Reducing Unwanted Snare Buzz

One of the most common problems I come across is drummers who hear a bit of sympathetic buzz from their snare when they hit a tom and panic, tightening the snare to extremes (I have recently seen a broken strainer wire through extreme tension to stop buzz).

The reality is, you will never stop snare buzz; it's a function of the drum.

We aim to produce snare drums of exquisite sensitivity ...

'... this snare drum was so sensitive you could blow on the top head and hear the snares buzz' wrote one reviewer in a drum magazine.

Well, if the gentle movement of air from our lips causes snares to buzz, won't the wall of air hitting the snare drum when we hit a tom or bass drum do the same? Yes! Of course it will.

The trick is to MINIMISE excessive buzz.

We want to achieve this with little or no interference with the natural properties of the drum; why spend hundreds of pounds/dollars on a great drum, only to choke it up? So, away with the Gaffa^TM tape and excessive tightening of the snares; away with taping the snares to the resonant (bottom) head.

The best place to start is with drum head tension.

A snare drum has two heads; top (batter) and lower (resonant). How these are tuned relative to each other, and within themselves will make a huge difference to the sound and response of the drum. We want the heads to work with each other and with the shell to produce a full resonant sound, whilst tensioning the snares to give great response without excessive buzz.

So here are a few tips that may help you to achieve this:

1. First tune the batter and resonant heads to mid-tension - excessive tensioning can cause problems with uncontrolled sympathetic snare buzz
2. Make sure both heads are evenly tensioned around the whole head using the opposites method (see here and here)
3. Make sure the batter and resonant heads are tuned to each other (a good start is the resonant about a quarter to half turn per tension bolt tighter). You will hear a nice resonant sound from the drum when these are tuned to each other (they will also be working with the shell)
4. Now check to make sure that the snare strainer wires are not bent or damaged. If the are damaged, replace the snare strainer with a good quality snare trainer (such as those made by Puresound, which are quite expensive but really do make a difference to the sound of the drum).
5. When you have obtained a good drum and snare sound with mid tuning, try adjusting the tension of the batter and resonant heads together, by the same amount and see how the re-tuning influences the amount of snare buzz when you play other drums.

This process can be slow and quite laborious at first but as you get to know your drum it will be quicker with time.

Please note that different setting-up positions can influence the sound and amount of buzz significantly. For example, if you're set up in a corner or with your back to a wall, probably the favourite location for the drummer :), the amount of reflected sound will be much greater and therefore, the amount of snare buzz will be greater. So, wherever possible, keep out of corners and aways from walls!

and now ...

A couple of hints to improve the overall sound of your snare drum

Do not over-tighten the snare basket as this can compress the hoops and distort them,putting uneven pressure across the snare head and leading to problems with tuning, muffling and the drum generally not sounding at its best

Be aware that different snares (number of strands, material, tension and alignment on the resonant head) make a big difference to the snare drum sound; some may be drier in sound, others fuller in sound, others brighter, others darker. Do your research and choose according to what you want.

...and it goes without saying that ...

Different heads (batter and resonant) influence the sound of your drum, along with the combination of heads you use!

If your snare drum sounds rubbish, check the above in the order they're presented as that will potentially save you a lot of time, effort and money.

I hope this helps. I'm always happy to hear your feedback and what works/doesn't work for you.

Please keep in touch ...