Question about recording technique

pistonsvox

Question about snare micing. I'm always looking to get a prominent fat snare sound. So for example i'm using a White Lies song. Anybody have any ideas on what technique their engineer did to produce this? Hard to hear it properly out through laptop but listening through phones you can hear a deep respose off it. I was thinking maybe top and bottom mic? Also sounds tuned to the key of the song. Which mic would be EQ'd to get the fat sound and which would get the snap off the wires?

Also would it be common practice to double the snare track or put a very fast single delay on the snare to fatten it up?

Cheers!:pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ0AFriC7ZM

Ronan Murphy

I do not know if this will be good news or bad news for you, but I feel pretty confident that is a sample on the snare. The tone is too consistent to be played by a human.

pistonsvox

Ha. Had a feelin it could have been that alright. Is it possible to get tone like that by a human though..if you process the shizz out of it?

PaulBrewer

Ronan may well be correct -

Notice too the hi hats 16ths appear to continue during the snare fills in the chorus ...

There's computing at work !

PaulBrewer

I just had a quick listen on the ole iTunes and I'd stick a 5er down that the whole thing is either programmed or at very least Beat Detectived ... but nearly certainly not played as we hear it there ...

DamagedTrax

firstly thanks for turning me onto a new band :cool: bought the album today and im loving it!

the snare is definitly programed but to get a snare sound like that without samples you'd need to look along the lines of a deep snare. a ludwig blackbeauty would be the perfect example.

trackmixstudio

Not a hint of real drums on there. Fully programmed for definite.
Sounds like Brandon from the killers singer over a joy division track.
Not bad but Soulwax do it better

One of my favourite bands

pistonsvox

Cheers guys. Love the album by all mean, also very good live, great live engineer.

I wonder now did they do any live drum recording or just use the hits to trigger midi drums :pac:

danjokill

DamagedTrax wrote: »

firstly thanks for turning me onto a new band :cool: bought the album today and im loving it!

the snare is definitly programed but to get a snare sound like that without samples you'd need to look along the lines of a deep snare. a ludwig blackbeauty would be the perfect example.

I'll second the black-beauty 14" x 5" ........ really great drum!!

pistonsvox

was at their gig last night...they got that snare sound without needing midi hits... miced with 57 on bottom and 57a on top...

Think the top mic was gated a bit so when he hit it hard it gave it that nice fat tone. whoever their engineer is is fantasic, every gig ive seen white lies at theyve always sounded great

i57dwun4yb1pt8

you need to tune the snare top pretty loose and the bottom loose but not as loose as the top , also use 40 strand snare wires if possible.

also need to hit the rim in the stroke to get extra snap.

somehting like an empor x head on top or a normal head with an o ring would help to get this , and close mic it with a 57 ,

you may not need a bottom mic as loose tuned drums give off aload of snare sound.

pistonsvox

just need to get me a drumkit:pac:

gas I redone this song using reason and it sounded pretty close!