Snare Drum Tuning / Bottom Head Experiment

In this video we leave the batter side at medium high tuning while changing the tuning of the snare side head. Let me know in the comments which tuning your prefer.
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The snare drum in this video is a Ludwig 5x14 Acrolite.

Tama Superstar series made in Japan in the early 80's
8x12 Tom
16x16 Floor Tom
14x22 Bass Drum
6.5x14 Tama Swingstar Snare made in Japan in 1984

Paiste Cymbals
14" Signature Reflector Heavy Full Hi-Hats
19" Signature Reflector Heavy Full Crash
20" Signature Reflector Heavy Full Crash
22" Formula 602 Modern Essentials Ride

Remo Drumheads
Coated Ambassadors on Batter Side of Toms and Snare, and resonant side of the bass drum
Clear Ambassadors on Resonant Side of Toms
Powerstroke 3 Clear on Batter side of bass drum
Clear Snare Side on Snare side of snare ( say that three times fast )

Vic Firth Sticks
X55B

DW 9000 Pedals

[dustincassidy]

This was helpful and interesting. Kinda busted my attitude that you should just crank the bottom head to the max no matter what. At least with this drum. I found the “medium-high” tuning at #5 to be really nice.

[dugjay]

I"ve watched a lot of videos on how to tune a snare and this one is the best by far. The snare tones were extremely noticeable and that for me made the difference.

[kingdognz]

Great video and a really great sounding snare.

[MonteArnstam]

Ive always had trouble getting the acro to sound consistent. But its extremely flexible an you can do anything with it. This is a prime example! Thanks as always for the video.

[GTCband]

Hi Brad your snare sounds great on every tune, You have great room, sounds perfectly for drums

[TomCawoski]

I would probably go for either tuning 1 or 6. 2 & 7 seamed a bit too tight for my taste, 3 seamed a bit too low, 4 & 5 could work depending on the music you are playing. Choosing a snare sound and its tuning does come down to what sound best serves the song!!! Cool demo. Thanks for sharing Brad!!!

[carlupthegrove]

It's hard to make an Acro or a Supra sound bad... I prefer the tighter tension. But, it depends on the room and what sound you are trying to achieve. Just my opinion. A good video that helps drummers understand it's not just the batter head that needs tuning

[volesrock]

Any old Ludwig snare, it's actually difficult to make them sound bad no matter what you do, unless the drum has been dropped and is out of round. Experimenting with different thickness (ala Evans 200, 300, 500) snare side heads is useful, especially when dealing with deep metal shell drums in the studio. I really like the Aquarian snare heads that have the patch of reinforcing material where the snare wire tabs are, as I've a bad habit of bottom heads exploding on me during a gig from the tabs cutting into the head. As yet, I haven't had that happen with the Aquarian Hi-performance snare side. The have excellent tone, too.

[johnnyresistance]

great video, thanks Brad, very helpful. Acro sounds great.

[phillbr]

I think with the Acro in particular, the high snare side tuning is the best. With rim shots you get that watery "thunk" sound like dropping a big rock into a lake.

[NeilMiller-fwzv]

Great video - thanks Brad. I also typically tension the bottom head much higher than the batter. As an experiment, I dropped down the bottom head of my snare today (not super low, but much lower than normal) and it sounded pretty good! I did miss the feeling/projection/snare response from the higher tension, but I liked the lower pitch. I'd be curious how it would sound in different venues. I think the higher reso gives me a more consistent sound from room to room...

[francismcgovern]

2 was my favorite, 5 was interesting too

[SPACEMAN_fkYT]

Something different than the usual batter adjustment videos is good. I'm for the #6 & #7 tunings myself.

[wjreid]

For what it's worth, I liked tuning #6.

[StoyanStoyanov]

Tunebote is the solution
398hz on every lug
Sound Perfect

[jmb]

Really I like the sound before you started the experiment. The retunings... I thought 1 and 5 were best. I liked them all except 3, 6, and 7. Which one is closest to your usual tuning?

[SONORSQguy]

Van Halen had his snare side, medium or lower, hence the thunk type of sound with less snare sensitivity.

[rubytuesday]

Really interesting to hear how they sound, but also how do they feel? Is higher better then lower in your opinion?

[ngilbert]

I’m returning to playing the drums in my old age and really enjoying it. Can anyone help me understand what’s going on on under the ride cymbal is that some sort of microphone?

[benjoe-nik]

I have a question, does the snare not sound harsh at high tunings? I have a premier 1005 and the reso head is barely finger tight, but I absolutely love the sound of it, is there something wrong with me?