How To Get a Great Sounding Snare Drum.

Here at Upstate Recording Studios in Spartanburg, SC., we have several different techniques that we use to get different snare drum tones. I want to share with you our “go to” method of recording snares.

Step one Take care of the drum:  

Make sure your snare drum heads are fresh. If they have dimples or have not been replaced recently you should do so. Remember most of your tone is going to come from your heads. This goes for all your drums.  Also, do not forget to change the bottom heads. Though they do not get worn out as quickly, they do need to be replaced from time to time.

Step two: Tune the drum to the room you are recording.

This is a very simple but often over looked step. A lot of drummers think, “Well it sounds great in my practice space so I don’t need to change it.” Remember your practice space and your recording space is probably as acoustically similar as a Pitt Bull to a Chihuahua.  If you cannot tune the entire ring out of the drum you can use Moon Jells sparingly.

Step three  Micing the drum:

Sounds simple enough right? There is a science to it.  I always mic the top and bottom of the snare. I will place the bottom microphone right below the wires as close as I can get the microphone without it touching the drum. The top microphone is placed at a slight angle around one to two inches from the rim. Remember to think about the rejection pattern of your microphones when placing them. You want to place them in a position to optimize the rejection of the high-hat and other cymbals.  Also remember to phase reverse the bottom snare. This will align the snares wave forms together and give you more punch. When you are mixing the two microphones together blend them to your liking.

Step Four Compression:

This step could be a novel in its self.  If you are not familiar with how compressors work or not really comfortable trying to compress the drums out of the box use VST inserts.  The great thing about VST’s is that you can always undo what you have compressed. Compressing out of the box you lose that option. Playing around with VST’s and comparing the sound instantly in your mix is a great way to learn how to use compression. A little trial and error never hurt anyone.

Step Five Effects:

Adding reverb or a slight delay can really bring your snare out in the mix. Just do not get crazy with the effects. Too much reverb/delay can really muddy up a mix.

Recording studios in Greenville or Spartanburg, SC can be hard to find. Here at Upstate Recordings, we always try to give your band the best quality recording that you can get at a price point that almost any band can afford. We started our studio to help facilitate the music scene in the upstate. If you are interested in recording with us you can contact us through our website or email Kyle or Josh

Check out this video. It high lights The Dave Project from Greenville, SC recording at our studio.

 

New Recording Studio In Spartanburg, Sc

 

We Are Excited To Be In Our New Location In Spartanburg, SC.

We now offer a 225 square foot control room and a 225 square foot live room. The new space has several new perks for our clients. We now have enough room to do full live band recording. We also have spent a lot of time and money on acoustical treatment. These rooms provide optimum acoustics for recording. By have great acoustics a bands mix will sound better than ever. We still have all our instruments and other equipment available for use while recording with us. If you need a better sounding guitar, amp or drums we have you covered.  The new space and upgrades to equipment will have your music sounding as good as the high end recording studios in Greenville or Spartanburg, SC.

Our Mission

Josh and I both grew up playing music in Greenville and Spartanburg, SC. We have been in bands all our lives. We started recording our bands ourselves. Through 10 years of recording our own music we became very good at what we do. We know recording is going to be the largest expense a band has to make. We also know that making money playing music in Greenville and Spartanburg is very hard. We keep our cost as low as possible for this reason. We want to be able to record bands from Greenville and Spartanburg record and give them the best product for their dollar. Ultimately how good the music of a band sounds will determine their level of success. Our goal is to put high quality recording in reach of the average band. We believe we have the best sounding production for the dollar out of any We use techniques learned over 10 years of audio engineering to achieve this. If you are interested in recording with us you can contact us through our website or email Kyle or Josh

The Dave Project From Greenville, SC. Recorded at Upstate Recording Studios In Spartanburg, SC.

Our Most Recent Recording Project

We just recorded a band from Greenville, SC called The Dave Project. They were our first band in the new location. Check out the video above. This is one of the five songs The Dave Project recorded with us. The Dave Project is one of the most unique projects we have had the pleasure of working on. The band only has one member, Bobby. He writes, composes and preforms all the music himself.

Recording Studio In Greenville, SC

Upstate Recordings : 3 M's of being in a band

Upstate Recordings in Spartanburg, SC

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The 3 M's of Being in a Band

At Upstate Recordings we are more than just a At recording studio in Spartanburg, SC. We help bands with the 3 M's of being in the band. In order to be in a successful band you have to have Music, Marketing and Management. We work with you on all three.

"M" Number One: Music

First we help you record a great sounding demo or full length album. On average a booking agent will give your song 30 seconds to impress them. If you don’t have the wow factor, your email gets deleted and you will never here back about playing at that venue. A band cannot grow their fan base, without getting in front of them. We will ensure that your music sounds professional. By having a great sounding demo you will set your band apart from the others.

Recording Studio In Spartanburg, SC

"M" Number 2: Marketing

Second we work with you on every aspect of marketing: Photography, Videography, EPK's, Website Design, SEO, Merch and Media Management. We will help optimize your website, Facebook and Twitter accounts to help Google and other search engines find your band. If search engines cannot find your band, neither can your fans. Josh is professional photographer and has worked with some of the biggest bands in the country. He will make your promotional and live shots stand out. Every successful band has a streamlined and professional EPK. We will build these for you.

"M" Number 3: Management

Finally we manage your band. After you have a great sounding album, a professional EPK, and your band media sites are ranking in Google, you are going to stay busy. We will take the headache out of booking and managing your band. We make sure that you get booked at clubs you want to play. We handle all your booking contracts so you do not have to worry about if and how much you are going to get paid. We also will release your CD on Itunes and other online sources as well CD duplication.

What Sets Us Apart

We started this company to help musicians succeed and to grow the music scene in SC. We are not here to collect a paycheck. That is why when we record we chose to charge by the song not the hour like other At recording studios in Greenville,SC.. On average a band takes 6-10 hours per song. Even at a cheap studio at 20 dollars an hour bands spend 120-200 dollars a song. We charge 100 dollars a song. We try to complete at least one song per day. We record between 8am - 5pm typically. However if a band is not finished by 5, we do not kick them out, we stay until the product is done. There have been several bands that needed a extra 2-5 hours and we give them just that without charging a extra buck.

Our Referal Program

We offer bands a way to help pay for their own recordings. If a band refers another band or artist to us we give them a 10 dollar credit per song the referred band does with us. We do this to help musicians and lets face it the best form of advertisement is word of mouth. If you are interested in recording with us you can contact us through our website or email Kyle or Josh

Working with Upstate Recordings Studio in Spartanburg, SC.

We are a recording studio in Spartanburg, SC. The studio is ran by Josh Lowe and Kyle Cheleotis. We want to record every band we can. Josh and I started this studio because we wanted to give every band a chance to have a profession sounding recording. We have worked with several bands across South Carolina. We have recorded bands from: Aiken, Charleston, Greenville, Geer, Clemson and Spartanburg. We charge by the song not by the hour, this gives bands the ability to not have to watch the clock when recording and give the most time possible to get the recording as solid as possible.

We would love for you to check out our music on our facebook.

We just opened our new location. The new location is larger and better than ever. We are now booking recording spots for May and June.

We also provide: Booking, EPK's, Photography, and Cd Duplication. So if your band all ready has a great recording allow us to make the most of your money and book the shows you want to play and put your music infront of your fans. If you are interested in recording with us you can contact us through our website or email Kyle or Josh