my snare vibrates when i play my toms

[Und3rOATH]

my snare drum has a really bad vibrating problem when i play my toms... does anyone know how to keep it from doing this?

[ZenErik]

Embrace it.

[erwinner]

could be handy, since it's already between the legs, anyway... ;)

[eK]

Which toms vibrate...and how are they mounted?

[Chief Pronto]

seems silly that you have an MMX but don't know about snare buzz. it just means that your tom is tuned to a pitch that creates frequencies sympathetic with the snare, causing the snares to vibrate too. either change the tuning on the snare or toms, or do what all drummers do, and:

Embrace it.

[Dynorawr]

I have a similar problem. My hihats vibrate when I play the toms :D I have to remember to open them when I'm not playing which is a lil annoying plus they ring when I do :D

[korch]

Snares ring. There are many different methods to prevent that from happening, but none of them will get a snare to completely stop buzzing.

[Chief Pronto]

toms without snare buzz sounds weird though. turn your snare off and then play the toms. don't they sound dead and lacking depth to you?

[Coheed]

toms without snare buzz sounds weird though. turn your snare off and then play the toms. don't they sound dead and lacking depth to you?

^Yeah. They just kinda sound slappy. Is less that they sound weird but your just not used to hearing them like that.

[travisbarker]

I have this sometimes too. Its due to your toms being tuned close to your snare. Turn your snare off and see if it has a similar tone to your toms. You may have to tune your toms either up or down a bit.

[thismercifulfate]

Easy, put your drums in a larger room. If you're in a small space, you'll never get rid of sympathetic vibrations. First try tune the bottom head closer to the pitch of the top head, and if there is no improvement, tune both heads up or down.

[-Tarek-]

toms without snare buzz sounds weird though. turn your snare off and then play the toms. don't they sound dead and lacking depth to you?

Sorry, but I gotta completely disagree with that. I play with my snares off as often as on, and I can't get enough of the sound of my toms with the snare off. So much more depth to me. Danny Carey is a God, by the way.

[khomel]

Only thing you can do it re-tune your toms or your snare. Snares buzz. It is the way of things.

[Chief Pronto]

Sorry, but I gotta completely disagree with that. I play with my snares off as often as on, and I can't get enough of the sound of my toms with the snare off. So much more depth to me. Danny Carey is a God, by the way.

but i hate Danny's sound. so yeah, it's just me. :cool:

[ZenErik]

Danny Carey is a great drummer, but his toms sound so dead to me.

[thug]

Danny Carey is a great drummer, but his toms sound so dead to me.
:eek:

faor enough, i love his tom sound....his bass drums, yeah, but his toms sound, well, phat.

in fact, i said only the other night to the missus, while ticks and leeches was playing, i said to her, "do you know what steph?", i said. "this ***** be banging".

[motleyh]

my snare drum has a really bad vibrating problem when i play my toms... does anyone know how to keep it from doing this?
Don't play the toms.

[Chief Pronto]

Danny Carey is a great drummer, but his toms sound so dead to me.

i like his toms better than his snare. his toms would be better if the snares were turned on. and his snare would be better if he... turned his snares on.

the moral of the story is.... i think his problem is just that he decides to not turn his snares on. hahah. his snare sounds weak. it fits in some songs like Ticks & Leeches. but, The Patient. I dunno somewhere around the 2 minute mark, right at the bust. "and i'm still right herrrrRRRRRREEEEEEE!!!!" big explosion happens. then by beat 3 this wussy snare hits. it sounds like Danny is snapping toothpicks instead of laying into a beefy snare.

[FunkyMonk]

Don't play the toms.

The only good suggestion so far ;)

[BiscBassDrum]

I know this was, is, and will always be a great debate/dicussion with drummers. however here is my take, it used to Drive me nuts to but now i've learned hey this is part of what makes drums, drums i personally have grow to just be like hey it is what it is and it doesn't bother me. plus remember your kist sounds completely different from where you site as opposed to the audience. with all that said all i can recommend is different tuning

[HOTFOOT]

Didn't read all posts, but I think you got sympathetic buzz going on there. I heard that term a long time ago.

It's most likely your smaller toms affecting the snare, and generally its unavoidable unless you tune your toms to different frequencies.

You could try muffling your snare just a tad with cotton balls on the snare wire, but this is something I would do only if it is making you crazy.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[lovetheblues]

Most of the 21 posts so far have said one or both of:
Just learn to live with it; its normal, and is more noticable to you than the audience.
Change the tuning so that the tom and the snare are not as closely tuned


I will add another couple of options:

slightly de-tune the 4 lugs adjacent to the snare wires on the snare/resonant side of snare drum. (So the drum is technically not 100% in tune with itself, but this is so slight that it is not noticable)
slightly increase the tension in the snare wires

Snares ring. There are many different methods to prevent that from happening, but none of them will get a snare to completely stop buzzing.

The above are a few of the methods that he is talking about. You can find more by googling for "snare buzz", or "snare tuning" (Not snare ring; that was just a typo. Snares do ring but that is a different topic). One good site is: Drum Tuning Bible (http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/id8.html)