Snare Bottom Mic Technique: Capturing Wire and Brightness

Snare bottom mic technique positions a microphone beneath the snare drum to capture the distinctive sizzle and brightness of the snare wires. This supplemental approach complements top microphone placement, providing additional tone-shaping options unavailable from single-microphone recording. The combination of top attack and bottom wire response creates the full, complex snare sounds heard on professional productions.

Understanding Bottom Capture

The snare wires vibrate against the resonant head when the drum is struck, creating the characteristic “snare” sound that distinguishes this drum from toms. A bottom microphone captures this wire response directly, providing a bright, cutting quality different from top microphone character.

The resonant head itself contributes to bottom capture—a thin, responsive head produces more high-frequency content than a thicker head. Wire tension affects response as well; tighter wires produce crisper, shorter sizzle while looser wires create longer, rattier sustain.

Bottom capture also includes significant bleed from kick drum and toms. The open space beneath the snare exposes the bottom microphone to kit elements that top positioning partially shields. This bleed influences processing decisions and microphone selection.

Positioning the Bottom Microphone

Standard bottom placement positions the microphone two to four inches from the resonant head, aimed at the wire contact area. Closer positions capture more direct wire response with less room contribution. Distance provides natural high-frequency roll-off as air absorbs treble frequencies.

Angling affects which portion of the snare wire response predominates. Aiming at the wire center captures balanced response across the entire wire assembly. Angling toward the shell may capture more shell ring along with wire sizzle.

Off-axis positioning relative to the wires can reduce proximity effect while maintaining wire capture. Positioning at the wire edge rather than center sometimes provides better balance between wire brightness and body.

The microphone should face upward toward the snare head, not downward toward the floor. While this seems obvious, the inverted orientation means the “top” of the microphone body points down, which can cause confusion during setup.

Phase Relationship with Top Microphone

Top and bottom snare microphones face opposite directions, creating inherent phase relationship complexity. When the top head moves downward from a stick strike, the bottom head may move upward, pushing sound toward the bottom microphone while pulling away from the top.

This opposition suggests inverting polarity on the bottom microphone to align phase with the top. However, real-world phase relationships involve complex frequency-dependent interactions—inverting polarity fixes some frequencies while misaligning others.

Practical approach requires auditioning both polarities and choosing the option that sounds best in context. Generally, one polarity provides fuller low-mid response while the opposite may offer more attack. Neither is universally “correct.”

Some engineers time-align the bottom microphone to the top using sample-accurate nudging. This alignment can improve phase coherence, though it also changes the sound character. The “best” approach depends on musical context and personal preference.

Microphone Selection for Bottom Capture

Small-diaphragm condenser microphones excel at capturing the high-frequency detail of snare wires. Their extended treble response and fast transient capture match the character of wire sizzle perfectly. The AKG C451 and similar pencil condensers represent classic choices.

Dynamic microphones like the Shure SM57 work effectively beneath the snare, offering more focused response than condensers. The SM57’s midrange emphasis can tame excessive brightness while maintaining wire presence.

Ribbon microphones provide smooth high-frequency capture without harsh peaks. Their natural treble roll-off may reduce the need for high-frequency EQ, though they capture less extreme wire brightness than condensers.

Microphones with hypercardioid or supercardioid patterns provide better rejection of kick drum bleed than standard cardioids. This improved rejection can simplify mixing by reducing unwanted low-frequency content in the bottom channel.

Balancing Top and Bottom in the Mix

The bottom microphone typically contributes less level than the top, adding brightness and wire character without dominating. Ratios vary widely depending on desired snare sound—some productions barely include bottom while others balance equally.

High-pass filtering the bottom microphone removes kick drum bleed captured through the open positioning. Frequencies below 150-200Hz rarely contribute usefully from the bottom, and removing them cleans the snare channel significantly.

The bottom microphone can be compressed differently than the top, emphasizing sustain or controlling dynamics independently. Heavy compression on the bottom brings up wire sustain, creating longer snare tails. This technique adds perceived size to snare drums.

During mixing, the bottom microphone provides a “brightness” control unavailable with top-only recording. Raising bottom level increases presence and cut; reducing it creates warmer, rounder snare sounds. This flexibility demonstrates why professional recordings typically include bottom microphones even when the final mix uses minimal bottom level.

Dealing with Bleed and Isolation

Kick drum bleed proves most problematic from bottom snare positioning. The open exposure to the kick creates significant low-frequency content that muddies the snare channel. Gating and filtering help manage this issue.

Hi-hat bleed appears differently in bottom capture than top—the microphone’s upward orientation rejects hi-hat less effectively than the angled top position. Managing hi-hat bleed requires positioning the microphone to take advantage of any rejection its polar pattern offers.

Tom bleed from floor tom resonance can excite the snare wires, creating sympathetic response captured by the bottom microphone. This effect sometimes contributes useful fullness, though it may also create unwanted ringing requiring dampening.