Tricks For Your Tracks

NC Piedmont Triad Edition

A Publication of The Community Arts Cafe, Inc.

Tricks for your Tracks is a column for the project studio musician & engineer that offers tips designed to help make your studio a better & more fun place to create music.

When preparing the snare drum for a session, often a dynamic mic is used. One of the most popular snare mics is the Shure SM57. The response is well suited to the snare drum sound. It is relatively small & easy to keep out of the drummers' way. Plus, it is built like a tank & can take the occasional whack of a drumstick without harm. When placing the mic, always be aware of the position from the drummers standpoint. Ask if the mic is in the way. If so, it could affect the performance. The best distance is one to three inches from the drumhead. The closer the capsule is to the head, the more proximity effect will be heard. Proximity effect is the tendency of a dynamic mic to accentuate the bass frequencies the closer the mic is to the sound source.

In addition to micing the top of the snare, often a second mic can be placed underneath the drum pointing up to the bottom head. This is to provide more of the snare wire rattle sound. Generally, a cardioid or super-cardioid pattern will work best. This will help focus the sound on the snare while rejecting the sound of the nearby bass drum. Print each mic onto separate tracks & experiment with blending the two sounds. For a super wide snare sound, try panning the two tracks apart from each other. Remember to reverse the phase of one of the mics to avoid phase cancellation.

For questions, comments & inquiries, contact Bil Jenko: biljenko@email.com