of the ruler on the bearing edge, and then measure to the top of the hoop? I found it quite hard to see exactly what was happening with the ruler in the video.
Hi again Cody (or Ben). Just joined the Patreon. Your content is invaluable. Question (if you have the time): I just acquired a 70s supraphonic in fantastic condition, practically no pitting, all original. First time using one. First experience with a Ludwig believe it or not. I tried putting a new Evans snare side 300 on it using your ruler technique (2.0). i cleaned and lubricated t-rods, set the head as evenly as possible (the snugness seems inconsistent around the bearing edge, some wobble, but seats down well enough when I press it down a little). I finger tightened, performed turns, and checked the heights only to find they're dramatically different on the throw vs butt plate side. In fact, the hoop height is visibly different (>~ a half cm). Submitting more thread visible on the t-rods on the naturally low side than on the side I'm trying to bring down, suggesting there is (in theory) much more tension being applied on that side. I have to apply what seems like an inappropriate amount of tension on the high side taking it way out of range of where I'd expect to be finding even pitch, in order to bring it down to match the lower height. I'm applying almost no tension beyond finger tight on the low side, they're just barely clinging. Normally I'd worry about the drum being out of round, but is that something that can even happen with a supra? It looks true to my eye, as do the hoops, though I haven't measured them. Next, I'd worry about the head being bad, but I've never had a wonky head from Evans before. New Ludwig X thin snare side head on the way in case that's the issue. Is it possible the head is sliding off to one side after seating the hoop for some reason? What could cause this and how can I remedy it? Drum doesn't sound to bad. Some swuirliness and extra noise from the wires, but it could be my knot/uneven wire tension to blame rather than the head. Or it could be the tremendous dissonance in tension/pitch causing it...
I have a question, in my experience with using tension based tools to tune a head,(like tention watch for example), I found after starting developing my ears a bit better on hearing pitch, that if you put the same amount of tention on a lug around the drum, it doesn't mean that the pitch is going to be the same.So, how acurate is that method when you're trying to tune all the lugs at the same pitch in any drum of course and not only bottom SD head?
@@SoundsLikeADrum I know it'll be spot on, and I especially like snare related videos, since they helped me a lot to obtain and understand how to tune them effectively. By the way, what about making a video about 10" "baby" snares?
I somehow have a memory of you mentioning an actual product that orchestral percussionists use to achieve the same effect. Is that something that's available to buy? Perhaps SLAD should design and market their own. I'd buy a dozen
Shouldn’t bend with this since this is making it even all around. The snare should by at the same high everywhere so it wouldn’t be bent unless it was bent already
I see you guys are using the pure sound straps. I know in earlier videos you guys said you were partial to string for it's superior elasticity/extensibility. Do you guys still feel that way, or has sentiment changed?
We use the straps on the Custom Pro series (with the quick release cotter pins) but strings for everything else. That’s just our preference after setting up hundreds of drums and experimenting with most of the snare wires on the market.
You never mentioned what measurements you're using. I can get them all within 1mm of each other. Do they all need to be at the exact same millimeter height?
Do you have a video discussing number of port holes on a drum and how that effects it? I have been considering adding one or two more port holes to my pdp concept wood hoop kit because it has a beach ball sound sometimes. Any thoughts ??? I looked up on RUclips and there is nothing about it
Do you mean ports in the shell of the drum? Nope, we've yet to explore that topic but, generally speaking, ports allow more air to escape creating a drier and louder sound. Porting drum shells may or may not help with some of those weird overtones, which tend to come from the internal shell symmetry. We've explored a couple of non-invasive hacks to help mitigate these issues in previous episodes including this one: ruclips.net/video/Ljt3kpQsgPc/видео.html
@@SoundsLikeADrum I’m trying to avoid a beach ball sound So ya My shell has one port pdp I heard noble and Cooley puts a bunch of vents on their toms or something. I must be crazy
The only thing I don't like about this is that using a combination square for this purpose is quite cumbersome. You need to be very careful not to damage the head with the metal edges of the ruler and you can easily mess up the measurements as well when you're not placing the square correctly. Ideally there would be something like a snare head gauge specifically designed for that purpose. I would add quite a heavy baseplate that sits and slides nicely on the head without holding it. Then you can just push the device's edge to the hoop and move it around. When calibrated properly to the hoops top edge, it will just laser-measure the distance automatically at every position. Maybe I'm building some prototype 😂
You can use any sort of measurement device- we just happened to take this approach for the video. We’ve even used devices designed for guitar setups (Cody is also an adept guitar technician).
I like mine tight to sound like straight high "BAT" Sound from snare with not so much res..I do play alot of hiphop. Maybe that's why idk..I need 2 snares 4 Real so I can interchange...but that snare sounds great I like it.
