Audio Recording Tips

Snare drums is the loudest sounding parts of the drum. The way it will be mixed drastically affects the genre of the sound. For example, snare drums are mix very differently in rock compared to jazz or blues music. It is because in rock, we often associate snare drums as a loud sounding instrument, while it should sounds smooth and conservative in jazz.

This little tutorial is applied for rock, alternative and pop music mixing of snare drums.

Snare photos by: ZooFari

The key to having a good sounding snare is to have it recorded properly. Even though you are searching for ways how to mix snare drums, you need to ensure that the recorded snare is good, which means:

1. No clipping or distortion.
2. No extreme or disturbing bleeding noises from other drum instruments.
3. At least recorded at a reasonable sounding level. (see screenshot below). (not too loud, not too soft).

OK, mixing for snare SHOULD basically comprises of a three-stage process.

Step 1. Boosting for maximum possible volume.
Step 2. Applying EQ
Step 3. Appying further effects

Let’s discuss this in detail. For the first step, assuming you have recorded a good sounding snare that complies with the requirements discussed earlier, you then need to boost it to maximum sounding level.

Using your recording software, you can use normalization at 0dB. This will boost your snare sound wave at a maximum of -5 dB. The purpose of this process is to maximize volume which is essential for rock music but still has some room for adjustments.

The next step is apply some EQ. You will noticed that in rock music, snare sounds heavy and crispy, so you need to have this EQ settings done using a parametric equalizer:

8KHz Q=1.4 , Boost at 3dB (adds the crispiness)
2Khz Q=1.4, Cut at 3dB (cuts to dullness sound of the snare, to make sound more heavy)
75hz Q=1.4, Boost at 3dB (boost the heaviness sound of the snare).

Arithmetically, you are adding a +3dB to the overall snare sound wave (+3dB-3dB+3dB = +3dB). It is the reason why you have it peaking at a not much too loud volume (for example = -5dB, to have room for EQ adjustments).

The last step is to apply some effects. My favourite is to add some echo and delay however careful not to overdo this effect. Make sure it extends a little of the snare hit sounds. You may not need to apply compression. The key is to apply as little effects as possible, while emphasizing the loudness of the snare (to be done by EQ and increasing volume). Doubling the snare in your multi-track can even help increase loudness, please refer to this tutorial: http://www.audiorecording.me/how-to-make-loud-snare-and-kick-drums-in-the-mix.html.