More sensitive snare?

I'm playing a Sonor Sonic Plus 5x14 snare, and making the transition from playing in a loud rock band to playing more acoustic and country-based stuff. I'm using hot rods and brushes a lot more, and it seems like my snare just isn't responding the way I need it to.

How can I tune/adjust my snares to get more response at lower volumes? More "snare" sound would be a major part of it.

Try replacing your snare reso head a thinner snare side head. That might do the trick.

More response = more buzz in my experience, since you're trying to get the snares to rattle with even less movement of the heads. A thinner snare head will help, as Rumblebelly suggests, and you probably also want to have the snares a little looser than you used to have them. Then, depending on the drum, you want to tune less for 'crack' and more for 'sustain'...basically, the more vibrations you get, the more snare response you'll get playing quietly. Of course the downside is that when the bass player hits the note that corresponds to the drum's tuning, it's gonna buzz like like a chainsaw.

Anyway, you'll figure out whatever happy medium works best for your situation.

Yep, thinner heads should help and also more snare wires too. I have a set of 42s - very sensitive.

By more responce do you mean more snare sound with less power in your strike or do you want a quicker responce. If you want a quicker responce you could get a piccolo snare which is thinner and will respond faster.

More snare with less power. I'm playing with acoustic guitars and a pump organ instead of 2 Marshall stacks all of a sudden, and my snare sounds like a timbale all of a sudden.

Of course you could drop a couple grand on a Roland V-Drum setup and then you could bash away as hard as you wanted and just turn the old volume knob coutnerclockwise!

...then again, it might look a little odd with a group of mellow guitarists and an organist, and some lunatic flailing away on the kit....maybe that could be your gimmick.

Originally posted by Old Steve Of course you could drop a couple grand on a Roland V-Drum setup and then you could bash away as hard as you wanted and just turn the old volume knob coutnerclockwise!

GROSS!!

that be halarious a mellow band and a lunitic whaling on the drums but you can barly hear them. I might die laughing if i ever see that

Hey,

Im kind of in the same situation except I still want alot of crack. I have Hazy Ambassador Reso. And stock Tama Starclassic snares (20). Should I just get new snares? If I got a thinner reso wouldnt the crack go down. And I also have a Emp X batter.

For more crack try tensioning your bottom head real tight make sure its in tune and dont tighten t to much. and then tension your batter head real tight also. Thats how mine is and it gives a loud crack. but i also have a mufle pad in the drum that stops the snare from rattling. it puts pressure on the top head to keep it from resonating that ives me a quick loud crack

Both of my heads are pretty tight. But isnt that sensitive. I have the crack that I want. I would like to know if there is a way to make it more sensitive.

if you have a muffle take it off or tighten the bottom head more that way it will be more receptive to any sound waves hitting it

try using puresound snare wires tuned medium. I had good luck with them - Also I am using the Evans Genera Dry vented snare batter head with a really thin reso head. My head is tight and I can play soft and articulate and I don't have the snare bass issue as much . I also switched to traditional grip and use ball end sticks. Sometimes the thundersticks unless whipped hard won't make the snare respond so try wrapping a few of them with masking tape. For brushes --- I am know using nylon brushes as the snare response better than the wire ones. Hope that helps

Think of it this way...to make the drum more sensitive, you want the snares to react to lighter hits, right? What's going to react better to a light touch: a head that's cranked as tight as a board, or a slightly looser head? It makes sense that if you ease off on a head's pressure a little bit, a lighter touch will cause more movement...aka sensitivity. Same with snares...if they're too tight they aren't allowed to vibrate as much.

Don't get me wrong now, if everything is too loose, you'll also lose sensitivity because there isn't enough tension on the head or snares. The goal is to find the most resonant tuning for both the drumheads, and then slowly bring the snare tension up until you find the right tension for your playing.

The other suggestions...lighter snare heads, 42 strand snares, etc., will also help.

As for "crack", to me that's more about the overall frequency of the drum itself. Too low and the drum starts sounding 'mushy' and can get lost in the mix. Higher tunings tend to cut through better. My advice for "crack" sound is to tune as high as you can without choking the drum. You'll notice at a certain point when you start cranking the drum up that you'll start to lose resonance and get a really dry sound. That's too tight, IMHO. Back off just short of that spot.

Originally posted by Old Steve Of course you could drop a couple grand on a Roland V-Drum setup and then you could bash away as hard as you wanted and just turn the old volume knob coutnerclockwise! ...then again, it might look a little odd with a group of mellow guitarists and an organist, and some lunatic flailing away on the kit....maybe that could be your gimmick.

It might annoy the traditionalists, too. I'm playing country, not "country", dig?

Thatnks for all the help, everybody, I'm heading back down to practice space tonight to experiment.

You could DIY Vent the Res Head

with a lit cigarette.

4-6 holes on either side of the snares.