How Your Snare Beds Affect Your
Snare Sound.
by Not So Modern Drummer’s John
Aldridge
When choosing a set of snare wires for your snare drum, it is important to
consider the design of your drum as well as the type of sound you want to get
from it. One of the most overlooked considerations in selecting the right set of
snare wires is a drum’s snare beds. The snare bed is essential in creating a bow
in the center of bottom head that increases the amount of contact between the
drumhead and the snare wires themselves.
Keep in mind that
not all snare beds are created equal. Some are as wide as 8 inches and as deep
as a quarter inch, where others are as narrow as an inch and a half or as
shallow as 4/1000ths of an inch. A deep, wide snare bed will produce a bow in
the head which is fairly consistent over much of the surface. A narrow, shallow
bed will create a bow and a snare sound that are less pronounced. However, both
types of beds can be very effective in producing attractive snare sounds in a
wide variety of applications.
To determine the
type of snare bed your drum has, take the bottom head off the drum and place the
drum on a flat surface. Put a light source inside the shell so that you can
easily see the gap between the shell and the surface. This will allow you to
more accurately gauge the width and depth of the snare bed. Once you’ve gotten a
measurement of the bed, you can determine what type of snares will give you the
sound and action you want.
Start with the
basic premise of choosing a set of snares that will best complement the snare
beds on your drum. Remember the old adage, "Less is more". There are few places
where this saying applies more accurately than in choosing a set of snare wires.
• To get the brightest, most
resonant sound from the drum and the most activity out of the wires, select a
set of snares that are about 1/2 the width of your snare bed, generally 12-16
strands. That way, the part of the head that is most active (the center of the
bed) will have the most impact on the sound and provide you with the most snare
action (sensitivity and response).
• If you are playing in an
environment where you want a lot of snare action, but would prefer a bit shorter
decay, choose a set of snares that are slightly wider—approximately 3/4ths of
the width of the snare bed— usually 16 to 20 strands.
• In a close-miked studio
environment, where you might want to get the maximum snare sound but decreased
response and decay, try a snare unit that is wide enough to cover the entire
snare bed—20 to 24 strands.
• To further dampen the drum,
use the widest set of snares available (assuming the snare bed is wide enough to
accommodate them). This will focus the drum’s tone and reduce the length of
decay as much as is possible without muffling or choking the drum. However, as
the bow of the head decreases towards the edges of the snare bed, the amount of
tension on the snares may have to be increased to keep the outer strands from
buzzing excessively. Generally, this tends to lessen the impact of using wider
snares in the first place, but because Puresound snares are designed to be more
active than others, the 24-strand model is wide enough to accomplish this effect
while avoiding snare wire tension problems.
• In situations where an even
drier, tighter, yet still musical sound is required, the off-set wires of an
Equalizer model may be the ideal choice.
