Snare drum
- Peaks up close
- up to 139.7 dB SPL
- Sources
- 93 independent: not from a mic maker
Range
Fundamental about 150-200 Hz; a 14 in snare often sounds good at 170 Hz, up to about 200 Hz; edge overtone around 300-350 Hz (iDrumTune).10
Frequency bands
| body | 170 Hz – 250 Hz | peaks at 181 and 222 Hz |
|---|---|---|
| ring | 450 Hz – 1 kHz | head overtones at 486, 553, 628 and 992 Hz |
| wires and crack | 1 kHz – 10 kHz | flat at about -12 dB to 6 kHz, then falling |
| air | 10 kHz – 20 kHz |
Own analysis: 1/3-octave band levels of the first second after the hit (dB re loudest band), plus a 12 ms attack window and spectral peak picking. A band is listed where the level stays within about 10-15 dB of the loudest band (weaker bands are given with their level). "tone" = clear spectral peaks; "noise" = dense or broadband energy. Measured from: Virtuosity Drums snaremic_snare_center_vl20, snaremic_snare_rimshot_vl8.
Sounds it makes
| Centre hit | full body and wires |
|---|---|
| Rimshot | head and rim together: loud crack, 480-630 Hz peaks and more 1-8 kHz |
| Cross-stick | stick across the rim: woody click |
| Snares off | tom-like, lower and duller |
| Roll / buzz | continuous wires |
The sound
A shallow drum with snare wires under the bottom head: the wires rattle against it and add a broad band of noise from about 1 to 10 kHz.
Playing techniques
- Rimshot: head and rim at once, a loud crack
- Cross-stick: stick across the rim, a woody click
- Brushes: a swish, mostly noise
- Snares off: tom-like, lower and duller16
Estimate: Not found in the sources checked (general practice): Cross-stick.
Frequency areas
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Peaks | |
|---|---|
| 130.8 dB | at the player's head position; Snare drum (Yamaha), snare off, played by a percussion student in an individual practice session in a practice room of the F. Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw; 1/4-in B&K 4135 mic on a tripod at the position of the musician's head; 120 s music selection11 |
| 127.5 dB | at the player's head position; Snare drum (Yamaha), snare on, played by a percussion student in an individual practice session in a practice room of the F. Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw; 1/4-in B&K 4135 mic on a tripod at the position of the musician's head; 120 s music selection11 |
| 134.8 dB(Z) | at the entrance of the drummer's ear canal; Snare of a DW Performance Series kit struck individually with wooden sticks at moderate force by two drummers, live room of a recording studio (Valderrama et al. 2025, Table 2)12 |
| 134.1 dB(C) | at the entrance of the drummer's ear canal; Snare, same single-hit test12 |
| 139.7 dB(C) | personal dosimeter worn by the player; Marching snare player, same rehearsal13 |
| 137 dB or more(C) | at the player (exposure context); UK Sound Advice guidance: peak noise from percussion, e.g. snare drum or cymbal clash, may exceed 137 dB secondary14 |
| Player's exposure (dosimeter) | |
| 110.2 dB | at the player's head position (tripod mic near the instrument); Snare drum (Yamaha), snare off, played by a percussion student in an individual practice session in a practice room of the F. Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw; 1/4-in B&K 4135 mic on a tripod at the position of the musician's head; 120 s music selection11 |
| 106.5 dB | at the player's head position (tripod mic near the instrument); Snare drum (Yamaha), snare on, played by a percussion student in an individual practice session in a practice room of the F. Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw; 1/4-in B&K 4135 mic on a tripod at the position of the musician's head; 120 s music selection11 |
| 94.8 dB(A) | personal dosimeter worn by the player; Marching snare player, US high-school marching band rehearsal of about 2.5 h, 5 Nov 201913 |
| Sound power | |
| 101 dB | sound power level Lw at forte (ISO 23591 Annex A), not a pressure at a distance; Snare drum played forte, value from ISO 23591 Annex A as listed by Skalevik (Forum Acusticum 2023, Table 4) secondary15 |
Recording it
- Top: a dynamic 2.5–20 cm (1–8 in) above the head, aimed halfway between centre and edge; closer is fuller, farther more natural with more spill
- Bottom: a second mic under the wires; it is opposite in polarity to the top mic, so flip it
- Mics: the SM57 is the classic (its tight pickup rejects the hi-hat); condensers for more sizzle
- Watch: hi-hat bleed; phase against the overheads5
Mics
- 18 setups from 9 sources, 3 of them independent of any mic maker.
- On top: the mics more than one source names for this instrument, in any role, the most named first. That is a count of sources, not our verdict.
- In the full list, each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those come from a mic maker.
- Shure SM57 6 sources, 3 from mic makersTop, bottom, close
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (23)
On stage
Multi-mic plan
- Shure SM571 source
Top
- AKG C414 XLS1 source
- Audio-Technica AE51001 source
- Audix i51 source
- DPA 2011C1 source
- Earthworks DM201 source
- Neumann TLM 1021 source
- sE Electronics V Beat1 source
- Shure Beta 56A1 source from its own maker
- Shure Beta 57A1 source from its own maker
- Shure SM571 source from its own maker
- Telefunken M80SH1 source
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Multi-mic plan top: Shure SM57 + bottom: Shure SM57top and bottom
The most common microphone used on top and bottom snare drum in live sound, hands down, is the Shure SM57 or its cousin, the Beta57.
