STOP Making This One Snare Tuning Mistake | HIGH vs LOW Tunings With a Cheap Snare

If you feel like your snare sounds mediocre, the tuning strategies we’re covering today will solve that for you and get your drum sounding professional. Today we’re tuning up a super basic, cheap drum to show you that you absolutely CAN make any snare drum sound great. This is snare tuning 101, and maybe even 201. We’re going to get your snare in tune and sounding amazing by covering top head tuning, resonant head tuning, and snare tension optimization. We’re also troubleshooting common issues that come up with snare drums, like… Getting rid of annoying ring without using muffling, deadening a low-tuned snare without muffling, and using a special trick to get rid of any kind of ring without choking out your drum. If your snare is cheap, know that you can make it sound way better than you’d think with some basic tuning skills. Enjoy!

We’re also comparing a metal snare with a wood snare, an 8 lug snare with a 10 lug snare, steel shell versus maple shell, and 6.5” depth vs 5.5” depth. These two drums we’re tuning up today are different in every way, regardless of “cheapness.” I hope your snare will relate more or less to one of these so that you’ll learn some strategies for approaching the snare sound you’ve been looking for. Whether you’re wanting high and ringy or low and deep…or anywhere in between… these methods will get you there. We troubleshoot every issue that comes our way, and we don’t stop until we get the sound we want. That’s why this video is 27 minutes long. :)

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PureSound snare wires:

Tuning key drill bit

VIDEO LINKS…
Is it WRONG to Tape Snare Wires?

This is the LOWEST You Can Tune a Snare Drum

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[DerekZane]

The light bulb of genius I got from this was using 2 drum keys at once. GENIUS! Thanks, Stephen

[Earthdogbonzo]

I like your little tutorial: simple, clear and concise.
Everything here that's available to anyone, took me decades of trial and error to develop, understand and approach mastering. Back in the days of long ago history, one listened to vinyl records for hours and hours on end. There were no 'How To' books or anything, and I didn't dare ask anyone for their 'secret'. I went to their gigs, paid the $2 or $4 admission price, got a beer and paid attention like I was in class. Eventually what I did learn in my little part of the world was that the musical voice fluttering round in my head I would have to bring about on my own.
I like internal 'Tone Arms', but those came off in the 80s. Tuning & attack; personal taste; room acoustics; venue acoustics; individual drum & equipment personalities . . . .are just a few major points. Drum sound has three basic parts: relative pitch, percussive presence and ambient sustain or passive ring.
I rather fancy the cheap 8lug metal snare drum, to me it has more projection, sound body and presence. Keep up the good work.

[gibby]

WARNING! Based on personal experience, the bottom head will affect the fine tuning on the top head! If you are wanting to be precise with your tuning, fine tune the bottom head first then the top. Great video with excellent advice, just thought I’d mention that just in case.

[lpfan]

Your drum videos are very helpful, to the point, and not mixed in with any frills or wastes of time. So as a beginner drummer, I thank you and am proud to be NonGlamorous!

[Chiroman]

I notice for the snare side head, you have clear drum head - Evans - I think. Mine are coated. Does this matter ? I have cheap drum kit which my wife got for me for 2018 Xmas. I'm taking them up after a 50 year hiatus! Love that I did that. I'm 68 years old, and got the BUG again - NOT COVID, the music BUG !!Practice, Practice, Practice !!!

[joshbain]

I made one of those bracelet ring things to put on my snare to cancel out the long ring. It worked perfectly!!

[ajgdrums]

For the bottom head, I usually use the JoJo Mayer method. Cranked up super high, and then slowly tune down around the snares until you get the response you want

[texxred]

Thanks bro - for years I had the bottom head too low- sold good snare drums I wish I had back. When the bottom head is good and tight the top head will tune easier and start sounding like a real snare drum.

[Noteven]

Good Call Bro! That Was Exactly What Was Wrong With My Snare, It Sounds Badass Now!!
Thank You!!!

[ellielli]

I love tuning my snare in a medium - high or high ringy tuning because I can get better flam in that tuning and when Hitting the toms it has less buzz

[phillipsnell]

I use an evans tom ring if i want to reduce overtones on certain songs and take it off to change the sound on other songs. Works great for me. Plus i recommend an evans coated hydraulic head.

[CirclesandSounds]

Thank you for this! I’ve been playing drums for 35 years, professionally for much of that, and I just built one snare and upgraded another... was feeling a bit insecure about what I was doing, and this just helped me with my lack of confidence - (a very important facet of drumming in general!) haha! Great video and tips!

[DJRhinestone]

i appreciate your show and display of a point. descriptions, and examples we can see, and hear. THANK YOU SIR!

[btierney]

Exactly what I was looking for. Great tutorial.

[billmatthews]

Some good information here. Thanks. Now don't forget I've been out of the loop for over 30 years, but I was taught to tune the batter head real tight and the snare head looser, and tighten snares. That way you have good rebound (especially for rolls), crisp sound, and killer rim shots, plus almost no ring, but a lively sound. That's how the "big 3" used to tune theirs (Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, & Louie Bellson). But I like the way your's sound, so I'll try experimenting back and forth. I have an 8- lug wooden 5 & 1/2 X 14 PDP.

[MrAndrewpederson]

Great video. I would add tightening\loosening snares while they are engaged will rub the bottom weakening it. This will eventually lead to either a hole being burned in and your bottom head will rip along the snares at the most inopportune time (during a session or gig). At the time this happened to me I was predominantly using one snare for multiple different tunings every week. I was going from a mid\high pitch in my studio, country and pop gigs during the week to a fat low tuning for a church gig. It ended with a mid-gig swap and a new reso head purchase.

[joecastiglia]

Thanks Steve Your Drumming Tutorial really helped me. Awesome Stuff!

[TargetHHH]

I use a drum dial and usually set it to 85. Recently dropped it down to 82 took some of the pop away from the hit but it let the snares activate more, I go back and forth with the numbers but those 2 seem to work for me.

[chromebull]

Great information! I have also found that it is not good to over tighten the snare side head. Doing so can cause you to loose sensitivity and you have the risk of breaking the head which has happened to me before.

[chrismallios]

Hey Stephen, I personally try to avoid having too much snare buzzing. I always found that buzz noise to be annoying to the point of distraction. So if it was too much and if a moon gel did not eliminate the buzz when I hit my tom drums, I would take a small piece of
tape and place it under the strainer so it would be between the head and strainer. Then I would take another same small size piece and place it directly over the stainer in the same exact location as the prior. usually one side will closest to the tom that makes it buzz does the trick.
The size of the tape is what makes or breaks this concept. Too small of a piece does not eliminate much buzz and too big of a piece eliminates the purpose of a snare. I have yet to hear any drum set that does not have at least a low amount of buzzing. The majority always
seem to have way too much buzzing to the point that even the bass guitar triggers the snare buzz and we all know how unpleasant that sounds. Just curious as to what your take on this subject is.