![“Fixing” Your Snare Sound [Step by Step] | Season Five, Episode 40](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xosBfmxmm40/mqdefault.jpg)
Great vid and great timing. I am working on my 9 snare drums. New heads, take apart and polish, general overhaul. This is a great foundation for me for which to start. Thank you so much for posting.
@@BeesWaxMinder It’s (N+1)-D, where N is what you’ve got and D is the point at which your significant other dumps you.
The entire time I was watching your first video on this method and now this video, I was thinking that it was the silliest and most unnecessary thing I have ever heard of. Then I tried it. All I can say is thank you! It absolutely works and it’s a game changer for finicky snares that require more “perfect” snare bottom head treatments. Well done guys.
Remains the single most life-changing technique you guys have talked about on here! Great update 😊
I agree wholeheartedly!
Using a small combination square for this would eliminate any parallax error from looking at the ruler from different angles.
This comment should be pinned!
This is ironic because I just bought a new reso head for my snare.
Just in time for me to tune it correctly!
Thanks guys!
Heading to my drum dungeon,this technique I have to try,I've have always tensioned by ear and feel,this way is totallydifferent.thank you for your information
I love these videos, there Very professional, very informative.
This makes so much sense! Definitely going to try this soon!
I've been using this method for couple of months. thanks for sharing.
Perfect breakdown of the method!
Great video! I really appreciate how you defined all your terms at the beginning. It really made everything easy to understand. I’ve been using the ruler method since you guys first showed it, and it’s been working very well for me. Thanks for all the great info!
I've never considered the ruler technique. Thanks for this, going to try it the next time I replace a snareside head.
Interesting man, Tomorrow I'll try the ruler method for the snare Reso.
I normally tune in general with a Drum Dial, ear and finger pressure on each lug to fine tune on the way up.
So I had some time to use the measure technique on my Supraphonic while doing some recording yesterday. The change in how that drum recorded before and after was really extraordinary. I’ll preface what I found by first saying that while I’ve spent a fair amount of time playing in the studio, I’m a total newbie to the engineering/tech side of it and there’s more I don’t know vs what I do.
Before even recording it, the most obvious change to my ear was the increased amount of sensitivity and resonance the drum had. Under the mics, that was ever more noticeable. But the biggest surprise was with how that little change totally cleaned up the picture. When isolating the top and bottom snare mics, the drum sounded open, resonant, and “clear”. The crazier thing was that it was equally noticeable with all the mics on. Best I can discern is that the wonky overtones you’d normally get from uneven wire tension across the head creates a lot more “noise” in the raw recording. So while there’s still the typical snare wire buzz that happens as you play other drums, it’s clean and open. All the weirdness of ambient overtones bleeding into other mics and interacting with other drums was eliminated. Again, as a complete newbie to the engineering side of things, there’s now so much less to have to sort out when approaching the actual mix. It makes it much less overwhelming and intimidating, and that’s a big deal!!
So I have some questions for this video. Do you measure the height of the snare head in between the tension rods in between the snare bed only? Also, when he first started he said he needed to measure the tension rods adjacent to the snare wires, does that change based on how wide the snare bed is?
This is full of lots of great information.
I would love to have more video of the ruler in the correct location on the snare side head with voiceover. I'm still confused about what the ruler actually touches, the head or the bearing edge?
The ruler should be sitting atop the head at the bearing edge. You're looking for consistency in the height of the counter hoop above the bearing edge. This is shown several times throughout this episode.
I have a question about the point at which we measure.
Do we place the base of the ruler on the bearing edge, and then measure to the top of the hoop?
I found it quite hard to see exactly what was happening with the ruler in the video.
Hi again Cody (or Ben). Just joined the Patreon. Your content is invaluable.
Question (if you have the time):
I just acquired a 70s supraphonic in fantastic condition, practically no pitting, all original. First time using one. First experience with a Ludwig believe it or not.
I tried putting a new Evans snare side 300 on it using your ruler technique (2.0). i cleaned and lubricated t-rods, set the head as evenly as possible (the snugness seems inconsistent around the bearing edge, some wobble, but seats down well enough when I press it down a little). I finger tightened, performed turns, and checked the heights only to find they're dramatically different on the throw vs butt plate side. In fact, the hoop height is visibly different (>~ a half cm). Submitting more thread visible on the t-rods on the naturally low side than on the side I'm trying to bring down, suggesting there is (in theory) much more tension being applied on that side. I have to apply what seems like an inappropriate amount of tension on the high side taking it way out of range of where I'd expect to be finding even pitch, in order to bring it down to match the lower height. I'm applying almost no tension beyond finger tight on the low side, they're just barely clinging. Normally I'd worry about the drum being out of round, but is that something that can even happen with a supra? It looks true to my eye, as do the hoops, though I haven't measured them. Next, I'd worry about the head being bad, but I've never had a wonky head from Evans before. New Ludwig X thin snare side head on the way in case that's the issue. Is it possible the head is sliding off to one side after seating the hoop for some reason? What could cause this and how can I remedy it?
