I’ve tried several different configurations for my snare batter head.
A triple ply mesh head (Unlock lightning brand)
A real snare head with an Rtom black hole over it
An Aquarian super pad
A db one snare head (with the Mylar ribbons on the underside)
An Rtom low volume mesh head, by itself or with some fabric under it to try to improve the snare wire sound
I wasn’t able to get good triggering results with any of these. I really want a low volume snare, so I haven’t tried an Evans db zero. That would just be too quiet for me. The Rtom LV head is similar though, just thicker mesh. In fact that’s what I had landed on until today.
Today, my sabian quiet tone practice pad arrived. I placed one pickup element on it and tested. Just like all the other low volume options I’ve tried, I was getting a lot of wrong zone mistriggers. I tried retraining a couple of times, but didn’t see any improvement. I’d seen a previous post from someone on here implying they’d improved things by adding a 2nd pickup element, so I tried that and guess what? It did help. I imagine it would have helped in any of the other snare head configurations I tried, but I’m going to stick with the sabian quiet tone because it feels the most like a normal snare batter head. The db one probably sounded the closest.
Anyway, thought I’d share. The snare triggering isn’t perfect, but mistriggers are a lot more rare now with 2 elements. The zones I have trained are center, edge, rim tip, rimshot-center, and cross-stick. Oh and I’m using midi to control Superior Drummer 3 only for now. I don’t use any SP2 kits or sounds. I don’t think that matters though. If it improves midi triggering, I’m sure it improves SP2 triggering too.
Interesting results! I can see how all of those options would cause problems. In general multi-ply solutions should be avoided.
For low-volume snares, we definitely recommend the db One Tom head over the snare head. The db one snare has those “snare” ribbons that really mess with our algo, so we don’t recommend it. But the db One Toms are cool – we use several of them here in our studio. They have a better playing feel than the db zeros, too.
Are you set on having a solution that is quickly removable? In general, I could see how a second pickup element might help in situations where it’s on a surface that just doesn’t vibrate very much – like the sabian quite tone, which is kinda rubbery.
I’m using a db zero mesh head, but I added a 4” (100mm) Remo bass drum tuning patch in the middle. The patch gives the snare a lot more attack and realistic feeling. It also will activate the snare wires a little bit if you adjust them to the right tension. Also, make the drum head really tight. Don’t bust it or anything, but the tighter the better.
Also, I too am using two pickup elements on the snare. I stacked them one on top of the other and then turned the input volume down really low. This was a strategy to fix the false triggers from my hi-hat and it worked pretty well.
With this setup I get very accurate zone hits, as long as I train the center zone only with hits using the Remo pad.
By putting two pickup elements and reducing the input volume, you’re essentially physically changing the balance between head/rim (similar the slider we have in the input settings). So if the x-talk was mostly coming in through the shell/rim, I can see how that might have helped.
Have you tried using the new x-talk reduction parameter? We’ve found that that really helps with x-talk coming from a hi-hat. You’ll find that parameter under the “advanced” button on the sensitivity slider.
@tenoch Not at all. I just want the most realistic feel (sabian quiet tone, hands down), and a low volume solution that will make some noise whether sensors are being used or not - preferably a snare like sound. The sabian quiet tone doesn’t really engage my snare’s drum’s snare wires unless I hit it real hard or use heavy sticks, but the feel makes up for that for me.
I do use the db one heads on my kick and toms. They are great for that! I can’t imagine them being better than the rtom LV head on the snare though. The thicker mesh of the rtom gives it a more realistic feel.
Ultimately my goal is a low volume kit that I can practice and play on with the option of using sensors/SP2 when I want. Actually what I’m mostly doing right now is I practice with open back headphones so I can hear the real drum set sounds (low volume acoustic sounds) layered with the SD3 sounds. The fact that I can’t hear ANY latency is awesome. I’m using a MacBook Pro M2, SP2 sending midi to SD3, routing SD3 audio out through a MOTU M2.
@Stefan_G interesting. I put my two pickup elements side by side, not quite touching each other.
Strangely, I have had zero crosstalk issues that others have had. I also haven’t had any issues with loose sensor wires. Not sure what I’m doing any different.
That’s great to hear! It’s a really new feature we added based on a lot of the discussion here in the forum. Just curious but what value for the parameter worked for you?
I had to get it up to 65% before it was effective. But once I hit that threshold, my cross-talk problems were solved.
I’m interested to know what the Resonance Dampening feature is for? I messed around with it, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to the playablility.
The resonance parameter is a bit more experimental and has a more narrow use case. When you have a particularly resonant drum, the long tail of a hit can sometimes confuse the algorithm with subsequent hits. Like a light tap on a drum during a resonant tail can sometimes get interpreted as louder than it is. So this parameter suppresses resonance to more accurately track the velocity of hits. It can also help with cross talk on some resonant drums. So this might be useful on things like a floor tom or a really resonant rack tom, but I would not recommend using it on a snare.
The parameter is new and we’re definitely interested in feedback from real-world use!