1 - Top Telefunken M80SH or Audix i5 or Earthworks DM20 or AKG C414 XLS or Audio-Technica AE5100 or sE Electronics V Beat or DPA 2011C or Neumann TLM 102top, live
Listed among the other mics commonly found on snare drums in live sound (paraphrase)
1 - Top Shure Beta 57A or Shure Beta 56A or Shure SM57just above top head at the edge, aiming at head
Just above top head at edge of drum, aiming at top head; the snare requires a mic that can handle very high SPL
2
Studio and stage
Top
- DPA 20121 source from its own maker
- Shure SM57 / Beta 57A2 sources, 1 from its own maker
Clip-on
- DPA 4099 CORE+1 source from its own maker
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Top DPA 2012top, 3-5 cm above head, 5 cm from rim
The 2012 Compact Cardioid Microphone is a perfect choice for close miking a snare drum.
3 - Clip-on DPA 4099 CORE+top, drum-mounted with D-CLIP
The 4099 CORE+ Instrument Microphone also has extreme SPL handling, and a supercardioid pickup pattern.
3 - Top Shure SM57 / Beta 57Atop
The SM57, a dynamic studio stalwart, has been one of the most popular snare mic choices for decades
4 - Top Shure SM57top
the most commonly-cited choice for snare drum (nine named producers use it)
5
Studio
Multi-mic plan
- DPA 2011F1 source from its own maker
- Shure SM571 source from its own maker
- Shure SM7B1 source from its own maker
Bottom
- Royer R-series ribbon1 source from its own maker
- Shure SM571 source
- Sony C-371 source
Close
- AKG C414 B-ULS1 source
- Shure SM571 source from its own maker
Top
- AKG C451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)1 source
- AKG C451 EB (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)1 source
- Neumann KM 841 source
- Neumann KM 861 source
- Sennheiser MD 4411 source
- Shure SM571 source
The 11 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Multi-mic plan top: DPA 2011F + bottom: DPA 2011Ftop and bottom
Snare top and bottom: DPA 2011 F (paraphrase)
6 - Bottom Royer R-series ribbonbottom, under the wires
Place an R-series mic underneath the snare with the rear of the mic facing the snares.
7 - Multi-mic plan top: Shure SM7B + bottom: Shure SM57top and bottom
SM7 captures both low and high-end frequencies with clarity (Jim Riley)
8 - Close Shure SM57side of shell, perpendicular, 1 in away
Side-miking brings out drum sound with snap and rim click, avoiding ringing overtones (Paul Wertico, paraphrase)
8 - Bottom Shure SM57 or Sony C-37bottom
Many engineers use the same SM57 for both top and bottom snare mics (paraphrase) ... Bruce Botnick and Steve Albini both used a C-37 as an under-snare mic (paraphrase)
5 - Top AKG C451 EB (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)top, often paired with SM57; bottom
bright-sounding mic, with a good 4dB frequency boost in the 10-15kHz area
5 - Top Neumann KM 84 or Neumann KM 86top
essentially flat between 100Hz and 15kHz; used by Alan Parsons, Peter Henderson, John Fry ... Joe Barresi and Chris Thomas share a preference for it on snare (paraphrase)
5 - Close AKG C414 B-ULSside, overall snare view
gets a much more overall view, and captures the top and bottom sounds
5 - Top Sennheiser MD 441top / under snare
Joe Barresi and Toby Wright both select the MD441 on snare (paraphrase)
5 - Top AKG C451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)top, definition
Small pencil condenser used on snare (paraphrase)
9 - Top Shure SM57top
Dynamic mic whose restricted response acts as a kind of limiter on snare transients (paraphrase)
9
Sources
- Berklee Online Take Note: Drum Mics, How to Place Microphones Around Your Kit for a Live Concert
- Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcement
- DPA Mic University: How to mic a snare drum
- Shure: Recording Drums Part 1, Setting Up and Microphone Technique
- Sound On Sound: Kick & Snare Recording Techniques
- DPA: Miking drums with DPA
- Royer Labs: Introduction to Recording Drums
- Shure: Beyond the Basics, Drum Miking
- Sound On Sound: Recording Drums
- iDrumTune: Mixing drums, know your drum frequencies
- Archives of Acoustics: Jaroszewski, Rogowski, Rakowski, Sound pressure levels in emission of percussion instruments during training sessions (25(3), 283-289)
- International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration: Valderrama, Arenas, Cardenas, Noise Exposure During Regular Practice Sessions of Drummers and Their Risk for Hearing Loss (vol 30 no 4, pp 423-431)
- Larson Davis: Marching Band Noise Dose report (Spartan 730 dosimeters, 5 Nov 2019)
- Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)
- Forum Acusticum 2023: Skalevik, Sound levels at musicians' ears from classical instruments during solitary practice
- Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Snare drum
- iZotope: EQ Cheat Sheet
- Sonicbids: EQ Cheat Sheet, Mixing Frequencies for Every Instrument