Drum doesn't sound to bad. Some swuirliness and extra noise from the wires, but it could be my knot/uneven wire tension to blame rather than the head. Or it could be the tremendous dissonance in tension/pitch causing it...
I love the ruler method! Been waiting for an update since the first one was out! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! Love this! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
Thanks!
Getting some Deftones - Passenger vibes from that beat 7min mark. Cool video man I will try this and see how ti goes.
Bruh … what kind of hats are those 😍 🔥
Much obliged
I have a question, in my experience with using tension based tools to tune a head,(like tention watch for example), I found after starting developing my ears a bit better on hearing pitch, that if you put the same amount of tention on a lug around the drum, it doesn't mean that the pitch is going to be the same.So, how acurate is that method when you're trying to tune all the lugs at the same pitch in any drum of course and not only bottom SD head?
As usual I give a thumb up even before watching the video.
Well shoot! We appreciate your faith!
@@SoundsLikeADrum I know it'll be spot on, and I especially like snare related videos, since they helped me a lot to obtain and understand how to tune them effectively. By the way, what about making a video about 10" "baby" snares?
Hail Satan.
@@chewygad7899 lol
Awesome video
I’ve tried this with an index card didn’t have a 📏 when I first saw your past video. Have to say the snare buzz has been lovely on my snares
is there any impact when the tom is 11,75inch instead of 12 for the tuning?
I somehow have a memory of you mentioning an actual product that orchestral percussionists use to achieve the same effect. Is that something that's available to buy? Perhaps SLAD should design and market their own. I'd buy a dozen
I think I bent my die cast snare side hoop doing this. Is that normal?
This is less common with die cast hoops but certainly possible. The amount of bend should be quite minimal given the amount of resistance.
@@SoundsLikeADrum thanks 👍🏻
Shouldn’t bend with this since this is making it even all around. The snare should by at the same high everywhere so it wouldn’t be bent unless it was bent already
I see you guys are using the pure sound straps. I know in earlier videos you guys said you were partial to string for it's superior elasticity/extensibility. Do you guys still feel that way, or has sentiment changed?
We use the straps on the Custom Pro series (with the quick release cotter pins) but strings for everything else. That’s just our preference after setting up hundreds of drums and experimenting with most of the snare wires on the market.
@@SoundsLikeADrum thanks for clarifying. Your content is unmatched in it's utility and honesty
You never mentioned what measurements you're using. I can get them all within 1mm of each other. Do they all need to be at the exact same millimeter height?
The resolution is really up to you based on what you can consistently see and adjust to. We use 1/16th of an inch.
Do you have a video discussing number of port holes on a drum and how that effects it?
I have been considering adding one or two more port holes to my pdp concept wood hoop kit because it has a beach ball sound sometimes. Any thoughts ???
I looked up on RUclips and there is nothing about it
Do you mean ports in the shell of the drum? Nope, we've yet to explore that topic but, generally speaking, ports allow more air to escape creating a drier and louder sound. Porting drum shells may or may not help with some of those weird overtones, which tend to come from the internal shell symmetry. We've explored a couple of non-invasive hacks to help mitigate these issues in previous episodes including this one: ruclips.net/video/Ljt3kpQsgPc/видео.html
@@SoundsLikeADrum I’m trying to avoid a beach ball sound
So ya
My shell has one port pdp
I heard noble and Cooley puts a bunch of vents on their toms or something.
I must be crazy
@@TessaAnderson See the cotton ball method on this channel. Works for me.
The only thing I don't like about this is that using a combination square for this purpose is quite cumbersome.
You need to be very careful not to damage the head with the metal edges of the ruler and you can easily mess up the measurements as well when you're not placing the square correctly.
Ideally there would be something like a snare head gauge specifically designed for that purpose. I would add quite a heavy baseplate that sits and slides nicely on the head without holding it. Then you can just push the device's edge to the hoop and move it around. When calibrated properly to the hoops top edge, it will just laser-measure the distance automatically at every position.
Maybe I'm building some prototype 😂
You can use any sort of measurement device- we just happened to take this approach for the video. We’ve even used devices designed for guitar setups (Cody is also an adept guitar technician).
God I love this channel! Too bad I already spent $ on all those other gadgets. 😬🤣
I like mine tight to sound like straight high "BAT" Sound from snare with not so much res..I do play alot of hiphop. Maybe that's why idk..I need 2 snares 4 Real so I can interchange...but that snare sounds great I like it.