Snare Drum Buzz?

[epicproblem]

I've always wondered what the various approaches are to tackling snare buzz when recording in a live situation.

I only have 1 room to work with (tracking, control.. period!). I do projects with lots of tracking, but some of my music I prefer to record live (and loud).

What on earth can you do to deal with the constant buzzing of the snares caused by the other instruments?

-Andy

[Eide]

Tighten the snare strings, pad the bottom head, tune the drums in keys that doesn't resonate with the song...
A compromise in sound douhg.

[dbbubba]

A properly tuned drum will keep from buzzing as much but...

I can remember being a beginning stage Gearslut and REALLY liking when John Bonham's snare would rattle on the intro to Dazed and Confused! It was the third note and it set the stage for what was about to occur. It just said, "This band is LOUDER than the band that practices down the street in their parent's garage. These guys are the real deal."

Think about the "fun" that would have dissapeared had they muted the drum tracks on that song!

I can recall the buzz all of my friends had about hearing Bonham's bass drum pedal back then! Of course, most of my friends (like me) were a bit into the minutia of rock-n-roll!

What if they "fixed" the begining of "Out On the Tiles" or erased those "left over" vocals parts from previous takes?

I have friend/artist that I have produced/recorded for years and he will not EVER let me erase ANYTHING once it makes it onto tape (or DAW.) It is all part of "the deal" for him. I can see the charm in the stuff remaining.

[Rufuss Sewell]

Yeah, if someone dropped dazed and confused on my desk and asked me to mix it today, I'd definitely grab that snare noise and erase it without even thinking about it. I'd also line up the bass notes with the drum on the intro. Different times we're in now. But listening back, those are the elements that tell you these are just some amazing musicians standing in a room playing a kick ass song.

[s_sibs]

There is really no way to keep the snare buzz thing happening with loud amps is the same room...not gonna happen!

If you're really after that "live" sounding thing then have the drummer turn the snare strainer throw off say, on a guitar intro, and turn it back on right before the drum enters...that's how drummers do it "live".

And like was said before, many classic songs have that snare buzzing along with the guitars/bass...Jimi Hendrix "When the Wind Cries Mary" is another.

[6strings]

Originally Posted by epicproblem

What on earth can you do to deal with the constant buzzing of the snares caused by the other instruments?

My high tom drives my snare crazy. Fixing it means having a crapping sound. I think I know why a lot of drummers go four piece (a mid and floor tom set away from the snare) Anyway, I've been studying these guides on tuning (I'm a guitarist by trade) to experiment with some less than destructive solutions. Hope they help.

http://www.drummingweb.com/tuning.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/