3 Must Have Snare Tones
I love snare drums. Like, really love them. Currently, I have just over 45 snares that live at the Drum Arsenal Productions studio. While this may seem like overkill, I promise they all get used. Believe it or not, the one’s that sat on a shelf or were duplicates tonally have long been sold. So why so many snares? Simple, you can shape a whole track just by changing the snare sound. Think of your favorite song…now think of another favorite song. Now, imagine the snare sounds from these two tunes being switched. Does the song have the same impact and feel?
Two of my favorite songs are Vultures by John Mayer and Red Zone Killer by Seal. Let’s listen and see if we can imagine Red Zone Killer having the Vultures snare and vice versa…it just wouldn’t be the same.
Sound Families
I like to categorize snare tones into 3 main sound families.
By doing this, I know exactly which snares to reach for on a drum session.
It is important to note that many snares can fit in all of the above categories with proper tuning.
Usually, most snare drums have one, maybe two, tunings they do exceptionally well.
Let’s listen!
HIGH TUNING/BRIGHT:
This snare sound can work great on a track that has a lot of layers or long sustaining/delayed parts. The brightness of the snare lets it cut through a mix and the ringy overtones allow ghost notes to clearly be heard.
One Headlight by The Wallflowers is a great example of this. I have heard this track has a snare sample layered in, but either way, it works.
MEDIUM TUNING/DARKER:
The medium tuned/darker snare sound is my main go-to for country recording sessions. This sound can currently be heard on over half of the Top 10 tracks on the country Billboard tracks. It just works great on dense productions that need a backbeat with impact that stays out of the way of the vocals and other instruments. The shorter sustain of this snare, paired with the shorter overtones, allows the sound to get out of the way quickly.
Let’s consider Need You Now by Lady A. This song has multiple lead vocals, delayed guitars, pads, and a lot of production…having a snare sound that gets out of the way quickly yet still has impact works great here.
LOW/VERY DARK:
The only CCM Worship snare sound you need. Ha! Just kidding…kind of.
The CCM sound is opening up more and more to different production sounds, but for a long time, this low/fat/very dark snare sound was a staple of the CCM sound. My thought is because this snare sound works incredibly well at slow tempos (like 72bpm). There is so much sustain and depth in the sound that a slower tempo allows the snare to take up more space. In many circles this sound is appropriately labeled the “ballad snare”. This snare sound also takes compression really well, and modern CCM is all about pushing those compressors to the max. BUT, this snare sound is not a one trick pony. I have used it on indie tracks, pop tracks, modern country, and more.
Always trust your ears. If it sounds good, it is good.
Let’s look at Elevation Worship’s Graves into Gardens for this sound.
These three categories of snare sounds cover a lot of ground and create a systematic approach for selecting one of the most important instruments on a recording session. Knowing what snare sound you are looking for will allow smarter decisions to be made about the other instrument tones and make sure everything works together in a cohesive way.
Do you have a favorite snare or snare sound? Let me know if the comments!
