Microphones for Snare Drum

This category contains microphones for snare drum. A snare drum may benefit from a double microphone setup, one on top and one below the drum. The snare drum has two components to its sound - the ‘batter’ drumhead that the player hits with the sticks, and the ‘snare’ itself, which is stretched across the resonant head on the bottom of the drum. The snares give the drum its characteristic sound, and are also responsible for the wide variation in tones that can are achieved, depending on exactly where the player strikes the drum. Snare drum mics are usually placed underneath the hi-hat, pointed down at an angle to 3 or 4cm above the rim of the drum. The proximity of the hi-hat means a directional microphone is essential to reject as much spill as possible, as is the case with any other close miked drums. Some engineers will also place a mic underneath the drum to capture more of the snare and resonant head, which additionally allows high frequencies to be boosted that would otherwise increase hi-hat spill. As both microphones are facing in opposite directions they will be out of phase, so remember to reverse the phase of the bottom mic. Models of choice for snare drum are the Shure SM57, which has excellent rejection of ambient sound to suit this application. For a crisper sound, some engineers prefer to go for a condenser model, particularly for the resonant head.