"It's all about the snare drum."

A seasoned engineer once told me this. 

Because, it's what supplies the song with a steady back-beat. And even though you might put a ton of stuff into your production, you must hear the snare.

The snare drum is the kick drum's partner in crime. It's the other most defining factor of the beat in the song.

Since it's such an important aspect of mixing drums, keep the following tips in mind to get an even better snare drum sound.

Simple EQ Tips

There are a few areas of the EQ spectrum you can keep in mind when EQ'ing the snare. Follow these simple guidelines next time you're working on your snare drum sound.

• Filter - You don't need anything below 100 Hz. Put a high-pass filter on your snare and get rid of the unnecessary low end. It'll also get rid of some of your kick drum bleed.

• Body - If your snare lacks 'oomph' and body then a boost around 150 Hz makes it sound tougher and more powerful.

• Ringing - If your snare has an annoying ringing sound then sweeping the spectrum with a high Q will expose the ringing frequencies.

• Boxiness - Get rid of boxiness by cutting from 300 - 600 Hz, depending on the sound you want. A cut in the mids will often sound good but be careful not to cut away the fundamental sound of the snare.

• Attack - A broad boost around 2 - 4 kHz will give the snare more attack.

• Air - If you don't want more attack but you feel like it needs a little more 'zing' to it then a high shelving boost at 10 kHz adds more presence to the snare. One of my favorite tricks to bring out the presence of the snare in a mix.

For more EQ tips like these, head on over and start reading EQ Strategies - Your Ultimate Guide to EQ right here.