Compression is one of the most essential tools for mixing a snare drum. Whether you’re looking to create a punchy snare or a fat snare or dabbling in specific genres like hip hop, EDM, or rock, understanding how to compress your snare drum is paramount. So, let’s dive in and explore how to use compression on snare drums to achieve the snare sound you’ve been after.
Snare drum compression recipes
These are good starting points, but they won’t always work on every mix. Be sure to experiment.
| Parameter | Light Snare Drum Compression | More Agressive Snare Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio | 4:1 | 6:1 |
| Attack | 4ms | 1ms |
| Release | 200ms | 200ms |
| Threshold | 3-6dB | 6-10dB |
How do you compress a snare drum?
Before getting into snare drum compression, understand that a great drum sound starts at the source. It’s one of the foundational parts of any mix, and a weak snare can ruin your track. No amount of post-processing can save a poorly recorded snare. Get a good source recording with correct microphone placement, new drum heads, good tuning, and work in a great-sounding room.
Don’t be afraid to use samples if you’re working with a poorly-recording snare drum!
Also, use a reference. It’s not just about duplicating a particular snare sound but understanding what makes it sound great and applying those principles to your mix.
Clean up what isn’t needed
Recorded snare drum tracks are some of the dirtiest and messy tracks to edit. Get in there and clean up all the bleed when the drummer isn’t hitting the snare. We don’t want to compress extra noise from other parts of the kit when unnecessary. Cutting out what you don’t need can be simple and save you loads of trouble.
Easy snare drum compression tricks
A well-compressed snare drum can shine through the mix without being overwhelming.
- Attack and release settings: Slow attack and fast release time can make your snare sound punchy, while fast attack and slow release allow the snare to sound fat or full.
- Parallel compression: This method involves blending a compressed version of the track with the original track. It can make your snare sound both loud and dynamic.
Remember, there’s no formula for perfect snare drum compression – it all boils down to what sounds pleasing for the song. Trust your ears. After all, they’re the greatest tool a mixer can have.
Compressor ratio
At its core, the ratio is one of the critical working components of every compressor. This setting dictates how hard your compressor will work, or to put it in more technical terms, how much gain reduction you’re aiming for.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer on what ratio to use for a snare drum because how much compression you use can typically vary with the genre of music you’re working on.
Take your pick: a more subtle effect or a harder, more cut-through sound? A lower ratio will yield more of the former, just enough to create a slight bit of glue. A higher ratio, on the other hand, will pack a punch and make your snare cut through the mix with a more pronounced thickness.
Applying a compressor to your snare can help bring out the initial transients and beef up that resonant ringing sound we all love.
But one important snare tip worth highlighting: before you hit the compressing stage, apply some subtractive EQ. Removing muddiness or stray frequencies you don’t want will keep things clean and present.
Compressor knee
The knee tells the compressor how to operate when the threshold is reached. Now, you’ve got two main styles: a hard knee and a soft knee.
So, what’s the difference between them?
Well, a hard knee sets a rule for the compressor: don’t start working until the threshold is met under any circumstance.
When you use a hard knee, there’s a high chance that the listener will ‘hear’ the compressor kicking in. You might not want that.
Now, let’s talk about the soft knee option. Picture it as being more lenient and flexible. The compressor will start working gradually at a lower ratio, just ahead of the threshold.
The ratio then increases as we get closer to the set threshold. The beauty of this option is that it creates a more subtle and inconspicuous effect, making the compressor’s task less noticeable to the listener’s ears.
Threshold
The “threshold” on a compressor refers to a critical parameter that determines when the compressor starts to reduce the level of an audio signal. You’ll have to play around with the level because all recordings differ. If you use a preset with a plugin, the threshold still requires adjustment, so keep that in mind.
Attack time
Starting with an average attack time of around 100ms is a safe play. Then, your next move is to incrementally increase the attack time until your snare drum loses its punchiness. You’ll begin to hear that the drum is less bright. That’s your cue to slow your attack until that initial drum hit sound returns.
A word of caution, though: don’t get too excited and set the attack time too quick. A super-fast attack would make the drum sound less punchy no matter what the gain reduction meter might show. On the contrary, a faster attack provides more control over the sound.
Try this type of compression if you’re after a smoother snare in your mix and don’t want a punchy sound: Set your ratio at 5:1 to 8:1. Go for a fast attack time between 5-10ms. Get your release time to linger around 10-20ms.
Push your gain reduction by adjusting the threshold only to impact the loudest transients. Soften the knee.
But we all get those flat-sounding snares, right? In such cases, using compression to bring up the attack helps it to cut through the mix like a hot knife through butter. I suggest a ratio of 3:1. Try a slower attack time of about 30ms or more. Set a slow release time of more than 40ms. With a soft knee, your gain reduction should be around 2dB to 5dB.
Release time
Quicker release times enhance the ambient feel around the drum. Therefore, experiment with shorter times to find what fits your groove best.
Extremely short release times might cause distortion, giving your music a unique flavor or making it sound dreadful! It’s all a matter of taste and context.
If I’m dealing with a darker snare sound, a good tactic is to use compression instead of turning to an EQ to boost the high end. For this, I’d set the attack slower than usual, which allows these transients to sneak through, creating an illusion of a brighter attack.
Release time also plays a significant role in shaping the depth and distance perception of your drums. Messing up this setting could cause your drums to sound small and distant, but get it right, and they’ll come alive with size and aggression.
Using makeup gain
Compressing reduces the overall volume of your snare. That’s just what it does. To balance out that volume reduction, you want to use makeup gain.
Some of you may have noticed autogain on your compressor software. Several compressors come with an autogain feature, and yes, it can make the task easier. But I prefer to do it manually.
Not to knock on the autogain, but in my experience, manually setting the gain leads to a more accurate sound.
Use the bypass function on your compressor to match the compressed snare volume with the uncompressed snare track using makeup gain.
Comparing the original sound to the processed sound lets you hear the exact impact of your settings. The key takeaway is this – without the correct makeup gain setting, louder signals (usually uncompressed) might fool you into believing that they sound better.
Add character to the snare drum With processing
We’ve fixed that snare drum, so it plays nicely with the rest of your mix, and we know how it should sound. Now, let’s dive into some tricks to give your snare drum some real personality.
Transient shaping
A drum’s initial hit or “thwack” is known as the transient. Shaping these transients is a fantastic way to get your snare drum to stand out or blend in the mix, depending on your objective. With a plugin like the free Kilohearts Transient Shaper, you can use the sustain knob to add more room and body and the attack slider to add more punch. This approach is often subtler than using EQ or standard compression to emphasize specific frequency ranges.
Saturation
Saturation can add warmth, depth, and character to your snare sound, simulating the analog tube and tape systems of the past. The free Kilohearts Distortion plugin allows you to experiment with saturation settings and has a mix knob for blending. Just remember, less is more, and subtlety often wins the game.
Parallel processing
Parallel compression involves duplicating the snare track, processing one of the duplicates to get a heavily affected sound, and then mixing this with the original, untouched track to get a balanced yet characterful sound. Numerous plugins offer a mix knob, which enables you to control the amount of processed signal you’re blending in.
Reverb
Reverb can evoke emotion and generate vibes of different eras like no other method. The right amount and type of reverb can dramatically alter the feel of your snare drum. So, experiment with different reverbs, and don’t hesitate to venture into the territory of the 80s or 90s!