Fucking fat snare - how?

[SOURCECODE]

I've managed to come up with some pretty decent snares but every time I listen to a Zomboy track for example, my snares are pathetic. Any tips or tricks to ending up with these hard hitting snares?

Ex:
https://soundcloud.com/ehide-dubstep/eh ... umans-free
https://soundcloud.com/dubstep/dr-ozi-beatdown
https://soundcloud.com/neversaydie/zomb ... must-die-1

[Aerostatik]

200hz m8.

[Banesy]

I feel ya man. My snare were always pathetic so I really focused on that in my last track and I think my snare came out decent. It isn't Zomboy level beefed out but I am happy with how it cuts through the mix. I actually think I let them hang out a little too much but it was a step in the right direction. I am still learning but maybe some of this will be of help.

Most importantly, you want to start with a snare that has punch…you can't get sounds out of a samples that doesn't have them to begin with.

For EQing, don't blindly boost at 200hz…look at the spectrum and see where it peaks and boost that peak. It should be somewhere between 150-250hz…if it isn't…then get a different snare. I like to compliment that boost and EQ cut EVERYTHING else in the track at that same point by at least -6db. It allows that punch frequency to own the space.

Use a transient shaper on the snare to give it a lot of front end pop. I use the freebie Bittersweet…it works…not awesome but it is better than nothing.

So this part you can do what you want but you want to sidechain EVERYTHING with the snare somehow. I used the good ol fashion compression sidechain but there is a camp who likes to use LFOtool. Zomboy uses (or used to use) LFOtool and said something to the order that he doesn't like sidechain compression because it colors the sound. I want to start using it but I can't get it working as transparent as he does.

On a mixing level, I started out by putting the kick and snare volume on lockdown and then mix everything else so that it doesn't overtake them. Basically set their level and never adjust them because all of your samples and synths need to be set relative to the kick and snare. If you adjust the snare volume in the middle of making a track, you have to go back and re-adjust every part so just lock them in right when you start and don't change them.

[Augment]

Do a short volume automation on the other elements of the track when the snare hits, and make sure your snare has a nice and strong transient, short and punchy body etc.. Example of this in my sig

[mromgwtf]

>200hz
>compress (squash) highs

[zosomagik]

>200hz
>compress (squash) highs

This and layering. I usually always use at least two snares, unless god blesses me with that one perfect snare in my library.

[fiveone]

boost 200-300hz. maybe put a (quiet) kick drum underneath the snare and EQ out the shit you don't want from it. i always find it works nicely if you set the snare/clap/kick volume levels well.

[Banesy]

i'm digging Banesy. haha. followed on soundcloud. hope yoy return the favour. not asking for it, would be nice is all. keep it up man. I like your sounds

appreciate it sir! I def will.

[SonicMurder]

I agree with start with a good sample. You can't make a killer snare with a crap sample. Try layering claps, toms, white noise. high pass below the fundamental, boost the fundamental. Some like to low pass, i find many samples have a lot of energy and volume in the 1-6 k range, a boost here (or a scoop in the mids) can really bring out the crack and thwacks voice, while the thump and body sits in the fundamental. Tasteful sidechaining can work wonders too. It doesn't have to be huge electro-house pumping, but ducking your competing synths a few db with a fast attack side chain can let that snare really hit. Also, I agree with putting a notch in your synths or synth busses for the snare at the fundamental (probably 150-250hz). Transient shapers can be great for either increasing or decreasing the attack and resulting spike. Compression can be useful as well, or can ruin your snare. I like Alloy's compressors for snares/drums because you can really see what your doing to the signal, which can be just as important as hearing. Tape saturation also can add huge fatness. Take a 909 snare with the high end fizz, tighten it up a bit with either transient shaper or volume envelope to shorten the tail a tad and blast with tube saturation, instant koan sound snare.

Also try watching some tutorials on synthesizing your own snares layer by layer. If you can't find a proper sample try making one.

[Tupello]

Always layer. Always. And then compress.
Zomboy basically said this....in a little more detail.

[Skrylarek]

Hey man, I know a way to give you a fat snare like the one in this track:

Soundcloud

Skip to about 2 minutes into the song for the snare.

To make it from scratch, use 909s as a start (Compress all these samples)
Body-Eq one at 200hz so you hear that thud/boof sound. Take out some highs.
Transient-Find an acoustic snare with a nice transient. Like a snare crack. Take the start of it (the transient) then boost to around 700hz-3000hz to give harmonics to the body. Layer the sample about 3-5 times.
Tail-Use a stock 909 from Ableton or really any 909 with white noise. Take out all the lows by highpassing at 3000hz. Add reverb. Add a china cymbal for a better sound with also some reverb (in my opinion).
And finally, get a clap. Cut off the first bit of the sample. Add reverb to it and boost at 1000hz for a nice tail addition..

When you print the snare as one, use an eq and lower the gain at the 300hz and 180hz frequencies and boost a bit at 200hz again. Also boost at 1000hz with the q at 50.0. Now use a camelcrusher and put some distortion and compression.
Hope this helped

[Skrylarek]

Do a short volume automation on the other elements of the track when the snare hits, and make sure your snare has a nice and strong transient, short and punchy body etc.. Example of this in my sig

Blink helped me so much with snares ever since I forgot how to I wanna give credit to him for helping me to be able to create hard snares from a simple 909